Analysis of Spelling data

Words Their Way®

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Words Their Way® Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary,

and Spelling Instruction

Donald R. Bear Iowa State University & University of Nevada, Reno

Professor Emeritus of Literacy Studies and Literacy Center Director

Marcia Invernizzi University of Virginia

Edmund H. Henderson Professor Emerita of Education

Shane Templeton University of Nevada, Reno

Foundation Professor Emeritus of Literacy Studies

Francine Johnston University of North Carolina, Greensboro

Associate Professor Emerita

S E V E N T H E D I T I O N

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Credits and acknowledgments borrowed from other sources and reproduced, with permission, in this textbook appear on appropriate page within text.

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Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Bear, Donald R. Words their way: word study for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling instruction/Donald R. Bear, Iowa State University, Marcia Invernizzi, University of Virginia, Shane Templeton, University of Nevada, Reno, Francine Johnston, University of North Carolina at Greensboro. —Seventh Edition. pages cm Rev. ed. of: Words their way / Donald R. Bear … [et al.] Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-13-520491-7—ISBN 0-13-520491-7 1. Word recognition. 2. Reading—Phonetic method. 3. English language—Orthography and spelling. I. Invernizzi, Marcia. II. Templeton, Shane. III. Johnston, Francine R. IV. Bear, Donald R. Words their way. V. Title. LB1050.44.B43 2015 372.46’2—dc23 2015008892

ISBN-10: 0-13-520491-7 ISBN-13: 978-0-13-520491-7

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This book is dedicated to

the memory of our teacher,

Edmund H. Henderson.

Donald R. Bear

Marcia Invernizzi

Shane Templeton

Francine Johnston

Letter from the Authors

Dear Educator,

It is an honor for the authors of Words Their Way:® Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction to present the seventh edition of this seminal text on word study. Accompanying this edition is a new online resource, Words Their Way® Digital featuring a student input assessment that automatically scores and suggests word study groups. WTW Digital also contains more than 130 interactive digital sorts and printable games across the five stages. Additionally, the enhanced eText version of the book includes more than 40 classroom videos and a wealth of printable resources for the classroom all in one place. These tools will help you to effectively implement word study instruction.

Here the authors highlight a few key ideas presented in Words Their Way.

Donald

Words Their Way presents a developmental approach that makes word study more efficient and students more responsive. This approach to word study integrates phonics, spelling, and vocabulary because of the reciprocal nature of literacy: what students learn in spelling transfers to reading, and what they learn in reading transfers to spelling and vocabulary. These are not, therefore, three separate and unrelated areas of instruction. Integrating phonics, vocabulary, and spelling instruction with a developmental approach contributes, we hope, to deep and rewarding learning and teaching.

Marcia

Words Their Way has gotten teachers to think about phonics, spelling, and vocabulary instruction from a completely different point of view. Teachers welcome our student-centered, minds-on, active approach that considers word study not only as an integral part of literacy development, but also as an integral vehicle for fostering critical thinking. Effective word study lessons pose questions and involve students in solving problems through careful analysis, ref lection, and discussion. The questions teachers pose during words study—such as, “Why do some words end in a silent e?”—encourage an investigative mindset and give purpose for engaging in word study activities such as word sorts. The language we use when we talk with students about words has a powerful inf luence on their self-efficacy as learners. This is in sharp contrast to most phonics and spelling programs that merely ask students to memorize relationships, rules, and words.

Shane

Words Their Way helps teachers provide their students with the breadth and depth of exploration necessary to construct knowledge about words over time—from individual letters to sound, from groups of letters to sound, and from groups of letters to meaning. The awareness and appreciation of how children construct this knowledge empowers and emboldens many teachers to advocate

L E T T E R F R O M T H E A U T H O R S vii

for developmental instruction—in word study specifically and in literacy more generally. This understanding is now being applied to instruction in vocabulary—in particular, generative instruction based on an understanding of how morphology works to generate most of the words in the English language, as well as general academic vocabulary and domain-specific vocabulary.

Francine

Students learn best when they are working with content that is in their “zone of proximal development” or window of opportunity. Words Their Way offers an assessment-driven developmental guide for word study that helps teachers differentiate instruction to meet children’s needs and provides the resources to do so.

Bring your colleagues and come join us in the most active edition of Words Their Way® yet. We wish you happy sorting with your students!

Sincerely,

Donald R. Bear Marcia Invernizzi Shane Templeton Francine Johnston

About the Authors

Donald R. Bear is Professor Emeritus in Literacy Studies at Iowa State University and Univer- sity of Nevada, Reno where he directed reading centers and taught at all levels. He is a former classroom teacher, and an author and co-author of numerous articles, chapters, and 17 books. He is involved in innovative professional development activities, and his work in assessment and word study is used widely. Donald is involved in studies that examine literacy learning, particu- larly studies of orthographic development in different and second languages.

Marcia Invernizzi is the Henderson Professor Emerita of Reading Education at the University of Virginia. As a founder of Book Buddies, a nationally recognized reading tutorial for struggling readers, and PALS, a literacy screening and diagnostic tool, Marcia’s research interests continue to revolve around evidence-based practices for the prevention of reading and writing difficul- ties. A former English and reading teacher, Marcia continues to collaborate with school districts and organizations seeking progressive change.

Shane Templeton is Foundation Professor Emeritus of Literacy Studies in the College of Education at the University of Nevada, Reno. A former classroom teacher at the primary and secondary levels, his research focuses on the development of orthographic and vocabulary knowledge. He has written several books on the teaching and learning of reading and language arts and is a member of the Usage Panel of the American Heritage Dictionary.

Francine Johnston is a former first-grade teacher and school reading specialist. She retired from the School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she coordinated the reading master’s program and directed a reading clinic for struggling readers.

ix

CHAPTER 1 Developmental Word Knowledge 2

CHAPTER 2 Getting Started 24

CHAPTER 3 Word Study Principles and Practices 50

CHAPTER 4 Word Study for the Emergent Stage 86

CHAPTER 5 Word Study for the Letter Name–Alphabetic

Stage 146

CHAPTER 6 Word Study for the Within Word Pattern Stage 206

CHAPTER 7 Word Study for the Syllables and Affixes Stage 256

CHAPTER 8 Word Study for the Derivational Relations Stage 294

CHAPTER 9 Implementation of Word Study Instruction: Schedules,

Routines, Materials, and Effective Practices 344

APPENDICES 371

Brief Contents

x

Contents

Activities xvi Preface xviii

CHAPTER 1 Developmental Word Knowledge 2

How Children Learn about Words 3

The Braid of Literacy 3

Children’s Spellings: A Window into Developing Word Knowledge 4

Conceptual Development Grows through Categorizing 4

Word Knowledge Grows through Categorizing and Reflecting 4

Why Is Word Study Important? 5

What Is the Purpose of Word Study? 5

Alphabet, Pattern and Meaning: The Basis for Developmental Word Study 6

Alphabet 7

Pattern 8

Meaning 8

How History Speaks to Instruction 9

Teaching Tips: Learning and Integrating the Layers of English Orthography 10

The Development of Orthographic Knowledge 10

Stages of Spelling Development 11

Stages of Spelling: A Perspective 15

The Synchrony of Literacy Development 16

Emergent Readers 18

Beginning Readers 18

Transitional Readers 18

Intermediate and Advanced Readers 19

Words Their Way 19

CHAPTER 2 Getting Started 24

Informal Observations to Assess Orthographic Knowledge 25

Observe and Interpret Students’ Writing 25

Observe Students’ Reading 26

Qualitative Spelling Inventories to Assess Orthographic Knowledge 27

The Development of Spelling Inventories 27

Using Inventories 28

Score and Analyze the Spelling Inventories 31

Sample Practice 35

Teaching Tips: When Synchrony Is Not Observed 36

Group Students for Instruction 38

Classroom Composite Chart 38

Spelling-By-Stage Classroom Organization Chart 40

Factors to Consider When Organizing Groups 40

Teaching Tips: Using the Inventory across the Year 42

Spelling Inventories for Formative and Summative Assessment 43

Benchmarks and Grade Level Expectations 43

Additional Assessments 43

Qualitative Spelling Checklist 44

Emergent Class Record 44

Kindergarten Spelling Inventory 44

McGuffey Spelling Inventory 45

Monitor Student Growth Over Time 45

Expectations and Goal-Setting 47

C O N T E N T S xi

Assessing the Spelling Development of English Learners 48

The Influences of Students’ Primary Languages 48

Conclusion 49

CHAPTER 3 Word Study Principles and Practices 50

Why Focused Contrasts? 53

Teaching Word Knowledge through Sorting 53

Teaching Phonics through Word Study 54

Types of Sorts 54

Sound Contrasts 55

Pattern Contrasts 55

Meaning Contrasts 56

The Word Study Lesson 58

Levels of Support 58

Teacher-Directed Closed Sorts 59

Teacher-Directed Open Sorts 62

Student-Centered Sorts 63

Teacher Talk and Student Reflection 64

Extensions and Follow-Up Routines 66

Repeated Sorting 66

Buddy Sorts 66

Blind Sorts 66

Writing Sorts 67

Blind Writing Sorts 67

Written Reflections 68

Speed Sorts 68

Word Operations 68

Word Hunts 69

Draw and Label/Cut and Paste 71

Alternative Sorts 71

Games 72

Periodic Spell Checks 72

Guidelines for Preparing Word Sorts 73

Making Sorts More or Less Challenging 74

Planning for Oddballs 74

Using Word Study Notebooks 75

Linking Word Study to Reading, Writing, and the Language Arts Curriculum 76

Apply Spelling Generalizations to Read New Words 76

Apply to Writing 76

Promote Strategies for Independent Problem Solving 77

Brainstorm Relatives to Widen the Net 77

Use Cover and Connect 77

Proofread for Targeted Spelling Features 77

Allow Students to Write “As Best They Can” 78

Teaching Tips: Proofreading Tips with Intermediate Students 78

Caveats Regarding Tradition 80

Traditional Spelling Activities 80

Word Walls 81

Word Displays 81

Principles of Word Study Instruction 82

1. Look for What Students Use but Confuse 82

2. A Step Backward Is a Step Forward 82

3. Use Words Students Can Read 82

4. Compare Words That “Do” with Words that “Don’t” 82

5. Begin with Obvious Contrasts 83

6. Sort by Sound and Pattern 83

7. Don’t Hide Exceptions 83

8. Avoid Rules 83

9. Work for Fluency 84

10. Encourage and Participate in Student Talk 84

11. Return to Meaningful Texts 84

Teaching Is Not Telling 84

■ RESOURCES FOR IMPLEMENTING WORD STUDY IN YOUR CLASSROOM 84

CHAPTER 4 Word Study for the Emergent Stage 86

From Speech to Print 88

The Word Level 89

Sounds in Words 89

xii C O N T E N T S

Characteristics of the Emergent Stage 90

Emergent Reading 90

Emergent Writing and Spelling 91

Creating Classrooms for Early Literacy Learning 93

Support Emergent Writing and Spelling 93

Teaching Tips: Writing 94

Support Emergent Reading 95

■ RESOURCE CONNECTIONS — CLASSIC PREDICTABLE BOOKS TO USE FOR SHARED READING 96

The Literacy Diet for the Emergent Stage 96

Oral Language, Concepts, and Vocabulary 96

Classroom Interactions for Language Development 97

Concept Sorts 99

Phonological Awareness 100

Development in PA During the Emergent Stage 101

Syllables and Words 101

Teaching Tips: Syllables 102

Rhymes 102

Teaching Tips: Rhyme 102

Alliteration and Beginning Sounds 103

Teaching Tips: Alliteration and Beginning Sounds 103

Assessing and Monitoring Phonological Awareness 103

Alphabet Knowledge 104

Lots to Learn About Letters 104

Teaching the Alphabet 104

Teaching Tips: Alphabet 106

Letter–Sound Knowledge and Phonics 107

Selecting Contrasting Initial Consonants 107

Introducing Focused Contrasts for Beginning Sounds 108

Assessing and Monitoring Growth in Letter–Sound Knowledge 108

Teaching Tips: Word Study for Initial Sounds 110

Concepts About Print (CAP) 111

Print Referencing 111

Assessing and Monitoring Growth in CAP 112

Concept of Word in Text (COW-T) 112

COW-T Continuum 112

■ RESOURCE CONNECTIONS — TRADITIONAL RYMES AND JINGLES 116

The Whole-to-Part Five-Day Lesson Framework 116

Assessing and Monitoring Growth in COW-T 118

Word Study Routines and Management 118

Emergent Literacy Daily Management Plan 119

■ RESOURCES CONNECTIONS — IMPLEMENTING WORD STUDY IN YOUR CLASSROOM 120

ACTIVITIES for the Emergent Stage 121

Oral Language, Concepts, and Vocabulary 121

Phonological Awareness (PA) 126

Alphabet Knowledge 131

■ RESOURCE CONNECTIONS — ALPHABET BOOKS 132

Letter–Sound Knowledge 137

Concepts About Print (CAP) 139

Concept of Word in Text (COW-T) 142

CHAPTER 5 Word Study for the Letter Name–Alphabetic Stage 146

Literacy Development of Students in the Letter Name–Alphabetic Stage 149

Reading 149

Beginning Writing and Spelling 151

Vocabulary 151

Orthographic Development in the Letter Name–Alphabetic Stage 153

Letter Names 153

Letter Sounds 153

How Consonants are Made and Articulated in the Mouth 155

Teaching Tips: Mastering Sounds 155

Vowels in the Letter Name–Alphabetic Stage 156

Teaching Tips: Learning about Vowels 157

Other Orthographic Features 158

Developmental Spelling Strategies 159

Teaching Tips: Encouraging Developmental Spelling 160

Word Study Instruction for The Letter Name–Alphabetic Stage 160

Reading Instruction 160

Teaching Tips: Draw Attention to Words in Text 161

Teaching Tips: Personal Readers and Word Banks 163

Supporting Writing 163

Supporting Vocabulary Development 163

C O N T E N T S xiii

Teaching Tips: Encourage a Variety of Writing 164

Teaching Tips: Developing Vocabulary 166

Word Study 166

The Study of Consonant Sounds 167

Teaching Tips: Word Study with English Learners 169

The Study of Short Vowels 172

Teaching Tips: Word Families 176

Teaching Tips: The Study of Short Vowels in CVC Words 177

Assess and Monitor Progress in The Letter Name–Alphabetic Stage 178

Assess and Monitor Progress in Concept of Word 178

Assess and Monitor Progress in Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, and Spelling 179

Assess and Monitor Progress in Sight Word Development 180

Word Study with English Learners in The Letter Name–Alphabetic Stage 180

Word Study Routines and Management 181

■ RESOURCES FOR IMPLEMENTING WORD STUDY IN YOUR CLASSROOM 183

ACTIVITIES for the Letter Name–Alphabetic Stage 183

Vocabulary Activities 184

Phonemic Awareness 189

Personal Readers and Word Banks 190

Dictionary Skills in the Letter Name–Alphabetic Stage 195

■ RESOURCE CONNECTIONS — DICTIONARIES FOR BEGINNING READERS 196

Initial Consonant Sound Word Study 196

The Study of Word Families 199

Short Vowel Word Study 202

CHAPTER 6 Word Study for the Within Word Pattern Stage 206

Literacy Development of Students in the Within Word Pattern Stage 209

Reading in the Within Word Pattern Stage 209

Writing in the Within Word Pattern Stage 210

Vocabulary Learning in the Within Word Pattern Stage 210

Orthographic Development in the Within Word Pattern Stage 211

The Pattern Layer 211

The Complexities of English Vowels 212

Teaching Vowels to English Learners 214

The Influence of Consonants on Vowels 215

Triple Blends, Silent Initial Consonants, and Other Complex Consonants 215

Homophones, Homographs, and Other Features 216

Word Study Instruction for the Within Word Pattern Stage 217

The Word Study Lesson Plan in the Within Word Pattern Stage 218

Picture Sorts to Contrast Long and Short Vowels 220

Teacher-Directed Sorts for Long Vowel Patterns 221

Open Sorts 223

Spelling Strategies 223

Word Sorting with English Learners 226

Sequence and Pacing of Word Study in the Within Word Pattern Stage 226

Early, Middle, or Late Placement 226

Pacing 227

The Study of High-Frequency Words 229

Teaching Tips: Teaching High-Frequency Words 230

Vocabulary Instruction 231

Read Alouds 231

Repeated Exposure 231

Word Sorts and Vocabulary 231

Teaching Tips: Teaching About Homophones 232

■ RESOURCE CONNECTIONS — BOOKS THAT CELEBRATE HOMOPHONES, HOMONYMS, AND HOMOGRAPHS 232

Dictionary Use 233

Teaching Basic Morphology: Prefixes and Suffixes 233

Teaching Tips: Teach Dictionary Skills 234

Assess and Monitor Progress in the Within Word Pattern Stage 234

Weekly Spelling Tests 234

Monitoring Progress and Setting Goals 235

Strategies for Assessing and Monitoring Progress of English Learners 235

Word Study Routines for Within Word Pattern Spellers 236

Word Study Notebooks 236

Homework 237

■ RESOURCES FOR IMPLEMENTING WORD STUDY IN YOUR CLASSROOM 237

xiv C O N T E N T S

ACTIVITIES for the Within Word Pattern Stage 238

Vocabulary Activities 238

Spelling Strategies and Dictionary Skills 241

Spelling Games and Activities 243

CHAPTER 7 Word Study for the Syllables and Affixes Stage 256

Literacy Development of Students in the Syllables and Affixes Stage 258

Reading in the Syllables and Affixes Stage 258

Writing in the Syllables and Affixes Stage 259

Vocabulary Learning in the Syllables and Affixes Stage 259

Orthographic Development in the Syllables and Affixes Stage 260

Base Words and Inflectional Endings 261

Compound Words 262

Open and Closed Syllables and Syllable Juncture 263

Vowel Patterns in Accented Syllables 265

Unaccented Syllables 265

Teaching Tips: Introducing Accent or Stress 265

Learning about Accent or Stress 266

Further Exploration of Consonants 266

Base Words and Simple Derivational Affixes 267

Teaching Tips: Exploring Suffixes 268

Word Study Instruction for the Syllables and Affixes Stage 268

Supporting Vocabulary Development 268

Teaching Tips: Develop Academic Vocabulary 273

Systematic Word Study for Spelling 274

Sorting and Discussion in the Syllables and Affixes Stage 275

The Word Study Lesson Plan in the Syllables and Affixes Stage 275

Sequence and Pacing of Word Study in the Syllables and Affixes Stage 276

Sequence of Focused Contrasts 276

Placement Using Spelling Inventories and Spell Check 276

Spelling Strategies 278

Teaching Tips: How to Develop a Spelling Conscience 279

Assess and Monitor Progress in the Syllables and Affixes Stage 280

Weekly Assessments and Spell Checks 280

Monitoring Progress 280

Word Study with English Learners in the Syllables and Affixes Stage 281

Word Study Routines and Management 281

Word Study Notebooks in the Syllables and Affixes Stage 281

■ RESOURCES FOR IMPLEMENTING WORD STUDY IN YOUR CLASSROOM 283

ACTIVITIES for The Syllables and Affixes Stage 283

Vocabulary Activities 283

Dictionary Skills for Syllables and Affixes Spellers 286

Spelling Activities 287

CHAPTER 8 Word Study for the Derivational Relations Stage 294

Literacy Development of Students in the Derivational Relations Stage 296

Reading in the Derivational Relations Stage 296

Writing in the Derivational Relations Stage 297

Vocabulary Learning in the Derivational Relations Stage 297

Orthographic Development in the Derivational Relations Stage 298

The Spelling–Meaning Connection: Foundations of Generative Vocabulary Knowledge 299

Latin and Greek Word Parts 303

■ RESOURCE CONNECTIONS — RESOURCES FOR WORD STUDY: GREEK AND LATIN WORD PARTS 306

Spelling Strategies 306

Word Study Instruction for the Derivational Relations Stage 306

Supporting Vocabulary Development 307

■ RESOURCE CONNECTIONS — RESOURCES FOR WORD- SPECIFIC VOCABULARY ACTIVITIES 308

■ RESOURCE CONNECTIONS — RESOURCES FOR WORD STUDY: WORD ORIGINS 310

C O N T E N T S xv

■ RESOURCE CONNECTIONS — ONLINE RESOURCES ABOUT WORDS 312

Systematic Word Study 314

Sequence 314

Teaching Tips: Fine-Tuning Instruction 317

Assess and Monitor Progress in the Derivational Relations Stage 317

Ways to Assess 317

Monitoring Progress 317

Word Study with English Learners in the Derivational Relations Stage 318

Teaching Tips: Exploring Cognates 318

Word Study Routines and Management 319

Teacher-Directed Word Study Instruction 319

Routines 319

Teaching Tips: Extending Word Study Activities for Derivational Spellers 320

Word Study Notebooks in the Derivational Relations Stage 320

Word Consciousness 322

■ RESOURCES FOR IMPLEMENTING WORD STUDY IN YOUR CLASSROOM 322

ACTIVITIES for the Derivational Relations Stage 323

Vocabulary Activities 323

Word-Specific 331

Spelling Activities 339

CHAPTER 9 Implementation of Word Study Instruction: Schedules, Routines, Materials, and Effective Practices 344

Ten Indicators of Effective Word Study Instruction 345

Teacher Talk, Student-to-student Talk, and Reflection 346

Weekly Routines, Word Study Notebooks, and Extension and Transfer 346

Teacher Knowledge and Classroom Management 347

Word Study Schedules and Routines 348

How to Begin a Word Study Program 348

Develop a Word Study Schedule 349

Organizing Word Study in the Primary Grades 349

Teaching Tips: How to Launch into Word Study at the Close of a Small-Group Reading Lesson 351

Schedules for Students Working with Picture Sorts 352

Schedule for Students Working with Word Sorts 353

Teaching Tips: Three Questions to Teach Self-Reflection 354

Assessments and Grading 355

Creating Word Study Groups 357

Word Study Schedules in the Intermediate and Secondary Grades 358

Communicate with Families 360

Teaching Tips: Word Study at Home 362

Prepare Materials: Sorts, Games, Apps, and Storage 362

Prepare Sorts 362

Prepare Word Study Games for Extension and Practice 364

Teaching Tips: Managing Word Sorts in the Classroom 364

Choosing Apps for Word Study 365

Prepare Your Room 366

Effective Word Study Practices for Implementation 366

Pace Your Implementation 367

Indicators of Effective Word Study Instruction 367

Professional Development 368

APPENDICES 371

APPENDIX A Assessment Materials 373

APPENDIX B Progress Monitoring and Goalsetting 412

APPENDIX C Sound Boards 427

APPENDIX D Pictures for Sorts and Games 430

APPENDIX E Focused Contrasts by Spelling Stage 451

APPENDIX F Word Lists 465

APPENDIX G Games and Templates for Sorts 501

APPENDIX H Other Resources 512

Glossary 516

References 522

Index 531

xvi

Activities

ACTIVITIES for the Emergent Stage 121

4.1 Using Interactive Read-Alouds to Develop Vocabulary 121

4.2 PEER—Retellings through Dialogic Reading 122

4.3 Turn and Talk 122

4.4 Paste the Pasta and Other Concrete Concept Sorts 123

4.5 Concept Books and Concept Sorts 124

4.6 All My Friends Photograph Sort 125

4.7 Transportation Unit 125

4.8 Two for One! Long Words, Short Words 126

4.9 Whose Name Is Longer? Let’s Clap to Find Out! 126

4.10 Rhyme in Children’s Books 127

4.11 Match and Sort Rhyming Pictures 127

4.12 Rhyming Books as a Starting Point to Invent Rhymes 128

4.13 Making Up Rhymes 128

4.14 Use Songs to Develop a Sense of Rhyme and Alliteration 128

4.15 Rhyming Bingo 129

4.16 Rhyming Concentration 129

4.17 Pamela Pig Likes Pencils: Beginning Sounds and Alliteration 130

4.18 It’s in the Bag—A Phoneme Blending Game 130

4.19 Incorporate Phonological Skills into Daily Activities 130

4.20 The Alphabet Song and Tracking Activities 131

4.21 Share Alphabet Books 132

4.22 Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Sort 133

4.23 Name of the Day 133

4.24 One Child’s Name 134

4.25 Alphabet Scrapbook 134

4.26 Alphabet Eggs 135

4.27 Alphabet Concentration 135

4.28 Alphabet Spin 135

4.29 Alphabet Cereal Sort 136

4.30 Font Sorts 136

4.31 Use Alphabet Books to Enhance Beginning Sounds and Introduce Dictionary Skills 137

4.32 Soundline 138

4.33 Letter Spin for Sounds 138

4.34 Initial Consonant Follow-the-Path Game 138

4.35 Who Can Find? 139

4.36 Explore the World of Logos 140

4.37 What Were You Saying? 140

4.38 Interactive Writing and Morning Message 141

4.39 The Language Experience Approach (LEA) 142

4.40 Cut-Up Sentences 143

4.41 Be the Sentence 144

4.42 Stand Up and Be Counted 144

ACTIVITIES for the Letter Name–Alphabetic Stage 183

5.1 Anchored Vocabulary Instruction 184

5.2 Think-Pair-Share 185

5.3 Books and Concept Sorts 185

5.4 Thematic Unit on Animals as a Starting Point for Concept Sorts 186

5.5 Creative Dramatics 187

5.6 Tell a Story to Get a Story 188

5.7 Acting Out Meanings 188

5.8 Beginning-Middle-End: Find Phonemes in Sound Boxes 189

5.9 Push It Say It 189

5.10 Collecting Individual Dictations and Group Experience Stories 190

5.11 Support Reading with Rhymes and Pattern Stories 192

5.12 Harvesting Words for Word Banks 192

5.13 “I Know It”: Reviewing Word Bank Words 193

5.14 Other Ways to Work with Word Bank Words 194

5.15 Read It, Find It 194

5.16 Alphabetical Order 195

5.17 Picture Dictionaries and Illustrated Word Books 195

5.18 Sound Boards 196

5.19 Hunting for Words and Pictures 197

5.20 Initial Sound Bingo 197

5.21 Gruff Drops Troll at Bridge 198

5.22 Match! 198

5.23 Build, Blend, and Extend 199

5.24 Word Family Wheels and Flip Charts 200

5.25 Show Me 200

5.26 Word Maker 200

5.27 Roll the Dice 201

5.28 Rhyming Families Game 201

5.29 Go Fish 202

5.30 Hopping Frog Game 202

5.31 Making-Words-with-Cubes Game 203

5.32 Follow-the-Pictures Spelling Game 204

5.33 Slide-a-Word 204

5.34 Put in an m or n: Preconsonantal Nasals 205

ACTIVITIES for the Within Word Pattern Stage 238

6.1 Concept Sort for Math 238

6.2 Semantic Brainstorms 239

6.3 Semantic Sorts 239

6.4 Shades of Meaning 240

6.5 “Said Is Dead” and “Good-Bye Good” 240

6.6 Have-a-Go Sheets 241

6.7 Dictionary Skills for Within Word Pattern Spellers 242

6.8 Dictionary Scavenger Hunts and How Many Turns 242

6.9 Word-O or Word Operations 243

6.10 Train Station Game 243

A C T I V I T I E S xvii

6.11 Turkey Feathers 244

6.12 The Racetrack Game 245

6.13 The Spelling Game 246

6.14 “I’m Out” 246

6.15 Vowel Spin 246

6.16 Vowel Concentration 247

6.17 Sheep in a Jeep Game 248

6.18 Jeopardy Game 249

6.19 Vowel Rummy Card Game 250

6.20 Declare Your Category! 250

6.21 Word Categories 251

6.22 Homophone Win, Lose, or Draw 252

6.23 Homophone Rummy 252

6.24 Hink Pinks 253

6.25 Go Fish for R-controlled Vowels 253

6.26 Homophone Concentration 253

6.27 Slap Jack for Diphthongs 255

ACTIVITIES for The Syllables and Affixes Stage 283

7.1 Semantic Maps 283

7.2 Concept Mapping 284

7.3 Vocabulary Jeopardy 284

7.4 Word Roots 284

7.5 Teaching the Dictionary 286

7.6 Weekly Word Study Notebook Dictionary Assignments 287

7.7 Dictionary Bees 287

7.8 Compound Word Activities 288

7.9 Double Scoop 288

7.10 Freddy, the Hopping, Diving, Jumping Frog 289

7.11 Slap Jack 289

7.12 Word Study Uno 290

7.13 Pair Them Up 290

7.14 The Apple and the Bushel 291

7.15 Prefix Spin 291

7.16 Feed the Alligator 292

7.17 Follow the Leader 293

ACTIVITIES for the Derivational Relations Stage 323

8.1 Break It Down 323

8.2 Operation Examination 323

8.3 Words That Grow from Base Words and Word Roots 324

8.4 Latin Jeopardy 325

8.5 Word Part Shuffle 327

8.6 Quartet 327

8.7 It’s All Greek to Us 327

8.8 Brainburst 328

8.9 Joined at the Roots 328

8.10 Root Webs 329

8.11 Identifying the Meanings of Word Roots 329

8.12 Combining Roots and Affixes 330

8.13 From Spanish to English—A Dictionary Word Hunt 330

8.14 Words That Grow from Indo- European Roots 330

8.15 Well-Crafted Questions 331

8.16 Vocabulary Wall 332

8.17 The Synonym/Antonym Continuum 333

8.18 You Teach the Word 334

8.19 Vocabulary Cards 334

8.20 Clue Review with Vocabulary Cards 335

8.21 Semantic Feature Analysis 336

8.22 Finding Critical Vocabulary and Concepts 336

8.23 Word Challenge: Words from Myths and Legends 337

8.24 Eponyms: Places, Things, Actions 338

8.25 Which Suffix? 339

8.26 Defiance or Patience? 339

8.27 Assimile 340

8.28 Rolling Prefixes 341

xviii

I see and I forget. I hear and I remember. I do and I understand.

—Confucius

Word study involves “doing” things with words—examining, manipulating, comparing, and categorizing—and offers students the opportunity to make their own discoveries about how words work. When teachers use this practical, hands-on way to study words with students, they create tasks that focus students’ attention on critical features of words: sound, pattern, and meaning.

Words Their Way is a developmental approach to phonics, vocabulary, and spelling instruc- tion. Guided by an informed interpretation of spelling errors and other literacy behaviors, Words Their Way offers a systematic, teacher-directed, child-centered plan for the study of words from kindergarten to high school. Step by step, the chapters explain exactly how to provide effective word study instruction. The keys to this research-based approach are know- ing your students’ literacy progress, organizing for instruction, and implementing word study.

New to This Edition

Two new digital tools accompany Words Their Way, seventh edition. Together with the text, these resources provide the tools you need to understand and carry out word study instruc- tion that will motivate and engage your students and help them succeed in literacy learning.

Words Their Way® Digital provides students and teachers the opportunity to engage in interactive word study. Features include:

• Automatically scored spelling inventories generate student word study groups based on inventory results. Students can input spellings directly into the website, or the teacher may choose to key in students’ spellings from an assessment administered on paper.

• 130+ interactive online sorts span all five developmental stages. Sorts are also available in a printable PDF format for in-class or take-home use. Users can also create their own interactive or printable picture and word sorts.

• 40+ word study games and templates in a printable PDF format are available for all five developmental stages.

• Data reporting and administrator oversight allows literacy coaches or specialists to view and track student progress across multiple teachers’ classrooms. Student assessment data can viewed at the whole class and individual student level.

Preface

P R E FA C E xix

The Enhanced Pearson eText provides online access to the full book and includes the following multimedia features to help teachers implement word study instruction:

• Video examples feature real teachers and students using Words Their Way in the classroom.

• Teacher Resources are links to PDFs that include directions for various assessments and activities to be used as part of word study instruction.

Note: Access codes for WTW Digital and the Enhanced Pearson eText are included with each new copy of the package ISBN: 9780135174623.

Key Content Changes

This edition incorporates the following updates:

• Chapter 3 has been revised to focus on the word study lesson, teacher-student inter- actions, and follow-up activities whereas a new Chapter 9 addresses the larger issues involved in organizing word study in the classroom.

• Sample lesson plans are included in each chapter to demonstrate how teachers guide thoughtful discussions about words. For example, Chapter 5 provides three lesson plans, including one to introduce word families in picture sorts.

• “Ten Indicators of Effective Word Study Classrooms” in Chapter 9 have been added to guide evaluation and professional development.

• Activities have been added, and many have been revised in Chapters 3–8. In Chapter 8, for example, vocabulary activities are categorized according to being generative and word- specific, and additional activities such as Operation Examination and Word Challenge: Words from Myths and Legends are provided.

• Progress monitoring and goalsetting materials are available in Appendix B. • A new term, focused contrasts, is introduced to highlight the importance of comparing and

contrasting letters and spelling patterns related to speech sounds and meaning units or morphemes.

• References throughout the book with the latest research pertaining to word study have been updated.

• English learner callouts provide more information about comparisons between English and other languages.

• Visually enhanced, full-color design breaks the content into more manageable sections that highlight Teacher Tips and boxed text supplements in the main text. The design facilitates easy interaction between the printed text and the eText.

xx P R E FA C E

Knowing Your Students

Chapter 1 provides foundational information on word study and the research in orthography and literacy development that led to this word study approach. Chapter 2 presents assessment and evaluation tools, walking you step by step through the process of determining your stu- dents’ instructional level and focusing your word study instruction appropriately. After you administer one of the spelling inventories, you will be able to compile a feature guide for each of your students that will help you identify the stage and the word study features they are ready to master. The classroom composite will identify which students have similar instruc- tional needs, allowing you to plan wisely and effectively for word study grouping.

Organizing for Instruction

Chapter 3 describes key activities for small groups, partners, and individuals that can be incor- porated into weekly routines We also describe a continuum of support that will help you plan and implement lessons to maximize classroom time. Tips are provided to help guide discus- sions about words. Chapter 9 will help you establish a word study routine and manage leveled groups at all grade levels. It also introduces ten indicators of effective word study classrooms as a guide to professional development.

Implementing Word Study

After you have assessed your students, created leveled groups, and developed routines for word study, the information and materials in Chapters 4 through 8 and the Appendices will guide your instruction. Chapters 4 through 8 explore the characteristics of each particular stage, from the emergent learner through to the advanced reader and writer in the deriva- tional relations stage of spelling development. Each of these chapters covers the research and teaching principles that drive instruction and details an appropriate scope and sequence of word study skills. Suggestions are offered for differentiated instructional pacing.

Activities described in each chapter include concept sorts, word sorts, games, and activi- ties that will help you focus instruction where it is needed to move students into the next stage of development. These word study activities promise to engage your students, motivate them, and improve their literacy skills. The activities sections have shaded tabs for your convenience, creating a handy classroom resource. This edition extends our emphasis on vocabulary strate- gies and activities for each developmental level.

Importantly, as you work to address the English Language Arts standards for which you are responsible, you will see how Words Their Way supports the reading foundational skills and language standards across all the grades. The depth and breadth of word knowledge developed through Words Their Way also supports most standards’ emphasis on students reading and exploring more complex literary and informational texts.

The Appendices at the back of the book contain most of the assessment instruments described in Chapter 2, as well as sound boards, word sorts, word lists, and game templates you will need to get your own word study instruction under way.

P R E FA C E xxi

Companion Volumes

Since the last edition of this book, the stage-specific companion volumes have been revised and updated with expanded step-by-step directions for each lesson. These supplements pro- vide you with a complete curriculum of reproducible sorts:

• Words Their Way:® Letter and Picture Sorts for Emergent Spellers (3rd ed.), by Donald R. Bear, Marcia Invernizzi, Francine Johnston, and Shane Templeton

• Words Their Way:® Word Sorts for Letter Name–Alphabetic Spellers (3rd ed.), by Francine Johnston, Donald R. Bear, Marcia Invernizzi, and Shane Templeton

• Words Their Way:® Word Sorts for Within Word Pattern Spellers (3rd ed.), by Marcia Invernizzi, Francine Johnston, Donald R. Bear, and Shane Templeton

• Words Their Way:® Word Sorts for Syllables and Affixes Spellers (3rd ed.), by Francine Johnston, Marcia Invernizzi, Donald R. Bear, and Shane Templeton

• Words Their Way:® Word Sorts for Derivational Relations Spellers (3rd ed.), by Shane Templeton, Francine Johnston, Donald R. Bear, and Marcia Invernizzi

Other related volumes are designed to meet the needs of English learners and students across all grade levels:

• Words Their Way® for PreK–K, by Francine Johnston, Marcia Invernizzi, Lori Helman, Donald R. Bear, and Shane Templeton

• Words Their Way® with English Learners: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling (2nd ed.), by Lori Helman, Donald R. Bear, Shane Templeton, Marcia Invernizzi, and Francine Johnston

• Words Their Way:® Emergent Sorts for Spanish-Speaking English Learners, by Lori Helman, Donald R. Bear, Marcia Invernizzi, Shane Templeton, and Francine Johnston

• Words Their Way:® Letter Name–Alphabetic Sorts for Spanish-Speaking English Learners, by Lori Helman, Donald R. Bear, Marcia Invernizzi, Shane Templeton, and Francine Johnston

• Words Their Way:® Within Word Pattern Sorts for Spanish-Speaking English Learners, by Lori Helman, Donald R. Bear, Marcia Invernizzi, Shane Templeton, and Francine Johnston

• Words Their Way: Vocabulary for Middle and Secondary Students (2nd ed.), by Shane Templeton, Donald R. Bear, Marcia Invernizzi, Francine Johnston, Kevin Flanigan, Dianna Townsend, Lori Helman, and Tisha Hayes

• Words Their Way® with Struggling Readers: Word Study for Reading, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction, Grades 4–12, by Kevin Flanigan, Latisha Hayes, Shane Templeton, Donald R. Bear, Marcia Invernizzi, and Francine Johnston

• Words Their Way® for Parents, Tutors, and School Volunteers, by Michele Picard, Alison Meadows, Marcia Invernizzi, Francine Johnston and Donald Bear.

xxii P R E FA C E

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the many reviewers who, over the years, have helped to make each edition of Words Their Way grow and continue to be responsive to teachers' needs and expec- tations. Colleagues and friends are too numerous to mention here, but those who have in recent years worked with and taught us include Kelly Bruskotter, Sharon Cathey, Shari Dunn, Kevin Flanigan, Michelle Flores, Kristin Gehsmann, Ashley Gotta, Amanda Grotting, Tisha Hayes, Lori Helman, Ryan Ichanberry, Darl Kiernan, Sandra Madura, Alison Meadows, Kara Moloney, Sarah Negrete, Molly Ness, Ann Noel, Michelle Picard, Leta Rabenstein, Kelly Rubero, Alisa Simeral, David Smith, Regina Smith, Kris Stosic, Dianna Townsend, and Alyson Wilson. We would like to thank the video production team from the University of Nevada, Reno, for their excellent work on the videos accompanying this book, as well as many photos in the book. The team includes Mark Gandolfo, Theresa Danna-Douglas, Maryan Tooker, and Shawn Sariti. We would also like to thank Michelle Murray and Kristen Braatz for a number of videos and photos that appear in Chapter 8, and Ann Marie Howard for the photo that appears in Chapter 9.

Special thanks to the following teachers for their classroom-tested activities: Cindy Aldrete-Frazer, Tamara Baren, Margery Beatty, Telia Blackard, Cindy Booth, Karen Bro- addus, Wendy Brown, Janet Brown Watts, Karen Carpenter, Carol Caserta-Henry, Jeradi Cohen, Fran de Maio, Nicole Doner, Allison Dwier-Seldon, Marilyn Edwards, Monica Ever- son, Ann Fordham, Mary Fowler, Elizabeth Harrison, Esther Heatley, Lisbeth Kling, Pat Love, Rita Loyacono, Barry Mahanes, Carolyn Melchiorre, Colleen Muldoon, Liana Napier, Katherine Preston, Brenda Riebel, Leslie Robertson, Geraldine Robinson, Elizabeth Shuett, Lauren Sloop, Jennifer Sudduth, Charlotte Tucker and Krista Wieser.

Finally, a very special “thank you” to the following individuals: Drew Bennett, who joined us in this new edition to navigate new terrains and ways of presenting word study; and content producer Yagnesh Jani.

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c h a p t e r

Developmental Word Knowledge

1

3

For students of all ages and language backgrounds, the key to literacy is knowing how their written language represents the language they speak. Central to this knowledge is understanding how written words represent sound and meaning. The Words Their

Way approach to developing this knowledge supports students’ thinking, problem solving, and making sense of words.

How Children Learn about Words

During the preschool years, most children:

• Acquire word knowledge aurally, from the language that surrounds them within their everyday experiences.

• Develop a speaking vocabulary through listening to and talking about everyday events, life experiences, and stories.

• Begin to make sense of their world as they have opportunities to use language to describe it and negotiate it.

• Begin to experiment with pen and paper when they have opportunities to observe parents, siblings, and caregivers writing for many purposes. They gradually come to understand the forms and functions of written language.

• Learn their first written words, usually their own names, followed by those of significant others. Words such as Mom, cat, and dog and phrases like I love you represent people, ani- mals, and ideas dear to their lives.

As students grow as readers and writers:

• The language of books and print becomes a critical component to furthering their literacy development.

• Vocabulary is learned when purposeful reading, writing, listening, and speaking take place. • Even more words can be learned when children explicitly examine printed words to dis-

cover consistencies among them, and come to understand how these consistent patterns relate to oral language—to speech sounds and to meaning.

The Braid of Literacy Literacy is like a braid, beginning with the intertwining threads of oral language and sto- ries that are read to children (Bear, Invernizzi, & Templeton, 1996). As children experiment with putting ideas on paper, a writing thread is entwined. All along the way, vocabulary is acquired. Then, as children move into read- ing, the threads of literacy begin to bond. Students’ growing knowledge of spelling or orthography—the ways in which letters and letter patterns in words represent sound and meaning—strengthens that bonding. The size of the threads and the braid itself become thicker as this orthographic knowledge grows (see Figure 1.1).

A major aim of this book is to demonstrate how word study can lead to the lengthening

FIGURE 1.1 Braid of Literacy

4 C H A P T E R 1

and strengthening of the literacy braid. Teachers’ understanding of the ways in which these threads intertwine to create this bond will empower them to direct children’s attention to words their way.

Children’s Spellings: A Window into Developing Word Knowledge In the early 1970s Charles Read (1971, 1975) and Carol Chomsky (1971) took a serious look at preschoolers’ attempts to spell. Their work introduced the world of literacy to the notion of “invented spelling” and the idea that children could write before they had formal reading instruction. Through linguistic analyses, Read explained how young children’s attempts were not just random collections of letters, but instead provided a window into their developing word knowledge. These inventions revealed a systematic logic to the way some preschoolers selected letters to represent speech sounds.

At about the same time, Edmund Henderson and his colleagues at the University of Virginia had begun to look for similar logic in students’ spellings across ages and grade lev- els (Beers & Henderson, 1977; Henderson & Beers, 1980). Read’s findings provided these researchers with the tools they needed to interpret the errors they were studying. Building on Read’s discoveries, Henderson discerned an underlying logic to students’ errors that changed over time, moving from the spelling of single letters and letter groups or patterns to the spelling of meaning units such as suffixes and Latin roots. The Virginia spelling stud- ies corroborated and extended Read’s findings upward through the grades and resulted in a comprehensive model of developmental word knowledge (Henderson, 1990; Henderson & Templeton, 1986; Templeton & Bear, 1992). Subsequent studies confirmed this develop- mental model across many groups of students, from preschoolers (Ouellete & Sénéchal, 2008) through adults (Massengill, 2006; Worthy & Viise, 1996), as well as across socioeco- nomic levels, dialects, and other alphabetic languages. The power of this model lies in the diagnostic information contained in students’ spelling inventions that reveal their current understanding of written words (Bahr, Silliman, & Berninger, 2009; Treiman, Stothard, & Snowling, 2013).

Conceptual Development Grows through Categorizing There are similarities in the ways learners of all ages expand their concepts and their knowl- edge of the world. It seems that humans have a natural interest in finding order and patterns, comparing and contrasting, and paying attention to what remains the same despite minor varia- tions. For example, infants learn to recognize Daddy as the same Daddy with or without glasses, with or without a hat or whiskers. Through such daily interactions, all learners categorize their surroundings. Similarly, our students expand their vocabularies by comparing and contrasting one concept with another. Gradually, the number of concepts they analyze increases, but the process is still one of comparing and contrasting. Young children may first call anything with four legs “doggie” until they attend to the features that distinguish dogs, cats, and cows, and later terriers, Labrador retrievers, border collies, and greyhounds. In the process, they learn the vocabulary to label the categories.

Word Knowledge Grows through Categorizing and Reflecting Word study, as described in this book, occurs in hands-on sorting and matching activities that ref lect basic cognitive learning processes: categorizing, comparing and contrasting words by different word features, and talking about and ref lecting on what they notice. For example, when teachers engage students in focused contrasts such as categorizing words according to whether or not they end in a “silent” e, students can discover a consistent spelling pattern: words ending with a “silent” e usually have a long vowel sound (ā as in cake) whereas those without a final e have a short vowel sound (ă as in cat). When students examine, categorize, discuss,

Developmental Word Knowledge 5

and think about words under the guidance of a knowledgeable teacher, the logic of the spelling system is revealed.

Why Is Word Study Important? Becoming fully literate depends on the qual- ity of the mental representations of words in an individual’s lexicon, or “dictionary in the head” that every individual constructs in his or her mind. For each word, lexical quality (Invernizzi, 2017; Perfetti, 2007) includes knowledge of pronunciation (phonology), meaning (semantics) and use (syntax). When this information in each word’s mental repre- sentation is merged with the word’s spelling, its orthography, this supports

• The immediate, accurate recognition of words in texts that facilitates comprehen- sion in reading

• The immediate, accurate production of words in writing that allows writers to focus their attention on making meaning

Henderson and his colleagues used the term word study to refer to the teaching of spelling and how it merges with pronunciation, meaning, and use. They also showed how, through an informed analysis of students’ spelling attempts, teachers can differentiate and provide timely instruction in phonics, spelling, and vocabulary—instruction that is essential to move students forward in reading and writing.

Planning and implementing a word study curriculum that explicitly teaches students neces- sary skills, and that engages their interest and motivation to learn about words, is a vital aspect of any literacy program. However, some approaches to phonics, spelling, and vocabulary do not engage and motivate: They primarily involve repeated practice involving drill, memoriza- tion, and an emphasis on teaching rules. Students have little opportunity to discover spelling patterns, manipulate word concepts, or apply critical thinking skills.

Word study should be embedded within purposeful reading and writing. In that context, effective, engaging, and motivating word study provides:

• A systematic, developmentally based scope and sequence • Multiple hands-on opportunities to manipulate words and features in ways that allow stu-

dents to look at and analyze words, generalizing beyond individual words to entire groups or families of words

• Opportunities for active, critical thinking about words that lead to an ever-deepening understanding of how spelling works

What Is the Purpose of Word Study? Word study helps students:

• Actively explore and understand the nature of the spelling system, developing a general knowledge of the regularities, patterns, and conventions needed to read and spell

• Develop specific knowledge of the spellings, meanings, and uses of individual words

General word knowledge is what we use when we encounter a new word, when we do not know how to spell a word, or when we do not know the meaning of a specific word. The better our general knowledge of the system, the better we are at decoding unfamiliar words, spelling correctly, or guessing the meanings of words. For example, primary students who have general knowledge about short vowels and consonants would have no trouble attempting the word brash

Emma sorting words—silent e versus no silent e

6 C H A P T E R 1

even if they have never seen or written it before. The spelling is straightforward, like so many single-syllable short vowel words. For intermediate students who have general knowledge that words that are similar in spelling are related in meaning, such as compete and competition, would be more likely to understand the meaning of an unfamiliar word like competitively. Additional clues offered by context also increase the chances of reading and understanding a word correctly.

Specific word knowledge enables us to remember the correct spelling and meaning of individual words. For example, the word rain might be spelled rane, rain, or rayne; all three spellings are theoretically plausible. However, only specific knowledge helps us spell it cor- rectly. Likewise, only specific knowledge of the spelling of which and witch makes it possible to know which is which! The relationship between specific knowledge and general knowledge of the system is reciprocal—each supports the other—as is their application in reading and spell- ing. Conrad (2008) expressed this idea in noting that “the transfer between reading and spell- ing occurs in both directions” (p. 876) and that “the orthographic representations established through practice can be used for both reading and spelling” (p. 869).

Alphabet, Pattern and Meaning: The Basis for Developmental Word Study

Word study evolves from decades of research exploring developmental aspects of word knowl- edge with children and adults. This research has documented specific kinds of spelling errors that tend to occur in clusters at different points throughout development and which ref lect students’ uncertainty over certain spellings or orthographic conventions. These “clusters” have been described in terms of

• errors dealing with the alphabetic match of letters and sounds (FES for fish) • errors dealing with letter patterns (SNAIK for snake) and syllable patterns (POPING for

popping) • errors dealing with words related in meaning (INVUTATION for invitation; a lack of knowl-

edge that invite provides the clue to the correct spelling of the second vowel in invitation)

Phonics: Analytic vs. Synthetic? Both!

There is an ongoing debate in literacy teaching between analytic and synthetic phonics. Actually, research settled the debate a long time ago—both are needed (International Reading Association, 2018; National Reading Panel, 2000). In analytic phonics students break known words down to analyze the individual sounds and letters within them; in synthetic phonics students build words up by blending the individual sounds and letters. The problem with relying on synthetic approaches exclusively is that students may not recognize the word as one they know even after they blend all the individual sounds correctly. This is particularly true of English learners and even native speakers with limited vocabularies. Analytic phonics instruction helps children learn how to use the spelling patterns in known words to then figure out unknown words that have similar spelling patterns. Most children need both types of instruction—when, how, and how much depend on where they are developmentally. For example, a child who is just on the cusp but not yet beginning to read would have difficulty trying to blend all the consonants and vowels within a word because full segmentation of all the sounds within a word is a more advanced skill; very beginners are solidifying their knowledge of beginning and ending consonants. Nevertheless, even beginners synthesize sounds as they write: Listening for sounds in what they want to write and trying to match letters to those sounds is a great application of synthetic phonics.

for English learners

Enhanced eText Video Example 1.1 In this video, author Marcia Invernizzi and several classroom teachers discuss word study and why word study is important.

Developmental Word Knowledge 7

The same cluster types of errors have been observed among:

• Students with learning disabilities and dyslexia (Bear, Negrete, & Cathey, 2012; Sawyer, Lipa- Wade, Kim, Ritenour, & Knight, 1997; Templeton & Ives, 2007; Worthy & Invernizzi, 1989)

• Students who speak a variant dialect (Cantrell, 2001; Dixon, Zhao, & Joshi, 2012; Stever, 1980) • Students who are learning to read in different alphabetic languages (Helman, 2004; Hel-

man et al., 2012; Ford, Invernizzi & Huang, 2018)

Longitudinal and cross-grade-level research has shown that essentially the same developmental progression occurs for all learners of written English, varying only in the rate of acquisition (Invernizzi & Hayes, 2004; Templeton & Bear, 2018; Treiman, Stothard, & Snowling, 2013).

Word study also builds on the history of English spelling. Developmental spelling researchers have examined the three layers of English orthography in the historical evolution of Eng- lish spelling and compared this evolution to students’ develop- mental progression from alphabet to pattern to meaning layers. Figure 1.2 illustrates how each of the three layers of the English spelling system is built on the one before: to the straightforward alphabetic base of Old English was added the more abstract let- ter patterns in Middle English, and to that layer were added the Greek and Latin meaning units such as prefixes, suffixes, and roots in early Modern English. From the intermediate grades and up, word study includes students’ examining the interactions among these three layers.

Alphabet The alphabetic layer in English spelling is the first layer of information at work. Our spelling system is alphabetic because it represents the relationship between letters and sounds. In the word sat, each sound is represented by a single letter; we blend the sounds for s, a, and t to read the word sat. In the word chin, we still hear three sounds, even though there are four letters, because the first two letters, ch, function like a single letter, representing a single sound. So we can match letters—sometimes singly, sometimes in pairs—to sounds from left to right and create words.

The alphabetic layer of English orthography was established during the time of Old Eng- lish, the language spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons in England between the Germanic invasions of the fifth century c.e. and the conquest of England by William of Normandy in 1066 (Lerer, 2007). Old English was remarkably consistent in letter–sound correspondence and used the alphabet to systematically represent speech sounds. The long vowels were pronounced close to the way they are in modern Romance languages today, such as Spanish, French, and Italian; for example, e is pronounced as long A as in tres; i is pronounced as long E as in Rio.

The history of the alphabetic layer ref lected in the story of Old English is relevant to teachers today because beginners spell like “little Saxons” as they begin to read and write ( Henderson, 1981). Armed with only a rudimentary knowledge of the alphabet and letter sounds, beginning spellers of all backgrounds use their alphabet knowledge quite literally. They rely on the sound embedded in the names of the letters to represent the sounds they are trying to represent (Invernizzi, 1992; Read, 1971; Young, 2007). This strategy works quite well for consonants when the names do, in fact, contain the correct corresponding speech sounds; for example Bee, Dee, eF, eS, and so forth. It works less well for letters that have more than one sound: (C:/s/ and /k/), and it does not work at all for consonants with names that do not contain their corresponding speech sounds (W: double you; Y: wie; and H: aitch). Short vowel sounds are particularly problematic for young spellers because there is no single letter that “says” the short vowel sound. As a result, beginning readers choose a letter whose name, when pronounced, sounds and feels closest to the targeted short vowel sound (Beers & Henderson, 1977; Read, 1975). For example, beginning readers often spell the short e sound in bed with the letter a (BAD) and the short i sound in rip with the letter e (REP).

MEANING

PATTER

N

ALPHABE

T

FIGURE 1.2 Developmental Word Study Instruction

Enhanced eText Video Example 1.2 The authors describe the three layers of English spelling: alphabet, pattern, and meaning, and how the five stages of development build on these layers.

8 C H A P T E R 1

Pattern Why don’t we spell all words in English “the way they sound”—at the alphabetic level, in other words? If we did, words like cape, bead, and light would look like cap, bed, and lit—but these spellings, of course, already represent other words. Therefore, the pattern layer overlays the alphabetic layer. Because there are 42 to 44 sounds in English and only 26 letters in the alphabet, single sounds are sometimes spelled with more than one letter or are affected by other letters that do not stand for any sounds themselves. When we look beyond single letter–sound match-ups and search for patterns that guide the groupings of letters, however, we find surprising consistency (Hanna, Hanna, Hodges, & Rudorf, 1966; Venezky, 1999). For example, consider the ain in rain: We say that the silent i is a vowel marker, indicating that the preceding vowel letter, a, stands for a long vowel sound. The i does not stand for a sound itself, but “marks” the vowel before it as long. The ai group of letters follows a pattern: When you have a pair of vowels in a single syllable, this let- ter grouping forms a pattern that often indicates a long vowel. We refer to this as the “AI pattern” or as the consonant-vowel-vowel-consonant (CVVC) pattern—one of several high-frequency long-vowel patterns. Overall, knowledge about orthographic patterns within words is considerably valuable to students in both their reading and their spelling.

Where did these patterns originate? The simple letter–sound consistency of Old English was overlaid by a massive inf lux of French words after the Norman Conquest in 1066. Because these words entered the existing language through bilingual Anglo-Norman speakers and writers, some of the French pronunciations and spelling conventions were adopted, too. Old English was thus overlaid with the vocabulary and spelling traditions

of the ruling class, the Norman French. This complex interaction of pronunciation change on top of the intermingling of French and English spellings led to a prolif- eration of different vowel sounds represented by different vowel pat- terns. The extensive repertoire of vowel patterns today is attributable to this period of history, such as the various pronunciations of the ea pattern in words like bread and thread, great and break, meat and clean. It is uncanny that students in this pattern stage of spelling spell like “little Anglo-Normans” when they write taste as TAIST or leave as LEEVE.

Meaning The third layer of English orthography is the meaning layer. When students learn that groups of letters can represent meaning directly, they will be much less puzzled when encountering unusual spellings. Examples of these units or groups of letters are prefixes, suffixes, and Greek and Latin roots. These units of meaning are called morphemes—the smallest units of mean- ing in a language.

One example of how meaning functions in the spelling system is the prefix re-: Whether we hear it pronounced “ree” as in rethink or “ruh” as in remove, the morpheme spelling stays the same because it directly represents meaning. Why is sign spelled with a silent g?

Students sort by the patterns of long a

Developmental Word Knowledge 9

Because it is related in meaning to signature, in which the g is pronounced. The letters s-i-g-n remain in both words to visually preserve the meaning relationships that these words share. Likewise, the letter sequence photo in photograph, photographer, and photographic signals spelling–meaning connections among these words, despite the changes in sounds that the letter o represents.

The explosion of knowledge and culture during the Renaissance required a new, expanded vocabulary to accommodate the growth in learning that occurred during this time. Greek and Latin were used by educated people throughout Europe, so new words could be built out of elements that came from classical Greek and Latin: for example, Greek roots auto + graph; bio + sphere; Latin roots, prefixes, and suffixes (inspect, spectator, and respectable). So, a third layer of meaning was added to the orthographic record of English (Upward & Davidson, 2011).

The spelling–meaning relations among words brought into English during the Renais- sance have important implications for vocabulary instruction today as students move through the intermediate grades and beyond (Templeton 2011/2012, 2012). When students explore how spelling visually preserves meaning relationships among words with the same derivations (for example, note the second b in bomb and bombard), they see how closely related spelling is to meaning and vocabulary. The seemingly arbitrary spelling of some words—in which silent letters occur or vowel spellings seem irrational—is in reality central to understanding the meanings of related words. For example, the silent c in muscle is “sounded” in the related words muscular and musculature—all of which come from the Latin musculus, literally a little mouse. (The rippling of a muscle reminded the Romans of the movements of a mouse!) Such words, through their spellings, carry their history and meaning with them (Venezky, 1999; Templeton et al., 2015).

How History Speaks to Instruction Organizing the phonics, spelling, and vocabulary curriculum according to historical layers of alphabet, pattern, and meaning provides a systematic guide for instruction. It places the types of words to be studied in an evolutionary progression that mirrors the development of the ortho- graphic system itself. Anglo-Saxon words, the oldest words in English, are among the easiest to read and the most familiar. Words like sun, moon, day, and night are high-frequency “earthy” words that populate easy reading materials in the primary grades. Anglo-Saxon words survive in high-frequency prepositions, pronouns, conjunctions, and auxiliary verbs (for example, have, was, does) although the pronunciation is now quite different. More difficult Norman French words like chance, chamber, royal, guard, and conquer frequently appear in books suitable for the elementary grades. The less frequent, more academic vocabulary of English—words like atonement, epigraph, antecedent, immunology, disingenuous, and rectilinear—are Latin or Greek in origin and appear most often in student reading selections beginning in the upper elementary grades and beyond.

Alphabet, pattern, and meaning represent three broad principles of written English and form the layered record of orthographic history. As students learn to read and write, they appear to reinvent the system as it was itself invented. As shown in Table 1.1, beginners invent the spellings of simple words phonetically, just as the Anglo-Saxons did more than a thousand years ago. As students become independent readers, they add a second layer by using pat- terns, much as the Norman French did. Notice in Table 1.1 the overuse of the silent e vowel marker at the ends of all of Antonie’s words, much like Geoffrey Chaucer’s! Intermediate and advanced readers invent conventions for joining syllables and units of meaning, as was done during the Renaissance when English incorporated a large classical Greek and Latin vocabulary ( Henderson, 1990; Templeton, Bear, Invernizzi, & Johnston, 2010). As Table 1.1 shows, both Julian, age 14, and Queen Elizabeth I in 1600 had to deal with issues of consonant doubling in the middle of words.

10 C H A P T E R 1

TABLE 1.1 Comparison of Historical and Students’ Development across Three Layers of English Orthography: Alphabet, Pattern, and Meaning

Alphabet Historical Spelling Anglo-Saxon (Lord’s Prayer, 1000)

WIF (wife) TODAEG (today) HEAFONUM (heaven)

Students’ Spelling-by-Stage Letter Name–Alphabetic (Tawanda, age 6)

WIF (wife) TUDAE (today) HAFAN (heaven)

Pattern Norman French (Chaucer, 1440)

YONGE (young) SWETE (sweet) ROOTE (root) CROPPE (crop)

Within Word Patterns (Antonie, age 8)

YUNGE (young) SWETE (sweet) ROOTE (root) CROPPE (crop)

Meaning Renaissance (Elizabeth I, 1600)

DISSCORD (discord) FOLOWE (follow) MUSSIKE (music)

Syllables & Meaning (Julian, age 14)

DISSCORD (discord) FOLOWE (follow) MUSSIC (music)

Source: Adapted from “Using Students’ Invented Spellings as a Guide for Spelling Instruction That Emphasizes Word Study” by M. Invernizzi, M. Abouzeid, & T. Gill, 1994, Elementary School Journal, 95(2), p. 158. Reprinted by permission of The University of Chicago Press.

The Development of Orthographic Knowledge

When we say word study is developmental, we mean that the study of specific word features must match the level of the learner’s word knowledge. Word study is not a one-size-fits-all program of instruction that begins in the same place for all students within a grade level. Rather, it is an approach that uniquely emphasizes the critical role of differentiating instruction for different levels of word knowledge.

Learning and Integrating the Layers of English Orthography

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Word knowledge advances as students develop orthographic understandings at the alphabetic, pattern, and meaning levels. This happens when they read and write purposefully and are also provided with explicit, systematic word study instruction by knowledgeable teachers. How can word study give students the experiences they need to progress through and integrate these layers of information? The following examples illustrate the emphasis at each layer:

• For students who are experimenting with the alphabetic match of letters and sounds, teachers can focus on contrasting aspects of the writing system that relate directly to the representation of sound. For example, words spelled with short e (bed, leg, net, neck, mess) are contrasted with

words spelled with short o (hot, rock, top, log, pond).

• For students experimenting with pattern, teachers can contrast patterns as they relate to vowels. For example, words spelled with ay (play, day, tray, way) are compared to words spelled with ai (wait, rain, chain, maid).

• For students experimenting with conventions of syllables, affixes (prefixes and suffixes), and other meaning units, teachers can help students see that words with similar meanings are often spelled the same, despite changes in pronuncia- tion. For example, admiration is spelled with an i in the second syllable because it comes from the word admire.

Developmental Word Knowledge 11

Word study instruction must match the needs of the child. This construct, called instructional level, is a powerful determinant of what may be learned. Simply put, we must teach within each child’s zone of understanding (Harré & Moghaddam, 2003; Vygotsky, 1962). To do otherwise results in frustration or boredom and little learning in either case. Just as in learning to play the piano—when students must work through book A, then book B, and then book C—learning to read and spell is a gradual and cumulative process. Word study begins with finding out what each child already knows and starting instruction there.

One of the easiest and most informative ways to know what students need to learn is to look at the way they spell words. Recall that students’ efforts to spell provide a direct window into how they think the spelling system works. By interpreting what students do, educators can target a specific student’s instructional level and plan word study instruction that this student is ready to learn. Fur- thermore, by applying basic principles of child development, educators have learned how to engage students in learning about word features in a child-centered, developmentally appropriate way.

When students are instructed within their own zone of understanding or zone of proximal development (ZPD)—studying words their way—they are able to build on what they already know, to learn what they need to know next, and to move forward. Zone of proximal development was first described by Vygotsky (1962): The “zone” refers to the span between what a learner knows and is able to do independently, and what she is able to do with support and guidance. With explicit instruction and ample experience reading, writing, and examining words, spelling features that were previously omitted or confused become incorporated into an ever-increasing reading and writing vocabulary.

Stages of Spelling Development As we have described, students move from easier one-to- one correspondences between letters and sounds, to more abstract relationships between letter patterns and sounds, to even more sophisticated relationships between meaning units as they relate to sound and pattern. Developmental spelling research describes this growth as a continuum or a series of chronologically ordered stages or phases of word knowledge: Emergent, Letter Name-Alphabetic, Within Word Pattern, Syllables and Affixes, and Derivational Relations ( Henderson, 1990; Ehri, 2005; Nunes & Bryant, 2009).

Stages are marked by broad, qualitative shifts in the types of spelling errors students make as well as changes in the way they read words. The names of the stages or phases represent the predominant type of orthographic information—alphabetic, pattern, meaning—used by learn- ers in the spelling and reading of words (Berninger, Abbott, Nagy, & Carlisle, 2009; Bryant, Nunes, & Bindman, 1997; Ehri, 1997, 2006; Templeton, 2003).

In this book we use the word stage as a metaphor to inform instruction. In reality, as students grow in their gen- eral knowledge of the three layers of information in Eng- lish and in their specific knowledge of word features, some overlap exists in the layers and features students understand and use. In fact, as students grow in their understanding of how spelling represents both sound and meaning, they become more f lexible in their application of spelling strat- egies. For example, in figuring out an unfamiliar word they are able to do more than just “sound it out”—they may use analogies to other words with similar sounds, patterns, or meanings, or use spelling–meaning connections. There is a range of grades during which most students pass through these stages, and these are presented in Table 1.2.

TABLE 1.2 Spelling and Reading Stages, Grade Levels, and Corresponding Instructional Chapters

Alphabet Pattern Meaning

Emergent Stage Emergent Reading PreK to K Chapter 4

Letter Name–Alphabetic Stage Beginning Reading K to Grade 2 Chapter 5

Within Word Pattern Stage Transitional Reading Grades 1 to 4 Chapter 6

Syllables and Affixes Stage Intermediate Reading Grades 2 to 6 Chapter 7

Derivational Relations Advanced Reading Grades 5 and up Chapter 8

12 C H A P T E R 1

Because word study is based on each student’s stage of spelling, the word study activities presented in this book are arranged by stages of spelling development. This chapter presents a brief overview of these stages. As shown in Table 1.2, Chapters 4 through 8 explore each of these stages in depth. By conducting assessments throughout the year, as described in Chapter 2, teachers can determine the spelling stages of their students and monitor students’ progress and development (Gehsmann, Spichtig, & Tousley, 2018).

For each stage, students’ orthographic knowledge is defined by three functional levels that are useful guides for knowing when to teach what (Invernizzi et al., 1994):

• What students know and use correctly—an independent or easy level • What students use but confuse—an instructional level or zone of proximal development at

which instruction is most helpful • What is absent in students’ spelling—a frustration level in which spelling concepts are too

difficult

What students “use but confuse” helps to define each spelling stage.

EMERGENT STAGE. The emergent stage encompasses the writing efforts of children who are not yet reading conventionally and in most cases have not been exposed to formal reading instruction. Emergent writers typically range in age from 2 to 5 years, although anyone not yet reading conventionally is in this stage of development. Emergent writing may range from random marks to legitimate letters that bear some relationship to sound. However, most of the emergent stage is decidedly prephonetic, which means there is little if any direct relationship between a character on the page and an individual speech sound.

As we explore in Chapter 4, emergent writing may be divided into a series of steps or land- marks. Children move from producing large scribbles indecipherable from an accompanying draw- ing (as illustrated in Figure 1.3A, Haley’s picture of birdies), to using something that looks like scribbles separate from the picture (see Figure 1.3B where the child labeled his drawing to the left as “cowboy”), and on to using letters to represent some sounds in words (Figure 1.3C where “ Jasmin” has been written as JMOE). In between, emergent learners are learning and experiment- ing with various symbols such as numbers and letter-like forms (Cabell, Tortorelli, & Gerde, 2013). Moving from this stage to the next stage hinges on learning the alphabetic principle: understand- ing that speech can be divided into individual units of sound and matched to letters in a systematic way (Liberman, Shankweiler, & Liberman, 1989).

LETTER NAME–ALPHABETIC STAGE. The letter name–alphabetic spelling stage encom- passes that period during which students are first formally taught to read, typically during kindergarten and early first grade. Most letter name–alphabetic spellers are between the ages of 4 and 7 years, although a beginning reader at age 55 also can be a letter name–alphabetic speller (Bear, 1989; Massengill, 2006; Viise, 1996). Early in this stage, “letter name” is students’ predominant approach to spelling; that is, they use the names of the letters as cues to the sounds

“Cowboy”

"All the birdies"

Haley

“Jasmin”

.B.A C.

FIGURE 1.3 Emergent Writing

Source: From dissertation by Janet Bloodgood (1996). Adapted with permission.

Developmental Word Knowledge 13

they want to represent (Read, 1975). In Ellie’s early letter name– alphabetic spelling shown in Figure 1.4, she wrote YNRUKM: She used the letter Y to represent the /w/ sound at the beginning of the word when, because the first sound in the pronounced letter name Y (“wie”) matches the first sound in the word when. The letter name for N includes the “en” sound to finish off the word when. Ellie used R and U to represent the entire words are and you, another early letter name strategy.

As students move through this stage, they learn to segment the individual speech sounds or phonemes within words and to match an appropriate letter or letter pairs to those sounds. Students in the later part of the letter name–alphabetic stage spell much like the sample in Figure 1.5. Matt, a class cut-up in his writing as well as in his behavior, shows mastery of most beginning and ending consonants. What clearly separates his spelling from Ellie’s early letter name spelling is his consistent use of vowels. Long vowels, which “say their name,” appear in TETH for teeth and MET for meat, but silent letters are not represented. He has spelled the high-frequency word eat correctly. R-inf luenced vowels in bears and sharp are challenging, but Matt has made a good effort to represent these sounds.

WITHIN WORD PATTERN STAGE. Students entering the within word pattern spelling stage can read and spell many words correctly because of their automatic knowledge of letter sounds and short-vowel patterns. This level of orthographic knowledge typically begins as children transition to independent reading toward the end of first grade. It expands for most students throughout second and third grade and into fourth. Although most within word pattern spellers typically range in age from 6 to 9 years, many low-skilled adult readers remain in this stage. Regardless, this period of orthographic development lasts longer than the letter name–alphabetic stage because the vowel pattern system of English orthography is quite extensive.

The within word pattern stage begins when students move away from the linear, sound- by-sound approach of the letter name–alphabetic spellers and begin to include patterns or chunks of letter sequences and silent vowel markers like final e. Within word pattern spellers can think about words in more than one dimension; they study words by sound and pattern simultaneously. As the name of this stage suggests, within word pattern spellers take a closer look at vowel patterns within single-syllable words (Henderson, 1990).

FIGURE 1.4 Early Letter Name–Alphabetic Spelling: Ellie’s Note to Her Sister, Meg—“When Are You Coming?”

FIGURE 1.5 Late Letter Name–Alphabetic Spelling: Matt’s Informational Writing about “Bears”

14 C H A P T E R 1

Kim’s writing in Figure 1.6 is that of an early within word pattern speller. She spells many short-vowel and high- frequency words correctly, such as hill, had, them, girl, and won. She also spells the common silent e long-vowel pattern correctly in words like time and game. Kim hears the long vowel sound in words like team, goal, and throw, but she selects incorrect patterns, spelling them as TEME, GOWL, and THROWE and she omits the silent e in cones. These are good examples of how Kim is using but confusing long- vowel patterns.

During the within word pattern stage, students first study the common long-vowel patterns (long o can be spelled with o-consonant-e as in joke, oa as in goal, and ow as in throw) and then less common patterns such as the VCC pattern in cold and most. The most challenging patterns are ambiguous vowels because the sound is neither long nor

short and the same pattern may represent different sounds, such as the ou in mouth, cough, through, and tough. These less common and ambiguous vowels may persist as misspellings into the late within word pattern stage.

Although the focus of the within word pattern stage is on the pattern layer of English orthography, students must also consider the meaning layer to spell and use homophones, words such as bear and bare, deer and dear, and hire and higher. These words sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. Learning the correct spelling of homophones requires attention to sound, pattern, and meaning. Homophones introduce the spelling–meaning con- nection that is explored further in the next two stages of spelling development.

SYLLABLES AND AFFIXES STAGE. The syllables and affixes spelling stage is typically achieved in middle to upper elementary school when students are expected to spell many words of more than one syllable. This represents a new point in word study when students consider spelling patterns where syllables and meaning units such as affixes and base words join. A base word is a word to which prefixes and/or suffixes are added. Students in this fourth stage are most often between 8 and 12 years old, though many adults can also be found in this stage.

In Figure 1.7, a fourth-grader in the early part of the syllables and affixes stage has written about his summer vacation. Xavier spelled most one-syllable short and long vowel words correctly (went, west, drove, last). Many of his errors are in two-syllable words and fall at the places where syl- lables and affixes meet. Xavier does not know the conventions for preserving vowel sounds when adding affixes such as -ed and -ing. He spelled stopped as STOPED and hiking as HIKEING. The convention of doubling the consonant to keep the vowel short is used in LITTEL for little, but is lacking in his spelling of summer as SUMER. Final syllables often give students difficulty because the

vowel sound is not clear and may be spelled different ways, as shown in Xavier’s spellings of LITTEL and MOUNTINS.

During the syllables and affixes stage, students explore the spelling of affixes that affect the meanings of words—for example, DESLOYAL for disloyal and CAREFULL for careful. Though studying simple affixes and base words as a decoding strategy begins earlier, study- ing base words and affixes more closely at this stage helps students construct the foundation for further exploration of word meanings in the next stage, derivational relations. At that

FIGURE 1.6 Early Within Word Pattern Spelling: Kim’s Soccer Game

FIGURE 1.7 Syllables and Affixes Spelling: Xavier’s Account of His Summer Adventures

Developmental Word Knowledge 15

stage, students study the spelling–meaning connections of related words (Templeton, 2004). By studying base words and derivational affixes, students learn more about English spelling as they enrich their vocabularies.

DERIVATIONAL RELATIONS STAGE. Some students move into the derivational relations spelling stage as early as grade 4 or 5, but most derivational relations spellers are found in middle school, high school, and college. This stage continues throughout adulthood, when individuals continue to read and write according to their interests and specialties. This stage of orthographic knowledge is referred to as derivational relations because this is when students examine in depth how many words may be derived from base words and word roots. Students discover that the meanings and spellings of meaningful word parts or morphemes remain constant across different but derivationally related words (Henry, 1988; Schlagal, 2013; Templeton, 2004) —for example mandate/mandatory, human/humanity, custody/ custodian, and define/definite/definitive. Word study in this stage builds on and expands knowledge of a wide vocabulary, including thousands of words of Greek and Latin origin. We refer to this study as generative because as students explore and learn about the word formation processes of English they are able to generate knowledge of literally thousands of words (Harris, Schumaker, & Deshler, 2011; Kirk & Gillon, 2009; Templeton, 2012). Learning that the Latin root jud means “judge” and seeing how it combines with other word parts in judgment, judgmental, and prejudice helps students figure out the meaning of the unfamiliar words such as adjudi- cate, judiciary, and injudicious when they encounter them in context.

Early derivational relations spellers like sixth-grader Kaitlyn (Figure 1.8) spell most words correctly. However, some of her errors ref lect a lack of knowledge about derivations. For example, favorite spelled FAVERITE and different spelled DIFFRENT do not ref lect their relation- ship to favor and differ. Her errors on final suffixes, such as the -sion in division and the -ent in ingredients are also very typical of students in this stage.

The logic inherent in this lifelong stage can be summed up as follows: Words that are related in meaning are often related in spelling as well, despite changes in sound (Templeton, 1979, 1983, 2004). Understanding these spelling–meaning connections provides a powerful means of expanding vocabulary.

Stages of Spelling: A Perspective As an educator, you should know that the concept of “stages” in the development of the abil- ity to spell and read words has been debated for many years. It’s important that you be aware of this debate because it has direct implications for instruction. A number of researchers have challenged a stage model, describing spelling development as “overlapping waves” (Sharp, Sinatra, & Reynolds, 2008), “nonlinear” (Bahr et al., 2012), “statistical” (Treiman & Kessler, 2006), or based on “multiple sources” (Masterson & Apel, 2010). There is considerable overlap between the stage model on which Words Their Way is based and these other perspectives, but they differ in the degree to which they emphasize alphabet, pattern, and meaning information at any point in development.

FIGURE 1.8 Derivational Relations Spelling: Kaitlyn’s Sixth-Grade Math Journal Reflection

16 C H A P T E R 1

The critiques of the stage model of development are based on a literal interpretation of stages—that they limit what learners are exposed to and are capable of learning. In learning and instruction, for example, they assume that a stage model of spelling development implies that:

• Letter name–alphabetic learners are not exposed to or able to learn about words with long vowel spellings, or able to spell simple morphological endings such as -ed and -ing.

• Within word pattern learners are not exposed to or able to learn about words of more than one syllable.

• Syllables and affixes learners do not learn about Greek and Latin word roots.

Stage theorists have long argued that a developmental model does not mean that learners are limited in what they are exposed to or that they are incapable of learning about multiple aspects of words (Templeton, 2003). For example, in the world of print that surrounds them and in which they are immersed, letter name–alphabetic learners of course are exposed to words with long vowel patterns. By grounding instruction for such learners in what they are “using but confusing,” however—short vowel spellings, consonant digraphs and blends—we are more effectively helping them develop the quality of their lexical knowledge to eventually better understand and accommodate those long vowel patterns. By ground- ing instruction for within word pattern learners in long vowel and other more challenging vowel patterns, we are supporting them in applying that knowledge to multisyllabic words they want to spell and need to read. And for all learners, as we will explore throughout this book, vocabulary learning and instruction will often focus on multisyllabic words and their meanings. However, though letter name and within word pattern children may learn the meanings of pterodactyl, brontosaurus, and Jurassic and be able to recognize these words in print, we would not expect them to read and spell other related multisyllabic words cor- rectly forever after!

With the important exception of the literal interpretation of developmental stages, stage theorists would otherwise agree with much of what some other researchers are saying. There is overlap between stages in learning and instruction, and different aspects of words may be addressed at any one point in development. The key is in knowing which aspects, and how much they should be emphasized. Words Their Way provides you with that key.

The Synchrony of Literacy Development

So far in this chapter we have seen how research supports the developmental progression in students’ orthographic knowledge that underlies their ability to spell and to read words. The scope and sequence of word study instruction we present in Chapters 4 through 8 is based on this developmental relationship between spelling and reading behaviors. When teachers conduct word study with students, they address learning needs in all areas of literacy because development in one area relates to development in other areas. This harmony in the tim- ing of development has been described as the synchrony of reading, writing, and spelling development (Bear, 1991b; Bear & Templeton, 1998). The word synchrony literally means “together in time,” and we’ll see how reading, writing, and spelling advance together in stage-like progressions that share important dimensions. Table 1.3 illustrates this synchrony and presents key examples in the following discussion of each reading stage.

Individuals may vary in their rate of progress through these stages, but most tend to follow the same order of development. The observed synchrony makes it possible to bring together reading, writing, and spelling behaviors to assess and plan differentiated instruc- tion that matches each student’s developmental pace. The following discussion centers on this overall progression, with an emphasis on the synchronous behaviors of reading and writing with spelling.

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18 C H A P T E R 1

Emergent Readers During the emergent stage, children may undertake reading and writing in earnest, but adults will recognize their efforts as more pretend than real. These students may “read” familiar books from memory using the pictures on each page to cue their recitation of the text. Chall (1983) called this stage of development prereading because students are not reading in a con- ventional sense. Emergent readers may call out the name of a favorite fast food restaurant when they recognize its logo, but they are not systematic in their use of any particular cue.

During the emergent stage, children lack an understanding of the alphabetic principle or show only the beginning of this understanding as they start to learn some letters. Emergent learners gradually acquire directionality—the understanding that print moves left-to-right, top-to-bottom—as they try to fingerpoint read, and in their writing. By the end of this stage, emergent learners will have learned many letters of the alphabet and they may even include a few letters to represent some speech sounds when they write.

Beginning Readers Understanding the alphabetic nature of our language is a major hurdle for readers and spellers. The child who writes light as LT has made a quantum conceptual leap, having grasped that there are systematic matches between sounds and letters that must be made when writing. Early letter name–alphabetic spellers have moved from pretend reading to the beginning of real reading, as they start to use systematic letter–sound matches to identify and store words in memory. Begin- ning reading is achieved when students have a concept of word in text, which is demonstrated by a child’s ability to point accurately to a few lines of familiar text—a demonstration of the one-to-one correspondence between what they read and say (Clay, 1979; Morris, Bloodgood, Lomax, & Perney, 2003; Uhry, 1999, 2002).

Just as early attempts to spell words are partial, beginning readers initially have limited knowledge of letter sounds as they try to identify words by using the letter sounds they do know. The kinds of reading errors students make during this phase offer insights into what they understand about print. Using context as well as partial consonant cues, a child reading about good things to eat might substitute candy or even cookie for cake in the sentence, “The cake was good.” Readers in this stage require support in the form of predictable, memorable texts or books that limit the number and nature of words.

The reading by beginning letter name–alphabetic learners is often disf luent—that is, choppy and often word-by-word, unless they have read the passage before or are otherwise familiar with it (Bear, 1992). If you ask them to read silently, the best they can do is to whisper. They need to read aloud to vocalize the letter sounds and usually fingerpoint as they read. Chall (1983) described children as being “glued to print” during this stage as they plod along slowly reading words, sometimes letter-by-letter, sound-by-sound. Beginning writers progress from writing a few words as they work to match letters and sounds to writing full stories. So much of their writing length at this stage will depend upon students’ enthusiasm and the encourage- ment they receive.

Transitional Readers During the transitional stage, students’ reading becomes more f luent because it is supported by a store of words that can be identified automatically “at first sight.” These tend to be words they have read over and over again in meaningful contexts and words with frequently occurring letter patterns that they have mapped to speech sounds such as the consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) pattern for short-vowel words. However, they “use but confuse” the various long-vowel patterns of English (Invernizzi, 1992).

During this stage, students integrate the knowledge and skills acquired in the previous two stages and they become more f lexible in thinking about alphabet, pattern, and meaning. Advances in word knowledge affect students’ writing, too. Their sizable sight word vocabulary allows them to write more quickly and with greater detail. Writing and reading speeds increase significantly from the beginning letter name–alphabetic stage to the transitional within word

Developmental Word Knowledge 19

pattern stage, and over the course of this stage, oral reading is gradually replaced by silent read- ing as the preferred mode (Bear, 1992; Ehri, 2014; Invernizzi, 1992).

Intermediate and Advanced Readers The stages of word knowledge that characterize intermediate and advanced readers include syl- lables and affixes and derivational relations. Students in these stages have relatively automatic word recognition, leaving their minds free to think as rapidly as they can read. Intermediate students read most texts with good accuracy and speed, both orally and silently. Students learn to become flexible, strategic readers and ultimately become proficient adult readers (Spear-Swerling & Sternberg, 1997). Reading becomes an ever-more dominant mode of learning informa- tion and concepts. Intermediate and advanced readers are usually f luent writers. The content of their writing often displays more complex analysis and interpretation, ref lecting a more sophisticated, discipline-specific vocabulary. The degree to which they write at this level often depends on the quality of the writing instruction they receive.

Vocabulary and word use play a central role in the connections that intermediate and advanced readers forge between reading and writing. From adolescence on, most of the new vocabulary students learn—except perhaps for slang—comes from reading, and ref lects new domains of content-specific knowledge that students explore (Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2013; Zwiers, 2014). Studying spelling–meaning connections is central to maximizing this vocabulary growth (Nunes & Bryant, 2006; Templeton, 2011/2012).

Teachers often return to Table 1.3 to examine the integrated model of how reading, writing, and spelling progress in synchrony. In parent–teacher conferences, they often refer to it when they discuss a student’s development. They explain to the parent how the child’s spelling level corresponds to the characteristics of her reading level, as well as the types of writing to expect from a child at that particular developmental level.

Words Their Way

Students acquire word knowledge implicitly as they read and write, and explicitly through instruction orchestrated by the teacher. An informed interpretation of students’ reading and writing attempts shows us which words they can read and spell, and of those, which they might learn more about. There is more to pacing instruction than plugging students into a sequence of phonics or spelling features. Instructional pacing must be synonymous with instructional placing. That is, we must fit our instruction to what our students are using but confusing. How do we know what they are using but confusing? A good deal of what students understand about orthography is revealed in their uncorrected writing. Using the spelling inventories described in the next chapter as a guide, you will be able to place students and pace the content of word study.

Figure 1.9 illustrates the theory of developmental word knowledge and shows how word study links reading and writing. To help students explore and learn about words their way, instruction must be sensitive to two fundamental tenets:

1. Students’ learning of phonics, spelling, and vocabulary is based on their developmental or instructional level.

2. Students’ learning is based on the way they are naturally inclined to learn—through comparing and contrasting word features and discovering consistencies.

When these two tenets are honored, students learn their way—building from what is known about words to what is new. Rather than rote memorization activities designed only to

Alphabet

SPELLING

READING WRITING

Orthographic knowledge

ORAL LANGUAGE AND VOCABULARY

Pattern

Meaning

inform sfacilita

tes

informs

exercises

FIGURE 1.9 The Integration of Word Study with Reading and Writing

20 C H A P T E R 1

ensure repeated mechanical practice, word study encourages exploration and examination of word features pre- sented in focused contrasts that are appropriate to a student’s stage of liter- acy development. Word study is active, and by making judgments about words and categorizing words according to similar features, students construct their own understandings about how the features work. Engaging instruc- tion and thoughtful practice helps students internalize word features and become automatic in using what they have learned.

The box on pages 20–22 provides a bird’s-eye view of the terrain you will explore in Words Their Way: the

characteristics of each spelling stage, the reading and writing contexts, and the instruction that is appropriate for each stage. After learning in Chapter 2 how to assess the developmental word knowledge of your students, Chapter 3 presents the key word study activities for all stages, and Chapters 4–8 provide detailed scope and sequences with specifics about planning and conducting word study instruction for each stage of development. As a bookend to Chapter 3, Chapter 9 presents routines, schedules and grouping strategies to help you implement word study in your classroom. As you delve into the instructional chapters, the box that follows can be a handy reference to check for how reading, writing, and word study are integrated at each developmental stage.

Word study is active and engaging

I. EMERGENT STAGE—CHAPTER 4

Characteristics 1. Scribbles letters and numbers 2. No concept of word in text 3. No letter–sound correspondence at first; later,

represents most salient sounds with single letters

4. “Pretend” reading and writing

Reading and Writing Activities 1. Read to children and encourage oral language

activities 2. Model writing for children, including dictations

and charts 3. Encourage pretend reading from memory of

rhymes, dictations, and simple pattern books 4. Encourage pretend writing and invented, or

developmental, spelling

Word Study Focus 1. Develop oral language with concept sorts 2. Play with speech sounds to develop phonological

awareness 3. Teachers plan activities to learn the alphabet 4. Children sort pictures by beginning sound

II. LETTER NAME–ALPHABETIC STAGE—CHAPTER 5 EARLY LETTER NAME–ALPHABETIC STAGE

Characteristics 1. Represents beginning and some ending sounds

in writing 2. Uses letter names to create developmental

spellings

Developmental Stages, Characteristics, and Word Study Instruction

Developmental Word Knowledge 21

(continued )

3. Has rudimentary concept of word in text seen in fingerpointing

4. Reads word-by-word in beginning reading materials

5. Has a sight vocabulary of less than 15 words 6. Word by word writing

Reading and Writing Activities 1. Read to students and encourage oral language

activities 2. Develop concept of word in text reading in

predictable books and simple rhymes 3. Model writing and record and reread individual

dictations 4. Label pictures and write in journals regularly

Word Study Focus 1. Collect known words for word bank 2. Categorize pictures and words by beginning

sounds 3. Study word families that share a common vowel 4. Study beginning consonant digraphs and blends 5. Encourage developmental spelling

MIDDLE TO LATE LETTER NAME–ALPHABETIC STAGE

Characteristics 1. Correctly spells initial and final consonants and

some blends and digraphs 2. Uses letter names and articulation as clues to

spell vowel sounds 3. Spells phonetically, salient sounds in a one-to-

one, linear fashion 4. Omits most silent letters and preconsonantal

nasals in spelling (bop or bup for bump) 5. Has a firm concept of word; fingerpoints

accurately and can self-correct when off track 6. Reads aloud slowly in a word-by-word manner 7. Adds sight words easily from extensive reading

Reading and Writing Activities 1. Read to students 2. Encourage developmental spellings in independent

writing, but hold students accountable for features and words they have studied

3. Collect two- to three-paragraph reading selections in books, poetry, and dictations. Read and reread beginning reading materials and dictations.

4. Encourage more expansive writing and consider some simple editing procedures for punctuation and high-frequency words

Word Study Focus 1. Sort pictures and words by different short-vowel

word families 2. Sort pictures and words by short-vowel sounds

and CVC patterns 3. Continue to examine more difficult consonant

blends with pictures and words 4. Study preconsonantal nasals, digraphs, and

blends at ends of words 5. Sort pictures comparing short-and long-vowel

sounds 6. Collect known words for word bank (up to 200)

III. WITHIN WORD PATTERN STAGE—CHAPTER 6

Characteristics 1. Spells most single-syllable short vowel words

correctly 2. Spells most beginning consonant digraphs and

two-letter consonant blends correctly 3. Attempts to use silent long-vowel markers 4. Reads silently and with more fluency and

expression 5. Writes more fluently and in extended fashion 6. Can revise and edit

Reading and Writing Activities 1. Continue to read aloud to students 2. Guide silent reading of simple chapter books 3. Write each day: writers’ workshops,

conferencing, and publication

Word Study Focus 1. Complete daily activities in word study notebook 2. Sort words by long and short vowel sounds and

by common long-vowel patterns 3. Compare words with r-influenced vowels 4. Explore less common vowels, diphthongs (oi, oy),

and other ambiguous vowels (ou, au, ow, oo) 5. Examine triple blends and complex consonant

units such as thr, str, dge, tch, ck 6. Explore homographs and homophones;

vocabulary from reading

IV. SYLLABLES AND AFFIXES— CHAPTER 7

Characteristics 1. Spells most single-syllable words correctly 2. Makes errors at syllable juncture and in

unaccented syllables

22 C H A P T E R 1

3. Reads with good fluency and expression 4. Reads faster silently than orally 5. Potential to write responses that are more

sophisticated and critical

Reading and Writing Activities 1. Plan read-alouds and literature discussions 2. Include self-selected or assigned silent reading

of texts from different genres 3. Begin simple note-taking and outlining skills,

report writing, and work with adjusting reading rates for different purposes

4. Explore reading and writing styles and genres, developing a critical stance and independently backing up opinions with evidence to support them

Word Study Focus 1. Study compound words 2. Study consonant doubling and inflectional

endings including plurals 3. Study open and closed syllables and other

syllable juncture features 4. Explore syllable stress and vowel patterns in the

accented syllable, especially ambiguous vowels 5. Focus on unaccented syllables such as er and le 6. Explore unusual consonant blends and digraphs

(qu, ph, gh, gu) 7. Study base words and affixes (prefixes and

suffixes) 8. Focus on two-syllable homophones and

homographs 9. Connect spelling and vocabulary studies;

link meaning and spelling with grammar and meaning

10. Examine general and domain-specific vocabulary in texts

V. DERIVATIONAL RELATIONS— CHAPTER 8

Characteristics 1. Makes errors on low-frequency multisyllabic

words derived from Latin and Greek 2. Reads with good fluency and expression 3. Reads faster silently than orally 4. Writes responses that are sophisticated and critical

Reading and Writing Activities 1. Include silent reading and writing, exploring

various genres 2. Develop study skills, including textbook reading,

notetaking, adjusting rates, test taking, report writing, and reference work

3. Focus on exploring and analyzing the genres within literature and informational texts with more sophisticated responses

4. Read and analyze primary source material

Word Study Focus 1. Join spelling and vocabulary studies; link meaning

and spelling with grammar and meaning 2. Examine vowel and consonant alternations in

derivationally related pairs 3. Examine common Greek and Latin word roots

and their combination with affixes 4. Examine easily confused Latin suffixes (ent/ant,

ence/ance; ible/able) 5. Explore less common Greek and Latin word roots 6. Learn about absorbed or assimilated prefixes 7. Focus on words that students bring to word

study from their reading and writing 8. Explore etymology, especially in the various

disciplines/content areas 9. Examine content-related foreign borrowings

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c h a p t e r

Getting Started THE ASSESSMENT OF ORTHOGRAPHIC DEVELOPMENT

2

25

E ffective teaching cannot begin until you understand what students already know about words and what they are ready to learn. Likewise, you cannot make changes to improve instruction until you evaluate the results of your teaching. This chapter presents an

informal assessment process that will enable you to:

• Informally observe and interpret orthographic knowledge in writing and reading. (page 25) • Select and administer a qualitative spelling inventory. (page 27) • Score and analyze the inventory to identify features that students need to study as well as

their developmental stage of word knowledge. (page 31) • Group students for differentiated instruction. (page 38) • Monitor students’ progress and set realistic goals for their growth in orthographic knowl-

edge over time. (page 45) • Interpret the orthographic knowledge of your English learners. (page 47)

Informal Observations to Assess Orthographic Knowledge

There is synchrony in the development of reading, writing, and spelling. Because of this syn- chrony, informal observations of what students do when they read and write provides informa- tion for planning word study instruction.

Observe and Interpret Students’ Writing Daily observations of student writing reveal what students understand about words. The fol- lowing example appears to be a menu, but Sarah posted it on the wall the way she had seen reviews posted in restaurants.

What Sarah Wrote How Sarah Read What She Wrote 1. CRS KAM SAS First course, clam sauce 2. CRS FESH Second course, fish 3. CRS SAGATE Third course, spaghetti 4. CRS POSH POPS Fourth course, Push Pops

This writing tells us a lot about Sarah: She sees a practical use for writing and she enjoys display- ing her work. She has a good grasp of how to compose a list and she is even beginning to understand menu planning! When we look for what Sarah knows about spelling, we see that she represents many consonant sounds and some digraphs (the /sh/ in fish and push), but blends are incomplete (using only K to spell the cl in clam or S for the sp in spaghetti). She is using vowels consistently (except in CRS for course); however, in spelling fish as FESH, Sarah confuses e and i. According to the sequence of development presented in Chapter 1, Sarah is considered a letter name–alphabetic speller who would benefit from instruction emphasizing short vowel sounds and blends.

D i g

i ta

l THEIR WAY

WTW Digital is a new online tool that accompanies this core text, and it was designed to help you implement word study in an engaging and interactive way. Resources for this chapter include:

• Automatically scored qualitative spelling inventories suggest each student’s approximate stage of spelling development. Word study groups are also automatically generated based on inventory results.

An access code for WTW Digital is included with each new copy of package ISBN: 9780135174623. Visit www.wtwdigital. pearson.com to get started.

26 C H A P T E R 2

LOOK FOR WHAT STUDENTS KNOW AND WHAT THEY USE BUT CONFUSE. In Figure 2.1, we see a writing sample from Jake, an older student. The writing is readable because many words are spelled cor- rectly and the others are close approximations. When we look for what Jake knows, we see that he has mastered most consonant relationships— even the three-letter blend in SCRAPPED—but not the complex tch unit in STICHES. Most long and short vowels are spelled correctly, as in had, have, went, cone, home, and day. When we look for what Jake uses but confuses, we see that he confuses the -ck and -ke ending in SHACKING for shaking. He inserts an unnecessary extra vowel when he spells chin as CHIAN but omits some silent vowel markers where they are needed, as with CREM for cream. Based on the vowel errors, Jake is considered a within word pattern speller who would benefit from the study of vowel patterns. We will take another look at Jake’s word knowledge when we examine his spelling inventory later in this chapter.

Student writing, especially unedited rough drafts, are a goldmine of information about their orthographic knowledge. Many teachers keep a variety of student writing samples to document students’ needs and

growth over time. The Qualitative Spelling Checklist in Appendix A, provides a systematic way to analyze your students’ writing samples for specific orthographic features. However, over time as you become familiar with spelling features and stages you will become more adept at analyzing your students’ writing samples “on the f ly.”

THE LIMITATIONS OF WRITING SAMPLES. Relying entirely on writing samples does have some drawbacks. Some students are anxious about the accuracy of their spelling and will only use words they know how to spell. Others will get help from resources in the room, such as word walls, dictionaries, and the person sitting nearby, and thus their writing may overestimate what they really know. On the other hand, when students concentrate on getting their ideas on paper, they may not pay attention to spelling and make excessive errors. Some students write freely with little concern about accuracy and need to be reminded to use what they know. Daily observations will help you to determine not only students’ orthographic knowledge but also their habits and dispositions.

Observe Students’ Reading Important insights into orthographic knowledge can also be made when we observe students’ reading. Read- ing and spelling are related but not mirror images because the processes differ slightly. In reading, words can be recognized with many types of textual supports, so the ability to read words correctly lies a little ahead of students’ spelling accuracy (Bear & Templeton, 2000; Templeton & Bear, 2011). For example, within word pattern spellers, who are also transitional readers, read many two-syllable words like shopping and bottle cor- rectly but may spell those same words as SHOPING and BOTEL.

Spelling is a conservative measure of what students know about words in general, so if students can spell a word, then we know they can read the word. It sel- dom works the other way around except in the emer- gent and early letter name stages, in which students might generate spellings they don’t know how to read (Invernizzi & Hayes, 2010; Rayner, Foorman, Perfetti,

FIGURE 2.1 Jake’s Writing Sample

My Acident

Last year I scrapped my chian. I was shacking and my mom was too. My Dad met us at the docters offises. And I had to have stiches. Then my Dad bout me an ice crem cone. And we went home. I didn’t go to school the nexs day. I was to tird.

Assessing student’s reading performance

Getting Started 27

Pesetsky, & Seidenburg, 2001). When students consult reference materials such as a spell checker or dictionary, the spelling task becomes a reading task; we all know the phenomenon of being able to recognize the correct spelling if we just see it.

RESPONDING TO READING ERRORS. Like spelling errors, reading errors show us what students are using but confusing when they read, and certain errors can be expected of students in different stages. Teachers who understand students’ developmental word knowl- edge will be in a good position to interpret students’ reading errors and to make decisions about the appropriate prompt to use in reading with students (Brown, 2003). A student who substitutes bunny for rabbit in the sentence “The farmer saw a rabbit” is probably a very beginning reader and an early letter name–alphabetic speller. The student uses the picture rather than knowledge about sound–symbol correspondences to generate a logical response. For students in the partial alphabetic phase (Ehri, 2014), drawing attention to the beginning sound can teach them to use their consonant knowledge. The teacher might point to the first letter and say, “Can that word be bunny? It starts with an r. What would start with rrrrr?”

Later in development, assessments of oral reading substitutions show a different level of word knowledge. A transitional reader who substitutes growled for groaned in the sentence “Jason groaned when he missed the ball” is probably attending to several orthographic features of the word. The student appears to use the initial blend gr, the vowel o, and the -ed ending to come up with an approximation that fits the meaning of the sentence. Because this student has vowel knowledge, a teacher might direct the student’s attention to the oa pattern and ask him to try it again.

SOUND IT OUT? Our response to reading errors and our expectations for correcting such errors depend on a number of factors, one of which is knowing where students are developmentally. For example, it is inappropriate to ask beginning readers in the early letter name– alphabetic stage to sound out the word f lat or even to look for a familiar part within the word because they simply don’t know enough to sound out words or apply analogies. They must use context clues and pictures to identify unknown words on the page (Adams, 1990; Johnston, 2000). In contrast, students in the latter part of the letter name–alphabetic stage could be expected to sound out f lat because they know other written words that sound and look the same and they know something about blends and short vowels. Students reading at their instructional level read most words correctly and when they encounter unfamiliar words in text, their orthographic knowledge, combined with context, will usually help them figure out the words with adequate comprehension. As noted earlier, there are parallels between oral reading errors and the types of spelling errors students make but there is not a one-to-one match, for with the use of context, students can read more difficult words than they can spell.

Qualitative Spelling Inventories to Assess Orthographic Knowledge

Although observations made during writing and reading offer some insight into students’ devel- opment, assessments should also include an informal qualitative spelling inventory administered two or three times a year.

The Development of Spelling Inventories Spelling inventories consist of lists of words specially chosen to represent a variety of spelling or phonics features at increasing levels of difficulty. The lists are not exhaustive in that they do not test all features; rather, they include those that are most helpful in identifying a stage

28 C H A P T E R 2

of development and planning instruction. Students take an inventory as they would a spelling test. The results are then analyzed to obtain a general picture of their orthographic development.

The first inventories were developed under the leadership of Edmund Henderson at the University of Virginia (Bear, 1982; Ganske, 1999; Invernizzi, 1992; Invernizzi, Meier, & Juel, 2003; Morris, 1999; Viise, 1994). The same developmental progression has been documented through the use of these inventories with learning-disabled students (Invernizzi & Worthy, 1989), stu- dents identified as dyslexic (Sawyer, Wade, & Kim, 1999), and functionally literate adults (Worthy & Viise, 1996). Spelling inventories have also been developed and researched for other alphabetic languages (Ford & Invernizzi, 2009; Helman, Delbridge, Parker, Arnal, Mödinger, 2016; Gill, 1980; Temple, 1978; Yang, 2005).

We start by focusing on the three inventories shown in Table 2.1: the Primary Spelling Inventory (PSI), the Elemetary Spelling Inventory (ESI), and the Upper-Level Spelling Inventory (USI). Each can be found in Appendix A.

Using Inventories Spelling inventories are quick and easy to administer and score, and they are reliable and valid measures of what students know about words. Many teachers find these spelling inventories to be the most helpful and easily administered literacy assessments in their repertoires. Using these spelling inventories requires the four basic steps summarized here and discussed in detail in the sections that follow.

1. Select a spelling inventory based on grade level and students’ achievement levels. Admin- ister the inventory much as you would a traditional spelling test, but do not let students study the words in advance.

2. Analyze students’ spellings using a feature guide. This analysis will help you identify what orthographic features students know and what they are ready to study, as well as their approximate stage.

3. Organize groups using a classroom composite form and/or the spelling-by-stage class- room organization chart. These will help you plan instruction for developmental groups.

4. Monitor overall progress by using the same inventory two or three times a year. Weekly spelling tests and unit spell checks will also help you assess students’ mastery of the ortho- graphic features they study, and are excellent tools to monitor progress.

SELECTING AN INVENTORY. The three spelling inventories described in this chapter can cover the range of students from primary to high school and college. The best guide to selecting one is the grade level of the students you teach. However, you may find that you need an easier or more challenging assessment depending on the range of achievement in your classroom.

Ms. Kiernan administers a spelling inventory to her class

TABLE 2.1 Words Their Way® Spelling Assessments

Spelling Inventories Grade Range Developmental Range

Primary Spelling Inventory (PSI) (p. 376) K–3 Emergent to late within word pattern

Elementary Spelling Inventory (ESI) (p. 380) 1–6 Letter name to early derivational relations

Upper-Level Spelling Inventory (USI) (p. 383) 5–12 Within word pattern to derivational relations

Enhanced eText Video Example 2.1 In this video, teachers discuss steps in the assessment process.

Getting Started 29

Table 2.1 is a guide to make your selection. Specific directions are provided in Appendix A, but the administration is similar for all of them.

Some teachers begin with the same list for all students but shift to small-group administra- tion of other lists. For example, a second-grade teacher may begin with the Primary Spelling Inventory and decide to continue testing a group of students who spelled most of the words correctly using the Elementary Spelling Inventory. A key point to keep in mind is that students must generate about five errors for you to determine a spelling stage.

Primary Spelling Inventory (PSI). The PSI found in Appendix A on page 376 consists of a list of 26 words that begins with simple CVC words (fan, pet) and ends with inf lectional end- ings (clapping, riding). It is recommended for kindergarten through early third grade because it assesses features found from the emergent stage through the within word pattern stage. The PSI is used widely along with the accompanying feature guide and is a reliable scale of devel- opmental word knowledge. The PSI validity was established using the California Standards Tests (CST) for English Language Arts (ELA) (Sterbinsky, 2007).

For kindergarten students or with other emergent readers, you may only need to call out the first five words. In an early first-grade classroom, call out at least 15 words so that you sample digraphs and blends; use the entire list of 26 words for late first grade, and second and third grades. For students who spell more than 20 words correctly, you should use the Elemen- tary Spelling Inventory.

Elementary Spelling Inventory (ESI). The ESI found in Appendix A on page 380 is a list of 25 increasingly difficult words that begins with bed and ends with opposition. The ESI can be used in grades 1 through 6 to identify students up to the derivational relations stage. If a school or school system wants to use the same inventory throughout the elementary grades to track growth over time, this inventory is a good choice, but we especially recommend this inven- tory for grades 3 through 5. By third grade, most students can try all 25 words but be ready to discontinue testing for students who are visibly frustrated or misspell five in a row. Students who spell more than 18 words correctly should be given the Upper-Level Spelling Inventory.

The words on the ESI present a reliable scale of developmental word knowledge. As with the PSI, the validity of the ESI was established using the California Standard Tests (CST) for English Language Arts (ELA) (Sterbinsky, 2007). In this study with 862 students, the relation- ships between scores on the ESI teachers’ stage analysis and standardized reading and spelling test scores were moderte to strong.

Upper-Level Spelling Inventory (USI). The USI found in Appendix A on page 383 consists of a list of 31 words, arranged in order of difficulty from switch to succession. It can be used with students in upper elementary to college. List words were chosen because they help identify— more specifically than the ESI—what students in the syllables and affixes and derivational relations stages are doing in their spelling.

The USI is highly reliable; for example, scores of 183 fifth-graders on the USI significantly predicted their scores on the Word Analysis subtest of the CST four months later (Sterbinsky, 2007). With normally achieving students, you can administer the entire list, but stop giving the USI to students who have misspelled five of the first eight words—the words that assess spelling in the within word pattern stage. The teacher should use the ESI with these students to identify within word pattern features that need instruction.

PREPARING STUDENTS FOR THE SPELLING INVENTORY. Unlike weekly spelling tests, these inventories are used for screening and are not used for grading purposes. Students should not study the list of words either before or after the inventory is administered. Set aside 20 to 30 minutes to administer an inventory. Ask students to number a paper as they would for a traditional spelling test. For younger children, you may want to prepare papers in advance with one or two numbered columns. (Invariably, a few younger students write across the page from left to right.) Very young children should have an alphabet strip on their desks for reference in case they forget how to form a particular letter.

30 C H A P T E R 2

Create a Relaxed Atmosphere. Children who are in second grade and older are usually familiar with spelling tests and can take the inventory as a whole class but sometimes it is easier to create a relaxed environment working in small groups, especially with kindergarten and first- grade students. If any students appear upset and frustrated, you may assess them individually at another time or use samples of their writing to determine an instructional level with the Qualitative Spelling Checklist.

Explain the Purpose. Students must understand the reason for taking the inventory so they will do their best. They may be anxious, so be direct in your explanation:

“I am going to ask you to spell some words. You have not studied these words and will not be graded on them. Some of the words may be easy and others may be difficult. Do the best you can. Your work will help me understand how you are learning to read and write and how I can help you.”

Once these things are explained, most students are able to give the spelling a good effort. You can use the model lesson below to prepare younger students for the assessment or to validate the use of developmental spelling during writing. Lessons like these are designed to show students how to sound out words they are unsure of how to spell.

Copying. Some students will try to copy if they feel especially concerned about doing well on a test. Creating a relaxed atmosphere with the explanation suggested earlier can help overcome some of the stress students feel. Arrange seating to minimize the risk of copying or hand out cover sheets. There will be many opportunities to collect corroborating information, so there is no reason to be upset if primary students copy. If it is clear that a student has copied, make a note to this effect after collecting the papers and administer the inventory individually at another time.

To help young children feel more comfortable attempting to spell words conduct several lessons using the theme, “How to Spell the Best You Can.” You might do this to pre- pare them for taking the inventory or to encourage them to write for many other purposes. If you want children to feel free to write about topics important to them, they need to take risks in their spelling. Hesitant writers who wait for the teacher to spell a word for them or avoid using words they can’t spell lose the reward of express- ing themselves.

Talk about spelling: Begin a discussion by say- ing something like, “We are going to do a lot of writing this year. When we want to write a word and we don’t know how to spell it what can we do?” Students might respond with, “Ask the teacher, ask someone else, use the word wall, or use another word.” If no one suggests the strategy of listening for the sounds, bring it up: “You can say the words slowly and listen for the sounds. Do you ever do that? Let’s practice.”

Spell some words together: Say, “Let’s try spell- ing some words by listening for the sounds. Who has a word they want to spell?” A student might suggest something like turtle. The teacher can then respond, “That’s a good one. Let’s say it slowly and stretch out

the sounds. Turtle has two syllables: turrr – till. What is the sound at the beginning of turtle? What letter do we need to spell that /t/ sound? Continue to stretch out the word and listen for more sounds. Depending on the level of the group you might generate a range of pos- sible spellings: TL, TRTL, TERTL, and TERTUL. Write down what the children come up with.

Spell it the best you can: Explain, “This is not the way you would see turtle spelled in a book, but it has some of the right letters. In kindergarten (or __ grade) it is okay to spell the best you can. Sometimes all you can do is start with the sound at the beginning and write the first letter, but you are getting practice in spelling! At the end of the year you will be surprised by how much more you can write.” Repeat this exercise several times or when you feel it is needed.

If students criticize each other: Occasionally a student might be critical about another student’s attempt: “That’s not right.” Handle this firmly and say something like, “The important thing is that you have written down the word you need and spelled it the best you can. You and I can read it. Later you will learn how to spell it correctly, but for now this is a good try.”

Model Lesson for Spelling the Best You Can

Getting Started 31

ADMINISTER THE INVENTORY. After setting up a relaxed atmosphere, you are ready to administer the inventory:

Call the Words Aloud. Pronounce each word naturally without drawing out the sounds or breaking them into syllables. Say each word twice and use it in a sentence if context will help students know what word is being called. For example, use cellar in a sentence to differ- entiate it from seller. Sentences are provided with the word lists in Appendix A. For most words, however, offering sentences is time-consuming and may even be distracting.

Can You Read What Students Have Written? Move around the room as you call the words aloud to observe students’ work and behaviors. Look for words you can- not read due to poor handwriting. Without making students feel that something is wrong, it is appropriate to ask them to read the letters in the words that cannot be deciphered. Students using cursive whose writing is difficult to read can be asked to print.

Know When to Stop. As you walk around the room or work with a small group, scan students’ papers to look for misspellings and look for signs of frustration to determine whether to continue with the list. With younger students who tire quickly, you might stop after the first five words if they do not spell any correctly. For older students in groups, who can usually take an entire inventory in about 20 minutes, it is better to err on the side of too many words than too few. Rather than being singled out to stop, some students may prefer to “save face” by attempting every word called out to the group even when working at a frustration level.

In Figure 2.2, you can see that Jake missed more than half the words on the inventory but continued to make good attempts at words that were clearly too difficult for him. However, his six errors in the first 15 words identify him as needing work on vowel patterns, and testing could have been discontinued at that point. Sometimes teachers are required to administer the entire list in order to have a complete set of data for each child. In this case, explain before you start that the words will become difficult but to do the best they can.

Score and Analyze the Spelling Inventories After you administer the inventory, collect the papers and set aside time to score and analyze the results. Scoring the inventories is more than marking words right or wrong. Instead, each word has a number of features that are counted separately. For example, a student who spells when as WEN knows the correct short vowel and ending consonant and gets points for knowing those features even though the complete spelling is not correct. The feature guides will help you score each word in this manner. This analysis provides qualitative information regarding what students know about specific spelling features and what they are ready to study next.

SCORE STUDENT PAPERS. Begin by marking the words right or wrong. It helps to write the correct spellings beside the misspelled words as was done in the sample of Jake’s spelling in Figure 2.2. This step focuses attention on each word and the parts of the words that were right and wrong and makes it easier to share results with parents or other teachers. At this point you can calculate a raw score or power score by adding up the total number spelled correctly (nine words correct on Jake’s paper in Figure 2.2). Table 2.2 can be used to get a rough estimate of the student’s spelling stage. The table lists the power scores on the three major inventories in relation to estimated stages and their breakdown by early, middle, or late stage designations. As we can see, Jake’s ESI power score of 9 places him in the late within word pattern stage.

Enhanced eText Video Example 2.2 Tips for selecting and scoring the inventories are described in this video.

Jake September 8 9/25 1. bed 14. caryes carries 2. ship 15. martched marched 3. when 16. showers shower 4. lump 17. bottel bottle 5. float 18. faver favor 6. train 19. rippin ripen 7. place 20. selar cellar 8. drive 21. pleascher pleasure 9. brite bright 22. forchunate fortunate

10. shoping shopping 23. confdant confident 11. spoyle spoil 24. sivulise civilize 12. serving 25. opozishun opposition 13. chooed chewed

FIGURE 2.2 Jake’s Spelling Inventory

32 C H A P T E R 2

FEATURE ANALYSIS. Feature guides help teachers analyze student errors and confirm the stage designations suggested by the power score. Every feature in every word is not scored; however, the features sampled are sufficient to identify the stages of spelling. The feature guides that accompany each inventory are included in Appendix A.

Jake’s spelling inventory in Figure 2.2 will be used as an example for the feature guide in Figure 2.3.

Complete a Feature Guide. Use the following steps to complete the feature guide.

1. To score by hand, make a copy of the appropriate feature guide for each student and record the date of testing. The spelling features are listed in the second row of the feature guide and follow the developmental sequence observed in research.

2. Look to the right of each word to check off features of the word that are represented cor- rectly. For example, because Jake spelled bed correctly, there is a check for the beginning consonant, the final consonant, and the short vowel for a total of three feature points. Jake also gets a point for spelling the word correctly, recorded in the far-right column. For the word bright, which he spelled as BRITE, he gets a check for the blend br but not for the igh vowel pattern. Notice on Jake’s feature guide in Figure 2.3 how the vowel patterns he substituted have been written in the space beside the vowel feature to show that Jake is using but confusing these patterns. Some teachers like to insert the actual errors a student made for each feature.

3. After scoring each word, add the checks in each column and record the total score for that column at the bottom as a ratio of correct responses to total possible features. (Adjust this ratio and the total possible points if you do not ask a student spell all the words.) Notice how Jake scored six out of six under Digraphs, seven out of seven for Blends, and four out of five under Long Vowels.

4. Add the total feature scores across the bottom and the total words spelled correctly. This gives you an overall total score that you can use to rank-order students and to compare individual growth over time.

Common Confusions in Scoring. Questions often arise about how to score reversals and other errors.

Reversals. Letter reversals or static reversals, such as writing b as d, are not unusual for young spellers. Reversals should be noted and there is a space in the boxes of the feature analysis to record them but they are not considered spelling errors. Reversals might be considered handwriting errors instead and should be seen as the letters they were meant to represent. Letter reversals occur with decreasing frequency through the letter name–alpha- betic stage.

Confusions can also arise in scoring kinetic reversals when the letters are present but out of order. For example, beginning spellers sometimes spell the familiar consonant sounds and

TABLE 2.2 Power Scores and Estimated Stages

Letter Name Within Word

Pattern Syllables and

Affixes Derivational

Relations

Inventory E M L E M L E M L E M L

Primary Spelling Inventory

0 1–3 4–6 7–10 11–15 16–19 20–22

Elementary Spelling Inventory

0 1–2 3–4 5–6 7–8 9–10 11–13 14–16 17–18 19–25

Upper-Level Spelling Inventory

1–2 3–6 7–8 9–10 11–15 16–18 19–22 23–25 26–31

Getting Started 33

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5 USING THE ELEMENTARY SPELLING INVENTORY (ESI)

Copyright © 2020 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

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34 C H A P T E R 2

then tag on a vowel at the end (for example, FNA for fan). This can be due to repeating each sound in the word fan and extracting the short a after having already recorded the FN. Regardless, give credit for the consonants and vowels that are present but do not give a point for correct spelling. However, when students reverse letters in vowel patterns, such as spelling train as TRIAN or bright as BRIHGT, do not give credit because this suggests they need more work on the pattern.

Other Confusions. There are a few unique errors to consider that can be confusing to score. Very young spellers sometimes spell part of the word and then add a random string of letters to make it look longer (for example, FNWZTY for fan). It is also not unusual for students to add silent vowel markers where they are not needed (as in FANE for fan) or to include two possibilities (as in LOOKTED for looked or TRAINE for train) to cover all bases. In these examples, students would not receive credit for the vowels, but we would make note of the strategies they might be using. Such errors offer inter- esting insights into their developing word knowledge. FANE for fan may be incorrect but it represents a more sophisticated attempt than FN.

IDENTIFY FEATURES FOR INSTRUCTION. The completed fea- ture guide can be used to determine what phonics or spelling features students are ready to study. Looking across the feature columns from left to right, instruction should begin at the point where a student first makes two or more errors on a feature. Consider the totals along the

bottom of Jake’s feature guide. Ask yourself what he knows and what he is using but confusing. His scores indicate that he has mastery of consonants and short vowels, so he does not need instruction there. Jake only missed one of the long vowels (igh in bright) for a score of 4/5 and this can be considered an acceptable score. However, he missed two of the other vowels, so this is the feature that needs attention during instruction.

The features in the columns are presented in a general scope and sequence from beginning consonants to roots. However, there may be times when you vary the order of feature presenta- tion. For example, some students may need more work on short vowels even when they have mastered blends and digraphs. In the upper spelling stages we sometimes see students ready to study a number of features at the same time. In this case, the order will not be as important, and this offers more f lexibility in grouping.

If you think that an inventory has overplaced a student, go on to the next inventory. Usu- ally the next inventory will place the student more conservatively. For example, you may have a few third graders who scored in the early derivational relations stage using the ESI but after administering the USI you find that they are in the syllable and affixes stage. Regardless, we may begin with word study in the syllables and affixes stage at a relatively fast pace to be cer- tain these students understand syllable types including open and closed syllables, principles of accent, and syllabication.

DETERMINE A DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE. Knowing the developmental spelling stage of students is essential in planning instruction - where to start word study instruction and for forming instructional groups. Knowing the student’s developmental stage is also useful for navigating this book. For example, in Jake’s case, refer to Chapter 6 for more information.

The continuum of features at the top of the feature guide shows gradations for each devel- opmental stage of early, middle, and late. A student who has learned to spell most of the features relevant to a stage is probably at the end of that stage. Conversely, if a student is beginning to use the key elements of a feature but still has some misspellings from the previous stage, the student is at an early point in that new stage. These gradations make assessing orthographic

Completing the feature guide by hand

Getting Started 35

knowledge more precise than simply an overall stage designation, and this precision will be useful in designing a word study curriculum.

Using the Feature Guide to Call a Level. A student’s developmental level should be circled in the shaded bar across the top of the feature guide that lists the stages. Using Figure 2.3 as an example, look at the bottom row of the feature guide. Jake spelled all the short vowels and most long vowel features correctly but missed more than one in the other vowels category. Looking up from that feature to the shaded bar we see that Jake falls in the later part of the within word pattern stage. This stage and gradation have been circled in the top row. Considering the first feature that needs instruction (he got five out of seven on other vowels) it seems safe to assign him to the late within word pattern stage and that has been written in the blank beside Spelling Stage at the top right of the feature guide.

Confirming the Developmental Levels. There are different ways to determine a develop- mental stage. While the spelling inventory is probably the most reliable, considering both the feature analysis and raw score, we recommend using multiple sources of information for a final call. For example, you may want to use The Qualitative Spelling Checklist, found in Appendix A, to analyze students’ writing and compare the results from the checklist to the stage derived from the feature guide. Tables in each instructional chapter (Chapters 4 to 8) provide addi- tional information about how to determine where students are within each stage. Spell Checks described later will also help to confirm the developmental level.

You do not need to make the discrimination within stages too weighty a decision. In regards to planning instruction, taking a step backward to choose word study activities at a slightly easier level than the stage determination may indicate is often best. Introducing students to sorting routines when they are working with familiar features and known words is more effective.

Consider the Synchrony of Literacy Development. Spelling inventory results should be compared to what we know about students’ reading and writing. Use Figure 1.12 or Table 2.3 to understand development by reading from top to bottom across the literacy behaviors of reading, spelling, and writing. Look for corroborating evidence to place students’ achievement along the developmental continuum.

Referring back to Jake’s writing in Figure 2.1, we see similar strengths and weaknesses revealed by the inventory. His mastery of short vowels and his experimentation with long vowels and other vowels is what we would expect of a student in the middle to late within word pattern stage of spelling. When Jake reads he may confuse words like choose and chose. These errors in word identification will be addressed in word study when he examines the other vowels. His spelling inventory, writing sample, and reading errors offer supporting evidence that we have identified his developmental stage and the features that need attention.

Some students are out of synchrony in their development, such as the student who is notoriously poor at spelling but is a capable reader. When there is a mismatch between reading and spelling development, you can help improve spelling and obtain synchrony by pinpointing the stage of spelling development and then providing instruction that addresses the student’s needs.

Sample Practice The spelling examples of five students in Figure 2.4 can be used to practice analyzing student spellings and determining a developmental stage if you do not have a class of children to assess or if you want to try analyzing a broad spectrum of responses. Make a copy of the ESI feature guide for each student. Determine both the developmental stage of the speller and the place you would start instruction. After you are finished, check the results at the bottom of the page. Were you close in the stages you selected? If you scored the spelling in terms of the three gra- dations within a stage, you may find that although your assessment may differ by a stage name, it is possible that the difference is just between the latter part of one stage and the early part of the next. Also compute a power score for each student (number correct) and use Table 2.2 on page 32 to estimate the stage. Were your results similar?

36 C H A P T E R 2

Grade Level Spelling Stage Reading Phase Reading Stage Book Levels

Lexiles Letters Numbers

PreK-K Emergent Pre-alphabetic Emergent N/A A, B 1,2

K to Early 1st Early letter name Partial alphabetic Early beginning N/A C 3,4

Early 1st Middle letter name Partial alphabetic Middle beginning N/A D, E 4-8

Mid 1st Late letter name to early within word pattern

Full alphabetic Late beginning 200–400 F, G 10–12

Late 1st to Early 2nd

Early within word pattern

Full alphabetic Early transitional 200–400 H, I 14–16

2nd Middle within word pattern

Consolidated alphabetic

Middle transitional 400–600 J, K 18–20

Late 2nd Late within word pattern Consolidated alphabetic

Late transitional 400–600 L, M 24–28

Late 2nd to Early 3rd

Early syllables and affixes

Consolidated alphabetic

Early intermediate 500–820 N–P 30–36

4th Middle syllables and affixes

Automatic Middle intermediate 600–900 Q–S 40

5th Late syllables and affixes to early derivational relations

Automatic Intermediate to advanced

740–1010 T–V 50

6th Early derivational relations

Automatic Intermediate to advanced

800–1015 W–Y 60

7th Early to middle derivational relations

Automatic Early to middle advanced

925–1185 W–Z 70

8th Middle to late derivational relations

Automatic Middle advanced to advanced

1000+ Z+ 80

The grade levels are general ranges and averages; the actual match will vary. The single grade-level destinations are mid-year approximations. The book levels represent the most current systems used to level texts. The Lexile levels (Lexile Framework for Reading, 2013) reflect broad ranges using the “stretch” ranges presented in the Common Core State Standards, though other forms of text complexity should be considered. The letters and numbers approximate the leveling systems used for beginning reading materials.

TABLE 2.3 Concordance of Grade Levels, Reading and Spelling

TE A

CH IN

G T

IP S When Synchrony Is Not Observed

There are two common scenarios we have observed when there is a lack of syn- chrony between reading and spelling.

• Some students have very strong verbal skills and are quite bright, and when they read, they are able to use context better than most to comprehend what they read. However, when we listen to their oral reading, we see that they make many reading errors and their reading rate is significantly slower than you would expect. Such students will benefit from word study that requires them to analyze words at their developmental level as determined by a spelling inventory.

• English learners may have memorized how to spell many words, making their spelling development appear more advanced than their reading fluency and their comprehension. Such students will benefit from continued practice in reading and learning word meanings in English.

Getting Started 37

Figure 2.4 Examples of Students’ Spelling in September

Spelling Words

Greg (Grade 1)

Jean (Grade 1)

Reba (Grade 2)

Alan (Grade 3)

Mitch (Grade 5)

bed BD BED bed bed bed

ship SP SEP ship ship ship

when YN WHAN when when when

lump LP LOP lump lump lump

float FOT FLOT flote flote float

train TRAN trane train train

place PLAC plais place place

drive DRIV drive drive drive

bright BRIT brite brigt bright

shopping SOPNG shopen shoping shopping

spoil spoal spoale spoil

serving serving serveing serving

chewed chud choued chewed

carries cares carres carries

marched marcd marched marched

shower shouer shower

bottle bottel bottle

favor favir favor

ripen ripen ripen

cellar seller celler

pleasure pleshur

fortunate forchenet

confident confedent civilize civilize opposition oposition

RESULTS:

Greg Early letter name–alphabetic; review consonants, study short vowel word families, digraphs, and blends.

Jean Middle letter name–alphabetic; study short vowels.

Reba Middle within word pattern; study long vowel patterns.

Alan Late within word pattern; study long vowels and other vowel patterns.

Mitch Middle syllables and affixes; study syllable juncture and unaccented final syllables.

Since Mitch spelled so many words on the ESI correctly, consider administering the USI.

38 C H A P T E R 2

Group Students for Instruction

Your spelling analysis as discussed in the previous section will pinpoint students’ instructional levels and the phonics and spelling features that are ripe for instruction. In most classrooms, there will be a range in students’ word knowledge. For example, in a second-grade class most students will be in the within word pattern stage but there will also be students in the letter name–alphabetic stage who need to study short vowels and consonant blends, while others may be in the syllables and affixes stage and ready to study two-syllable words. After analyzing students individually, you can create a classroom profile by recording the individual assessment data on a single chart.

Experience shows that when students study a particular orthographic feature, it is best if they work with others who are ready to study the same feature. For example, studying long- vowel patterns is difficult when some of the students in the group still need work on digraphs or blends and may not even be able to read the words that contain the long-vowel patterns. When students are taught at their developmental levels in spelling (even when instruction is below grade level), they will make more progress than with materials that are too difficult for them (Morris, Blanton, Blanton, Nowacek, & Perney, 1995). Chapter 9 offers suggestions about how to manage multiple instructional groups.

We present two ways to record and analyze information about the class: a classroom com- posite chart for each of the inventories to group students by features, and the spelling-by-stage classroom organization chart to group students by developmental levels. These charts show you the instructional groups at a glance.

Classroom Composite Chart After administering an inventory and completing a feature guide for each student, transfer the individual scores to the Classroom Composite Chart to get a sense of the group as a whole. See an example in Figure 2.5. These charts can be found with the corresponding inventory in Appendix A. The following steps will help you do this.

1. Begin by stapling each student’s spelling test and feature guide together. 2. Order student papers by the power score (or number of words correct) or by the total fea-

ture score, and record students’ names from top to bottom on the composite form on the basis of this rank order. Next, record scores from the bottom row of each student’s Feature Guide in the row beside his or her name on the Classroom Composite Chart.

3. Highlight cells in which students are making two or more errors on a particular feature and column to spotlight areas of need. For example, a student who spells all but one of the short vowels correctly has an adequate understanding of short vowels and is considered to be at an independent level. However, students who misspell two or three of the short vowels need more work on that feature. Do not highlight cells in which students score a zero because this indicates frustration rather than using but confusing a feature. Look to the left of any zero scores to identify features that need attention first.

4. Look for instructional groups. If you rank-order your students when completing the com- posite chart, you can find clusters of highlighted cells that can be used to assign students to developmental stages and word study groups. The fifth-grade class composite in Figure 2.5 shows that many students fall under the syllables and affixes stage of development because this is where they are making two or more spelling errors (students 3 through 12). Sarah (number 16) could also join this group. John, Maria R., and Patty (students 13–15) , who missed more than two words in vowel patterns, should go with other students who all need work on common long vowels and fall under the middle within word pattern stage (students 17 through 25). Mike (student 26) needs individualized help, beginning with short vowels as well as digraphs and blends. At the upper end of the class composite are two children who fall into the derivational relations stage. However, we suggest that any students who score more than 18 or better on the ESI be reassessed with the USI to gather more information about particular features to study.

Getting Started 39

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8 USING THE ELEMENTARY SPELLING INVENTORY (ESI)

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40 C H A P T E R 2

Spelling-By-Stage Classroom Organization Chart When you know students’ developmental stages, you can also form groups with the Spelling- by-Stage Classroom Organization Chart found in Appendix A on page 379. Some teachers find this easier to use than a class composite when planning groups. Students’ names are recorded underneath a spelling stage on the chart, differentiating among those who are early, middle, or late. After the names are entered, begin to look for groups and circle them.

Figure 2.6 shows examples of ways to form groups at three different grade levels. You can see where teachers have used arrows to reconsider the placement of a few students. Inventory results are considered along with other observations of students’ reading or writing. The arrows indicate students who might be placed slightly higher or lower as the groups take shape. Some of the group placement decisions might be based on social and psychological factors related to self-esteem, leadership, and behavior dynamics.

The first profile is of a first-grade class with many emergent spellers. Although the teacher might have formed three groups, the four circled groups are also the teacher’s reading groups. The third-grade classroom has a large group of late within word pattern spellers and the arrows show how the teacher has tried to move some of the students into other groups for balance. The teacher in the sixth-grade classroom could consider running two groups at the upper levels or combining them as one group. The three students in the letter name–alphabetic stage will need special attention because they are significantly behind for sixth graders. Ideally, these students will have additional instruction with a literacy specialist or in a tutoring program with activities that are appropriate for the letter name–alphabetic spelling stage.

Factors to Consider When Organizing Groups The Classroom Composite Chart and the Spelling-by-Stage Classroom Organization Chart help to determine word study groups for instruction. Teachers often have questions about grouping.

HOW DO I MANAGE GROUPS? Ideally you want no more than three groups to keep things manageable. If this sounds difficult, be assured that students working on different features and with different words can still work side by side during most follow-up word study routines that occur across the week. Only the initial teacher-led discussion requires a separate time. Different schemes for managing class, group, and individual word study are discussed in Chapter 9. If three groups is overwhelming, start with two. A traditional spelling program has no grouping at all, so even two groups will get children closer to their instructional level. Sometimes a fourth or even fifth word study group can be formed when there are specialists like ESL and Title I teachers who work with small groups.

HOW DO I FIT A DIVERSE CLASS INTO THREE GROUPS? If a wide range of achievement exists, some students may not be placed exactly at their developmental stages. Although you will certainly try to accommodate them, your best spellers are not likely to be negatively affected with grade-level word study activities that might be a bit easy for them. However, your less able spellers such as Victoria, Juan and Mike in the 6th grade example will undoubtedly fall further behind if they do not get the instruction they need, so group your least able students as close as possible to their instructional level. In all cases student progress should be monitored, as described shortly, to adjust placement as needed.

WHAT ABOUT THE OUTLIERS? In many classrooms, there are students at each end of the developmental continuum who, in terms of word study and orthographic development, are outliers. For example, Zac, in the third-grade class in Figure 2.6, is the only student in the middle syllables and affixes stage, and placing him in a group by himself is impractical. He has been placed in the closest group for instruction or, because he is already above grade level and making progress independently, he might be exempted from word study. Less advanced students, such as Jon in the second group of sixth grade in Figure 2.6, may work with partners who can help them read and sort the group’s words, such as one-syllable words with long-vowel patterns. English language learners also benefit from sorting with partners who can clarify word pronunciations and meanings.

Getting Started 41

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42 C H A P T E R 2

IT TAKES PRACTICE. Interpreting feature guides, determining stages, and then creating and monitoring groups involves ongoing assessment, observations, and teacher judgment. It cannot be reduced to a simple formula. Be assured that over time, you will gain expertise and satis- faction in being able to accurately identify and meet the instructional needs of your students.

Enhanced eText Video Example 2.6 Assessment of Students in the Syllables and Affixes Stage

Enhanced eText Video Example 2.7 Assessment of Students in the Derivational Relations Stage

Assessment Videos by Stage In the following videos, teachers discuss students’ assessments and the groups they have in their classrooms.

Enhanced eText Video Example 2.5 Assessment of Students in the Within Word Pattern Stage

Enhanced eText Video Example 2.3 Assessment of Students in the Emergent Stage

Enhanced eText Video Example 2.4 Assessment of Students in the Letter Name– Alphabetic Stage

Using the Inventory across the Year

TE A

CH IN

G T

IP S

• Benny’s spelling inventory results in Figure 2.7 show inventory results across the first-grade year recorded on the same form.

• We recommend using the same spelling inventory each time so that you can compare progress on the same words. In Benny’s inventory results, we can easily track the qualitative changes in his spelling over time.

• Don’t be too surprised if students sometimes spell a word correctly one time and later spell the same word incorrectly. Because students are sometimes inventing a spelling for a word that they do not have stored in memory, they may invent it correctly one time and not the next. Or they might master short vowel sound matches but later use but confuse silent vowel markers as Benny did in his spelling of fan as FANE.

• Remember that you should never have students directly study the words in the inventory, although the words may naturally show up in word study activities that you plan. If students study the list in advance, assessment results will be inflated and you will lose valuable diagnostic information.

• Using the same inventory more than two or three times a year may familiarize students with the words enough to inflate the results. In between administrations of the spelling inventories, use the spell checks described next to monitor progress within and across stages. Teachers in upper ele- mentary, middle school, and high school may find that using an inventory only at the beginning and end of the year is sufficient.

Getting Started 43

Spelling Inventories for Formative and Summative Assessment

Students may be given the same spelling inventory up to three times during the year to assess what they have learned and to determine whether changes need to be made in groups or instructional focus. Figure 2.7 shows Benny’s growth during the year, moving from early letter name–alphabetic spelling to the within word pattern stage. However, don’t expect such dramatic progress in one year beyond the primary grades. Some students will take two years to master the within word pattern stage.

Benchmarks and Grade Level Expectations Although it is true that all students do not develop at the same rate despite the very best instruction, it helps to articulate end-of-grade expectations in terms of developmental word knowledge so that you can identify students who are at risk of falling behind. Matching specific spelling stages to grade levels is impossible, but Table 2.4 captures the typical range of development within grade levels and where students should be (at the very least) at the end of the year if they are to succeed in subsequent grades and meet standards in reading and writing. Based on the model of synchrony development in Chapter 1 and illus- trated in Figure 1.12, Table 2.3 shows a concordance between developmental stages and instructional materials. For example, this table says that by mid-year, most third graders are in the early syllables and affixes stage and are early intermediate readers, reading in the 500–820 Lexile range.

FIGURE 2.7 Samples of Benny’s Spelling Errors at Three Times in First Grade

September

FNA PT

DKG HOP YAT SD SK

HIN

May

fane pet dig

hope wayt sled stike shine

1. fan

2. pet

3. dig

4. hope

5. wait

6. sled

7. stick

8. shine

January

fan pat deg hop wat sed stek shin

Grade Level

Typical Spelling Stage Ranges Within Grade End-of-Year Expectation

Pre-K Early Emergent –Early letter name-alphabetic Middle emergentt

K Emergent–Letter name–alphabetic Middle letter name–alphabetic

1 Late emergent–Within word pattern Early within word pattern

2 Late letter name–Early syllables & affixes Late within word pattern

3 Within word pattern–Syllables & affixes Early syllables & affixes

4 Within word pattern–Syllables & affixes Middle syllables & affixes

5 Syllables & affixes–Derivational relations Late syllables & affixes

6 + Syllables & affixes–Derivational relations Derivational relations

TABLE 2.4 Spelling Stage Expectations by Grade Levels

Additional Assessments

Other assessments and forms are useful as supplements or alternatives to the inventories. For example, the Emergent Class Record and the Kindergarten Spelling Inventory are appropriate for young students. Spell Checks and Goal Setting Forms can help teachers fine tune placement

44 C H A P T E R 2

and closely monitor progress. These additional assessments described next and listed in Table 2.5 can be found in Appendix A and B.

Qualitative Spelling Checklist When you look at students’ writing in their journals or in the first drafts of their reports and stories, you can use the Qualitative Spelling Checklist (page 373 in Appendix A to verify what types of orthographic features students have mastered, what types of features they are using but confusing, and the degree to which they are applying their spelling knowledge in actual writ- ing. Through a series of 20 questions, you check off the student’s progress through the stages. Consider what features are used consistently, often, or not at all in their unedited writing. The checklist is set up to be used at three different points during the school year and can serve as a record of progress over time. Collecting a variety of writing samples across the curricular areas is a great way to verify students’ application and transfer of their word study instruction.

Emergent Class Record The Emergent Class Record is used to assess daily writing or spelling inventory results of pre-K children, kindergarten students, or other emergent spellers. Making a copy of the PSI feature guide for each student may seem like a waste of paper when at most they will only score a few initial and final consonants. The Emergent Class Record found in Appendix A on page 405 can be used as an alternative with the entire class represented on one form. It captures the pre- phonetic writing progression (from random marks to letters) that is missing from the other feature guides and covers the range from emergent through letter name– alphabetic spelling that is expected in many kindergarten classes at the beginning of the year. Other emergent assessments are described in Chapter 4 and are available in Appendix A starting on page 388.

Kindergarten Spelling Inventory The Kindergarten Spelling Inventory (KSI) has been used widely with thousands of children as part of Virginia’s Phonological Assessment and Literacy Screening (PALS) (Invernizzi, Juel, Swank, & Meier, 2006). Children are asked to spell only five three-letter words that have been carefully chosen after extensive research. A feature guide is provided, but unlike the feature guides described so far, students get credit for identifying phonemes and representing those

TABLE 2.5 Additional Spelling Assessmenrts

Grade Range Developmental Range

Qualitative Spelling Checklist K–8 All stages

Emergent Class Record Pre K–K Emergent to letter name–alphabetic

Kindergarten Spelling Inventory (KSI)

Pre K–K Emergent to early letter name–alphabetic

McGuffey Qualitative Inventory of Word Knowledge (QIWK)

1–8 All stages

WTW Spell Checks K–12 Early letter name–alphabetic to early derivational relations

WTW Goal-Setting/Progress Monitoring Charts

K–12 Early letter name–alphabetic to early derivational relations

Getting Started 45

sounds with phonetically logical letters, even if those letters are actually incorrect. For exam- ple, jet spelled GD will earn two points because G has a letter name that starts with /j/ and D and T are voiced/ unvoiced pairs whose sounds are produced in exactly the same place in the mouth. As a result, the KSI is a reliable measure of phonemic awareness development, letter– sound correspondences, and their gradual development of conventional spelling (Invernizzi, Justice, Landrum, & Booker, 2005). KSI scores in kindergarten predict children’s end-of-year reading standards scores as much as three years later (Invernizzi, Juel, Swank, & Meier, 2008).

McGuffey Spelling Inventory The McGuffey Qualitative Inventory of Word Knowledge (QIWK) (Schlagal, 1992) is useful for conducting individual testing and for obtaining grade-level information; see page 387 in Appendix A. The inventory  spans grades 1 through 8, with 20 to 30 words in each level. After administering the grade-level list, use the list from the previous grade level with students who fall below 50  percent and use the list from the next higher grade level for students who score above 90 percent to determine an instructional spelling level (Morris, Blanton, Blanton, & Perney, 1995; Morris et al., 1986).

The QIWK is especially useful when you want to report spelling achievement in terms of grade levels. In addition, the words in these lists present plenty of opportunities to observe a student’s spelling across a variety of features. For example, for teachers wanting to obtain a fuller assessment of prefixes, suffixes, and roots, Levels 5 and 6 offer a larger number of derivational words with prefixes and suffixes to analyze. However, a feature guide has not been developed for the McGuffey Inventory so you must analyze errors yourself to deter- mine which features and patterns students know, and which they are using but confusing.

Monitor Student Growth Over Time Monitoring students’ progress in response to instruction with brief, ongoing assessments alerts us to the need to adjust the content and pacing of instruction to meet student needs, and arrang- ing additional instruction for students who may need extra help meeting long-term goals. Teach- ers have been monitoring their students’ progress for years through weekly spelling tests that provide immediate feedback regarding students’ short-term retention of specific words they have studied. But few teachers consider long-term retention, the generaliza- tion of the spelling patterns students have learned relative to words they may not have studied, or the applica- tion of students’ orthographic word knowledge in their writing. We offer several ways you can monitor progress in orthographic development in the short and long terms.

WEEKLY SPELLING TESTS AND REVIEW TESTS. We recommend weekly tests at most grade levels as a way to monitor mastery of the studied features, and to send a message to stu- dents and parents alike that students are accountable for learning to spell the words they have sorted and worked with in various activities all week. Stu- dents should be successful on these

Students can begin to take traditional weekly spelling tests once they are studying short vowels

PROGRESS MONITORING

46 C H A P T E R 2

weekly tests when they are appropriately placed for instruction. If they are misspelling more than a few words, it may mean that you need to adjust your instruction. They may either need to spend more time on a feature with follow-up activities, or they are not ready to study the feature and should work on easier patterns first. You may also want to periodically give a review posttest. Do not ask students to study for these tests in advance as that would not be a true test of retention. Simply select a sample of words from previous lessons and call them aloud as you would for any spelling test. Below we describe prepared spell checks designed to assess particular spelling features. These can be found in Appendix B.

SPELL CHECKS. Spell checks are mini-inventories that can be used over shorter periods of time than spelling inventories to assess students’ mastery of specific features and words over and beyond what they may have demonstrated on weekly spelling tests. Like inventories, spell checks are organized by sequential groups of phonics features and spelling patterns, but each spell check includes more words for each feature. Because spell checks are more thorough, they can also be used to confirm the stage designation and placement determined by the spelling inventories. If students misspell only one or two words in a feature category on the inventory, you may want to do some further assessment using the spell checks. In Jake’s case (see his feature guide in Figure 2.3), we might want to gather some more information about his knowledge of long-vowel patterns because he misspelled bright. If Jake were to spell 90% of the words correctly on the spell check for common long vowel patterns, you would have additional assurance that he is in the latter part of the within word pattern stage and needs no further work on common long vowels These spellchecks can be found in Appendix B and in the Words Their Way supplements where they are described as unit tests. Spell checks serve a variety of purposes.

Pretests to Determine Need for Instruction. A score of 30% to 70% on a spell check would suggest that a student is using but confusing a feature, making it an area ripe for instruction (we recommend taking a step back to an easier feature when possible if a student scores less than 50%) In Figure 2.3 Jake’s inventory results showed that he spelled the r-inf luenced vowels in the words serving, carries, and marched correctly but missed several of the other vowel patterns. A spell check of more r-controlled vowels might reveal that he (1) needs thorough instruction if he scored less than 75%, (2) could use a quick review if he scored between 75% and 85% or (3) could skip the study of r-controlled vowels entirely if he scored at 90% or better. Pretesting students on particular features is helpful when you are concerned about pacing as it can identify features that students do not need to study in depth.

Posttests to Monitor Progress. Compar- ing the results on a posttest to a pretest is an excellent way to demonstrate progress. Figure 2.8 shows Omar’s spell checks for short vowels and preconsonantal nasal sounds (the m’s and n’s that come before consonants at the end of words). The first is a pretest on which he scored 30 percent. The second, using a different form on which he scored 90 percent, was given after he had spent several weeks working on that fea- ture in his word sorts. Several weeks later, his teacher assessed his retention of this feature by administering another form of the same spell check. Although Omar misspelled two words in the delayed posttest, eight out of ten words spelled correctly is still a good indication of mastery.

Target Re-teaching. Sometime a posttest will reveal that a student has not retained knowledge

FIGURE 2.8 Omar’s Spell Checks for Preconsonantal Nasals

Oct 10 1. rug 2. lamp 3. prin 4. theng 5. limp 6. stup 7. send 8. plat 9. lag 10. jok

Nov 7 1. bring 2. camp 3. hunt 4. blend 5. wink 6. tent 7. thank 8. dup 9. sang 10. hand

Nov 29 1. rung 2. lamp 3. print 4. thingk 5. limp 6. stup 7. send 8. plant 9. long 10. junk

rung

think

print

stump

dump

think

stump

plant

long

junk

3/10 30% 9/10 90% 8/10 80%

Getting Started 47

about spelling a particlar feature and re-teaching is needed. Rather than repeating all the lessons however, a careful analysis might reveal that only a review is needed or only a par- ticular sound or pattern is problematic. Omar’s teacher recorded his scores on the progress monitoring chart for late letter name–alphabetic spellers in (Figure 2.9). If Omar had scored less than 90% on the posttest, some targeted review would be needed. In his case, it appears that the ump pattern is a problem (he missed that pattern twice), so that pattern could be targeted by comparing words like jump and stump to words like cup and pup in which there is no preconsonantal nasal.

Assess Generalizations and Meanings. In some cases a posttest that uses words students have not studied is recommended. This is particularly important when a unit of study has focused on a broad generalization (or rules) such as how to add inf lected endings (-ed, -ing, -s, -es). In other cases (that is, homophones, prefixes, or root words) it is just as important to assess meaning as spelling. Specialized pre- and posttests can be found in the Words Their Way supplements for certain features, and students in the derivational relations stage are often asked to define words as well as spell them.

Expectations and Goal-Setting Setting high expectations for students, setting realistic goals for making progress over time, and involving students in the process of setting goals are important. Generally speaking, long-term goals ref lect your basic expectations for what stage your students must be in to succeed in the next grade level. (See Spelling Stage Expectations by Grade Level in Table 2.4) In contrast, short-term goals indicate the features necessary to study and learn to reach the basic long-term stage goal (Flanigan et al., 2011). Goal-setting forms make explicit what must be learned to reach the ultimate long-term goal and can be used to track student progress and to guide your conferences with specialists, parents, and students. Goal setting forms have been created for each of the developmental stages and can be found in Appendix B or in the Words Their Way supplements.

USING THE FORMS TO RECORD PROGRESS. The goals are stated for each feature or unit of study and a check box to the right corresponds to the spell checks with spaces for pre- and posttest results. Figure 2.9 is a sample that shows how Omar’s teacher has checked off each feature he used correctly and put an X beside those he is missing. Different colors of ink can indicate different testing dates.

INVOLVE STUDENTS IN GOAL SETTING. It can be motivating for students to set goals and monitor their own progress. We recommend that you meet with students individually and share the results of the inventory or spell checks to set goals. The charts help student define a set of goals that are within reach – within their zone of proximal development. This is especially helpful for students who are struggling in the area of spelling and may feel overwhelmed with all they need to learn.

Enhanced eText Video Example 2.8 Learn how word study is part of a family literacy program.

FIGURE 2.9 Omar’s Goal-Setting/Progress Monitoring Chart

10. Spell short vowels with preconsonantal nasals

Spell Check 10 Pretest: 30%

ing ang ong ung amp ump

ant int ent

ank ink unk

unt and end

imp

Date: 10/10 Posttest: 90% Date: 11/7

48 C H A P T E R 2

Assessing the Spelling Development of English Learners

By assessing their orthographic knowledge using the assessments described in this chapter, teachers can determine whether English learners are applying the rules of phonology and orthography from the written form of their primary language to English, or vice-versa (Helman, 2004, 2010). Bilingual learners can often use knowledge of their primary language to spell words in a second language (Babayigit, 2014; Helman, 2004; Pasquarella, Chen, Gottardo, Geva, 2014). For example, Spanish speakers take the 22 sounds of Spanish and match them to the roughly 44 sounds of English, making some logical substitutions along the way.

Additional assessments in their primary or first language provide a more complete under- standing of the word knowledge of English learners. A spelling inventory in students’ spo- ken language can indicate their literacy levels in the primary language and more specifically, show which orthographic features they already understand. Words Their Way™ with English Learners discusses spelling development, assessment, and instruction for English learners in depth (Helman, Bear, Templeton, Invernizzi, & Johnston, 2012) and also provides inventories in several languages.

The Influences of Students’ Primary Languages As you listen to the speech and oral reading of English language learners, notice the inf luences of their first languages on pronunciation and look for spelling errors that may be explained by a primary language or dialect. For example, one teacher learned about the inf luence of different East Indian dialects when she noticed confusions of /p/ for f and /sh/ for s. Another teacher noted her Korean students consistently confusing r for l and vice versa. In spoken Korean, /r/ and /l/ are not different sounds and are represented with the same letter in Hangul, the Korean writing system (Yang, 2005).

PREDICTABLE CONFUSIONS. English consonant sounds are often problematic for Spanish speakers, who make a variety of substitutions that can be traced to the inf luence of Spanish on their spelling (Bear et al. 2003). Examples include spelling that as DAT and ship as CHAP because the digraphs /th/ and /sh/ do not exist in Spanish. Hot may be spelled JAT because the silent h in Spanish can be spelled with a j. Short a, e, i, and u do not occur in Spanish, and the sound we call short o is spelled with the letter a. We can expect many confusions about how to represent these short vowel sounds such as using a for the short o in hot. Look in each of the instructional chapters for specific guidance on the interrelatedness of students’ home languages and English.

INVENTORY EXAMPLE. Because students are expected to learn the orthography of English, administering one of the inventories from Table 2.1 to see what they know and are ready to learn is useful. The spelling sample of a second grader in Figure 2.10 shows how a student’s spoken Spanish can affect her English spelling. Several of Rosa’s attempts follow the logical substitutions that are seen from English-speaking students in the letter name–alphabetic stage; that is, SHEP for ship and WAN for when. Other errors make good sense in relation to Spanish letter–sound correspondences. For example, given the pronunciation of a as /ah/ in Spanish, her spelling of SHAPEN for shopping is understandable. She replaces the ch in chewed with sh (SHOD). Rosa is also trying to find a spelling for the long i, shown by her use of AY in two of her spellings (bright as BRAYT and ripen as RAYPN). The long i—when elongated—really sounds like two vowels (“eye-ee”—a diphthong). Rosa is using the y, pronounced as a long e in Spanish, to spell the second half of the vowel combination.

for English learners

FIGURE 2.10 Rosa’s Spelling

bed shep wan lamp flowt trayn pleays kids brayt shapen spoyo sorven shod cares marsh showar cadoto fayvr raypn sallar

1. bed

2. ship

3. when

4. lump

5. float

6. train

7. place

8. drive

9. bright

10. shopping

11. spoil

12. serving

13. chewed

14. carries

15. marched

16. shower

17. cattle

18. favor

19. ripen

20. cellar

Enhanced eText Teacher Resource: Language and Literacy Survey

Getting Started 49

Conclusion

Looking at a student’s spelling gives us a window into that student’s word knowledge, the infor- mation he or she uses to read and write words. The word assessment comes from the Latin word assidere—“to sit beside.” Spend some time sitting beside your students and looking through the window that their spellings provide, and use inventories to assess what they know about how words work.

A summary of the developmental sequence can be found inside the front cover of this book, and each of the instructional chapters for this book offers detailed information about the stage, the features to study, and activities to enhance instruction. Remember that the inventories only sample the most common features. At each stage, there is a considerable body of knowledge that students should master before they move on to the next stage.

Keep your fingers on the pulse of development by monitoring progress over time using the spell checks and the goal-setting/progress-monitoring tools discussed in this chapter. The assessments in this chapter are a start because they let us know what each student is ready to learn, knowledge that is crucial to organizing word study instruction—the topic of Chapter 3.

c h a p t e r

Word Study Principles and Practices

3

51

A fter you determine the developmental level of each of your students, as described in Chapter 2, you are ready to implement word study for phonics, spelling, and vocabulary. In this chapter, we describe the basic activities for word study, how to lead thoughtful

word-study discussions, and how to put word knowledge to use in reading and writing. We address related issues such as expectations for editing and grading, before ending with a sum- mary of the guiding principles of word study and a table of resources. To illustrate the details that make up this chapter, let’s first visit the classroom of Mrs. Zimmerman as she introduces a group of her students to r-inf luenced vowels.

Earlier in the year, Mrs. Zimmerman assessed her third-grade students and divided them into three instructional

groups for word study. On most Mondays, she meets with each group for about 15 to 20 minutes to go over the

words and help her students make discoveries and reach conclusions about the particular group of words she

has chosen. After getting her students started on independent reading and journal writing, Mrs. Zimmerman calls

her first group to a table. She has a set of words cards laid out on a table. She begins by saying, “Let’s go over

these words to be sure everyone knows how to read them and what they mean.” After discussing mare, which

Julio defines as a “mother horse,” she picks up bear and bare and reads both. “Who remembers what words like

these are called? That’s right, they’re homophones.” She holds up bear and asks who knows what it means.

“It’s an animal and I saw one last summer when we went camping,” offers Shannon.

“What about this bare?” asks Mrs. Zimmerman, as she holds up the word. Rayshad explains that it means

“having no hair, like being bald.”

“Any other ideas?” asks Mrs. Zimmerman, to which Jessie adds, “You might go barefooted, without shoes.”

Other examples are given and then Mrs. Zimmerman continues, “There is another set of homophones here.

Can anyone find them?” Mason finds hair and hare and again they talk about the meaning of each. They recall

that they have heard the word hare in the story The Hare and the Tortoise, which they read during a unit on fables.

Mrs. Zimmerman now moves into the heart of the lesson by using an open-ended ques-

tion to get students thinking and observing, “What do you notice about our words for this

week?” Rachel points out that all the words have A’s and Samuel adds that they also have R’s.

“What else?” Mrs. Zimmerman probes, “Tell me more.” Tiffany identifies the patterns of AR

and AIR and Belle adds that there are also words with ARE. Mrs. Zimmerman responds, “So

you are using your eyes to see how they are alike. What do your ears tell you about how they

sound? Julio?” Julio says that he can hear /ar/ and / ār/. Mrs. Zimmerman affirms, “Yes, I

hear those also. Does anyone hear any other sounds?

Mrs. Zimmerman then begins a teacher-directed sort by setting up categories with

a focused contrast in vowel sounds. “Let’s sort our words by sounds in the middle. I am

going to put cart here as one of our key words and care over here for the other. Listen to

the sounds in each: caaarrrt, caaarrrre.” Then she picks up and reads the word farm. “Will

this go with cart or care? Farm and cart sound alike in the middle—I hear the /ar/ sound in

both—so we will put farm under cart. How about chair? Does it sound like cart or care in the

middle?” After sorting several more words, Mrs. Zimmerman hands out the rest of the word

cards and calls on students to read and categorize each word by its vowel sound. After

sorting all the words, the students read down each column to verify that the words all have

the same sound in the middle. The final sort by sound looks like Figure 3.1.

Next, Mrs. Zimmerman directs her students’ attention to the spelling patterns: “When you

look at these words, what do you notice about all the words in each column?” Lisa replies that

FIGURE 3.1 Mrs. Zimmerman’s Sound Sort

shark

scare

dark

stairs stare hare fair

rare bear hair mare pair

chair share

care

bark start card farm cart

52 C H A P T E R 3

they all have an a and r in them. “Does everyone see that pattern? What else?”

she prompts. William volunteers that under care, there is an e at the end or an i

in the middle. “Shall we put these words into two separate categories by spell-

ing pattern?” asks Mrs. Zimmerman. “What should we use as headers?” The

students agree to keep care as one header and to use chair for the other, and

these words are underlined. Mrs. Zimmerman passes out the word cards and

students take turns placing each word under care or chair after reading it aloud.

“I have an oddball!” calls out Tan, and she places the word bear off to the right.

“Ahh,” says Mrs. Zimmerman. “Why is it an oddball?”

“It is the only /ār/ sound spelled with an EA,” explains Tan.

After sorting the words by pattern as shown in Figure 3.2, they read down

each column of words to verify that they all have the same sound in the middle

and the same spelling pattern. Mrs. Zimmerman then asks her students whether the patterns remind them of

other words they have studied. Brian points out that ai and a with an e on the end are patterns that go with long

a. “Are these long a words?” probes Mrs. Zimmerman. “Listen: caaaare, chaaair.” The children agree that they

can hear the sound of /ā / in those words. “What do you notice about the a in cart?” asks Mrs. Zimmerman. This

time there is some discussion as students come to the conclusion that they cannot even hear a vowel! They only

hear “R”! Mrs. Zimmerman tells the students that over the next few weeks they will look at more words with an r

after the vowel and they should watch how the r influences the sound of vowels. To end the lesson, Mrs. Zimmer-

man asks students to reflect on what they have learned, and she records their summary: The sound /ār/ can be

spelled two ways—air and are. The homophone bear is an oddball because the /ār/ sound is spelled -ear.

Before they return to their seats, Mrs. Zimmerman gives each student a handout for sorting independently.

She reminds them to draw colored lines down the back to personalize their set of words and then underline the

key words before cutting them apart. They are to categorize the words first by sound (naming each word qui-

etly as they sort) and then by pattern as they did in their final group sort. Two volunteers agree to illustrate the

homophones for the class homophone dictionary.

After Mrs. Zimmerman meets with another group, she quickly checks in with each student in the first

group to look at his or her sort. As she moves around the room, she asks individual students to read a column

of words and explain how they are alike. On Tuesday, she will ask all her students to sort their words once more

and then to write the words by categories in word study notebooks along with a sentence or two about what

they have learned. On other days, they will work with partners to sort again and to find more words from the

books they are reading that fit the same sounds and/or patterns. On Friday, Mrs. Zimmerman assesses all three

groups at one time by calling out a word in turn for each group to spell.

This classroom vignette illustrates five of the eleven key principles of developmental word study:

1. A step backward is a step forward. Students in this group had already studied the fairly consistent ar sound

in words like car and star. In this sort, those sounds are reviewed with different words and a new sound is

introduced that is spelled with two patterns.

2. Use words students can read. Mrs. Zimmerman began this lesson by going over the words, reading and dis-

cussing their meanings.

3. Sort by sound and pattern. Mrs. Zimmerman began by comparing two sounds before leading a visual contrast

in which spelling patterns were compared. Even when students sort words by patterns it is important for

them to “say it” as they “lay it.”

4. Don’t hide exceptions. In this sort, the word bear was included as an oddball, a word that has the same sound

but a different spelling pattern. Words like pear and wear might have been included as well. These so-called

exceptions reveal that there is a small subset of words with the /ār/ sound spelled with an ear pattern. Most

of these are homophones.

FIGURE 3.2 Mrs. Zimmerman’s Pattern Sort

fair stairs

hair pair

stare hare

scare

rare mare

share care chair bear

Word Study Principles and Practices 53

Why Focused Contrasts?

Throughout this book you will see many examples of games and activities, but the simple process of contrasting words by sound, pattern, and/or meaning and sorting them into categories is at the heart of word study. A focused contrast is a set of deliberately targeted features that can be catego- rized. Making contrasts is one way to categorize, a fundamental way that humans make sense of the world. It enables us to find order and similarities among various objects, events, ideas, and words that we encounter. When students categorize words, they engage in the active process of searching, comparing, contrasting, and analyzing. Word sorts help students organize what they know about words to verbalize generalizations that they can then apply to new words they encounter in their reading or spell in their writing (Cartwright, 2012; Henderson, 1990; Templeton & Bear, 2018).

Because categorizing words by focused contrasts is such a powerful way to help students make sense of words, we will take some time here to discuss it in depth. The focus changes but the act of contrasting and categorizing remains the same across the grades and stages. At first, emergent and beginning readers contrast sounds at the beginnings of words by categorizing pictures, as shown in Figure 3.3 on page 55. By the time they are transitional readers, enjoying their first Dyamonde Daniel books (by N. Grimes), or the Fox series (by E. Marshall), students benefit from contrasting vowel sounds and vowel patterns. In later grades, students enhance their spelling and vocabulary as they group words by prefixes and suffixes. In middle school and high school, students sort words by Greek and Latin roots that share common meanings.

Teaching Word Knowledge through Sorting Word sorting offers the best of both constructivist learning and direct instruction. Begin by identifying a focus and “stacking the deck” with words that can be contrasted by sound, pattern, or meaning. During sorting, Mrs. Zimmerman’s students will discover generalizations about how the English spelling system works to represent speech sounds and meanings. Over the next few weeks, they will focus on other r-inf luenced vowels through a series of contrasts. They will discover that r often “robs” the vowel of the sounds we normally associate with it. Rather than simply memorizing 20 words each week for a spelling test, students have the opportunity to construct their own word knowledge that they can apply to reading and writing. Through sorting, students acquire and integrate new word knowledge that is extended and refined through the activities we describe. In addition to learning how to spell, read, understand, and use new words, students develop productive habits of mind (Marzano, 1992).

One central goal of word study is to teach students how to spell and decode new words and to improve their word recognition and writing in general. To accomplish this goal, we teach students, through focused con- trasts, how to examine words and talk about the regularities that exist in the spelling system. Picture sorts and word sorts are designed to help students learn how and where to look at and listen to words. It’s not just the sorting that accomplishes these goals however; the talk that surrounds these sort- ing activities helps students form generalizations about how the spelling sys- tem words to represent pronunciations and meanings. Discussion about how words sound, how they look, and what they mean is essential for building the

5. Teaching is not telling. Mrs. Zimmerman is careful to use open-ended questions so that students have the

opportunity to draw their own conclusions about the set of words. She expects her students to do the thinking

for themselves. Mrs. Zimmerman provides guidance by calling attention to the focused contrasts between the

sounds they hear and the patterns they see below the key words cart and care.

Student sorts short a and -ar words

54 C H A P T E R 3

word knowledge that underpins spelling, reading, and writing, for native speakers and English learners alike.

Teaching Phonics through Word Study Word study differs from other phonics approaches in some important ways. Students manipulate, see, say, and write words as they learn to spell them. The multisensory process of feeling where sounds are made in the mouth while pronouncing words during word study is an excellent way of building kinesthetic- tactile awareness, an essential component of multi- sensory approaches. The hands-on process of sorting words into categories requires students to pay atten- tion to the look and feel of words and to make logical decisions as they place each one in a column. Con- sider the ancient proverb: “I hear and I forget, I see

and I remember, I do and I understand.” Word sorts help students learn by doing (Morris, 2013). Second, students work with words or the names of pictures that they can already pro-

nounce. In this way they are able to bring their tacit, subconscious understandings to explicit awareness. This is not possible if students cannot first name the words. Because learning to spell involves associating the spelling of words with their pronunciations and meanings, it is important that children know and can already pronounce most of the words to be sorted. Discussing the meanings of the words before, during, and after sorting them is also important.

A third way in which sorting differs from some other phonics approaches is that categoriz- ing words is analytic, whereas many phonics programs take a predominantly synthetic approach. In both approaches, students are directly taught letter–sound correspondences. However, in a synthetic-only phonics approach, students are taught the letter–sound correspondences and then expected to sound out words phoneme by phoneme. This can make reading tedious, especially if the meaning of the words is totally unknown. An analytic phonics approach uses known words; students are asked to examine their parts listening for speech sounds, looking for the spelling patterns that go with them, and thinking about meaning. Analytic phonics supports the synthetic skills necessary to decode new words when reading and to encode words when writing. Word study involves both analytic and synthetic phonics.

A fourth way in which sorting differs from most phonics and spelling programs is that sort- ing does not rely solely on memorizing or reciting rules prior to understanding the underlying principles. During sorting, students are asked to determine similarities and differences in a focused collection of words as they use higher-level critical thinking skills to make categori- cal judgments. When students make decisions about whether the middle vowel sound in cat sounds more like the medial vowel sound in map or top, independent analysis and judgment are required. Memorization is necessary to master the English spelling system. One simply must remember that the animal is spelled bear and the adjective is spelled bare, but memorization is easier when served by knowledge and understanding of the principles of English spelling. Rules are useful mnemonics for concepts already understood.

Finally, because of the simplicity of sorting routines, teachers find it easy to differentiate instruction among groups of learners. Sorting is highly adaptable and the process of categoriz- ing word features by focused contrasts lends itself to cooperative learning.

Types of Sorts

The three basic types of sorts ref lect the three layers of English orthography: sound, pattern, and meaning. These three types of sorts address how the alphabet ref lects speech sounds and how spelling patterns ref lect both sound and meaning.

Student contrasts /ûr/ sounds spelled -er, -or, and -ar

Word Study Principles and Practices 55

Sound Contrasts Sound is the first layer of English orthography that students must negotiate to make sense of the alphabetic nature of English spell- ing. At different points in development, students sort words (and/ or pictures of words) by rhyme, initial sounds, consonant blends or digraphs, rhyming word families, or vowel sounds. More advanced spellers may sort by syllable stress or the shifting sounds of vowels as affixes are added.

Pictures are naturally suited for sound sorts: The picture begs to be named, yet there is no printed form of the word for reference. As students sort each picture, they must pay attention to the indi- vidual speech sounds or phonemes contained in the word. Picture sorting is particularly suited for students who are still developing phonemic awareness and do not have extensive reading vocabu- laries. Students say the names of the pictures as they place them under the letters and the key pictures associated with the initial sound. Refer to Figure 3.3 where pictures have been sorted under letters and key words associated with the initial sound. For variety, small objects can be used instead of pictures, like a penny, pencil, and pin for sorting by beginning /p/ sound. English learners will need extra time and support to learn the names of the objects and pictures before sorting them by sound. Printed words, too, can be sorted for sounds, as Mrs. Zimmerman did using the key words cart and care. Because sound is the first aspect of a word that a speller has for reference, sound contrasts are very important. For example, only after the long a sound in tape is identified can the speller consider which of several spelling patterns might be used. (Is it taip or tape?) Not all word sorts involve a sound contrast, but many do.

Pattern Contrasts Students use the printed form of the word to sort by spelling patterns or letter sequences. Letter name–alphabetic spellers sort words into word families, sometimes called closed syllables, consonant-vowel-consonant patterns, or phonograms (hat, rat, pat versus ran, fan, tan). Students in the within word pattern stage sort their words by vowel patterns (wait, train, mail, pain versus plate, take, blame). More advanced spellers will sort by the pattern of consonants and

for English learners

FIGURE 3.3 Beginning Sound Sort

Three different patterns of long-a contrasted with short a

56 C H A P T E R 3

vowels in the middle of the word at the syllable juncture (button, pillow, ribbon versus window, public, basket) or by patterns of constancy and change across derivationally related words (for example, divine–divinity, mental–mentality).

Pattern sorts often follow a sound sort as we saw in the lesson with Mrs. Zimmerman. The words under care were subdivided into two pattern groups: words spelled with air and words spelled with are. Because certain spelling patterns go with certain sound categories, students must be taught first to listen for the sound and then to consider alternative ways to spell that sound.

Sometimes a new feature is best introduced with a pattern sort to reveal a related sound difference. Consider the words in Figure 3.4 that have been sorted by the final ch or tch pattern. The final sound in all the words is the same, so a sound sort would not help to differentiate their spellings. However, now that the words are sorted by the final consonant patterns, read down each column to see whether you notice anything about the vowel sounds within each column. What did you discover? The tch pattern is associated with the short vowel sound whereas ch is associated with the long vowel sound. Exceptions are rich and such, which are moved to the oddball category. The spelling patterns of words are best remembered when associated with categories of sound.

Word sorts with printed word cards are the mainstay of pattern sorts and are use- ful for all students who have a functional sight word or reading vocabulary. Key words containing the pattern under study may be underlined or bolded (as in Figure 3.5) to label each category. Students categorize word cards by matching the spelling pattern in each word to the pattern in the key word at the top of the column. Headers are used to highlight the recurring spelling pattern (as shown in Figure 3.5, where tch and ch identify the focus of the sort). Students can sometimes create their own headers as part of the word sorting lesson to summarize a generaliza- tion. Because it is easier to sort words by visual spelling patterns, students can lose sight of the fact that certain patterns go with certain sounds. Sometimes mixing a few pictures in with a stack of word cards challenges students to be vigilant in their word analysis.

Meaning Contrasts Sometimes the focus of a contrast is on meaning. The two major types of meaning contrasts are concept sorts and meaning sorts related to spelling.

CONCEPT SORTS. Grouping objects, pictures, or words by similar concepts or meaning is a good way to link word study instruction to students’ conceptual

understanding and vocabulary. Concept sorts are appropriate for all ages and stages of word knowledge and can be used in the content areas. Pictures of mammals, mathematical formulas, geometric shapes, or social studies vocabulary words all can be sorted for greater understand- ing. The creative possibilities for using concept sorts are endless. As writing tools, they can be used to organize ideas before composing. Concept sorts are even useful for teaching grammar when words are sorted by parts of speech.

You can use concept sorts for assessing and building background knowledge before embarking on a new unit of study. For example, a science unit on states of matter might begin by having students categorize the following words into groups that go together: steam, wood, air, ice cube, rain, metal, glue, paint, plastic, smoke, milk, and fog. Discussing the reasons behind their conceptual groupings will be revealing. Revisit the sort as the unit progresses to review and assess core concepts and vocabulary. Having students categorize examples under the key words solid, liquid, and gas will help them sort out the essential characteristics for each state of matter. Concept sorts are effective for dealing with new words in novels, too. While reading Stuart Little (by E. B. White), a group of Mrs. Birckhead’s third graders sorted some of the vocabulary they encountered and discussed what the words within a group had in common, as shown in Figure 3.6.

FIGURE 3.4 Word Sort by Final -ch and -tch Patterns

witch

patch

hutch

switch

hatch

fetch

match

speech

roach

teach

peach

coach

reach rich

such

FIGURE 3.5 Closed Sort Handout for -tch and -ch Patterns with Headers and Key Words

tch

witch

coach

hutch

much

fetch

peach

ch

teach

each

rich

hatch

much

screech

catch

patch

switch

reach

match

sketch

Enhanced eText Video Example 3.1 In this video you can see examples of students engaged in a variety of sound, pattern, and meaning sorts.

Word Study Principles and Practices 57

Concept picture sorts are particularly beneficial for English learners. Without knowing the English labels, they can sort pictures of a dog, a cat, a duck, and so on into an animal cat- egory. These can be contrasted with pictures of a f lower, a tree, a cornfield, a pumpkin, and so on—all examples of plants. English vocabulary is learned as students repeat the sort, naming each picture and discussing categories with help from a teacher or peer. Like all children, English learners learn words by predicting relationships and building word meanings through knowledge net- works and categories (Neuman & Wright, 2014).

SPELLING–MEANING CONTRASTS. Students see that meaning inf lu- ences the spelling of words when they first encounter soundalike homophone pairs like by and buy or to and too. Students enjoy homophones because they are interesting, and it makes sense that words with different meanings take different spelling patterns. When you discuss homophones while word sorting, students expand their vocabularies and learn about spelling pat- terns at the same time, as demonstrated by the discussion of bear and bare in Mrs. Zimmerman’s class. Homographs are words that are spelled the same but pronounced differently, depending on part of speech: We record our sorts so that we have an ongoing record of them. By sorting homographs into grammatical categories by part of speech, students enrich their vocab- ularies while learning how to pay attention to syllable stress.

Advanced spellers learn how words that are related in meaning often share similar spell- ings. This spelling–meaning connection in derivationally related words provides a rich arena for meaning sorts that build on Greek and Latin elements. When the focus shifts to derivational relationships, students will sort words by similarities in roots and stems such as the spect in spectator, spectacle, inspect, and spectacular versus the port in transport, import, portable, and port-o-john. Derivational words can also be contrasted by word endings that signal grammatical parts of speech—educate, dictate (verb), education, dictation (noun-thing), educator, dictator (noun-person). By discussing the slight changes in meaning and use across these derived forms, students begin to generalize the spelling-meaning connections they observe.

for English learners

FIGURE 3.6 Concept Sort Based on Stuart Little

Boat Terms BirdsWeather

squall

mist

breeze

brisk

ominous

cloudy

sunshiny

rigging

bow

stern

schooner

helm

mainmast

capsize

henbird

vireo

wren

beak

breast

Land and sea animals concept sort

58 C H A P T E R 3

The Word Study Lesson

Instruction in word study, as in comprehension and other areas of the curriculum, follows a gradual release model, an I do, we do, you do procedure (Fisher & Frey, 2008). A gradual release model begins with teacher modeling and explicit explanations (Duffy, 2009), moves to guided practice, and then proceeds to independent application. Each week, students get a new set of words and you decide how best to introduce those words so that students are led to form gen- eralizations about how the contrasted features work.

Levels of Support Introductory lessons can range from teacher-directed sorts to student-centered sorts done independently or in buddy pairs. Which level of support you select depends on several factors:

1. How familiar students are with categorizing words according to focused contrasts 2. Whether a new feature is being introduced 3. The amount of time available for sorting, ref lecting, and discussing 4. How well students can work independently

Different levels of support are summarized in Table 3.1 and described in the following subsections. Look across the top for the differing levels of teacher support and then down the side to see how the lesson components vary according to the amount of support students need. Open-ended questions that require students to think and form their own generalizations are used at all levels, but you should always be ready to model your own thinking when they are unable to articulate a generalization.

Mrs. Zimmerman chose a teacher-directed sort to introduce the new feature of r-inf lu- enced vowels in the vignette at the beginning of this chapter. Such a lesson can take 20 minutes or more. The next week when she gives them words contrasting the spelling patterns er (her, per), ear (hear, fear), and eer (deer, cheer), she might assign a student-directed sort before they come to the group because they are experienced sorters. In this case she may only need five to ten minutes of group time in which the students quickly re-sort their words and ref lect on what they discovered.

A spelling-meaning sort contrasting prefixes dis-, mis-, and pre-

Word Study Principles and Practices 59

TABLE 3.1 Continuum of Support for Word Study

Teacher-Directed Closed Sorts The highest level of support and explicit instruction is offered in teacher-directed closed sorts. Closed sorts are a type of direct instruction in which you define the focused contrast in advance and make it clear how to conduct the sort (Gillet & Kita, 1979). In teacher-directed closed sorts you explicitly introduce the key words and set up the headers. For example, in a beginning

For Novice Sorters Or To Introduce New Features

For Experienced Sorters Or To Assess

Teacher-Directed Closed Sort

Teacher-Directed Guess My Category

Student-Centered Closed Sort

Student-Centered Open Sort

Materials One set of words for group to focus on using a pocket chart, overhead, interactive whiteboard, or other method.

Students bring their own set of words to the group or are given a set at the end of group work to take back to their seats to cut apart and sort.

Students get their own set of words with key words and/or headers.

Students get their own set of words with no key words or headers.

Introduce the Sort

Read through all the words and talk about any that students might not know.

Introduce each category with a header and a key word and explicitly describe the features students are to look for.

Read through the words and talk about any that are unfamiliar.

Set up the categories with key words but do not describe the feature or put up headers.

Read through the words and talk about any that are unfamiliar.

Students can also do this on their own, putting aside any words they don’t know to discuss and sort later.

Students work on their own to read through words and put aside words they don’t know.

Sorting Demonstrate how to sort two or three words in each category and describe explicitly why each word goes there.

Students help to complete the sort and justify their placements.

Model by sorting several words in each category but do not explain the reasons.

Students are then invited to try sorting the rest of the words.

Students use headers and key words to set up categories and sort independently.

Students determine categories and sort their own words.

They explain to you or each other why they sorted as they did.

Reflect Model how to check the columns and create a generalization with student help.

Be ready to model as needed to summarize what the sort has revealed.

Ask students to describe the features in each category and then check each column.

Create a generalization with students’ help. Supply headers at this point or label key words.

Call group together or check in individually for students to describe the features and talk about any unfamiliar words.

Everyone checks.

Call group together to talk about categories.

“Close” the sort. Establish key words so everyone sorts the same way.

Check and talk about generalizations. Supply or label headers.

Sort Again Students sort their own set of words in the group under your supervision or at their seats.

Remind students to check, and ask each student to state generalizations.

Students sort their own set of words using the key words and headers in the group or independently.

Monitor and check in during or after students sort.

Students sort independently.

Students sort independently.

60 C H A P T E R 3

sound phonics sort, you would isolate the beginning sound to be taught, make an explicit connection to the letter that represents it, and explicitly point out the key word, letter, and/ or picture used to designate the category. You might think aloud like this: “Shhhhhoe, shhhhell. I hear the same /sh/ sound at the beginning of shoe and shell, so I am going to put the picture of the shell under shoe. They both begin with /sh/, the sound made by the letters s–h together.”

After modeling several words this way, gradually release the task to the students’ control as they finish the sort under your supervision. After sorting, students reread and discuss the characteristics of the words in each column and develop a generalization based on the selected feature. Students may then sort independently or collaboratively in pairs under your guidance. This practice is carefully monitored and corrective feedback is provided.

The teacher-directed sort is the most commonly used approach to introduce a new sort to a group and provides a model of direct instruction that is explicit and systematic, yet sensitive to individual variation. The teacher-directed lesson plan includes four components:

1. Introduce the sort 2. Guide the ref lection 3. Re-sort and check 4. Extend

INTRODUCE THE SORT. The four steps to introducing the sort are:

1. Introduce the words and explore meaning. Look over the words or pictures for items that are potentially difficult to identify or that may be unfamiliar to students. Students in the ele- mentary grades and higher might be assigned a word to look up in advance. Display the pictures or words and quickly read or name them together. Give names of pictures as needed. (“This is a picture of a yard.”) Students should already be able to read most of the words in a sort but any words students cannot identify should be set aside until later. Help students define unfamiliar words and discuss words with multiple meanings: “Does anyone know what a hutch is? It is a kind of wooden cage up on legs. Pet rabbits often live in hutches. It is also a piece of furniture.” You might keep a picture dictionary handy to help explain different word meanings. Students who looked up selected words can be asked to report to the group. Revisit new word meanings and discuss these words throughout the week. Your English learners will especially benefit from picture dictionaries and vocabulary discussion. When there are many unknown words, as is often the case when we teach English learners, we may define and discuss only half of the pictures or words on the first day.

2. Establish the categories. Display all the words and use open-ended questions to help students focus on the categories: • What do you notice about these words? • What do your eyes and ears tell you about these words? • How might we sort these words?

If you stacked the deck with words that share common patterns or sounds and your stu- dents are familiar with categorizing, they should notice common features fairly quickly. If not, then define the categories for them. Display letter cards, key pictures, key words, or headers with spelling pattern cues to identify the categories. If you are working with contrasting sounds, you can emphasize or elongate them by stretching them out. If you are working with contrasting patterns, you can think aloud as you point out the spelling patterns in each category. If you are working with syllables, affixes, or derivational relations, you can explicitly point out the unit you are using to compare and contrast.

3. Model how to sort several words and explain why. “We are going to listen for the vowel sound in the middle of these words and decide whether they sound like the /ă/ sound in the middle of map or like the /ŭ/ sound in the middle of duck. I’ll do a few first. Here is a rug. Ruuuuug, uuuug, uuuuuuh. Notice how I peel off the sounds before and after the vowel to make it easier to hear the vowel in the middle. Rug has the ‘uh’ sound (/ŭ/) in the middle, so I’ll put it under duck, uuuuck, uuuuh. Here is a f lag. Flaaaaag, aaaag, aaaa. I’ll put f lag under maaaap. Flag and map both have the /ă/ sound in the middle.

for English learners

Word Study Principles and Practices 61

4. Invite students to help with the sorting. Display the rest of the pictures or words so students can select one they are sure of, or pass them out. Students should name the picture or read the word aloud and then place it in a category, explaining why it goes there. If students make a mistake at the very beginning, correct it immediately. Simply say: “Sack would go under map. Its middle sound is /ă/.” Then model how to segment the phonemes to isolate the medial vowel: /s/–/ă/–/k/.

GUIDE THE REFLECTION. After sorting, read down the lists of words in each column to check for the sound or pattern. Now comes the most important part of the lesson where students are asked to verbalize what the words or pictures in each column have in common and arrive at some conclusion or general- ization. Be sure to talk about why the oddballs are placed in another category and return to any words that students were not able to read.

1. Begin with open ended questions such as the fol- lowing ones listed and take responses from more than one student: • What do you notice about our categories?

Anyone else have an idea? • How are the words alike in this column? What else? • Why did you put these words together? Do you all agree? • Are there any oddballs? What makes them odd?

2. Focus attention on sound, pattern, and/or meaning with probing questions such as: • How are the sounds in these words alike? • What kind of pattern do you notice? Have we seen this pattern before? • Are any of these words similar in meaning?

3. Talk about where in the word the feature occurs, how often students encounter the feature in their reading, and other words that have those same word parts. • Position. Some spelling patterns are found at the ends of words (like the oy in toy and

enjoy) and others in the middle (like the oi in soil or choice). By asking students to ref lect on where certain patterns occur within words, you can lead students to understand that certain patterns that represent certain sounds occur in certain positions. This insight will help them enormously as they learn to read and spell.

• Frequency. Frequency of occurrence is also worthy of ref lection. For example, word hunts will reveal that words ending in er are much more common than words ending in or or ar. After students are clued into the frequency of certain spelling patterns, they can apply this insight by using a “best bet” approach to spelling and reading unfamiliar words.

• Related words. Ref lecting on related words will extend students’ insights to other words—a major goal of word study. Words with similar roots and affixes are related in both spelling and meaning. For example, the word cover is related to discover, uncover, recover, discovery, recovery, and so on. Such is the generative nature of word study.

4. Reach conclusions. Avoid telling rules, but help students shape their ideas into gener- alizations such as, “All of these words have the letter u in the middle and make the ‘uh’ sound,” or “The words with an e on the end have the /ā/ sound in the middle.” With the

Teacher introducing the sort

62 C H A P T E R 3

generalization or “big idea” now explicitly stated, they may be able to apply it to the decod- ing of unfamiliar words. Use questions such as:

• What did you learn from this sort? Something else? • How can this help you as a speller? As a reader? • Are there any words that might be especially difficult to spell? Why? • Can we apply what we have learned to read (or spell) these words?

During the ref lection part of the lesson, students are asked to verbally declare and discuss their understanding about sound, pattern, and meaning.

RE-SORT AND CHECK. Ideally right after the discussion, or when time allows, ask students to re-sort. Leave up the headers and key words and scramble the rest and turn them face down in a pile. Students may enjoy the anticipation of turning over a card when it is their turn to draw. Students might also sort their own set of words cooperatively or independently under your supervision. Unless your students are in the last two levels of word knowledge (syllables and affixes or derivational relations), ask them to name each word or picture aloud as they sort.

During this second, repeated sort, do not correct your students, but when they are through, have them name the words or pictures in each column to check the sort. When students make mistakes, finding out why they sorted a picture or word in a particular way is sometimes useful. Simply asking, “Why did you put that there?” can provide further insight into a student’s word knowledge. If mistakes are made, your students will learn more if you guide them to finding and correcting the mistake on their own. You might say, “I see one word in this column that doesn’t fit with the others. Can you find it?”

EXTEND. Extensions consist of activities designed to reinforce and apply what students have learned after the group demonstration, sorting, and ref lection. During the extension, students participate in a number of activities at centers, with partners, as seatwork, and for homework to link their understandings to reading and writing. They continue to sort a number of times individually and with partners for several days. They hunt for similar words in their books, draw and label pictures, add to word charts, complete word study notebooks, write words and play games. Extensions that link word study to reading and writing are described in more detail later in this chapter.

Teacher-Directed Open Sorts Teacher-directed open sorts are differ- ent from the teacher-directed closed sorts because in the open sort, the categories are not predefined. Although the sort still con- tains a focused contrast and the teacher is still leading the introduction, in the teacher- directed open sort the students are given more responsibility to figure out the categories as opposed to being told what they are by the teacher. In the teacher-directed open sort, students are required to do more thinking.

GUESS MY CATEGORY. When students are comfortable with sorts, you can use a varia- tion of the teacher-directed sort called Guess My Category. After reviewing the words, set up key words or pictures as in a closed sort but do not offer any explanation of the Extend activities: Games and books for word hunts

Enhanced eText Video Example 3.2 In this video, the authors outline the lesson plan format for word sorting.

Word Study Principles and Practices 63

categories. Rather, it is your students’ job to develop hypotheses about how the things in each category are alike. The steps for conducting a Guess My Category activity are as follows:

• Begin by sorting two or three pictures or words into each column without any headers to give away the focus of the sort.

• Pick up the next object, picture, or word and invite someone to guess where it will go. Continue doing this until all the pictures or words have been sorted.

• Try to keep the students who have caught on to the attributes of interest from telling the others until the end.

• After sorting, read through the word, and guide a ref lective discussion as you would for the earlier teacher-directed sort.

• Give students their own objects, pictures, or words to sort and assign follow-up activities to do throughout the week.

Look at the following words sorted under the key words dead, street, and reach. Can you guess the categories and decide where to sort speak, bread, and sweet?

Guess My Category is particularly useful in small groups for exploring content-specific vocabulary while also stimulating creative thinking. Give small groups sets of words, pictures, or objects that might be grouped in various ways; ask each group to come up with its own categories. Allow them to have a miscellaneous designation for those things that do not fit the categories they establish. After the groups are finished working, let them visit each other’s sorts and try to guess the categories that were used. For example, pictures of animals might be sorted into groups according to body covering, habitat, or number of legs. As with the sorts described previously, discussion of what’s the same and what’s different is critical for student learning.

BRAINSTORMING. Brainstorming can also be used to introduce a sort. You might ask students for words that have particular sounds, patterns, or roots and write them on the board. You can then write words in categories as they are given, as in the Guess My Category activity described earlier, or categories might be determined by discussion. These words can be transferred to word study sheets for weekly word sorting routines. After one student raised a question about why the word sleeve had an e on the end when it already had the ee pattern, Mrs. Zimmer- man asked her students to think of other words that ended in either ve or v. After listing their brainstormed words on the board, students sorted them into two groups—those that had a long vowel sound and needed the e to mark the vowel (stove, alive, cave) and those that did not (give, love, achieve). Students could think of no words that ended in plain v, and they concluded that an e always came after v, whether it was needed to mark the vowel or not!

Student-Centered Sorts As students become sorting pros, student-centered sorts increase the cognitive demand and can reduce the amount of teacher-directed group time.

CLOSED SORT. In many classrooms, students are given their words for the week on Monday morning, and they sort their words independently in anticipation of the categories they will be sorting later in teacher-directed groups. The handout for a closed sort, such as the example shown

dead

head

breath trees beach

queen

street reach

dream

64 C H A P T E R 3

earlier in Figure 3.5, provides the headers and key words students need to complete the sort on their own. They have some support, but they must still read each word and think about sounds and patterns as they make their own decisions about how to catego- rize. Remind students to watch out for oddballs. Oddballs present an enjoyable chal- lenge for students that forces them to test the hypotheses they form about the words.

OPEN SORT. The student-centered open sort is really our favorite, demanding the highest level of independent effort and thought because students are not given any clues to the categories or features—only a set of words to sort. Open sorts are often the most satisfying for students as well because they present a puzzle to solve. To conduct an open sort:

1. Distribute a handout that has no headers or key words, such as Figure 3.7. If you are using prepared sorts that come with headers and key words, as in Figure 3.5, cut off the headers and key words to save for later.

2. Ask students to read over the words and create their own categories. 3. Have students compare their categories with a partner and come up with their

own generalizations. 4. Bring the students together to talk about the meanings of any unfamiliar words.

Review their sorts, and ask they what they noticed about the words and what conclusions they were able to reach on their own.

Even with student-centered sorts, this last step is very important. Ask the students to sort so you can check for accuracy and observe their thinking. You may find that some students have sorted the words in ways that do not reveal a generalization or the “big idea.” For example, your students may sort the words in Figure 3.7 by the number of letters, by rhyming words, or by beginning consonants (with a blend or no blend). After acknowledging that the words could be sorted that way, you should “close the sort” by agreeing on the focused contrasts you had in mind. At this point you might give students the headers and key words that were cut off the handout, or have students create their own headers as a way for them to summarize the features as part of the ref lection process. In the final sort (see Figure 3.4 on page 56), the tch and ch endings have been underlined to identify both key words and headers. The same headers should be used each time students sort.

Student-centered sorts are diagnostic in nature because they reveal what students know when they work independently. Open sorts provide opportunities for students to test their own hypotheses and they often come up with unexpected ways to organize words. These open sorts are interesting to observe and to discover what students already understand or misunderstand. Some of the most productive discussions about orthography come when students explain why they sorted the way they did in an open sort. Remember the kinds of questions to guide the ref lection discussed on page 56. Broadly these questions probe:

• How are the words the same within each category? • Are there any oddballs? What makes them odd? • What can we learn from sorting these words in this way?

Teacher Talk and Student Reflection

Peter Johnston has written extensively about how the language that teachers use with students can position them as problem solvers or as passive recipients ( Johnston, 2004, 2012). Word study, as we describe it, offers valuable opportunities for students to be actively involved in making discoveries about the spelling system and developing vocabulary—but only if teachers facilitate group discussions that foster thoughtful interactions (Gehsmann, Millwood, & Bear, 2012). Classroom observations by Ganske and Jocius (2013) revealed that teachers often relied on a traditional initiate/respond/evaluate format during word study lessons: The teacher initi- ates a question to which he or she knows the answer, the student responds, and the teacher evalu- ates the response as right or wrong. Such interactions are more like interrogations dominated

FIGURE 3.7 Open Sort Handout for tch and ch Patterns

witch

coach

hutch

much

fetch

peach

teach

each

rich

hatch

much

screech

catch

patch

switch

reach

match

sketch

Word Study Principles and Practices 65

by the teacher than discussions in which students practice higher-level thinking skills and learn from each other.

Student ref lection and discussion are critical parts of word study instruction, but teachers must carefully consider how it is done. The language we use when we talk with students has a powerful inf luence on their understanding and can cultivate a sense of self-efficacy and problem solving. Asking open-ended questions such as, “What do you notice about these words?” fol- lowed by “Who has another idea?” suggests there are multiple aspects of words worth consid- ering and that there is no one right answer. When students are writing and ask how to spell a word, asking, “Do you know another word that has a similar sound at the beginning?” conveys the message that they can figure it out for themselves (Johnston, 2004). Table 3.2 presents examples of teacher talk that encourage students to solve problems, to reason and ref lect, and to apply their growing word knowledge to other words.

Try to frame your response to their answers in ways that avoid judgment and will further the discussion. Instead of saying “Right” or “Good job,” try,

• “Who agrees?” • “Why?” or “Why not?” • “Who can add to that?”

TABLE 3.2 Questions to Guide Critical Thinking during Word Study

Problem Solving Reflection Application & Transfer

What do you notice about these words? Remember to use your ears and your eyes as you examine them.

What can you tell us about these words now that we have sorted them? How are they alike?

Let’s go back to these words we were not sure about earlier. Can we read them now? Can we figure out what they mean?

How are these words alike? How are they different from this set over here? Tell us more.

Why did you put this word here? What if we changed that prefix to another prefix? What would the word mean then?

Where in the word do you find the ___ (sound, spelling patterns, root)? Who can add to that?

What did we learn from this sort that might help us be a better reader or speller?

If you’re not sure how to spell a word, how would you know which pattern to use? What would be your best try? Why?

How else could you figure that out? Does anyone have a different idea?

In your reading, which pattern do you see more frequently? Which pattern has the most words in your column? The fewest?

If you weren’t sure what a word meant, what could you do to figure it out?

What are some ways we could figure out the meaning of that word? How could we check?

How did you figure that out? Can you think of other words that have the same root or base word?

Which part of the word are you sure about? Which part are you not sure about? What do the rest of you think?

Tell me how your sorting went. What words were difficult? What were you sure of/unsure of? What problems did you come across in your sort?

One of the things people do when they aren’t sure about a word is think of another word they know that has a similar base word or root. Let’s try it. Let’s say you don’t know the meaning of recital. What other word might you think of that you do know?

Can you divide the word into parts? What is the base word? Are there any prefixes or suffixes?

What word parts did you use? Do the word parts give you information about the word’s meaning?

What other word can you think of that has the same _____ (sound, pattern, root)?

How are you planning to go about this word sort?

Write down an observation about these words.

Let’s try making some new words with these word parts. Let’s see if we can guess the meaning.

Do you all agree? Why or why not? Any more ideas?

Do you think this will apply to other words like this?

How or when could you use this word?

Source: Based on Palmer, J., and Invernizzi, M. (2014). Not This, But That: No More Phonics and Spelling Worksheets. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

66 C H A P T E R 3

When you say, “I like your ideas” or “Who can add to Todd’s comment?” you are giv- ing students credit for their thinking rather than congratulating them on coming up with the answer you wanted to hear. Questions such as these can help you get meaningful conversations about words going in classrooms where students develop into confident thinkers.

Extensions and Follow-Up Routines

After an introductory sort, assign students a variety of follow-up activities designed to rein- force generalizations and their memory of words, build speed and accuracy, and connect to reading and writing. Ideally, such activities develop productive habits of looking for and thinking about word attributes, while at the same time providing individual practice and experience manipulating and categorizing words. All of these activities can and should be introduced to the whole class through modeling before assigning them to be completed independently.

Repeated Sorting To become f luent readers and writers, students must achieve automaticity in reading (Samu- els, 1988), the fast and accurate recognition of words in context, and automaticity in writing to produce fast and accurate spellings. The words they encounter in reading and use in writ- ing are made of the same sounds, patterns, and meaning units they examine out of context in word study. One of the best ways to achieve automaticity in word recognition and spelling is to repeat a picture or word sort over the next several days. In Mrs. Zimmerman’s class, students sort individually after the group lesson, again on Tuesday, and then on Wednesday with partners. They eagerly participate in timed or speed sorts and they are expected to take their words home to sort several days a week for homework. All this adds up to sorting (and checking) the same words six to eight times throughout the week. There are several types of sorts to assign.

Buddy Sorts Students love to work cooperatively. In a buddy sort, they work together to read the words or name the pictures in each column, place the words into categories, check the sort, and then talk to each other about the generalization covered by the sort. The sorting can take place in tan- dem, side by side with two sets of words, or alternating turns with one set of words. Buddy sorts can provide support for students who are not sure of how to name pictures (often the case for English learners) or read words. Two sorts that work well with buddies are blind sorts and blind writing sorts.

Blind Sorts In a blind sort, headers or key words are used to establish categories, but then the teacher or a partner shuff les the word cards and calls each word aloud without showing it. The student indicates the correct category by pointing to or naming the header. The response is checked and corrected immediately when the printed word is revealed and put in place. Buddies can switch roles (reader or sorter) after going through the whole set of words or they can switch roles word by word. This sort is important for students who need to attend less to visual patterns and more to the sounds. Sometimes, you can use a blind sort as a way to introduce a sort when sound is particularly important, as in the study of short vowels. Note, however,

for English learners

Word Study Principles and Practices 67

that blind sorts do not present a chal- lenge when sound is not an issue, as in the study of prefixes or root words.

Writing Sorts Writing words as a study technique for spelling is well established and is a highly recommended multisensory activity. Undoubtedly the motoric act of writing reinforces the memory for associating letters and patterns with speech sounds and meanings. How- ever, the practice of assigning students to write words five or more times is of little value because it can become mindless copying. Where there is no thinking, there is no learning. In con- trast, writing words into categories demands that students attend to the sounds or patterns of letters and think about how those characteristics correspond with the key word or header at the top of the column. Writing sorts are essential if you want students to transfer their word knowledge to writing.

Start a writing sort by writing headers or key words for each category at the top of a paper. Students can record a sort that they complete with word cards or by turning over one word at a time from their collection and writing it under the correct header. Figure 3.8 shows how the words from a long a sort have been written under the key words came, clay, and rain. Students can also be asked to write a ref lection about what they have learned from the sort as described later.

Blind Writing Sorts A combination of the blind sort and writing sort, a blind writing sort requires students to write each word in the correct category before seeing the word. In a blind writing sort, stu- dents must rely on the sounds they hear in the word as well as their memory for the letters associated with them, cued by the key word at the top of the column. This is what spelling is all about. Blind writing sorts are an established weekly rou- tine in many classrooms after students have had the chance to practice the sort several times. Some teachers conduct them in a group using the document camera or interactive white- board, saying the word aloud and letting the students write it before they reveal the word for checking. Blind writing sorts done with a buddy or for homework are a good way to prepare for a weekly test by identifying which words need more attention. Partners take turns calling the words aloud for each other to write. It is important to immediately show the word to check the spelling and placement after each word is written. Writing sorts are also an instructionally sound way to construct weekly spelling tests. Key words are written and then students write and sort the words as they are called.

Students take turns calling words out to each other

FIGURE 3.8 Word Study Notebook

68 C H A P T E R 3

In this way, students are rewarded for the thinking that goes into writing words correct—not just for memorizing their spelling. Writing sorts and blind writing sorts connect word study to writing and to reading.

The following are some guidelines for conducting blind writing sorts:

• Establish format. Blind writing sorts can be recorded in the word study notebook, on loose writing paper, or on a whiteboard. Have students divide their notebook, paper, or whiteboard into columns and write the header and/or key words at the top of each one. The headers should match the headers from the sort.

• Dictate words from the sort. Working in buddy pairs, students take turns calling out words from the sort (without showing them) and asking their partner to write them under the appropriate header. After the partner writes a word, it should be shown and checked immediately. If an error is made, the partners should discuss what might have contributed to the mistake. The written word should be marked through and the card moved to the bottom of the collection to call again later.

Written Reflections Part of the introductory lesson is to help students draw conclusions about what they learned from the sort. This offers a good place to model how to write a ref lection that summarizes what they learned from the lesson. Help students shape their ideas into a generalization such as, “The long a sound can be spelled with a-e, ai, and ay patterns.” Or “Dge follows a short vowel and ge follows a long vowel.” At first you may ask students to copy this group-generated ref lection into their word study notebooks, but over time they should be given responsibility for writing it themselves. A good time to write this ref lection would be after the writing sort or after a word hunt, especially following discussion.

Speed Sorts Students are highly motivated to practice their sorts to prepare for speed sorts. The easiest way to do speed sorts is a quick whole-class activity. Display a timer (laying a tablet or phone with a timer on a document camera is one way) or simply call the seconds aloud from the classroom clock. Students set up their headers, shuff le the rest of their words, then hold up the words to signal that they are ready (students in different groups will have different words). When you say “go,” everyone begins to sort. As they finish, students record their times. After checking, the speed sort can be repeated immediately as well as on other days so students can attempt to beat their own times. To encourage accurate sorting, seconds may be added for incorrectly placed words.

Students can also be paired to time each other using a stopwatch and chart their prog- ress over time. Partners then check for correctness using an answer sheet. We do not recom- mend pitting students against each other in a competitive mode, however; instead, students should  compare their speeds with their own earlier speeds and work toward individual improvement.

Word Operations Word operations require students to change a letter (or letters) of a selected word to make new words. Initial letters, or orthographic units, might be substituted to create lists of words that rhyme. For example, starting with the word black, a student might substitute other consonant

Enhanced eText Video Example 3.3 In this video, the authors discuss the different kinds of sorting extensions. You can see examples of students engaged in writing sorts, word hunts, speed sorts, and blind sorts.

Word Study Principles and Practices 69

blends or digraphs to generate stack, quack, track, shack, and so on. Students studying more complex words might substitute prefixes, suffixes, or roots—for example, using graph to generate autograph, biography, photograph, and photography.

Word Hunts Students do not automatically see the relationship between spelling words and reading words. Word hunts help them make this important connection. In word hunts, students hunt through their reading and writing for words that are additional examples of the sound, pattern, or meaning unit they are studying and can develop an understanding of how many other words have the same feature. For example, they see that le is much more common at the ends of words than el. Some patterns are found in virtually every text again and again, whereas others are harder to find; thus, word hunts are more appropriate for some features than others. Before students are expected to do word hunts, you should model the activity.

MODELING AND RECORDING WORD HUNTS. Start with a por- tion of familiar text projected onto a whiteboard, a big book, or simply a book being used for instruction. Working line by line, demonstrate how to locate words that fit the categories under study and how to record those words into categories. Then, assign students to look in their own texts for other words that contain the same features. Add these words to writ- ten sorts under the corresponding key word. See Figure 3.8 for words added to the long a categories at the bottom of the notebook page. Ask the students to use familiar books or already-read portions of the books they are currently reading so they do not confuse skimming for words with reading for meaning.

Figure 3.9 shows an example of a word hunt conducted on a retelling of The Three Billy Goats Gruff by a group of students in Mrs. Fitzgerald’s third-grade class. After working with the long o and short o in word study, students found more words that she underlined. Then, they organized the words by sound and patterns and recorded them in their word study notebooks. Three words, including gobble, were added to the short o column. Groaned and goat were added to the oa column, home to the o–consonant–e column, and meadow was added to the ow column. A new pattern of open, single, long o spellings was discovered with so, go, and over. Students debated where to put too and who before classifying them as oddballs.

This word hunt in The Three Billy Goats Gruff retelling added more examples for students to consider and created new categories. Word hunts not only link word study to reading but they also extend the reach to more difficult vocabulary such as meadow and gobble. With these words, students are able to generalize the pattern within one-syllable words to two-syllable words. Word hunts thus provide a step up in word power.

STUDENT WORD HUNTS. Word hunts can be conducted cooperatively in small groups, with partners, or individually for seatwork or homework. Figure 3.10 shows students gathered around a large sheet of paper on which key words have been written. Students skim and scan pages of books that they have already read, looking for words that match the key words according to the feature under study. Discussion may ensue as to whether a word contains the spelling feature in question and sometimes students consult the

Student recording words from a word hunt

Enhanced eText Video Example 3.4 This video presents an introduction to sorting across the three layers of orthography: sound, pattern, and meaning.

70 C H A P T E R 3

dictionary, particularly to resolve questions of stress, syllabication, or meaning.

When conducting word hunts with emergent to beginning read- ers, have students scan texts that are guaranteed to contain the phonics features targeted in their search. Many core reading programs provide phonics or decodable readers, which are simple books organized around specific phonics features that repeat in the text. Other publish- ers offer phonics readers such as the Ready Readers by Pearson Learning Group or the Learn to Read series by Starfall. Phonics readers can also be downloaded from websites such as Reading A-Z. Although such controlled texts may not be the heart of your reading program, they offer beginning readers a chance to put into practice what they are learning about words and to see many words that work the same way. Simple poems and jingles such as those in I Saw You in the Bathtub, And Other Folk Rhymes (Schwartz & Hoff, 1991) also contain recurring sounds and patterns in their rhyme scheme.

Use the following guidelines to implement word hunts:

• Establish format. The word hunt is usually recoded in a word study notebook or on a chart. Students can either add the words they have hunted to their writing sorts or create new columns using the same headers. • Set expectations. Provide guidance on the number of words to col-

lect and/or the amount of time to spend hunting. In general students look back through books they have already read, scan- ning for words that fit the features in the sort, but sometimes you might provide special text that is filled with the spelling features under study. • Model how to hunt for words. Figure 3.9 is an example of text used by the teacher to model a word hunt. Students in the emergent and letter name stages benefit from word hunts as a group activity directed by the teacher but students in the upper stages learn to do them independently. When studying initial sounds, students can hunt in alphabet books or begin- ning dictionaries. • Check and ref lect. Finish the word hunt by following the same process used in sorting. Read the words in each column to make sure they belong, ref lect on their mean- ing, the spelling pattern, and the number of words found in each category. Encourage students to declare what they have

learned about the spelling of these words and how their understanding of why they are spelled the way they are supports them as readers and writers. In many cases, ref lecting on the patterns that are most common is especially useful, because this suggests which pattern is most likely to be used when spelling unknown words.

BRAINSTORMING. Although word hunts in text can extend the number of examples to consider, students may also supply additional examples through brainstorming. In this case, brainstorming might be considered a word hunt through one’s own memory. You may want to ask for more words that rhyme with cat, words that describe people ending in er, or words that have spir as a root. Word hunts in current reading materials are not always productive when it comes to some features. For example, it is unlikely that a word hunt would turn

FIGURE 3.10 Cooperative Group Word Hunt

FIGURE 3.9 Word Hunt in Story Summary

Word Study Principles and Practices 71

up many words with the Latin root spir, but students may be able to brainstorm other words they already know that contain spir, such as spirit, inspire, or perspire. Words brain- stormed by students can be added to established categories listed on the board, a chart, or a word study notebook.

Draw and Label/Cut and Paste Draw and label is a good activity at a variety of levels to dem- onstrate the meanings of words. See the second page of the word study notebook in Figure 3.8 (page 67) for an example. Multiple meanings for words like block can be illustrated (for example, as a toy, a section of a neighborhood, and a sports play). Homophones like bear and bare are made more memo- rable through drawings, and creating an ongoing class homo- phone book, as shown in Figure 3.11, is a popular activity. Even advanced spellers in the derivational relations stage enjoy drawing pictures to illustrate the meanings of words like spec- tacles, spectators, and inspector.

Drawing pictures of additional words that start with a particular sound is a good activity for emergent and letter name–alphabet spellers. Provide paper that is divided into columns headed by a key letter so that students can see where to draw, how big to draw, and how many to draw. It helps to begin by asking students to brainstorm other words before assigning them the drawing task. They might even look through alphabet books for ideas. After drawing pictures under the appropriate key letter, ask students to label the picture–spelling as best they can. Hold students accountable for spelling the initial sound correctly when that is the focus of the sort but encourage them to try the rest of the word as well.

Cut, paste, and label is a variation of draw and label that involves looking for pictures instead of written words, mak- ing it appropriate for emergent and letter name–alphabetic spellers. Students hunt through old catalogs and magazines for pictures beginning with a certain sound and then cut out the pictures to paste them in the appropriate column.

Many teachers have their students paste words or pictures from a sort into the correct categories as a culminating activity. When using pictures, the students are expected to label them spelling as best they can; the results can be used for assess- ment. See an example in Figure 3.12.

Alternative Sorts Skilled reading requires attention to many aspects of writ- ten words simultaneously. Some students have a hard time attending f lexibly to multiple features of words, often focusing exclusively on either sound or the visual letter patterns. These students often lack the insight that words represent more than just pronunciations; they have a difficult time grasping the idea

FIGURE 3.11 Class Homophone Book

Ava’s draw and label for two letter sounds. The correct spelling has been provided by the teacher.

72 C H A P T E R 3

that words have both meaning and sound (Cartwright, 2010). To lessen this difficulty, students can be challenged to sort their words a different way as an added activity. For example, they might sort pictures by living and nonliving things, whether you would find them inside or outside, whether you could hold them in your hand, or things people can make or not make. Words intended for a short vowel sort might also be sorted by blends at the beginning or end. Other alternative categories might include parts of speech, or words that show action or objects. You might suggest an alternative sort based on the words in the sort, or students might simply be asked to select as many words as possible that are related to a semantic category (for example, shoes, socks, and slippers are things you wear on your feet). Coming up with categories that include all the words is not nec- essary. The important thing is to teach children how to think more f lexibly about word features and to allow ample time to discuss their insights. This kind of f lexible thinking about words will improve spelling, word identifi- cation, decoding, and comprehension (Cartwright, 2008). The Words Their Way companion books and WTW Digital include a number of concept sorts to promote students’ f lexibility in sorting.

Games At the end of each chapter that follows, you will find a number of games and other activities that provide additional practice with words and gener- alizations for each stage of spelling. Classrooms are busy places and there is not much time for games, but most of these are designed to move quickly in cooperative settings. You can use games during the week to reinforce a particular sort and keep them available over time to provide review. Review

sorts can also be stored in manila folders and placed in centers for students to do independently, as shown in the picture on the next page.

Periodic Spell Checks We recommend that you assess students’ mas- tery of the spelling feature after completing the sort and other routines designed to extend the lesson over several days. Here are some things to consider:

• For children sorting pictures, the assessment can be the cut-and-paste activity shown in Figure 3.12. Students would be expected to spell the initial sound correctly although they should be encouraged to spell as much as they can. Beginning with the study of word fami- lies, students are expected to spell the entire word correctly on spell checks, which can be done using the traditional spelling test format.

• There is no need to call aloud all the words from the sort, especially when you have more than one group. A random sample of ten words will suffice.

FIGURE 3.12 Paste and Label the Pictures

Fifth grade students play word study game with assimilated prefixes

Word Study Principles and Practices 73

• Consider conducting the periodic spell checks as a blind writing sort in which students are expected to group words that share common features in addition to spelling them correctly. One point can be awarded for correct spelling and an additional point for correct categorizing. Bonus points might be awarded to students who can provide a written ref lection as to why they grouped the words as they did.

• Call out several words students have not studied to check for transfer. How- ever, be aware that sometimes there is no easy generalization that governs which pattern to use. For example the /ār/ sound introduced by Mrs. Zimmer- man is spelled with both air (chair) and are (care) so she could use a prompt such as, “If you know how to spell care, then you can spell glare.”

• When students are appropriately placed in the word study sequence and have had adequate time working with the words you should see scores of 90% or better on weekly spell checks. If this is not the case, you may want to consider whether students are getting enough practice. You might also re-examine the spelling inventory results or unit spell checks to determine whether students have been properly placed.

Guidelines for Preparing Word Sorts

After identifying spelling stages and grouping students for instruction, as described in Chapter 2, you must decide on what orthographic features to study and prepare collec- tions of words or pictures with appropriate features to contrast. The particular feature you choose to study should be based on what you see students using but confusing on a spelling inventory or in their writing. No matter what the feature is, when preparing word lists for sorting, collect sets of words that offer a focused contrast between at least two sounds, patterns, or meaning categories. Compare b to s, compare long o patterns such as oa, o-e, and ow to short o patterns, or compare words with different prefixes. By carefully setting up focused contrasts in a collection of words, you are stacking the deck so that students can make discoveries and form generalizations as they sort. Sample word sort handouts are shown in Figure 3.13.

The spelling features introduced across grade levels in other phonics and spelling pro- grams generally follow the same progression of orthographic features outlined in this text- book (for example, Templeton & Bear, 2011). One difference, however, is that some phonics or spelling programs present only one sound or spelling pattern at a time in lists that offer no contrasts. For example, one unit may be on words ending with the /ch/ phoneme spelled with the tch pattern (patch, itch, fetch, and so on). Without a focused contrast such as the one shown in Figure 3.4, students are not able to discover that the spelling of the final sound (tch or ch) is related to the medial vowel sound.

Chapters 4 through 8 have guidelines for features to study at each stage and Appendix D has a collection of sample sorts for different

Henry sorts independently using a file folder

FIGURE 3.13 Sample Word Study Handouts

74 C H A P T E R 3

stages that can give you ideas about the kinds of focused contrasts to set up. The Words Their Way® companion books provide a complete curriculum for each stage, with prepared sorts and assessments for each unit. (See a list of these and other resources at the end of this chapter.) However, there are also times when you and your students many want to modify existing sorts or create your own. Only you can be sure of what words your students can already read and thus use for sorting. It is unlikely that any prepared collection of sorts or sequence of study will be just right for your students. To create your own sorts, consult the pictures and wordlists in the appendices.

Consider using online dictionaries to search for internal spelling patterns if you need more words. To search for an internal pattern, you usually use an asterisk or a question mark before or after the pattern. Using a question mark as in “??ar?” or “?ar??” would yield five-letter words with ar in the middle. Using an asterisk, as in “*ar*,” would yield all the words in the dictionary with ar in them.

Making Sorts More or Less Challenging As you plan your focused contrasts, remember that students in different stages will be more successful with certain factors in mind. The difficulty of sorts can be adjusted in several ways:

• You may use fewer words with English learners if students do not know the vocabulary. In such instances, limit the words you use when introducing a new sort. They may be learning new vocabulary at the same time they are learning to pronounce the words. Gradually introduce a few new words each day so that students can focus on both the sort and the new vocabulary. Concept sorting with these same words gives more exposure to the new vocabulary.

• The more contrasts that a sort provides, the more challenging it will be. If students are young or inexperienced, starting with two categories is a good idea. As they become adept at sorting, step up to three categories and then four. Even after working with four categories or more, however, you may want to go back to fewer categories when you introduce a new unit of study.

• The difficulty of the sort also depends on the contrasts you choose. For example, it is easier to compare the sounds for /b/ and /s/ than for /b/ and /p/ because the letter names b and s are made in different parts of the mouth. Likewise, it is easier for students to learn the short sound for i when it is contrasted with the short sound of a or o than with e. Start with obvious contrasts before moving to finer distinctions.

• The level of difficulty can be increased or decreased by the actual words within each cat- egory. For example, adding words with blends and digraphs (black, chest, trunk) to a short vowel sort can make those words more challenging than simple words like tap and set. Ide- ally, students should be able to read all the words in a word sort. In reality, however, this may not always be the case. The more unfamiliar words in a given sort, the more difficult that sort will be. This caveat applies to both being able to read the word and knowing what the word means. A fifth grader studying derivational relations will need easier words to study than a tenth grader in that same stage, simply because the fifth grader will have a more limited vocabulary. If there are unfamiliar words in a sort, try to place them toward the end of the deck so that known words are the first to be sorted. Unfamiliar words can be set aside, but revisit them later and encourage your students to compare the new spelling with the known words already sorted in the columns to arrive at a pronunciation.

• Including a miscellaneous or oddball column with “exception” words that do not fit the targeted letter–sound or pattern feature can also increase the difficulty of a sort.

Planning for Oddballs Words that are at odds with the consistencies within each category will inevitably turn up in word hunts and should be deliberately included in teacher-developed sorts. These words go into a miscellaneous category known as oddballs, rather than exceptions or irregular words. The word work, for example, would be an oddball in a sort with other r-inf luenced o words like fork, corn, and sport, but it fits a small—but regular—category of words that start with wor: world, worm, worse, and word. Oddballs are sometimes high-frequency words such as have, said, was, and again. Such words become memorable from repeated usage but are also memorable because they are odd. They stand out in the crowd. Such words should be included in the sorts

for English learners

Word Study Principles and Practices 75

you prepare, but not too many. One to three oddballs per sort are plenty, so that they do not overshadow the regularity you want students to discover.

The oddball category is also where students may place words if they are simply not sure about the sound they hear in the word. This often happens when students say words differently due to dialectical or regional pronunciations that vary from the “standard” pronunciation. For example, one student in Wise County, Virginia, pronounced the word vein as vine and was correct in placing vein in the oddball column as opposed to the long a group. To this student, the word vein was a long i. Sometimes students detect subtle variations that adults may miss. Students often put words like mail and sail in a different sound category than maid, wait, and paid, because the long a sound is slightly different before the letters r and l. Mail may sound more like /mā-ul/. The important thing is to discuss students’ reasoning for placing words in the oddball category and to explore their reasoning.

Using Word Study Notebooks Word study notebooks provide a built-in, orderly record of the word study activities discussed previously and also provide a place to apply word study to writing and reading vocabulary. Many teachers rely on these student word study notebooks to organize the sequence of word study activities across the week (see Chapter 9). Students record the sorts for each week in their word study notebook and add to the categories as other words are found during word hunts and brainstorms. Students write generalizations and practice writing a few of the words into sentences. Common activities that students conduct in the word study notebook include:

• Writing sorts. Students record the words into the same categories developed during hands-on sorting using the same key words or headers.

• Written ref lection. Ask students to write a ref lection that summarizes the generalization or the big idea about each word sort.

• Draw and label. Even older students enjoy the opportunity to illustrate words with simple drawings that reveal their meanings. Select five to ten words to draw and label. Ask students to illustrate homophones like bear and bare and the multiple meanings of homonyms like park or yard.

• Word operations. Students change a letter (or letters) of a selected word to make new words. This is a good way to encourage transfer.

• Select five words to use in sentences. Meaning and usage are important as students begin to study homophones, inf lected words (ride, rides, riding), and roots and suffixes. Challenge stu- dents to use two or more words from their sort, especially deri- vationally related words. Words can be made into sentences such as “I will need new spectacles to inspect the spectacular new specimen” (González-Fernández & Schmitt, 2017; Schmitt, 2014; 2012).

• Record words from word hunts. Students add new words from their reading and writing to the written sorts in their notebooks.

• Record times from speed sorts. When students are timed early in the week and then again after repeated sorting, they are likely to show improvement.

• Record a blind writing sort. Led by a partner or the teacher, a blind writing sort is a good preparation for a final spelling assessment.

Many teachers grade the word study notebooks as part of an overall spelling grade. Figure 3.14 is an example of the kinds of expec- tations and grading criteria used by Kathy Gankse when she taught fourth grade. This chart can be reproduced and pasted inside the cover of the notebook. Classroom and homework assignments can be completed in the word study notebook. You may want to distinguish

Enhanced eText Video Example 3.5 In this video, a fifth grade teacher discusses her students’ use of word study notebooks throughout the week.

FIGURE 3.14 Expectations for Word Study Notebooks

Word Study Notebooks

Weekly activities for this WS notebook include: 1. Record your Sort and Reflection 2. Draw and label six words 3. Make up sentences with five words 4. Record words from Word Hunt 5. Record times for Speed Sorts

You are expected to: 1. Use correct spelling of assigned words 2. Use complete sentences 3. Use your best handwriting 4. Make good use of word study time

You will be evaluated in this manner: ★ Excellent work ✓ Good work but could be improved R You need to redo this assignment

76 C H A P T E R 3

required activities, such as recording the sort, and choice activi- ties, such as draw and label. There is no need to do each activ- ity every week and some are more valuable at times than others. Upon completing the study of the generalization underlying the categories, students can paste or write the words in their word study notebooks. Other ideas for word study notebooks are noted in the chapters that follow.

Linking Word Study to Reading, Writing, and the Language Arts Curriculum

Word study reveals how our writing system ref lects speech sounds and word meanings. As such, orthographic knowledge—knowl- edge of how words are spelled—is central to both reading and writing. Because of the essential role spelling plays in becoming

fully literate, it is important to intentionally link the insights students gain during word study to their reading and writing, and even to their study of grammar. Students can return again and again to trade books they have already read to analyze the reading vocabulary. Poetry lessons might begin with reference to a word study lesson on syllable stress. In a writing lesson, students might discuss comparative adjectives from a previous word study lesson that focused on words ending in er. During a lesson on parts of speech, students can be asked to sort their week’s spell- ing words into categories of nouns, verbs, and adjectives.

The orthographic features that students learn during word study can also be applied to decoding strategies during reading and to spelling strategies during writing. If students get stuck on a word while reading, prompt them with one of the appropriate features from the word study lesson. For example, remind them to look for the vowel pattern or to break a word into syllables. Point out the similarity between the orthographic features in a particular word and the spelling features they have been sorting. The more frequently you make such connections between word study and decoding strategies, the more often your students will use them. This is equally true for writing—many teachers use the features students are categorizing during word study for targeted proofreading., as described later.

Teachers and parents often complain that students get perfect scores on their spelling tests only to misspell those same words in their writing assignments the following week. To ensure transfer of the big ideas gained during word study, students must be engaged in activities that specifically require them to apply their growing word knowledge through wide reading and writing. Using the following techniques can promote further connections.

Apply Spelling Generalizations to Read New Words Words that students cannot read when a sort is first introduced can be revisited after the ref lec- tion to see if they can now apply the generalization. Likewise, display other words that have the same spelling features so that students can apply what they have been learning to read- ing additional words that were not included in the sort. For example, after working with the r-inf luenced vowels that Mrs. Zimmerman had her students sort, she might ask students to read the words f lare, blare, snare, f lair, and lair. These new words might be presented in sentences such as, “The cougar retreated to its lair.”

Apply to Writing You might try the same thing with spelling unfamiliar words. Ask students to attempt writing the words start, sharp, or smart. In the case of the /âr/ sound there are two possible spellings, so begin with a clue such as, “You know how to spell care, so how would you spell dare?” Another

A sixth grader’s word study notebook

Word Study Principles and Practices 77

way to link word study to writing is through dictated or silly sentences. Select several words from the weekly word sort and dictate a sentence for the student to write. For example, following an at and an rhym- ing family word sort, letter–name spellers might be asked to write, “The fat cat sat in the tan van” ( Johnston, Invernizzi, Juel, & Lewis- Wagner, 2009). Or, following a sort examining how vowel sounds are altered when a suffix is added, derivational spellers might be asked to write, “The competitor competed in the competition.”

Promote Strategies for Independent Problem Solving Students in the earliest stages of developmental word knowledge do not have a large enough repertoire of word knowledge to support inde- pendent writing to their satisfaction. They may want to rely on copy- ing words or on asking an adult to tell them how to spell the words as they try to write them. Giving into these dependencies short changes the opportunity to learn strategies for independent problem solving and self-efficacy. Instead of doing the work for the student, encourage them to figure things out for themselves. A resource they might use is a soundboard—a one-page reference for letter–sound features (beginning consonants, digraphs, blends, and vowels) that pairs a key picture with each sound and letter. When beginners get stuck on how to write a sound, encourage them to refer to their soundboard to find the proper letter–sound match. Examples of soundboards may be found in Appendix C. Place a copy of the appropriate sound board in each child’s writing folder, as described in Activity 5.17 in Chapter 5.

Brainstorm Relatives to Widen the Net To link the big ideas behind the word study lesson to other words students may know, you might engage them in brainstorming lists of friends and relatives. We call this, making relations among related relatives! Provide a word root such as divide and ask students to write related words like division, divisive, divisor, or dividend. Interesting discussions about students’ thinking as they spelled these related words are likely to follow, including lots of talk about the meaning as well as about sound and spelling patterns.

Use Cover and Connect Use the cover and connect strategy to link word study to decoding. Write a word on the board and demonstrate how to cover up word parts, saying the remaining portion and then connecting that segment with the rest of the word when it is uncovered (O’Connor, 2007). The parts that are covered vary according to developmental stage of word knowledge. For letter name–alpha- betic spellers, consonant digraphs, consonant blends, or the short-vowel rhyming family can be covered and then connected (for example, f l-at). For within word pattern spellers, long-vowel patterns can be covered and connected to the remaining consonant blends or digraphs (for example, sn-ake). For syllables and affixes spellers, prefixes and suffixes can be covered and con- nected to base words, or syllables can be covered and connected one to the next (for example, re-read-ing; in-ter-est-ing). When students encounter a word they don’t know in their reading, they can be prompted to use this cover and connect strategy for decoding.

Proofread for Targeted Spelling Features Although students might be encouraged to spell as best they can when they compose rough drafts, daily journal entries, or observation notes for a science experiment, there are times when writing products should be spelled as accurately as possible, especially in the upper grades. Proof- reading involves identifying misspelled words, so it is not an easy task for younger students who are still spelling many words incorrectly. Proofreading needs to be handled judiciously in the

Student writes a sentence using words that start with consonant digraphs

78 C H A P T E R 3

lower grades and can be adjusted for students’ development. After identification, the errors need to be corrected using a variety of spelling strategies (Turbil, 2000). Students should be explicitly taught how to execute this complex skill, not simply told to proofread. You can use your own or a student’s writing samples (with permission) that contain errors to model the ideas below. Subsequent chapters have additional information about what spelling strategies and resources are appropriate for each stage, including the development of dictionary skills. Table 3.3 shows an example of a targeting proofreading sheet for students who had been studying the effect of posi- tion on the spelling of the /oy/ and /ow/ sounds words like boil, toy, how, and sound. Other guide- lines for proofreading for spelling errors with intermediate students are listed in the box below.

Allow Students to Write “As Best They Can” Invented spelling, or spelling “as best you can,” frees students to write even before they can read during the emergent stage, and they should be free to make spelling approximations when writing rough drafts at all levels. Most state standards encourage this and refer to this process as “pho- netic spelling.” Invented spelling, or as we like to call it, developmental spelling, also offers you

TABLE 3.3 Writing Word Hunt/Editing Chart

Target oi oy ow ou

Features (write two to four target features across the columns) BOIL BOY HOW SOUND Words I spelled correctly SPOIL FOIL NOISE TOY HOW GROUND Words I corrected TINFOIL CLOWN DROWSY

CHOWDER

Source: Adapted from Hayes, L., & Flanigan, K. (2014). Developing word recognition, p. 217. Guilford Publications.

Proofreading Tips with Intermediate Students

TE A

CH IN

G T

IP S

• Focus only on spelling. Don’t expect students to edit for punctuation, spelling, and word choice all at the same time. Have students re-read with just spelling in mind as one step of the editing process.

• Reread carefully for errors. Proofreading one’s own work is often hard because it is so familiar that we may not pay careful attention to the printed words. The key is to focus attention on spelling, and this can be done by reading aloud, pointing to each word with a pencil, reading each line backward, or getting someone else to read it for you, such as an assigned editing buddy. Waiting a few days to reread also seems to help.

• Give students tools such as colored pencils in blue or green (rather than red) to use for correcting, cir- cling, or underling misspelled words. This way you can monitor their corrections and even talk with them about the strategies they used.

• Keep the task manageable. You might assign students to find and correct a certain number of

errors so that they do not feel overwhelmed. Five might be reasonable for students who are still misspelling a large percentage. Or you might ask students to look for errors related to the feature they are currently studying, such as long vowels or inflected endings.

• Teach students to use resources such as a word wall or dictionaries to correct misspellings. A simple spelling dictionary is a list of words arranged alpha- betically and may be only a few pages long. This is much easier to use as it does not have definitions or other information typically found in a dictionary.

• Teach students to use spellcheck as part of a word processing application.

• Sometimes we want a final draft to be absolutely perfect, especially if it will be published in a class- room collection, school newspaper, or other per- manent place. This is the point at which teachers, parents, or other reliable sources should serve as the final copyeditor.

Word Study Principles and Practices 79

diagnostic information about what students know and what they need to learn. But that does not mean that you do not hold students accountable for accurate spelling. Knowing where stu- dents are in terms of development level and considering which word features they have studied enables you to set reasonable expectations for accuracy and editing. For example, you can expect third-grade students in the within word pattern stage to spell words like jet, flip, and must, but expecting them to handle multisyllabic words like leprechaun or celebration is unreasonable. Just as students are gradually held more and more accountable for conventions of writing such as commas and semicolons, so, too, are they gradually held more accountable for spelling accuracy.

A study by Clarke (1988) found that first graders who were encouraged to use developmental spellings wrote more and could spell as well at the end of the year as first graders who had been told how to spell the words before writing. A compre- hensive review of research on spelling instruction (Graham & Santangelo, 2014) also underscored the importance of encour- aging students to apply their knowledge of letter–sound relationships in their writing. This suggests that students are not marred by their own invented developmental spellings, nor do they persevere with errors over time. However, unless you com- municate that correct spelling is valued, students may develop careless habits.

Many teachers wonder when they should make the shift from allowing students to write in invented developmental spelling to demanding correctness. The answer is “from the start.” You must hold students accountable for what they have been taught; what they have not been taught can be politely ignored. For example, if a student has been taught consonant sound-to-letter cor- respondences, you would expect the student to spell those sounds correctly, as in PGS LK MD (Pigs like mud). However, if the student has not yet been taught the short vowel sounds needed in pigs and mud, these attempts should be allowed to stand as is. Because the sequence for phonics and spelling instruction is cumulative and progresses hierarchically from easier features such as individual letter sounds to harder features such as Latin-derived tion, sion, and cian endings, there will always be some features that have not yet been taught. Thus, students (and adults) will always invent a spelling for what they do not yet know. Use the scope and sequence of spelling features in Table 3.4 to determine

Writing as “best they can”

TABLE 3.4 Scope and Sequence of Spelling Features

Letter Name–Alphabetic Within Word Pattern Syllables & Affixes Derivational Relations

1. Beginning consonants 8. CVCe long vowel patterns

15. Inflectional endings: plural and past tense

22. Sounded-silent spelling/meaning connections

2. Ending consonants 9. Other common long vowel patterns

16. Consonant doubling, e-drop, & changing the y to i

23. Consonant alternations in derivationally related pairs

3. Short vowels 10. Less common long vowel patterns

17. Open & closed syllable patterns

24. Greek roots

4. Consonant digraphs 11. Consonant- influenced vowels (r,l,w)

18. Vowel patterns in accented syllables

25. Latin roots

5. Consonant blends 12. Diphthongs & other vowel sounds that are neither long nor short

19. Unaccented Final Syllables

26. Predictable changes in derivationally related words

6. Preconsonantal Nasals 13. Complex consonant clusters

20. Common prefixes 27. Advanced suffixes

8. R and L influenced CVCC words 14. Homophones 21. Common suffixes 28.Absorbed or assimilated prefixes

Note: There is an overlap in instruction across contiguous features.

Enhanced eText Video Example 3.6 See developmental spelling, writing and proofreading in action in a primary classroom.

80 C H A P T E R 3

where your students are in their development. They should be held accountable for everything ear- lier, but they shouldn’t be penalized for what they haven’t yet been taught or learned. So, if a student was learning feature 10, less common vowel patterns, she would be expected to spell features 1–9 correctly in her writing; all features 10 and above would be allowed to be spelled as “best she can.”

Caveats Regarding Tradition

Traditional Spelling Activities Many long-standing activities are associated with spelling that teachers often assign their stu- dents, such as writing words five times, listing them in alphabetical order, and copying definitions from the dictionary. Assignments like these do not fulfill the purpose of spelling instruction, which is not only to learn the spellings of particular words, but also to understand generaliza- tions about the spelling system itself and to cultivate a curiosity about words. Writing a word five times is a rote, meaningless, and ineffective activity (Templeton & Morris, 2000), whereas writing words into categories requires recognizing common spelling features and using judgment and critical thinking. Writing words in alphabetical order may teach alphabetization, but it will not teach anything about spelling patterns. (Alphabetizing words might be assigned occasionally as a separate dictionary skill, but students will be more successful at it when they can first sort their word cards into alphabetical order before writing them.)

Students do need to associate meanings with the words they are studying so it is reason- able to ask them to discuss or look up the meanings of a few words they do not know or to find additional meanings for words. However, asking students to write out the definitions of long lists of words whose meanings they already know is boring and not likely to encourage diction- ary use or a curiosity about words.

Writing words in sentences can also be overdone. You might ask students to choose 5 words (out of 20 to 25) each week to write sentences in their word study notebooks. For example, students like the challenge of using two or more in the same sentence. This is a more reasonable assignment than writing 20 isolated sentences with the weekly spelling list. Many teachers employ sentence writing to also work on handwriting, punctuation, and gram- mar (see the expectations in Figure 3.14 on page 75). Writing sentences is also more useful for  some  features than others. For example, sentences will help students show that they under- stand homophones or the tenses of verb forms when studying inf lectional endings such as ed and ing. Writing words in short phrases also helps illustrate the multiple meanings of words; consider the following phrase collection for the word condition: mint condition, pre-existing condi- tion, good condition, air condition, medical condition, etc.

Be wary of other traditional assignments that take up time and may even be fun but have little value in teaching children about spelling. Activities such as Hangman, word searches, and acrostics may keep students busy, but they impart little or no information about the English spelling system. Although it is exciting to see the interest generated for the yearly spelling bee broadcast on national television, it is still the case that spelling bees reward children who are already good spellers and quickly eliminate the children who need practice the most.

Word study can be fun, but make good use of the time available and do not overdo it. Remember that word study activities should be short in duration so that students can devote most of their attention and time to reading and writing for meaningful purposes.

The following may be entertaining but will not improve spelling:

• Hangman

• Word searches

• Acrostics

• Rainbow writing

Be wary of overdoing the following:

• Writing words five times

• Writing words in ABC order

• Copying dictionary definitions of long lists of words

• Using long lists of words in sentences

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Word Walls Traditional word walls display a relatively small set of words and can supplement systematic developmental word study, but just having words displayed on a wall won’t teach your students how to spell. Word walls as originally conceived by Pat Cunningham (2000, 2013) are a display of alphabetically ordered, high-utility words that grows cumulatively across the school year. We pro- vide a list of high-frequency words on page 467 but select words based on your students’ needs. Cunningham recommends that five words needed for reading and writing be added each week, and students should engage in activities that help secure those words in memory—chanting the letters, writing the words several times, and playing games such as giving clues about the begin- ning sound and a rhyming word (for example, what word starts with o and rhymes with mother?). If you want to hold students responsible for using the word wall, then you need to add words gradually, plan quick daily activities, model using it, and review the wall regularly. We recommend that word walls for beginning readers provide separate column headers for consonant digraphs, like CH for chick, and SH for shoe, as opposed to including the words under C or S alone.

Word walls should not look the same at all grade levels. In kindergarten, they should begin with student’s names, and then several high-frequency words might be added each week such as the, can, and like —words that students often use in their writing and see in their reading. By second grade, students should have mastered many of the most common words, but other words such as because, or homophones such as their, there, and they’re, are good candidates for a word wall. You can easily find out which words students have already mastered by asking them to spell them. The list in Appendix F has high-frequency words ordered by the first hundred, second hundred, and third hundred.

Word Displays Word displays call attention to the richness and power of a versatile vocabulary and provide a ready reference for writing. Typically, thematic words are displayed in lists or groups on bulletin boards but there are other more creative options that serve various purposes. Charts of word families, syllable types, Latin roots, content vocabulary, word hunt results, and other word dis- plays posted around the room announce to students, parents, and visitors that words are valued and celebrated. See the box below for more ideas such as illustrating lists of collective nouns (a gaggle of geese, a batch of brownies), idioms (at the drop of a hat; pulling your leg, and so on), or homophones (for example pair, pare, mail, male). Eponyms, or words associated with people’s names, such as pasteurization (form Louis Pasteur) are a great way to build interest in vocabulary related to units of study. Students can create their own illustrated displays of alliteration (big bad Bruce) or palindromes (mom, level, radar).

Enhanced eText Video Example 3.7 In this video, first graders learn how to use clues to find words on the word wall and spell them from memory.

• Spelling demons (relevant, unparalleled)

• Onomatopoeia words (boo-hoo, cockadoodledoo)

• Sophisticated synonyms (tell=explain, enumerate, explicate, justify, illustrate)

• Oxymorons (plastic silverware)

• Multiple meanings (bat, run, draw)

• Brand names that now represent a generic product (Kleenex for tissue)

• Homophones and homographs (due/dew, wind/wind)

• Collective nouns (batch of brownies, gaggle of geese)

• Acronyms (LASER, SCUBA)

• Eponyms (Louis Pasteur—pasteurization)

• Spanish–English cognates (content—contento)

• Palindromes (mom)

• Idioms (pulling your leg)

• Puns (an artist who could really draw a crowd)

• Similes (smiling like an angel)

• Alliteration (big bad Bruce)

• Collection of phrases using key vocabulary

• Word webs of polysemous words

Word Displays

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Involving students as much as possible in the creation of such word displays is impor- tant for the displays to be useful and meaningful. For example, in the activity Said is Dead, students help brainstorm lists of words (for example, shouted, jeered, whispered, lisped) to use in their writing instead of that overworked verb (said). Be mindful of referring to such displays on a regular basis if you want students to benefit from them. Continue to add to such lists to keep them fresh in students’ minds and when you add a new word, go back over the list of previous words.

Principles of Word Study Instruction

A number of basic principles guide the kind of word study described in Words Their Way® (you were introduced to some of these at the beginning of the chapter as they related to Mrs. Zim- merman’s class). Many of these principles set word study apart from other approaches to the teaching of phonics, spelling, or vocabulary.

1. Look for What Students Use but Confuse Students cannot learn things they do not already know something about. This is the underlying principle of Vygotsky’s (1962) zone of proximal development (ZPD)and the motivating force behind the assessment described in Chapter 2. By analyzing invented developmental spellings, a ZPD may be identified and instruction can be planned to address features the students are using but confusing instead of those they totally neglect (Invernizzi et al., 1994). Take your cue from the students to teach developmentally.

2. A Step Backward Is a Step Forward After you have identified students’ stages of developmental word knowledge and the ortho- graphic features under negotiation, take a step backward and build a firm foundation. Then, in setting up your categories, contrast something new with something that is already known. It is important to begin word study activities where students will experience success. For example, students in the within word pattern stage who are ready to examine long vowel patterns begin by sorting words by short vowels sounds, which are familiar, and long vowel sounds, which may be introduced for the first time. Then they move quickly to sorting by pattern. A step backward is the first step forward in word study instruction.

3. Use Words Students Can Read Analyzing words students can already pronounce is much easier to do than on ones they can- not pronounce. Known words come from any and all sources that students can read: language experience stories, recent readings from texts, poems, and phonics readers. As much as possible, choose words to sort that students can read out of context. Put any aside they cannot read to examine later.

4. Compare Words That “Do” with Words that “Don’t” To learn what a Chesapeake Bay retriever looks like, you have to see a poodle or a bulldog, not another Chesapeake Bay retriever. What something is is also defined by what it is not; contrasts are essential to students’ building of categories. Students’ spelling errors suggest what focused contrasts will help them sort out their confusions. For example, a student who is spelling stopping as STOPING will benefit from a sort in which words with consonants that are doubled before adding -ing are contrasted with those that do not take doubled letters, as in Figure 3.15.

FIGURE 3.15 Doubling Sort: Comparing Words That “Do” with Words That Don’t”

Word Study Principles and Practices 83

5. Begin with Obvious Contrasts When students start studying a new feature, choose key words or pictures that are distinctive. For example, when students first examine initial consonants, do not begin by contrasting m with n, which are both nasals and visually similar. It is better to begin by contrasting m with something totally different at first—s, for example—before working toward finer distinctions as these categorizations become quite automatic. Move from general, gross differences to more specific discriminations.

6. Sort by Sound and Pattern Students examine words by how they sound and how they are spelled. Both sound and visual patterns are part of students’ orthographic knowledge. Too often, students focus on visual patterns at the expense of how words are alike in sound. The following sort illustrates the way students move from a sound sort (by hard and soft g) to a visual pattern sort (by final dge, ge, and g). See what you can discover from this sort. (Hint: Pay attention to the vowel sounds.)

Second Sort by Pattern

dge ge g edge cage bag judge huge twig badge stage slug lodge page f lag

drug leg

First Sort by Sound of g

Soft Hard edge bag cage twig huge slug judge drug stage leg badge f lag page lodge

7. Don’t Hide Exceptions Exceptions arise when students make generalizations. Do not hide these exceptions. By placing so-called irregular words in a miscellaneous or oddball category, new categories of consistency sometimes emerge. For example, in looking at long vowel patterns, students find exceptions like give, have, and love, yet it is no coincidence that they all have a ve. They form a small but consistent pattern of their own. True exceptions do occur (for example, was, women, laugh) and become memorable by virtue of their rarity.

8. Avoid Rules Rules with many exceptions are disheartening and teach students nothing. They may have heard the long vowel rule, “When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking,” but this rule does not apply in phonetically regular words like boot or soil. Learning about English spelling requires students to consider sound and pattern simultaneously to discover consistencies in the orthography. This requires both ref lection and continued practice. Students discover con- sistencies and make generalizations for themselves. Your job is to stack the deck and structure the focused contrasts to make these consistencies explicit and to instill in students the habit of looking at words, asking questions, and searching for order. Rules are useful mnemonics if you already understand the underlying concepts at work. They are the icing on the cake of knowl- edge. But memorizing rules is not the way students make sense of how words work. Rules are no substitute for experience.

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9. Work for Fluency Accuracy in sorting is not enough—accuracy and ease are the ultimate indicators of mastery. Acquiring automaticity in sorting and recognizing orthographic patterns leads to the f luency necessary for proficient reading and writing. Your students will move from hesitancy to f luency in their sorting. Keep sorting until they do.

10. Encourage and Participate in Student Talk Picture sorts and word sorts are designed to help students learn how the spellings and word structures ref lect spoken language and meaning. It’s not just the sorting that accomplishes these goals, however. It’s the student talk about their observations about the focused contrasts that helps students form generalizations.

11. Return to Meaningful Texts After sorting, return to meaningful texts to hunt for other examples to add to the sorts. These hunts extend students’ analysis to other words and more difficult vocabulary. For example, after sorting one-syllable words into categories labeled cat, drain, and snake, a student added tadpole, complain, and relate. Through a simple word hunt, this child extended the pattern-to-sound consistency in one-syllable words to stressed syllables in two-syllable words. Intentionally link- ing the features explored during word study to the words that students are reading and writing ensures the application of word knowledge in contexts that matter.

Teaching Is Not Telling

These principles of word study boil down to one golden rule of word study instruction: Teaching Is Not Telling (James, 1958). In word study, students examine, manipulate, and catego- rize words by focused contrasts pertaining to sound, pattern, and meaning. For this to happen, you must create a systematic program of word study, guided by an informed interpretation of spelling errors and other literacy behaviors. This is a teacher-directed, student-centered approach to vocabulary growth and spelling development. 

The next five chapters will show you exactly how to provide effective word study instruc- tion for students at different stages of development. Chapter 9 describes various ways of manag- ing word study in the primary, elementary, and secondary classroom.FIG

Throughout this text you will see references to WTW Digital®, which includes interactive spelling assessments, inter- active sorts, and games. The following companion books offer additional resources for teachers.

Words Their Way Digital® (WTW Digital) Words Their Way Digital ®, the website that accompanies this text, prepares you for word study by examining successful classroom instruction—from assessment to organization to implementation across grade levels. Find interactive sorts, digital assessments, games, and more.

RESOURCES FOR IMPLEMENTING WORD STUDY in Your Classroom

Word Study Principles and Practices 85

Words Their Way® with English Learners: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling, Second Edition, by L. Helman, D. R. Bear, S. Templeton, M. Invernizzi, and F. Johnston

Words Their Way ® for PreK–K Learners by F. Johnston, M. Invernizzi, L. Helman, D. Bear, and S. Templeton

Based on the same research and developmental model, this com- panion volume focuses on using word study to enhance literacy learning for English learners.

The literacy diet for Pre-K and K is presented in detail in separate chapters. Foundations of word study for each aspect are presented with ample activities for the classroom. The website includes activ- ities and materials as well as videos for emergent and letter–name word study.

Words Their Way ® with Struggling Readers: Word Study for Reading, Vocabulary and Spelling Instruction, Grades 4–12, by K. Flanigan, L. Hayes, S. Templeton, D. R. Bear, M. Invernizzi, and F. Johnston

Vocabulary Their Way: Word Study with Middle and Secondary Students, Second Edition, by S. Templeton, D. R. Bear, M. Invernizzi, F. Johnston, K. Flanigan, D. Townsend, L. Helman, and L. Hayes

The needs of struggling readers in grades 4 to 8 are discussed with an emphasis on developmental instruction and presentation of reading and vocabulary activities for success in disciplinary studies. Numerous schedules for classroom organization are presented.

Supports discipline-specific instruction in the middle and second- ary grades and addresses context-based instruction, word-specific instruction, and generative vocabulary/morphology instruction. Subject matter areas include English Language Arts, Social Studies, Mathematics, Science, and Art/Music/Physical Education/Career and Technical Education.

Each of the following stage-specific companion volumes provides reproducible sorts and unit assessments and progress monitoring forms. You’ll find extensive background notes about the features of study and step-by-step directions on how to guide the sorting lesson. Organizational tips and follow-up activities extend lessons through weekly routines.

Words Their Way®: Letter and Picture Sorts for Emergent Spellers, (2018, Third Edition) by D. R. Bear, M. Invernizzi, F. Johnston, and S. Templeton

Teachers in pre-K through grade 1 will find ready-made sorts as well as rhymes and jingles for emergent readers.

Words Their Way®: Word Sorts for Letter Name– Alphabetic Spellers, (2018, Third Edition), by F. Johnston, D. R. Bear, M. Invernizzi, and S. Templeton

Primarily for students in kindergarten through grade 2, the 60 blackline masters include picture sorts for beginning consonants, digraphs and blends, word families (with pictures and words,) and word sorts for short vowels.

Words Their Way®: Word Sorts for Within Word Pattern Spellers, (2018, Third Edition), by M. Invernizzi, F. Johnston, D. R. Bear, and S. Templeton

Teachers of grades 1 through 4 will find 59 reproducible word sorts that cover the many vowel patterns as well as other features such as complex consonants.

Words Their Way®: Word Sorts for Syllables and Affixes Spellers, (2018, Third Edition) by F. Johnston, M. Invernizzi, D. R. Bear, and S. Templeton

This text includes 58 sorts for syllables and affixes spellers in grades 3 to 8. Prefixes and suffixes are introduced.

Words Their Way®: Word Sorts for Derivational Rela- tions Spellers, (2018, Third Edition), by S. Templeton, F. Johnston, D. R. Bear, and M. Invernizzi

Teachers of grades 5 to 12 will find 65 upper-level word sorts that help students build their vocabulary as well as spelling skills. Lots of additional words are provided to modify or create new sorts.

Words Their Way®: Emergent Sorts for Spanish-Speaking English Learners. By Helman, L., Bear, D. R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., Johnston, F. (2009).

Words Their Way® Letter Name-Alphabetic Sorts for Spanish-Speaking English Learners. By Helman, L., Bear, D. R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., Johnston, F.

Words Their Way®: Within Word Pattern Sorts for Span- ish-Speaking English Learners. By Helman, L., Bear, D. R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. (2014).

Words Their Way® for Parents, Tutors, and School Vol- unteers (2018) by Picard, M, Meadows, A. Invernizzi, M. Johnston, F, & Bear, D.R.

Spanish speakers learning to read English benefit from word study that clarifies some of the contrasts between English and Spanish spelling. These supplements contain sorts and games with direc- tions and assessments that explore the first three stages of Eng- lish spelling development.

Parents, tutors and school volunteers may be asked to participate in word study without any background knowledge of what word study is. This friendly book provides straightforward answers and practical advice such as “sort support” and “let’s talk about it” that provides an ideal companion to the core text.

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Word Study for the Emergent Stage

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The emergent stage is the beginning of a lifetime of learning about written language. This chapter describes literacy development during a period in which young children imitate and experiment with the forms and functions of print: directionality, the distinctive fea-

tures of print, the predictability of text, and how all of these relate to oral language. Emergent children do not read or spell conventionally, and they score 0 on spelling inventories like those in Chapter 2 because they have only very tenuous understandings of how units of speech and units of print are related. Nevertheless, children are developing remarkable insights into written language, and with the help of caregivers and teachers they learn a great deal. Before we go into a thorough description of the emergent stage, let’s visit a kindergarten classroom.

During a unit about pets, Ms. Regina Smith shares a big book, Cat on the Mat, by Brian Wildsmith. This simple pat-

terned book opens with a cat sitting contentedly on a mat, but on each subsequent page bigger and bigger animals

join as the cat becomes increasingly agitated. When an elephant joins, the cat hisses and all the animals run away.

Ms. Smith introduces the book by pointing to the cover and asking, “Where is the cat?” Several children sing out, “on

the rug.” Then she says, “Let’s look at the title here.” As she reads she point to each word. “It says, Cat on the . . . ”

and she pauses while several children say, “on the rug.” “Hmmm,” says Ms. Smith. “The picture does look like a rug

but this word (pointing to Mat) starts with M and r-r-r-rug would start with R. What else could this be? I will give you a

clue: It rhymes with cat. Listen, Cat on the Mmmmmat. We use mats at rest time, don’t we?”

After asking the children what they think the book will be about she says, “Let’s read and find out what hap-

pens.” She points to the words in the single sentence for each two-page spread and by the third sentence the

children are catching on to the repetitive pattern and saying the name of the new animal based on the illustrations.

She pauses before the elephant appears and asks for predictions about what the next animal might be and why

they think it might be that animal. On a second reading the children can all join in and “read” along chorally. Ms.

Smith takes the time to ask about how the cat is feeling about sharing the mat with so many animals. The children

suggest mad but she introduces several new vocabulary words (annoyed, angry, and furious) and uses them to

describe the cat’s growing discontentment leading up to the explosive hiss. She uses the cognate furioso as she

points to the picture to bring her Spanish-speaking children into the discussion.

In this fashion, Ms. Smith shares a predictable book with her children that they can easily memorize and read

along with her. We can see how she draws her students’ attention to letters and sounds and models pointing to

words as she reads. She also finds an opportunity to introduce new vocabulary. After the children enjoy the big

book version, she plans a number of follow-up activities to further develop emergent literacy skills.

On the next day the story is re-read and the cat’s feelings are described again with a reveiw of the newvo-

cabulary words. Ms. Smith defines them. For example, annoyed is when you are feeling unhappy and bothered. She

asks the children what would make them feel annoyed. “Would you feel annoyed getting the birthday present you’ve

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l THEIR WAY

WTW Digital is a new online tool that accompanies this core text, and it was designed to help you implement word study in an engaging and interactive way. Resources for this chapter include:

• 9 interactive sorts that allow students to engage with word study in a digital environment.

• 3 word study games in a printable format that present fun activities for students.

An access code for WTW Digital is included with each new copy of package ISBN: 9780135174623. Visit www.wtwdigital .pearson.com to get started.

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From Speech to Print

Before we describe characteristics of the emergent stage, we offer a little background in the tasks faced by young children. Learning to read and spell is a process of matching oral and written language at three different levels: (1) the discourse level (2) the sentence level and (3) the level of sounds and letters within words and syllables. For someone learning to read, mismatches occur because of the fixed nature of print versus the f lowing stream of speech it represents.

THE DISCOURSE LEVEL. In oral language, the discourse level includes sentences or phrases. Within these phrases, speakers produce and listeners hear elements of prosody such as expres- sion, intonation contours, and tone of voice, all of which communicate ideas and emotions. For example, a rising intonation at the end of a statement often indicates a question; precise, clipped words in a brusque tone may suggest irritation or anger.

always wanted?” “Would you feel annoyed if

someone teased you? Can you show me how

your face would look?” Discussions like these

continue over several days so the children

hear and use the words in different ways.

Ms. Smith has created a chart with the

lines of patterned text. She has also written

them on sentence strips and placed them

in order in a pocket chart. After the children

have read the sentences chorally on the

chart, Ms. Smith passes out the strips. As a

group they put the sentences back in order by

comparing them to the chart. Then Ms. Smith

calls on volunteers to point as they read sentences from the pocket chart and she observes carefully to see which chil-

dren are beginning to accurately track the words as they recite. On another day, word cards for the animals are held up

one by one as volunteers come up to match the words to the chart or sentence strips. When Abby matches cat to cow

Ms. Smith says, “Yes they both start with C but look at the other letters. What do you hear at the end of cat?” She makes

sure the book, chart, strips, and words are left out where everyone can practice freely with them during the day.

Ms. Smith’s class pulls a small group to do a picture sort contrasting initial consonant sounds. She begins by

holding up the letter M and asks the group to find a word in the story that begins with that letter. They quickly find

mat at the end of every sentence. She repeats with C. The children find cat and then cow. Ms. Smith then brings out

a collection of pictures to compare M and C and puts up a picture of a cat and a mat as headers along with the let-

ters in a pocket chart. After naming all the pictures, she models the sort: “Here is a mouse. Listen to the first sound

mmmmmmouse. Mouse starts like mat so I will put it under M.” After placing several pictures in this way she invites

the children to take turns sorting the rest. This sort is repeated, and on subsequent days the children have a num-

ber of opportunities to sort on their own, to hunt for more pictures in alphabet books beginning with M and C, and

to draw and label pictures with those sounds. After the children contrast M and C over several days, they compare

D (dog) and S (sat) and then combine them for a four-category sort as shown in the opening picture of this chapter.

The children work with all four letters and sounds for several days before moving on to a new contrast.

Ms. Smith uses a core book as the basis for teaching a variety of emergent literacy skills in a developmen-

tally appropriate fashion. She starts with a whole text and works down to the parts (sentences, words, letters,

and sounds) in a whole-to-part lesson framework that can be used to provide systematic literacy instruction in

pre-K and kindergarten classrooms.

Pointing with Cat on the Mat

Word Study for the Emergent Stage 89

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G EOral language is a direct form of communication accompanied by gestures and facial expres-

sions that take place in a shared context, whereas written language is an indirect form of commu- nication and must contain complete, freestanding messages to make meaning clear. Punctuation and word choice are often the reader’s only cues to the emotions and intent of the writer. In addition, written language tends to be more formal and carefully constructed, using literary devices such as “happily ever after” to cue the reader. When children learn to read, they must match the prosody of their oral language to these more formal structures of written language.

The Word Level A second level that children must negotiate is the unit called words. In print, words are clearly set off with spaces between a string of letters. However, in speech, words are not distinct; there is no clear, separable unit in speech that equates perfectly to individual words. For example, the phrase “once upon a time” represents a single idea composed of four words and five syllables. Because of this, when children try to match their speech to print, they often miss the mark, as Lee does in her elephant story in Figure 4.1 where “once upon a time” is represented as though it were one word. It takes exposure, explanation, alphabet knowledge, and practice in both reading and writing to match words in speech to written words (Flanigan, 2007; Mesmer & Williams, 2015; Morris, Bloodgood, Lomax, & Perney, 2003; Uhry, 2002).

Sounds in Words Sounds and letters make up the third level of analysis. In learning to read, children must seg- ment the speech sounds or phonemes within words and match them to the letters in print. In speech, the phonemes (consonants and vowels) are interconnected and cannot be easily sepa- rated (Liberman & Shankweiler, 1991). Yet letters of the alphabet and individual speech sounds must be understood as discrete units that match in systematic ways in order to master reading and spelling English. This understanding is called the alphabetic principle, the foundation of the English writing system (Liberman, Shankweiler, & Liberman, 1986).

FIGURE 4.1 Lee’s Elephant Story

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TABLE 4.1 Characteristics of Children in Emergent Stage

Early Emergent

Drawing & Scribbling

May pretend to read but does not point to the print.

Holds the writing implement and marks on the page.

Scribbles and makes random marks in no particular direction.

Does not distinguish between drawing and writing.

Does not describe scribbles as “writing.”

Middle Emergent

Letter-Like Forms & Random Letters

Recites text from memory and points to print in linear fashion (side to side and top to bottom) but not to words.

Experiments with letter-like forms or mock linear writing.

Distinguishes between writing and drawing and may identify work as “writing”

Begins to use known letters and numbers in a “symbol salad.”

Does not attempt to match letters to sounds.

Late Emergent

SKP for housekeeping

D for duck

Partial Alphabetic

May identify a few words using a pre-alphabetic strategy

Points to words left to right, reciting from memory, but gets off track as stressed units do not match words or syllables.

Writes in a linear fashion but reversals are not unusual.

Uses known letters to represent salient phonemes in partial alphabetic spelling.

Does not leave spaces between words.

Substitutes letters that sound, feel, and look alike: B/P.

Uses letter names as a clue to represent sounds: Y (wie) for /w/.

Characteristics of the Emergent Stage

Our ideas about what young children can do in terms of reading and writing changed dra- matically in the latter part of the twentieth century (Invernizzi & Buckrop, 2018). Instead of thinking about getting children “ready to learn” we now talk about how reading and writing “emerge” throughout the preschool years as children gradually acquire insights and knowledge from observations, explanations, modeling, and instruction. Dramatic changes occur across the emergent stage in their reading, writing, and spelling that can be characterized as early, middle, and late emergent behaviors, as summarized in Table 4.1.

Emergent Reading Can children in the emergent stage read? Yes, but not in a conventional way. They may attempt to match their oral language with written language in different ways depending on the context and their knowledge of how print works.

Pretend reading is basically a paraphrase or spontaneous retelling at the discourse level that children produce while turning the pages of a familiar book, usually without trying to point to the words. In pretend reading, children pace their retelling to match the sequence of pictures and orchestrate dialogue and the voice and cadence of written language (Sulzby, 1986).

Memory reading is more exacting than pretend reading and it might sound as though a child is actually reading. It involves an accurate recitation of the text and may be accompanied by pointing to the print in some fashion. Young children’s attempts to touch individual words while reading from memory are initially quite inconsistent and vague but they gradually acquire directionality, realizing that they should move left to right, top to bottom, and end up on the last word on the page. However, the units that come in between are a blur until the systematic rela- tionship between letters and sounds is understood. The ability to fingerpoint or track accurately

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G Eto words in print while reading from memory is a phenomenon called concept of word in

text (COW-T). It is a watershed event that separates the emergent reader from the letter name–alphabetic beginning reader (Flanigan, 2007; Henderson, 1981; Morris, 1992, 1993).

Pre-alphabetic reading is what Ehri (2014, Templeton, 1997) calls the phase children are in until they learn the relationships between letters and sounds. They may learn to identify a few words, such as their names and the names of friends and family. They might also identify signs in their environment, but their strategy is to look for nonalphabetic cues such as the shape and color of a stop sign. They may identify a large retail store because it starts with a big red K, but they are not systematic in their selection of any particular cue because they lack the alphabetic principle.

However, pre-alphabetic children do begin to notice letters in the world around them, especially letters that are most familiar. On entering preschool, Lee realized that other children’s names on their cubbies had some of the same letters that were in her name. Perplexed and somewhat annoyed, she pointed to one of the letters. “Hey, that’s MY letter!” she insisted. Walking around the grocery store, Lee pointed to the box of Cheer detergent and said, “Look, Mommy! There’s my name!” Lee’s special relationship with the letters in her name is a living embodiment of the pre-alphabetic strategy.

Emergent Writing and Spelling Like emergent reading, early emergent writing is largely pretend. Regardless of most children’s cultural backgrounds or where they live, this pretend writing occurs spontaneously wherever writing is encouraged, modeled, and incorporated into play (Ferreiro & Teberosky, 1982). When children begin to represent speech sounds with letters of the alphabet, they are well on their way to acquiring the alphabetic principle. While we talk about children’s pretend writing, it is only at this point we say they are attempting to spell. Their partial alphabetic efforts are truly something to celebrate and should be encouraged and supported.

SCRIBBLING AND DRAWING. Children first learn to hold a pencil, marker, or crayon and to make marks on paper (or windows, walls, or f loors). These marks are best described as scribbles that lack directionality and may not serve a communicative function. Over time scribbles evolve into more representational drawings and children learn that print is distinct from drawing—a drawing of a f lower does not actually say “flower.” Writing is necessary to communicate the complete message. The top row of Figure 4.2 presents a progression of drawings and their accompanying utterances.

LETTER-LIKE AND RANDOM LETTERS. Children first approximate the most global con- tours of the writing system: the top-to-bottom linear arrangement and what has been called mock linear writing shown in the bottom row of Figure 4.2 (Clay, 1975; Harste, Woodward, & Burke, 1984). They experiment with letter-like forms that resemble the separate circles and lines of manuscript writing or the connected loops of cursive. The child may identify his or her efforts as “writing” and announce that it is a “note for Daddy.” Parents may be challenged at this point when children come to them with their pretend writing and say, “Read this to me, Mommy” or “What does this say?” What is exciting and significant is that young children recognize that print carries a message that can be read by others. As letters of the alphabet and numbers are learned, they begin to show up in random strings or a “symbol salad,” as in the spelling of macaroni.

SALIENT OR INITIAL SOUNDS. If children know some letters and understand the alphabetic principle, they will begin to match letters to the most salient or prominent sounds. At first, children rely on the feel of their mouths as they analyze the speech stream. Say the phrase “once upon a time” aloud while paying attention to what your tongue and lips are doing. The tongue touches another part of the mouth only for the /s/ sound of once, the /n/ sound of upon, and the /t/ sound of time. The lips touch each other twice: for the /p/ sound in the middle of upon and for the /m/ sound at the end of time. So it is not surprising that Lee wrote “once upon a time” as 1SPNTM in Figure 4.1. Late emergent spellers pay attention to those tangible points of an utterance in which one part of the mouth touches another, or to the most forcefully articulated sounds that make the most vibration or receive the most stress.

The initial sounds of words and syllables often show up first in children’s tentative efforts as shown in the last box of Figure 4.2 where cat is spelled K and baby is spelled BB. However,

Enhanced eText Video Example 4.1 A preschooler writes about butterflies using mock linear writing in this video.

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in Lee’s elephant story shown in Figure 4.2 we see that the phonemes represented by letters are not always at the beginnings of words; she spelled went as T and him as M. Lee is not yet able to isolate every phoneme and her spellings ref lect this as in F for fair or TM for time. Notice her confusion with word boundaries and how she tries to mark them with periods. These spellings match letters to the most salient speech sounds, sometimes at the beginning and sometimes at the end of syllables. Ehri referred to such spelling as partial alphabetic and this matching of letters to sounds represents an important milestone in emergent literacy development (2014).

PARTIAL ALPHABETIC LETTER NAMES. Children often use letter names instead of letter sounds to represent speech sounds. Many letter names contain the sound of their associated letter sound in their name; for example: B (bee), D (dee), K (kay), M (em). Children will use these letter names to represent beginning and ending sounds in words and names like Katie (KT). But some letters do not contain the sound of their associated letter sound, and these can cause some confusions, such as in the early letter name example of YNRUKM (“When are you coming?”) presented in Chapter 1. Because the name of the letter Y (wie) begins with the “wuh” (/w/ ) sound, it is often substituted for W in words like when spelled as YN. You will read more

about these letter name substitutions in Chapter 5. As children begin to achieve a concept of word, they become

better able to pay attention to sounds that correspond to the begin- nings and ends of word units. When letter names are coordinated with word boundaries—the beginning and endings of words—the child is no longer an emergent speller. Spelling that honors word boundaries consistently is spelling in the early part of the next stage, the letter name–alphabetic stage. Compare the late emergent writing in Figure 4.3 with the early letter name writing in Figure 4.4.

DEVELOPMENTAL SPELLING. Children’s first tentative efforts at spelling represent a remarkable achievement that involves a number of

FIGURE 4.2 The Evolution of Emergent Writing

FIGURE 4.3 Late Emergent Writing without Word Boundaries

FIGURE 4.4 Early Letter Name–Alphabetic Spelling with Word Boundaries

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are called invented spellings but we prefer the term developmental spellings because over time they will change and mature as children learn more about letter sound correspondences. To summarize, even partial representations of sounds represent four critical insights and skills:

• To produce a spelling, children must recognize and know some letter names—not all, but enough to get started.

• They must isolate and analyze some of the sounds or phonemes within spoken words and syllables. • They must know that letters represent speech sounds. If they know the names of the letters,

they might use those as clues to the sounds they represent. • They must know how to form the letters and write them in a linear fashion.

Creating Classrooms for Early Literacy Learning

Some emergent children may have well-developed language skills and know a great deal about stories and books; others may not. However, a certain level of proficiency in oral language is not a prereq- uisite for learning the alphabet or seeing printed words tracked in correspondence to speech. To withhold these essential components of the learning-to-read process would put them in double jeop- ardy. Besides putting them behind in language and story development, they also would be behind in acquiring the alphabetic principle. Children can develop oral language, learn about stories, and learn about words, sounds, and the alphabet simultaneously as teachers model reading and writing and encourage children to imitate and experiment in the gradual release model outlined in the box below.

Support Emergent Writing and Spelling The mere act of leaving one’s mark on paper has been called the “fundamental graphic act” (Gibson & Yonas, 1968)—an irresistible act of self-fulfillment. As described in the gradual release model, it is critical that teachers write for and with children to demonstrate and explain the forms and functions of print. This can take place as they record students’ ideas in personal or group dictations or during interactive writing when they make the writing process explicit by talking aloud about how to spell, punctuate and compose (Williams, 2018; Button, Johnson & Furgerson, 1996). Outfitted and supported accordingly, writing will happen well before children can spell conventionally or properly compose (Chomsky, 1970; McGee & Richgels, 2012; Strickland & Morrow, 1989).

To make progress in the emergent stage, learners need lots of teacher-scaffolded experiences with reading and writing for real purposes. These experiences should progress from modeling and explaining by the teacher, to guided practice, and then to independent practice by the child in a gradual release model (Pearson & Galla- gher, 1983; Duffy, 2014; Fisher and Frey, 2008):

1. Modeling and explanation: Look for opportunities to introduce new vocabulary, identify rhyming words, talk about letters and sounds, write for children, and point to words in enlarged text as you read and model writing.

2. Guided practice: Ask children to sort pictures by beginning sounds, clap the syllables in words, recite poems and songs from memory, and add

a question mark to a sentence, all under your supervision. Write with children, asking them to add letters, words or punctuation that they have seen you model.

3. Independent practice: After modeling and guided practice, children can then be expected to produce rhyming words, re-sort pictures in centers or for seatwork, write letters in attempts to spell, and fingerpoint-read short, memorable selections of text. The most important condition for emergent literacy to blossom is the opportunity to practice, and children’s approximations must be encouraged and celebrated. Pretend writing and pretend reading come first, and as they evolve, real reading and real writing will follow.

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Engaging children in the writing process is the first step and this acts as an incen- tive for learning more about the process.

• Provide ready access to writing materials—markers, crayons, pencils, chalk— and a variety of paper) and model how to use them as you write for and with children every day.

• Provide writing materials in play centers and model how writing serves a vari- ety of functions:

• A grocery store play area where grocery lists are drawn and labeled

• A restaurant where menus are offered and orders are written

• A block center with cardboard shapes for making signs

• Provide journals and encourage children to write in them daily. Figure 4.1, Figure 4.3 and Figure 4.4 show samples of Lee’s daily preschool journal entries. For many young writers, their first efforts may be drawings accompanied by labels such as Kaitlyn’s kindergarten journal entry in Figure 4.5.

• Model and encourage writing for a variety of purposes. Record classroom news as a Morning Message (See Activity 4.38.) Create charts with students’ help for rules, reminders, directions, and so on. Children might record their observa- tions of seeds growing, write about a field trip, or record a prediction.

• Identify where children are in their writing development and provide scaffolding to move them to the next level (Cabell, Tortorelli, & Gerde, 2013). For example, children at the drawing and scribbling level should be prompted to use letters, even random letters, while children who use random letters should be encouraged to think of letters to represent the most prominent sounds. Teachers should model for children who already represent one sound how to listen for and represent additional sounds by saying words slowly and drawing out the sounds. Table 4.2 describes different prompts according to children’s early writing development.

• Always praise something specific about attempts to write no matter where stu- dents are on the writing continuum. At the same time, always encourage them to do more. “What else can you say about that? What other sounds do you hear?”

TABLE 4.2 Scaffolding Children’s Writing Development in the Emergent Stage

What Children Use Teacher Prompts to Move Them to Next Level

Drawing and Scribbling Prompt to incorporate some letters they might know to label their picture. “I love your picture of your brother. This would be a good place to write his name so we’ll know who he is!” Explain that when we write, we use letters, but accept any attempt.

Letter-like Forms or Random Letters

If using letter-like forms, prompt to use actual letters: “Can you use some letters like the ones on the alphabet chart? Can I show you how to make the one you want?” If using random letters with no connection to sound, prompt to match a letter name to a salient sound by elongating that salient sound. “RO-bot” I hear an O in RO-bot!”

Partial Alphabetic If representing salient sounds, call their attention to the other sounds “Great job putting down an R for that last sound car. Can you tell what letter might be at the beginning of that word? Car.” Accept a K. If already representing beginning sounds with letter names, prompt them to represent ending sound. “Good listening for that /K/ sound at the beginning of car. What sound do you hear at the end?”

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There are two kinds of reading formats for emergent learners: reading to students, which includes interactive read-alouds with children’s literature, and reading with students. Both formats involve lots of modeling by the teacher and provide a sup- portive social context with opportunities to talk about the forms and functions of print.

INTERACTIVE READ-ALOUDS. Reading to children is a long standing tradition but how it is done can make a dramatic difference in children’s understandings about literacy and their oral language development. Barrentine (1996) describes interactive read-alouds where teachers read aloud to children and pause to invite their questions and responses. The interaction serves as a way to promote oral language and new vocabulary and builds ideas, and concepts related to the content and genre of a book. Read more about this in Activity 4.1.

SHARED READING. During shared reading (Holdaway, 1979) teachers read with students from enlarged texts like big books and charts on which children can see the print and join in chorally on re-readings. Shared reading, in which students’ attention is directed to enlarged print, is particularly powerful for cultivating aware- ness of important aspects of how print works. Teachers can use print referencing (Justice & Sofka, 2010), such as where to begin to read on the page, or demonstrate left-to-right directionality and the return sweep at the end of each line—conven- tions of written language known as concepts about print (CAP).

Although children in the emergent stage are heav- ily supported by memory in their first efforts to read, these attempts are nonetheless valuable. The best way to create a reader is to make reading happen, even if it is just pretend. The whole-to-part lesson framework (McCracken & McCracken, 1995) used by Ms. Smith in the opening vignette begins with the shared reading of familiar rhymes and jingles (whole texts). Then follow- up activities move to the parts (sentences, words, letters, and sounds) as children rebuild the text with sentence strips in pocket charts, and match word cards to indi- vidual words on the sentence strips as an explicit way to direct attention to words in print. The smallest parts involve sorting pictures and words by beginning sounds to draw attention to letter–sound correspondences. Read more about the whole-to-part model on page 119.

PREDICTABLE READING MATERIALS. Emergent readers need support in the form of memorable or predictable text that features repetition of simple lines and illustrations that cue changes in the text. The reading materials best suited for shared reading include predictable books (see some classic examples under “Resource Connections”), familiar nursery rhymes, poems, songs, jump rope jingles, and children’s own talk written down. Many publishers offer leveled little books that are highly predictable. Recording students’ own language in the form of picture captions and dictations nurtures the notion that print is talk written down. The ownership that comes with having one’s own experiences recorded in print is a powerful incentive to explore the world of written language. See the Language Experience Approach (LEA) described in Activity 4.39.

FIGURE 4.5 Kaitlyn’s Kindergarten Journal in October

Practicing handwriting

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The Literacy Diet for the Emergent Stage

The sections that follow are devoted to describing the most important elements of what we call the “literacy diet” (Invernizzi, 2002). Through reading and writing activities and word study instruction teachers of emergent learners aim toward the development of six fundamental components:

1. Oral language, concepts, and vocabulary 2. Phonological awareness (PA) 3. Alphabet knowledge 4. Letter–sound knowledge or phonics 5. Concepts about print (CAP) 6. Concept of word in text (COW-T)

Just like any diet, all the components need to be addressed concurrently in as integrated a fashion as possible. All of these components can be incorporated into a shared reading lesson such as the one Ms. Smith does with Cat on the Mat. At the same time, the English Language Arts standards that all teachers are expected to address are met. The literacy diet and activities are covered more thoroughly for early childhood educators in Words Their Way for PreK–K (Johnston, Invernizzi, Helman, Bear, & Templeton, 2015).

Oral Language, Concepts, and Vocabulary

Most children have an oral vocabulary of 13,000 words by the time they enter kindergarten (Justice, 2006) and have mastered the basic subject–verb–object word order of the English language. But children come to school with widely varying language experiences (Biemiller, 2010). In a classic study, researchers estimated that by 3 years of age, some children had heard 3 million more words than other children, and by the time they enter school, some children

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Carle, E. (1997). Have You Seen My Cat? Aladdin.

Christelow, E. (1989) Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. HMH Books for Young Readers.

Cowley, J (1997). Mrs Wishy Washy. Wright Group.

Guarino, D. (1997). Is Your Mama a Llama? Scholastic.

Hutchins, P (2005). Rosie’s Walk. Aladdin.

Martin, B. (1970). Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Henry Holt & Co.

Martin, B (1998). Here Are My Hands. Henry Holt & Co.

Neitzel, S. (1994). The Jacket I Wear in the Snow. Greenwillow.

Paparone, P. (1995) Five Little Ducks. Scholastic

Williams, S. (1989). I Went Walking. HMH for Young Readers.

Wildsmith (1982). The Cat on the Mat. Oxford.

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multilingual backgrounds and their vocabularies include their first language at home and the English they are learning at school (Genishi & Dyson, 2009; Vasquez, 2014).

To help children develop the deep and wide vocabulary knowledge they will need to suc- ceed in their future studies, vocabulary and language learning must become an integral part of all aspects of the early childhood classroom (Biemiller, 2001, 2004). There are many strategies to build a language-rich environment. Here we describe how daily classroom interactions can be a context for word learning—how to get children talking and using language, how to use read-alouds, and how to develop big ideas and language through concept sorts. Activities 4.1 through 4.7 in the activities section that follows provide more ideas.

Classroom Interactions for Language Development Adults should engage children in conversation at every opportunity and consciously use lan- guage that includes new vocabulary and complex sentences. Sit with small groups at snack time, at lunchtime, in centers and on the playground, and engage them in conversations. Give children lots of opportunities to talk with each other. Children with less language skill benefit from conversation with children who have better language skills (Mashburn, Justice, Downer, & Pianta, 2009) and peer interactions are particularly important for children learning English.

SOPHISTICATED SYNONYMS. Although simplifying your language may be tempting, and necessary for English learners, thoughtfully exposing children to less familiar words and phrases is also very important. Be on the lookout for, gradually teach, and consistently use more sophis- ticated synonyms for the common language of everyday routines as well as for topical inter- ests. For example, children can be asked to distribute or allocate materials. During discussions, encourage participants to contribute and elaborate their ideas and those of others. Children may be asked to assemble adjacent to the wall, and then to proceed in an orderly fashion. Lane and Allen (2010) describe how a kindergarten teacher begins the year by asking the “weather watcher” to report to the class using terms such as sunny, cloudy, or warm but she gradually introduces new terms—the appointed “meteorologist” is expected to observe the weather conditions and report the forecast using words such as overcast, brisk, or frigid.

LANGUAGE IN CENTERS. Centers provide a stimulus for new vocabulary and concept devel- opment. Sand is gritty and moist and can be sifted with sieves. In the block center, encourage children to construct, erect, and dismantle their creations. McGee and Richgels (2012) suggest keeping a list of words posted in centers as a reminder of vocabulary to use with students. Add to the lists as more words occur to you and save them from year to year.

READ-ALOUDS Books expose children to new words and more complex sentence structures, and they provide background and conceptual knowledge that children may not have experi- enced firsthand. Read from a variety of genres and select storybooks that offer rich language and themes appropriate for young children. For example, nonfiction about seasons, weather, transportation, and how seeds grow provides new vocabulary and develops background infor- mation, especially when read for units of study. Folktales offer strong plots that help children develop a sense of story, and poetry offers rhyme and playful language.

Targeting Vocabulary. Reading aloud to children exposes them to a wide range of new words, but teachers also need to develop the meanings of particular words in more depth to ensure vocabulary growth. When new words are introduced with a simple explanation, children should be asked to repeat them and say them in phrases and sentences. After reading about how a little bear hustled after his mother (Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey), you might pause brief ly to draw attention to the word and then follow up later with more discussion: “Hustle means to walk very quickly. Say the word hustle. Would you hustle to catch the bus? Would you hustle to bed? Would you hustle fast or hustle slow? Tell your partner how you would fill in

Enhanced eText Video Example 4.2 Learn more about the Literacy Diet in this video.

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this sentence: I hustled to____.” Beck, McKeown, and Kucan (2008, 2013) describe how to plan repeated exposure to words in different contexts to help children learn the meanings and uses of new vocabulary words. For example, you might urge the children to hustle as they line up to go inside. Although you may focus on many words as they occur in the context of the book, pull English learners aside before a read-aloud to preteach particularly important words to ensure their understanding.

Selecting Words for Vocabulary Development. Preview books to select vocabulary to teach. Simply looking for hard words is easy and tempting, but those may not be the words children are most likely to retain and use on their own. Four criteria are important in selecting target words:

1. Utility. When thinking about utility, consider words that can be used regularly in the classroom or words that will show up in other books. For example, the book Corduroy by Don Freeman includes amazing, admiring, and enormous. After talking about these words during the read-aloud, make a point of using them in other contexts. Instead of saying, “I like the drawing you did,” substitute with “I admire your drawing. The colors are amazing and that house is enormous!”

2. Concreteness. Concrete words are more likely to be illustrated in the story (such as the elevator in Corduroy). Many denote concepts that children can act out, like hustled. Abstract words like imagined will take more work to develop.

3. Repetition in Text. Words that are used more than once in the story are good candidates because these will offer repeated exposure in a meaningful context. The word hustled occurs several times in Blueberries for Sal (McCloskey, 1948).

4. Thematic or Topical Relatedness. When considering thematic or topical relatedness, choose words that can be clustered in a semantic category (Whitehurst, 1979). The words buds, blooms, and blossoms all relate to the growing seeds motif in The Tree (A First Discovery Book). From the same book, other concrete selections that form clusters for repetition include seed, roots, and sapling.

Make it Interactive. As mentioned above, reading to children should be an interactive process that stimulates lots of oral language as children ask questions and comment on the content and illustrations (Barrentine, 1996). Ideas for planning and conducting an interac- tive read-aloud with a focus on vocabulary development can be found in Activity 4.1. To increase opportunities to talk, you might want to use the “turn and talk” technique described in Activity 4.3. Children talk with assigned partners to answer a question, share a response, or make a prediction. Turn and talk techniques multiply the opportunities for individuals to articulate their own ideas and are especially beneficial for children who are shy or learning to speak English.

Experiences and Extensions. Reading aloud to children provides virtual experiences that can stimulate oral language and vocabulary learning, but real experiences with cooking, science exper- iments, special visitors, classroom pets, and field trips are engaging and provide direct opportuni- ties for verbal interactions. These experiences will be particularly important for English learners, but the immediacy of real life is engaging for all young children. It is easy to think that experiences and conversations just happen, and to a certain extent they do, but planned experiences with careful attention to vocabulary, language, and concepts are more likely to be fruitful (Neuman & Roskos, 2012). Even better, combining read-alouds with experiences supports the necessary repetition of targeted vocabulary and promotes linkages that facilitate learning. Because encountering new words and concepts in different contexts is important for children, planning experiences that promote vocabulary learning and help maintain that vocabulary over time is critical.

Follow-up activities to a read aloud offer opportunities for children to interact with peers and apply their understanding of concepts and vocabulary through cooperative learning formats or centers (Wasik, Bond, & Hindman, 2006). Reread favorites and then always keep the books available so children can pick them up during free time to explore on their own.

Thematic Units. Many concepts as well as vocabulary are taught through thematic units. Let’s say you develop a unit on pets that includes a series of read-alouds on animals that make good pets, and you decide to get a hamster for the classroom. Some of the concepts and vocabu- lary include hamster, male, female, habitat, nutrition, diet, exercise, bedding, gnaw, and nocturnal.

for English Learners

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conversations about hamsters. Use the same criteria outlined earlier to select words: utility, concreteness, opportunities for repetition, and relatedness.

An experience like caring for a classroom pet can lead to writing activities as well. You might create labels with the students’ help for the cage, water bottle, exercise ball, and so on. Children might dictate their observations and insights about hamsters in the language expe- rience approach described in Activity 4.39 or participate in an interactive writing activity described in Activity 4.38. In addition, you might ask children to illustrate and write about hamsters in their own journals.

Retellings. Prompting children to retell what they heard in the read-aloud encourages them to use new words and more complex sentence constructions in hands-on, engaging activities (Ward, 2009). Retellings should be modeled for students: “When you have a chance to look at this book on your own, try to retell the story. Watch how I do that by looking at the pictures.” Proceed to retell the story using the pictures and your memory of the words. An intervention known as dialogic reading described in Activity 4.2 is a well-researched approach that is designed to stimulate oral language and dia- logue while enhancing students’ ability to retell stories (Doyle & Bramwell, 2006; Whitehurst, Arnold, Epstein, Angell, Smith, & Fischel, 1994). Simple predictable books such as the ones listed in “Resource Connections” on page 98 might be used with English learners because the repetitive sentence structures support retellings.

Dramatic Play. Children love to act out simple stories or parts of stories. Brainstorm with children about which characters are needed and what each one will do, and then walk through the dramatization by posing questions and prompting oral responses. You can also stimulate retellings by supplying props like puppets, f lannel board cutouts, and other objects used in the story. Stick puppets are easy to make by simply copying pictures of characters or objects from the book, adding some color, cutting around them, and gluing them to popsicle sticks. After modeling the use of props or puppets as a group activity, they can be placed in a center or made available during free time.

Concept Sorts The human mind appears to work by using compare-and-contrast categorization to develop concepts and relationships among objects and attributes. By recognizing similarities among items, it is possible to create groups or categories according to meaningful associations, the foundation of critical thinking (Gillet & Kita, 1979). The ability to categorize demonstrates maturing hierarchical and associative thinking, but needs to be coupled with conversation about why and how objects and pictures are being categorized (Carpenter, 2010).

The concept sorts described in Activities 4.4 to 4.7 are appropriate for children in the emergent stage, but concept sorts can be used at all levels of development as children categorize objects, pictures, words, or phrases. Concept sorts are a surprisingly simple way to expand stu- dents’ word knowledge, and they are also a good way to engage English learners and get them involved in verbal interactions (Bear & Helman, 2004). For example, the concept sort for wild animals and pets in Figure 4.6 could be done successfully by children who do not know all the words to name the animals. However, in the course of discussion and repeated sorting, they are exposed to those words along with the picture to support word learning.

Acting out Five Little Ducks with simple props

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LEARNING TO CATEGORIZE AND TALK ABOUT SORTS. Concept sorts can develop deeper understanding about words and how they relate to other words within a semantic field. For exam- ple, most 5-year-olds know about tables, chairs, sofas, beds, ovens, refrigerators, microwaves, and blenders, but in their minds, these may be all undifferentiated “things in a house.” Teachers can help to expand students’ understanding of “things in a house” by intro- ducing two different conceptual categories—furniture (tables, chairs, sofas, and beds) and appliances (refrigerators, ovens, microwaves, and blenders). Discussion can focus on how appli- ances are different from furniture, such as the fact that appliances require “electricity” and need to be plugged into “receptacles.”

To ensure vocabulary development, ask children to name the pictures as they sort and to justify their placements as they describe their categories (“Why did you put a bear with the wild animals?”). If the pictures used in concept sorts ref lect words that are new to students, they need to be explicitly taught. Talking about the mean- ings of words and using them repeatedly each time they appear in sorting is important. It might be an opportune time to discuss the meaning of claw or hoof when sorting pictures of birds and animals.

English learners may need to learn the names of more common objects, like bird or cow.

EXTEND CONCEPT SORTS. You can use concept sorts to extend interactive read-alouds and provide additional exposure to new vocabulary. For example, after listening to Ruth Heller’s book Chickens Aren’t the Only Ones, provide children with picture cards to sort into groups of birds, mammals, and reptiles. In this way, they build on a simple conceptual understanding of where eggs come from to include other attributes of the animal kingdom.

In addition to basic sorting, concept development activities are generally followed by draw- and-label or cut-and-paste procedures, as described in Chapter 3. As always, we recommend having children write at every possible opportunity during or following the concept sorts. For example, as a culminating activity for a unit on animals, one kindergarten teacher helped her children create their own books in which they drew pictures of their favorite animals. When asked to label these pictures or write brief ly about the animals, her children’s efforts ranged from random letters to readable approximations such as “I LIK THE LINS N TGRS.”

ASSESSING AND MONITORING VOCABULARY GROWTH. Use instructional activities that extend interactive read-alouds, such as retellings and concept sorts, to measure progress in students’ vocabulary growth. Note increases in word use or tally the number of ideas, facts, or concepts children express when retelling or explaining the sort. Retell assessments are authentic, valid, and reliable means of assessing understanding (Fuchs, Fuchs, & Maxwell, 1988). Noting the number of objects, pictures, or items sorted into conceptual categories also yields a reliable means of assessing depth of receptive vocabulary (Ward, 2009). Other developmentally appropriate ways of assessing receptive vocabulary growth in emergent learners include pointing to pictures that answer direct questions (for example, “Which picture is the veterinarian?”) or answering sets of yes/no questions (for example, “Is an acorn a seed?” “Do plants grow from seeds?” “Do all seeds look the same?”).

Phonological Awareness

The ability to pay attention to, identify, and ref lect on various sound segments of speech is known as phonological awareness (PA). It is the umbrella term for a range of understand- ings about speech sounds, including syllables, rhyme, and a sense of alliteration. Phonemic awareness is a subcategory of phonological awareness and refers to the ability to identify and

Enhanced eText Video Example 4.3 This video contains several examples of concept sorts.

FIGURE 4.6 Concept Sort for Wild Animals and Pets

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into three sounds (/s/-/i/-/t/ or /th/-/i/-/ck/) is an example of phonemic awareness. Children can hear and use individual phonemes easily at a tacit level—they can talk and can understand when others talk to them. But it is not easy to bring tacit, subconscious awareness of abstract individual phonemes to the surface to be examined consciously and explicitly.

Phonological awareness and phonemic awareness are widely identified as critical under- standings needed to progress in literacy (Ball & Blachman, 1988; Ehri & Roberts, 2006; National Reading Panel, 2000). This is because children need a certain amount of phonemic awareness to grasp the alphabetic nature of English and understanding beginning sounds will get them started. Thereafter, phonemic awareness, word recognition, decoding, and spelling continue to develop in a symbiotic fashion. Growth in one area stimulates growth in another (Ehri, 2006; Morris et al., 2003; Perfetti, Beck, Bell, & Hughes, 1987).

Development in PA During the Emergent Stage Phonological awareness develops gradually over time and progresses from a sensitivity to big chunks of speech sounds, such as syllables and rhyme, to smaller parts of speech sounds, such as individual phonemes (Pufpaff, 2009; Pullen & Justice, 2003; Ziegler & Goswami, 2005). Early emergent learn- ers might participate in activities that focus attention on syllables and rhyming words, whereas middle emergent learners work on alliteration by sorting pictures that begin with the same sound.

Children achieve partial phonemic awareness near the end of the emergent phase of literacy development when they can isolate the most salient consonant sounds at the beginnings, and sometimes ends, of words and syllables. They develop full phonemic awareness during the letter name–alphabetic stage as they learn to separate all the sounds in a word, including blends and medial vowels (step = /s/-/t/-/e/-/p/). We can see the development of phonemic awareness in children’s spelling of step as it moves from partial (S or SP) to developing (STP) to full (STEP).

The following sections discuss different aspects of phonological awareness. You can find related activities for each in the activity section (Activities 4.8 to 4.19) at the end of the chapter.

Using a variety of instructional strategies that are identified as successful and effective, phonological awareness activities can be engaging whole-group language activities that benefit all students (Blachman, 1994, 2000; Lundberg, Frost, & Peterson, 1988; Smith, Simmons, & Kame’enui, 1995). These activities need not be conducted as isolated tasks, nor do they need to take up a lot of time. According to some estimates, an entire year of phonemic awareness instruction need not exceed 20 hours (Armbruster, Lehr, & Osborn, 2001).

In addition to planned instructional activities look for opportunities throughout the day to talk about a variety of speech units—have children line up by the number of syllables in their own name or listen for the beginning sound in the title of a book. As you draw children’s attention to units of sound, familiarize them with terms such as word, rhyme, syllable, and begin- ning sound.

Syllables and Words Young children are concrete thinkers, so it is not surprising that they associate the length of a word with the size of its referent. Although caterpillar is a fairly long word, it refers to a rela- tively small insect, and so young children may think the word caterpillar is smaller than the word cat, because cats are bigger than caterpillars (Papandropoulou & Sinclair, 1974; Templeton & Spivey, 1980). This is no “small” confusion because to learn to read it is necessary to pay atten- tion to the word’s sound independently of its meaning.

The sound unit to address first with young children is the syllable, because syllables have a physical reality other units lack: Each syllable is a release of breath that can be felt. Clapping or tapping syllables is fairly easy for young children to master. However, words can be one syllable or multiple syllables, and until students actually learn to read, they will confuse them.

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• Fill students’ ears with the sounds of rhyme by sharing jingles, nursery rhymes, poems and books that feature rhyming words. Some books lend themselves to an activity in which you simply pause and let the children sup- ply the second rhyming word in a couplet. A picture book such as Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarina or “I Can’t,” said the Ant by Polly Cameron have illustrations and clues to help children name the rhyme. Some other favorite rhyming books are listed in Activity 4.10.

• Follow up read-alouds with picture sorts for rhymes. For example, an extension to “I Can’t,” said the Ant is matching pictures of objects named in the book with other rhyming pictures. To make it easier for beginners, lay out just two pic- tures that rhyme along with one that does not. This odd-one-out setup, shown in Figure 4.7, enables children to identify more readily the two rhyming pictures.

• Songs are naturally full of rhythm and rhyme and hold great appeal for chil- dren. Several songs recorded by Raffi, a popular singer and songwriter for children, are particularly well suited for language play. For example, rhyme features prominently in the song “Willoughby Wallaby Woo” from the collection Singable Songs for the Very Young. The song features a rhyme starting with W for everyone’s name and can be easily adapted for the children in your class. Sing the initiating phrase, changing the first letter of a name to W (“Willoughby Wallaby Wackie”), then children sing the next phrase, naming the appropriate classmate (“An elephant sat on Jackie”). You can pass a stuffed elephant to the child to add to the fun. Change the song to focus on alliteration by holding up a particular letter to insert in front of every word. B, for example, results in “Bil- laby Ballaby Boo,” and F produces “Fillaby Fallaby Foo.”

• As children become more adept at listening for rhymes, they can play a variety of sorting and matching games. Traditional games such as Bingo, Lotto, and Concentration, in which picture cards are matched to other picture cards that rhyme, are always winners.

Rhymes Rhyming activities are an appealing way for children to play with words and to begin to focus on speech sounds. Many children develop a sense of rhyme easily, whereas others need more structured activities that draw their attention specifically to rhyming.

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• A first step in leading children to an awareness of spoken words as a unit is to take two concrete “short” words and make them into one “long” compound word (for example, snow, man, snowman).

• Rhythm activities like marching, tapping, singing, clapping, and playing drums to the rhythm of songs and ditties helps children establish syllable segmenta- tion. (Corriveau & Goswami, 2009; Goswami, et al., 2010).

Enhanced eText Video Example 4.4 Jackie introduces rhyme to preschoolers in this video.

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Assessing and Monitoring Phonological Awareness You can find a collection of assessments that cover different aspects of phonological awareness in Appendix A: syllable, rhyme, and phonemic awareness of initial consonants (alliteration). In general, a score of 80 percent is considered sufficient mastery of a task.

Phonological awareness tasks similar to these have been scientifically validated by Invernizzi and her colleagues, with thousands of children screened in Virginia with Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) assessments at the preschool and kindergarten levels (Invernizzi et al., 2006). Monitoring the development of phonological awareness during kindergarten helps to identify children who need additional instruction.

English learners may not understand rhyming in English. In Spanish, for example, rhym- ing focuses on the stress and vowels in words of more than one syllable, whereas in English rhyming focuses more on one-syllable word endings. Expect that developing a sense of rhyme in English may take a little longer to master for English learn- ers than native speakers.

Alliteration and Beginning Sounds Children must become aware that words can be divided into smaller segments of sound—phonemic awareness—before they will advance far in learning to read. They must also learn some of the terminology used to talk about these sounds. Without this knowledge, instruction in phonics will have little success. Children have no trouble hearing sounds, but directions such as “Listen for the first sound” may mystify them. In response to the question, “What sound does cow start with?” one puzzled child tentatively replied, “Moo?” Without a stable concept of word in text, “first sound” is a relative notion. Phonological awareness activities at the emergent level help children attend to sounds, and learn to label and categorize these sounds in various ways.

FIGURE 4.7 Odd-One-Out with Rhyming Words

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Activities that play with alliteration focus students’ attention on the beginning sounds.

• Start with ABC books such as Dr. Seuss’s ABC, which celebrates alliteration in the famous Seuss style. Others that include alliteration are A My Name is Alice by Jane Byer and Animalia by Graham Base.

• Play beginning-sound games with puppets or stuffed animals. Use games such as I Spy or I’m Thinking of Something to accentuate the initial sound. “This thing I’m thinking of begins with mmmmm. This thing is small and gray. It is an animal.” As the children respond “mouse” or “mole,” ask them to exaggerate the beginning sound. As children become proficient at playing this game, they create their own riddles.

• Alliteration is further developed as children sort pictures by beginning sound, an activity that will be described in detail shortly. At this point, oral language activities designed to teach phonemic awareness cross over into learning let- ter–sound correspondences, or phonics.

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Alphabet Knowledge

Among the reading readiness skills that are traditionally studied, letter naming appears to be the strongest predictor of later reading success (NELP, 2008; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998).

Lots to Learn About Letters There is a great deal to learn about the alphabet. Letters have names, a set sequence, sounds, and upper- and lowercase forms. They must be written in particular ways, and directional orientation is vital. In the three-dimensional world, a chair is a chair whether you approach it from the front or the back, from the left or the right. Not so with letters: A b is a b and a d is a d. Print is one of the few things in life in which direction makes a difference, and young children lack this directionality. They also confuse letters that share visual features: S may be mistaken for Z, E for F, h for n, and so forth (Clay, 1975; Ehri & Roberts, 2006). In addition, children must learn to recognize the distinguishing but stable characteristics of letters across different fonts, sizes, shapes, and textures, as shown in Figure 4.8. Children form a concept of B from seeing such variations and encountering B in many contexts.

Learning the names of the letters is an important first step toward learning the sounds associated with the letters. Most of the letters have names that include a sound commonly associated with it and can serve as mnemonic devices for remembering the sounds (Huang, Tortorelli & Invernizzi, 2014; Kim, Petscher, Foorman, & Zhou, 2010; Treiman & Broder- ick, 1998). B (bee), K (kay), and Z (zee) have their sounds at the beginnings of their names, whereas F (eff), L (ell), and S (ess) have their sounds at the end. The names of the vowels are their long sounds. Only H (aitch), W (double you), and the consonant Y (wie) have no sound association, and not surprisingly, these letters are often the most difficult to learn. Letter names serve as the first reference point many children use when writing and explain some of the interesting developmental spellings they create during the letter name–alphabetic stage, discussed more in Chapter 5.

Most children take five years to acquire all this alphabet knowledge at home and in preschool. Magnetic letters on the refrigerator door, alphabetic puzzles, and commercial alphabet games are staples in many homes (Adams, 1990). There is an increasingly broad range of apps many parents use to develop alphabet and letter–sound knowledge. Attentive parents model letter formation and speech segmentation as they encourage their children to write a grocery list or a note to

Grandma. Other children have less preparation, and their parents benefit from instruction and encouragement in how to interact with their children (Sinclair, McCleery, Koepsell, Zukerman, & Stevenson, 2018). The best way to share five years of accumulated alphabet knowledge with children who have not had these experiences is to teach it directly, in as naturalistic, fun, and game-like a manner as possible in pre-K and kindergarten classrooms (Delpit, 1988).

Teaching the Alphabet Teachers often ask, “How do I know what order to follow in teaching the alphabet?” and “Which letters are the easiest and which are the hardest to learn?” The answers are not simple because a number of factors inf luence the answers. Table 4.3 summarizes some of the research findings and the implica- tions for instruction based on a synthesis by Invernizzi and Buckrop (2018).

FIGURE 4.8 Different Print Styles

Enhanced eText Teacher Resource: Font Sorts

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G EActivities planned by teachers should develop all aspects of alphabet knowledge, including letter

naming, letter recognition (both uppercase and lowercase), letter writing, and letter sounds.

ASSESSING AND MONITORING GROWTH IN ALPHABET KNOWLEDGE. A variety of tasks are needed to assess alphabet knowledge, and these can be found in Appendix A. Ask children to point to and recite the letters in order as a first step. Watch how they handle LMNOP—because of the way these letters are sung in the alphabet song, sometimes they become one letter! Present upper- and lowercase letters in random order to assess letter recognition. You can easily assess letter production by calling out letters, in or out of order, for children to write.

According to research conducted with hundreds of thousands of kindergartners in Virginia, kindergartners are able to recognize and name an average of 20 lowercase letters, presented in random order in the fall of the year and nearly all of them by the end of kindergarten (Invernizzi et al., 2006). Longitudinal research suggests that kindergarten children who name fewer than 12 lowercase letters in the fall of the year would benefit from additional instruction to prevent falling further behind. Alphabet learning is easy to monitor; assess children regularly to plan instruction for those who are not making progress.

Enhanced eText Video Example 4.5 Jackie uses children’s names to teach alphabet and a variety of concepts about print in this video.

TABLE 4.3 Research Findings and Instruction for Teaching the Alphabet

Research Findings Some letters take longer to learn than others, so instruction needs to vary depending upon a number of factors.

Implications for Instruction Link alphabet instruction to meaningful print: children’s names, environmental print, picture books, alphabet books, big books, and charts.

1. The easiest letters for children to learn are those in their name, particularly the first letter of their name.

Begin instruction with children’s names using activities such as Name of the Day and name puzzles. Display names along with the alphabet and refer to them often when writing.

2. Lowercase letters that look like corresponding capital letters (Cc, Ss) are easier to learn than those that are different (Aa, Rr).

Expect to spend more time teaching lowercase letters that do not match capitals. Font sorts and matching games like Alphabet Eggs (Activity 4.26) and Concentration (Activity 4.27) are recommended.

3. Some lowercase letters are easily confused (u/n, t/ f/ j, or b/p/ d /q), which makes them harder to learn.

Avoid comparing similar letters at first. Contrast them with other letters and later with each other along with their sounds. Use matching games like Letter Spin (Activity 4.28) or Font Sorts (Activity 4.30).

4. Letters that are seen frequently in print are easier to learn than those that are not. Q is one of the hardest to learn because it is rarely seen.

Expect to spend more time teaching letters that are not commonly seen. Compare and contrast their shapes, names and sounds in sets of two three or four.

5. Learning the names of the letters make it easier for children to learn the sounds because many letter names contain the sound. Those that do not are more difficult to learn (W or H).

Begin letter sound instruction with letters that have the associated sound at the beginning (B = “bee”) or at the end (F = “eff”). Use initial sound sorts that include letters as headers.

Based on Invernizzi, M. & Buckrop, 2018.

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Here are some general routines for teaching children about the forms and func- tions of the alphabet. See Activities 4.20–4.30 in the activities section for more detail.

• Teach the letter sequence by singing the alphabet song daily until children know it by heart. In addition, point to the letters as they sing and then give children a copy of an alphabet strip so they can practice pointing and finding letters as they are named.

• Share alphabet books with students, pointing out the capital and lowercase forms and naming the pictures that begin with a letter. Children typically learn capital letters first, but by kindergarten lowercase letters are needed; teach them together along with the sounds associated with them. Make alphabet books available for children to explore on their own but model for children how to use them independently: “Here is the capital B and the lowercase b. Bear and bowl begin with b.” (See a list of alphabet books in the activity section.)

• Begin with the children’s names and ask them to build it with letter tiles, cut it out of playdough, or match it letter-for-letter with a second set. Writing or copying their own names and the names of other family members or friends is alluring to emergent writers, making a great introduction to the alphabet as well as to writing. Letters take on personalities: M is Manuel’s letter, and T is Tonisha’s letter.

• Name of the day is a popular activity first described by Pat Cunningham (2005) as a way to provide a meaningful context for leaning letters (see Activity 4.23). Studying a name each day is a more appropriate pace than letter of the week in kindergarten classrooms. To make this even more meaningful, children should use their names to participate in daily activities, such as signing in each day for attendance and lunch choices, or signing up for centers or popular tasks like feeding the fish. Start by providing preprinted name cards but move toward expecting children to write out their names.

• Point out letters on signs, in book titles, on charts, and all around the school. The modern world is full of letters, but you need to draw students’ attention to them and name them. When you read and write with children, there are end- less opportunities to talk about letters; this helps them understand the many functions letters serve.

• Create an alphabet center where children have access to puzzles and games that change on a regular basis. Provide an alphabet strip and a variety of writ- ing implements (markers, chalk, rubber stamps) and writing surfaces (paper, card stock, chalkboards, whiteboards, magnetic drawing boards, and so on) to encourage children to write and form their letters. Make learning the letters into a sensory experience by forming them out of clay or pipe cleaners, rub- bing over textured letters or tracing them in trays filled with sand.

• Handwriting is an important and often neglected component of early literacy instruction (Graham, Harris, & Fink, 2000). When writing for children, model proper letter formation and be consistent about spatial matters such as where to start and directionality. Have children vocalize these movements as they form their letters (for example, “up, down, up, down” for M; “around” for O) and also repeat the letter names as they trace them.

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During the emergent stage, children learn their letters, develop phonological awareness, and begin to make connections between letters and sounds as they come to understand the alpha- betic principle in spelling. Toward the end of the emergent stage, many children will begin pro- ducing partial phonetic spellings. Picture sorts designed to contrast beginning sounds secures these tentative efforts and moves children along in acquiring more knowledge of letter–sound correspondences through a game-like, manipulative phonics activity.

Selecting Contrasting Initial Consonants Just like learning the alphabet, there are multiple factors to consider when planning the intro- duction of initial consonant sounds. Although there is not one “right” sequence for introducing and contrasting letter sounds, the principle of word study, begin with obvious contrasts first, is a good general rule to follow. In considering obvious contrasts, think about how the sounds are produced or articulated in the mouth, how easily they may be confused with other sounds, and how frequently they may occur in classroom materials.

ARTICULATION. Choosing sounds that feel very different when producing them makes it easier for children to focus on the sound contrast while sorting. Letters such as M and S are appropri- ate for students’ first consonant contrast because both letter names contain the associated letter sound (for example, the letter name em contains the /m/ sounds) and both letters have continuant sounds that can be isolated and elongated without undue distortion (mmmmoon and ssssun). Talk about how the sounds feel in the mouth as well as where in mouth they are produced. The sound for B (/b/) cannot be elongated or isolated without adding a vowel to it (buh), but it is still fairly easy to learn, perhaps because it has a distinctive feel as the lips press together and also because it is one of the earliest consonantal phonemes acquired during oral language development (Pense & Justice, 2008). However, contrasting B and P in an early sort would be confusing because they are both articulated or produced the same way (Purcell, 2002). The only difference is that the /b/ sound causes the vocal cords to vibrate whereas /p/ does not. Try placing two fingers on your larynx and feel the difference in voiced /b/ and unvoiced /p/ as you say bay and pay.

Table 4.4 shows a pronunciation chart of consonants. Read across each row saying the sound of the letter (that is, /p/, /b/, /m/) to see how those sounds share the same place of articulation (that is, lips together). Compare the voiced and unvoiced pairs such as /f/ and /v/ or /t/ and /d/. Notice how the nasal sounds of /m/, /n/, and /ng/ pass through the nose rather than the mouth. As teachers, learning about articulation may seem unnecessarily complicated, but it explains so many of the interesting things children do in their developmental spellings during the emergent and letter name–alphabetic stages. Use the chart to see the logic in the spelling of JP for chip, VN for fan, and PD for pet. In each case, the substitutions vary only because one is voiced and the other is unvoiced. Otherwise, they are articulated exactly the same way. Knowing about articulation helps you make decisions about setting up picture sorts. The letters in any row will feel very much alike and are best not contrasted in the very first letter–sound sorts. It is important to begin with obvious contrasts.

ENGLISH LEARNERS. Students leaning English are often unfamiliar with some of the sounds and will substitute sounds and letters closest to their primary languages and alphabets. They will not articulate some sounds at first, but their substitutions are logical. For example, Spanish speakers may use the letter v to represent the /b/ sound because these sounds are the same in Spanish. The logic behind the misspellings of English learners was discussed in Chapter 2, and more detail will be provided in Chapter 5. See Table 5.7 in Chapter 5 for potential consonant confusions.

When sorting with English learners at this stage, use fewer pictures and those that are most familiar. Focus on a few new high-utility words to teach by holding up the picture and talking about it or dramatizing it. Ask students to repeat the words and be ready to supply the names of the pictures and review them as needed before, after, and during sorting. Be sure students name words aloud as they sort and pair up English learners with a partner who can supply the names of the pictures when they sort independently.

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Introducing Focused Contrasts for Beginning Sounds Word study in the emergent stage is designed to teach students the letter sound matches for beginning consonants by contrasting two or more sounds at a time. Whenever possible choose several sounds that represent key words from a familiar rhyme, patterned book (such as M and C from Cat on the Mat), or student dictation. A new sound sort is introduced on day 4 of the whole-to-part lesson plan outlined on page 119. Start with two obvious contrasts and then add one or two for up to four categories. The lesson in the box on page 112 describes the steps to introduce students to a picture sort.

Assessing and Monitoring Growth in Letter–Sound Knowledge There are several ways to assess students’ abilities to match beginning consonant sounds to the appropriate letters. The first step is observing children to see how quickly and accurately they sort. Then monitor children’s daily writing efforts using developmental spelling for ongo-

ing and authentic assessment. A number of assessments for letter sound knowledge can be found in Appendix A, starting on page 373.

• The Emergent Class Record helps you analyze children’s writing across the emergent stage.

• There is also a Beginning Consonant Sounds and Letters assessment that asks children to circle a picture that begins with a given letter.

• A simple five-word spelling assessment such as the Kindergarten Spelling Inven- tory (KSI) is particularly appropriate for late emergent spellers.

• You might also call out five of the words on the Primary Spelling Inventory described in Chapter 2.

TABLE 4.4 Pronunciation Chart of Consonant Sounds

Unvoiced Voiced Nasals Other Place of Articulation

p b m lips together

wh w lips rounded

f v teeth and lips

th (thin) th (the) tip of tongue and teeth

t d n l tip of tongue and roof of mouth

s z tongue and roof of mouth

sh y sides of tongue and teeth

ch j r sides of tongue and roof of mouth

k g ng back of tongue and throat

h no articulation—breathy sound

Focused contrast with initial consonants

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Here is a sample lesson that introduces a focused con- trast with two consonants sounds: B and F.

1. Prepare materials for sorting. After reading a selection such as Oh A-Hunting We Will Go, focus on two sounds that are very different in articulation, such as B and F. Prepare a collection of pictures from Appendix D or other resources that can be sorted on a tabletop or pocket chart. Also prepare headers with the words and cards with both the capital and lowercase letters. You will also need a handout for each child of the sort (See Figure 3.14) or place the sort in a center for children to do independently.

2. Connect to the reading section. Hold up a card and say, “Here is capital B and lowercase b. Let’s look back at our rhyme to look for words that start with B.” Reread the rhyme if necessary to find the word box. say, “Box starts with B and here is a picture of a box.” Repeat with F and identify fox as a word that start with F. Display the letters, words, and pictures as headers for the sort.

3. Introduce the pictures. Display the rest of the pictures in random order and say, “Let’s name these pictures together.” Have the children repeat the names after you, especially if you have English learners. Talk about any picture that might not be familiar (“Here is a picture of a fist—“When you clench your fingers into a ball, you make a fist. Make a fist with me.”)

4. Introduce the sort. Say, “Here is the letter B. Box start with B. Here is the letter F. Fox starts with F. Now let’s find more pictures we can match to B and F. I’ll start. Here is a fish, Ffffish and fffffox both begin with F so I will put the fish under the fox. Here is a bed. Bed and box begin with B, so I will put bed under box.” (Note: Although you can elongate the sound of F without distorting the sound, you

cannot elongate the sound of B. Just emphasize it without adding /uh/ to it.)

5. Involve students in the sort. After modeling a few pictures and how to compare a new picture to the header, ask students to help you sort the rest of the pictures. Let them chose a picture and encourage them to say something like, “This is a bear. Bear and box begin with B.” Guide students to sort correctly the first time through.

6. Review the sort. After sorting say, “Let’s name all the pictures under the letter B and listen for the first sound in each picture.” Read down the column, emphasizing the first sound and ask, “How are these words all alike? They all begin with B.” Repeat with F.

7. Re-sort and check. Leave up the letters and pictures of fox and box and mix up the rest of the pictures. You might turn them face down in a pile and let children take turns drawing a picture, naming it, and identifying the letter it begins with. This time let mistakes go. After sorting say, “Let’s name the pictures in each column and listen for the first sound to check our work.” If a word has been misplaced say, “One of these does not sound the same at the beginning. Can you find it?”

8. Extend. Children should sort independently several times over the next few days using their own set of pictures or pictures in a center. Observe to see how quickly and accurately they sort. If you give students their own handout of pictures be sure to model how to cut apart the pictures after scribbling over the back in an assigned color so that lost pieces can be returned. These can later be glued into categories for a final assessment.

LESSON ON BEGINNING SOUNDS

Assess children formally at least three times a year, and informally all the time, using daily writing. For children receiving additional instructional interventions, we recommend more frequent monitoring to gauge their progress (Invernizzi, 2009). Longitudinal research indicates that kindergarten children should be aware that letters are associated with speech sounds and be able to provide at least four letter sounds in the fall of the year and at least 20 letter sounds in the spring (Invernizzi et al., 2005) in order to succeed without additional instruction or intervention. On average, kindergartners can accurately produce 14 letter sounds in the fall and nearly all of them in the spring (Invernizzi et al., 2014).

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Two students take turns sorting pictures by initial consonants

Enhanced eText Video Example 4.6 This video shows how letter sounds are assessed in kindergarten.

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Here are a few things to keep in mind as you plan word study for children in the emergent stage who are sorting pictures by beginning sounds.

• Resources for sorting. You can find pictures for sorting in Appendix D that can be enlarged for group modeling. See the resources on page 430 for prepared sorts or how to create your own. Use easily identified pictures that do not start with consonant blends or digraphs. Single-syllable words are better than two-syllable words, because they have fewer sounds that need attention. The same key picture and a letter should be used each time to help children associate the letter and the sound. Suggestions for key pictures are on the sound boards in Appendix C.

• Vary the sorting. Start by putting out all the pictures face-up and let children choose one that they feel confident in naming and sorting correctly. Another time, pass out the pictures and call on children to come up and sort the card they were given. Then turn the pictures face-down in a stack or spread them out on the floor and let children turn over the picture they will sort. Children enjoy the anticipation of not knowing which picture they will get. Children can also sort with a partner as they take turns choosing a picture. This is helpful for English learners. Look for fast and accurate picture sorting. Be ready to drop back to fewer categories if a child has difficulty.

• Plan plenty of time for individual practice and follow-up activities. After the group lesson, put sets of pictures in centers or create copies of picture sets for children to cut apart for more sorting over several days. Cut-and-paste, draw- and-label, and word hunts through familiar chart stories, nursery rhymes, or little books are helpful follow-up activities described in Chapter 3. They require children to recognize, or recall, the same beginning sounds and to judge whether they fit the category.

• Encourage pretend writing and developmental spelling. In the process of writ- ing, children exercise their phonics knowledge in a meaningful activity (Clarke, 1988; NRP, 2000; Snow et al., 1998). To get children started, demonstrate how to use letters to represent sounds as you write with children during interactive writing (see the Morning Message described in Activity 4.38). Asking children to label their drawings or to write just a sentence about something is a good way to get writing started (see Figure 4.5).

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G EConcepts About Print (CAP)

Children are surrounded by print on signs, package labels, magazines, computers, and televi- sion, even on the clothes they wear. However, unless adults talk about the purposes print serves and the special ways in which the visual forms of print are organized, children may not develop what is known as concepts about print. There are many ways to draw their attention to print and how it is used. For example, when you print the words to “Where Is Thumbkin?” on chart paper and point to them as the children sing along, you are helping them understand concepts of print. It happens when you stop to point out the X in the exit sign and explain what it means. It happens when you show a book cover and remind children that they have heard other stories written and illustrated by Tomie dePaola. The key is to be conscious of the many ways we use print and to “think aloud” as we draw children’s attention to it in explicit ways. Justice and Ezell (2004) call this print referencing.

Print Referencing Table 4.5 provides a list of the functions and forms of print and offers examples of print ref- erencing that you might use. Reading with children during interactive or shared reading and writing with children during interactive writing and as you take dictations, provides abundant

Enhanced eText Video Example 4.7 Jackie uses the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty to develop concepts about print in this video.

TABLE 4.5 CAP and Print Referencing Examples

Functions and Forms of Print Print Referencing During Reading and Writing

Print is speech written down, and once written down it does not change.

I’m going to write down what you say, and then we can read it back.

Print is different from illustrations. You look at the picture while I read what it says over here.

Print carries a message. Here are the words to “Humpty Dumpty.”

Can you find the box that says “scissors”?

Print serves many purposes. Here is the recipe for cookies. Let’s read and find out what ingredients we need.

Book-handling skills—Start with the cover and turn from front to back.

Let’s look at the cover of the book to see what it is about.

Directionality—Print is oriented left to right with a return sweep and top to bottom.

This is the top of the page where I will start reading. Then I will go to the next line. Show me where to go next.

Language related to units of print—Letters (capital and lowercase), numbers, words, sentences, lines.

There are four letters in this word. Let’s name them. The first letter is a capital because it is a person’s name.

Language related to books—Title, author, illustrator, title page, dedication, poem, song, beginning, end.

We have read another book by this author. Where do we look for the author’s name?

Language related to phonological sensitivity—Syllable, sound, beginning and ending sound.

This is a long word. Let’s clap the syllables in caterpillar.

Can this word be rug? What is the first sound in rug?

Punctuation and special print—Periods, question marks, exclamation marks, quotation marks, bold print, italics.

Listen to how I read this sentence. It ends with an exclamation point so I want it to make it sound exciting.

Concept of word in text—Words are composed of a string of letters; words are separated by spaces.

Watch while I point to the words in this sentence. We need to leave a space here before we write the next word.

Word identification—Words can be identified in different contexts.

Here is the word cat. Can you find the word again on this page? What will you look for?

Source: Adapted from Justice et al., 2009.

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opportunities to develop concepts about print. When you use a print referencing style such as naming and pointing out letters or asking questions about print and pointing to words as you read, children show growth on measures of concepts about print, letter recognition, and name writing (Justice, Kaderavek, Fan, Sofka, & Hunt, 2009).

Reference specific print forms and functions during tasks that encourage children to write their own names, such as sign-up procedures. When you incorporate print into dramatic play centers such as restaurants, doctors’ offices, and so on, children use writing as they pretend to be waiters writing down a dinner order, doctors writing a prescription, and the like. In the process, they learn that print takes many forms and serves many functions. You can find some specific activities (Activities 4.35 to 4.38) at the end of this chapter.

Assessing and Monitoring Growth in CAP Marie Clay (1985) first developed a formal protocol for assessing concepts about print using a series of questions while sharing a book with a child. Many variations of this exist; in fact, state and local standards for early literacy may include a checklist of questions regarding chil- dren’s development in CAP. You can also see concepts about print in children’s efforts to write their names. Their efforts, which may range from scribbles to letter-like forms mixed with numbers to recognizable signatures, can predict later literacy achievement (Welsch, Sullivan, & Justice, 2003).

• We provide several assessments in Appendix A that help you interpret name writing and other writing.

• Concepts about print can be informally assessed all the time as you read and write with children by posing questions such as “Who can point to a capital letter D?” or “What do we put at the end of a sentence?”

Concept of Word in Text (COW-T)

The ultimate concept about print is achieving a concept of word in text (COW-T)—the ability to fingerpoint or track accurately to printed words in text while reading from memory. Reach- ing this milestone depends on a student’s ability to isolate the beginning consonant sounds of spoken words and knowledge of letter–sound correspondences—skills that help the beginning reader find words on the page. Figure 4.9 shows the progression of finger pointing accuracy in relation to writing development during the emergent to early letter name–alphabetic stage of word knowledge. Incorporating concept of word activities into daily literacy practice not only strengthens students’ speech-to-print matching, but it also solidifies their alphabet knowl- edge, emerging phonemic awareness, and knowledge of words in print. There is an interaction between alphabetic knowledge, the ability to match speech to print, and phonemic awareness (Flanigan, 2007; Morris et al., 2003; Tunmer, 1991). However, achieving a concept of word in text is not an all-or-nothing affair—there is a developmental continuum.

COW-T Continuum The concept of word continuum includes developing, rudimentary, and firm levels. During the emer- gent stage, learners move from the developing level to a rudimentary concept of word. Children with a firm concept of word in text are letter name–alphabetic spellers, described in Chapter 5.

To determine where your children are on the concept of word continuum, examine the accuracy of their fingerpoint reading to memorized rhymes and jingles, their ease with iden- tifying words in context, and their ability to remember words in isolation that were viewed previously in context (Blackwell-Bullock, Invernizzi, Drake, & Howell, 2009; Flanigan, 2007; Morris, 1993).

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G EFIGURE 4.9 Voice-to-Print Match in Relation to Spelling Development

Vowel by letter name

Initial and final consonant

Initial consonant

Random letters

Letterlike

Accurate tracking

Voice-to-print match

Spelling (Bump)

Points to words, says syllables

Points to words, says stressed units

Points to letters, says stressed units

Left to right but no unit

No direction

Waves

Random marks

Firm concept of word

Developing concept of word

Rudimentary concept of word

Self-corrects

Source: Gill (1992). Focus on research: Development of word knowledge as it relates to reading, spelling, and instruc- tion. Language Arts, 69, 6, 444–453. Adapted with permission.

DEVELOPING COW-T. Children who are just develop- ing a COW-T will have some orientation to the page, moving from the top to the bottom and linearly side to side (but perhaps not from left to right). What they point to on the page as they recite does not coincide with printed word units at all. The pre-literate child may punch at the page in a rhythmic recitation of the memo- rized text, but with little attention to word boundaries.

Through your demonstrations, top-to-bottom and left-to-right movement becomes habitualized. As they note white spaces, children begin to track rhythmically across the text, pointing to words for each stressed beat. For example, when tracking the traditional five-word ditty, “Sam, Sam, the baker man,” they may point four times: Sam/Sam/the-baker/man. An article (the, a, an) may be treated as part of the word that follows it. The child pointing to “One, two buckle my shoe” can be seen to point off-track. Child with a developing COW-T points to the words as she reads

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RUDIMENTARY COW-T. As children become aware that print has something to do with sound units such as syllables, their fingerpointing becomes more precise and changes from a gross rhythm to a closer match. This rudimentary COW-T works well for one-syllable words, but not so well for words of two or more syllables. When they track “Sam, Sam, the baker man,” they may now point six times: Sam/Sam/the/ba/ker/man. When they pronounce /ker/, the second syllable of baker, they point to the next word, man. Figure 4.10 illustrates the phenomenon of getting off track on two-syllable words. Children with a rudimentary COW-T will begin to remember a few written words.

FIRM COW-T. As children learn the alphabet and the sounds associated with the letters, begin- ning sounds anchor their fingerpointing more directly to the memorized recitation. They real- ize that when they say the word man, they need to have their finger on a word beginning with an m. If they do not, then they must start again. These self-corrections mark the transition to a firm COW-T where children point accurately and they begin to remember many words from repeated readings. These children are the beginning readers or the early letter name–alphabetic spellers described in Chapter 5.

HOW TO HELP CHILDREN DEVELOP A COW-T. Although children will often display the attributes of a developing COW-T from watching you model, the only way for children to move to a rudimentary or firm COW-T is to engage in fingerpoint reading from memory. When they get off track, direct their attention to letters and sounds. In this way, children learn how to find the words on the page—an important prerequisite to acquiring a sight vocabulary. They can practice with a variety of texts as described next.

Dictated Picture Captions. One of the best ways to help children make connections between speech and print is to record what they say in a dictation and then to read it back. Picture captions are quick and easy forms of dictation.

1. First, ask children to draw a picture, such as their favorite toy or Halloween costume, and encourage them to include as much detail as possible.

2. While they are working, walk around and ask each child to tell you something about his or her picture. Choose a simple phrase or sentence from the description and write it verbatim beneath the picture (see Figure 4.11). Say each word as you write it, drawing attention to the sounds and letters and involving the child when appropriate with questions such as, “What sound do you hear first?”

FIGURE 4.10 Trying to Match Voice to Print

Enhanced eText Video Example 4.8 Regina talks about her kindergarten students who at are different places in their development of COW in this video.

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G E3. Read the caption by pointing to each word. Ask the child to read along with

you and then to read it alone while pointing. Later, the child may attempt to reread the caption to a buddy.

Group Dictations. Like picture captions, spoken or dictated accounts of students’ experiences also help them link speech to print. This approach is described in more detail in Activity 4.39 and is traditionally referred to as the Language Experience Approach (LEA), (Stauffer, 1970; Labbi, Eakle, & Mon- tero, 2002). The LEA is based on the premise that what you say can be written and what you write can be read. The motivation and engagement that results from using students’ self-generated language has revitalized an interest in LEA, especially for emergent learners and for children learning English as another language (Dorr, 2006). Experience is the best teacher!

Rhymes for Reading. Familiar rhymes, songs, or jingles are easily memo- rized texts that students can use to practice fingerpointing after a shared reading experience. Rhythmic texts are particularly appealing to use when children are developing a COW-T but may throw them off in their tracking. Eventually moving to less rhythmic, less predictable texts may be in order (Cathey, 1991).

1. Memorize. First help children learn the rhyme, song, or jingle “by heart,” because developing a COW-T is all about matching oral speech to print. It helps to use pictures for prompts, as shown in Figure 4.12. To teach your children to memorize the rhyme, point to each picture frame while singing or reciting the line that goes with it, repeating as needed. Some children may only be able to memorize two lines, whereas others can handle four or six. “Resource Connections: Traditional Rhymes and Jingles” on the next page lists some collections of traditional rhymes and jingles. They can also be found by searching online. Many nursery rhymes, songs, and jump rope jingles are illustrated in Words Their Way:® Letter and Picture Sorts for Emergent Spellers (Bear, Invernizzi, Johnston, & Templeton, 2018).

2. Introduce the print. After children memorize the rhyme, display it on a white- board, chart paper, or on sentence strips printed in text large enough for every- one to see. Model how to fingerpoint and invite children to “read” with you chorally (in unison) or using echo reading (you read a line, then they read the same line again, fingerpointing). If you used a song, it is time to slow it down and read it at this point.

3. Individual copies. Giving children their own copy of the rhyme on a single sheet of paper is very important so that they can get more practice pointing to the words as they read chorally and individually. These texts should be printed in the largest possible font (26- point or better) and for children with a developing COW-T, you may keep to two lines and insert an extra space between words. You might also give them sentence strips to cut apart and rebuild the text.

4. Words. Begin to focus on words in the text. After several rounds of fingerpoint reading, see whether children can identify one or two targeted words per line. Point to a word and ask, “What’s this word?” If a child doesn’t know the word, show him or her how to start at the beginning of the line to reread or voice point up to the word in question. Alternatively, you can ask children to find a word in a particular line by providing a beginning sound: “I’m think- ing of a word in this line that starts just like the word ball. What word am I thinking of? Can you point to it? How did you know that was the word I was thinking of? Yes! Box and ball both begin with the /b/ sound. They both begin with the letter b!” When children have their own copies of the rhyme, they can highlight or underline the words you ask them to find.

Learners with limited English will benefit from practicing fingerpointing using materials in their primary languages. Rhymes and jingles in Spanish can be found in Words Their Way:® Emergent Sorts for Spanish-Speaking English Learners (Helman, Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, & Johnston, 2009) and Words Their Way:® Letter Name–Alphabetic Sorts for Spanish-Speaking English Learners (Helman, Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, & Johnston, 2009).

for English learners

FIGURE 4.11 Drawing with Dictated Caption

FIGURE 4.12 Rhymes for Reading

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The Whole-to-Part Five-Day Lesson Framework

The whole-to-part, five-day lesson plan includes all aspects of the literacy diet: vocabulary, phonemic awareness, alpha- bet, letter sounds, and concepts of print in the service of developing a concept of word in text. You can use the five-day format with any kind of text—poems, rhymes, jingles, songs, language experi- ence dictations, or parts of a simple pat- tern book. The key is to limit the text to no more than two to eight lines that children can memorize after repeated readings. The procedures move from introducing a whole text to the parts with a gradual release of responsibility. Activi- ties on days 2 to 5 can vary, depending on the skill of your children and the time you have.

Children rebuild a favorite rhyme and compare their work with a chart

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N S Traditional Rymes and Jingles

Cole, J. (1989). Ann Banana: 101 jump-rope rhymes. New York: Scholastic.

Cole, J., & Calmenson, S. (1990). Miss Mary Mack and other children’s street rhymes. Illustrated by Alan Tiegreen. New York: Morrouno.

Ratisseau, S. (2014) Jumping Joy: A book about jump rope rhymes. Seattle, WA: Laughing Elephant

Schwartz, A. (1989). I saw you in the bathtub. New York: HarperCollins.

Sierra, J., & Sweet, M. (2005). Schoolyard rhymes: Kids’ own rhymes for rope jumping, hand clapping, ball bouncing, and just plain fun. New York: Knopf.

Kindergarten children practice finger pointing to familiar text in small group

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MATERIALS You will need:

• chart paper

• a pocket chart

• sentence strips

• envelope

• word cards

Record a copy of the text on chart paper using print large enough for all to see and/or prepare two sets of sentence strips with individual lines from the text and have word cards ready to record selected words. In addition, prepare a handout with several lines from the text. Glue these into personal readers made from news- print or blank white paper stapled together as described in Chapter 5. Leave out the chart, sentence strips, and word cards for children to use independently as a center activity after they have been introduced in the group.

PROCEDURES Day 1. Introduce the whole text.

1. Memorize. Have children memorize a rhyme, poem, song, or jingle or a patterned refrain from a storybook introduced during shared reading. Use simple pictures if possible to help them memorize the lines by heart. If children have difficulty memorizing four or five lines, cut back to two. Talk about any unusual or unfamiliar vocabulary. For example, in the nursery rhyme of “Jack and Jill” the word fetch should be discussed. Talk about rhyming words and allow children to supply the ending rhymes as you recite.

2. Introduce the print. Introduce the printed text on chart paper or a pocket chart—one sentence per line. (Or start with this step if you are using a simple book like Cat on the Mat described in the opening vignette.) Model how to read the text by using your finger or pointer to touch every word as you say it. Include print referencing as you talk about how you are starting with the first word on the left and touching each word in the sentence as you say it. Touch multisyllabic words several times and explain why. Point out special punctuation and the use of capital letters.

3. Read together. Ask the children to read each sentence exactly as you do after you have read it. Then invite the children to say it with you (chorally) as you point to each word; this is the third reading. Then ask individual children to come up and recite as much of it as you think they are capable of while

pointing to each word. Be prepared to guide as needed to ensure accurate pointing.

Day 2. Work with the parts (sentences). 1. Review. Review the text by repeating steps 2 and

3 from day 1. Add more print referencing and ask children to find some of the things you talked about previously. For example, “Can someone find the question mark?”

2. Sentence strips. Hand out sentence strips and ask children to find the sentence it matches in the pocket chart and place it there. Discuss how they knew it was the same—prompt for specifics like “starts with” or “the word . . . .” Rebuild the text with and without a model for reference. Simple pictures like those in Figure 4.25 on page 146 can help children get the sentence strips in order.

3. Individual Copies for Fingerpointing Practice. Pass out individual copies of the rhyme. Read this together as every child tracks the print. Keep this copy in their personal readers (see Chapter 5 for more details). Pair children with a buddy and have them practice reading the rhyme to each other while fingerpointing. Ask the non-reading buddy to make sure his or her partner is saying and pointing to each word. Have each partner read twice.

Day 3. Work with the parts (words). 1. Reread. Ask children to fingerpoint-read their own

copies to review the text. 2. Match words. Pass out individual word cards and

have children come up and find a word on the chart or sentence strips and place it on top of its match in the pocket chart. Limit this to one sentence at first. Discuss how they knew it was the same word. (Prompt for letters and beginning sounds.)

3. Cut up sentence strips. Pass out the sentence strips along with envelopes containing that particular sentence cut up into individual words. Have children rebuild the sentence word by word. See Cut-Up Sentences (Activity 4.40) and Be the Sentence (Activity 4.41). See Figure 4.20.

4. Rhyme. If the text you are using includes rhyming words, you can ask students to find them and talk about how they are alike (they end the same way). You might want to do a rhyme sort or invent other rhymes as described in Activities 4.11 to 4.14.

Day 4. Work with the parts (letters and sounds). 1. Find words that begin with a sound. Use the chart

copy or pocket chart to reread the text and then ask children to find words that start with particular

The Five Day Whole-to-Part Lesson Framework

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letters or sounds. Say something like, “I’m thinking of a word in this line that starts with the same sound as ______. What word am I thinking of? How did you know?”

2. Reread. Have children reread their own copies. Name words (or letters for children still learning the alphabet) for them to find and talk about how they found it (what letter or sounds they used). They can highlight or underline the words you ask them to find. Children can also call out words for each other to find.

3. Word study for initial sounds. Select two to four letter sounds to use as the basis for a picture sorting lesson described on page 112. Model the sort with the group and then assign students to do it independently with their own set of pictures or in centers.

Day 5. Review the whole and assess the parts. 1. Reread. Have the children reread the text using the

chart or personal copies. Select words for a word bank as described in Chapter 5 for children who have at least a rudimentary COW-T. Have children illustrate their rhymes in their personal readers as a reward for all their hard work.

2. Word Study Review. Ask children to re-sort pictures used for the initial sound sort under your supervision. Repeat the sort over the next few days and complete extensions.

3. Assess COW-T. Assess children’s ability to track using the guidelines described on pages 114 and 144. Ask individual children to read the rhyme as they point to the words. Observe how accurately they track and whether they self-correct when they get off track. Point to a few words for a child to name, or hold up word cards in isolation to name.

4. Reread over time. Periodically have children reread charts done throughout the year and all the pages in their personal readers. Personal readers can go home so children can share their developing skills. Be sure that parents understand that they will read from memory but should try to touch each word as they read.

The exact activities you do each day in the whole-to- part framework will vary depending on where your students are in terms of their literacy development. Although the whole group can participate in the first or second day, you may want to form small groups for subsequent days. Later we describe how to organize for small group instruction that meets individual needs.

Assessing and Monitoring Growth in COW-T You can easily assess concept of word in text by asking children to point to individual words in a familiar piece of text, such as a nursery rhyme or jump rope jingle. “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe” or “Humpty Dumpty” work well because they have words of more than one syllable. Observe how children point to words on the page. Do they move left to right and top to bottom? Do they point to words as they say syllables or stressed beats? Do they get off track on two-syllable words? Do they self-correct when they get off track? You can find assessment directions and forms in Appendix A starting on page 373.

After several rounds of fingerpoint reading, ask children to name the words that you point to in context or more randomly, as described previously, and observe their strategies. Do they reread an entire line and count up the memorized words to identify it? Or do they identify it immedi- ately? Ask, “How did you find that word?” or “How did you know that word?” Children who can tell you that a word starts with a w are using developing letter–sound knowledge to track words in text. This is a necessary precursor to acquiring sight words, which is discussed in Chapter 5.

Word Study Routines and Management

The research in emergent literacy suggests that a comprehensive approach to instruction and early intervention is the most effective procedure (Pressley, 2006). A comprehensive approach includes attention to the six components of the emergent literacy “diet” described in this chap- ter done, not sequentially, but simultaneously. These essential components can be integrated into major organizational time units during which you Read To, Read With, Write With, do Word Study, and Talk With (RRWWT) children.

PROGRESS MONITORING

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G E• During read to time, you read aloud literature that offers exposure to new vocabulary and

literary language. • During read with time, children engage in shared reading and rereading of familiar texts

and print referencing is easy when you use enlarged text. • When you model how to write by stretching out the sounds in words and matching them

to letters, you are writing with children, who will, in turn, write for themselves. • Word study includes direct instruction in phonological awareness, the alphabet, and letter

sounds. • Finally, a comprehensive program provides children with ample opportunities to talk with

you and their peers about the books and experiences they share.

Combining these activities into a cohesive RRWWT routine is important so that the activi- ties and materials f low together in a logical way and serve multiple purposes. Recall how Ms. Smith introduced an engaging core book and used it to draw attention to letters and sounds, to highlight vocabulary, to offer children practice tracking familiar text, and to sort pictures by rhyme and beginning sounds. Words Their Way:® Letter and Picture Sorts for Emergent Spellers (Bear et al., 2019) offers examples of how these components can be integrated and provides ready-to-print rhymes and jingles for reading as well as prepared sorts.

Emergent Literacy Daily Management Plan The daily management of emergent literacy instruction should include whole groups, small groups, and literacy centers, as outlined in Table 4.6. In a whole group, Ms. Smith modeled finger- point reading and other concepts about print, and then called a small group together to introduce a picture sort of initial sounds that children later practiced independently. They worked from a whole text, then with sentences, words, letters, and sounds in the whole-to-part framework.

WHOLE GROUP. Whole-group activities emphasize reading to and with students, teacher modeling, listening, and vocabulary development. Print referencing opportunities arise dur- ing whole-group instruction. Read-alouds serve many purposes and you can plan two or more whole-group sessions during the day for emergent children where they listen to read-alouds from a variety of genres, including information books related to thematic studies, alphabet books, and books with language play such as rhyme. Use whole-group time to sing songs while pointing to the words, practice the alphabet song, model writing, and introduce shared reading activities designed to facilitate CAP and COW-T. This is where the “whole” of a whole-to-part model takes place, with some attention to the parts.

SMALL GROUPS. Children can participate actively under close supervision while in small groups or during circle time. This is when to implement differentiated instruction according to assessed needs. You can form small groups initially based on alphabet knowledge and pho- nological awareness but also on concept of word (developing versus rudimentary). For example, some children will need to focus on alphabet recognition and look for letters in familiar texts, whereas children who already know their letters and have a rudimentary COW-T may be ready to acquire some sight words from repeated readings of familiar text. The small group is where the “parts” of the whole-to-part lesson format are addressed in depth, such as rhyming picture sorts or picture sorts for beginning sounds.

SEAT AND CENTER. Independent work provides additional practice. After children are intro- duced to activities and sorts in small groups, they can work independently, with partners, in centers, or at their seats. Betty Lee’s word study routines described in Chapter 3 are designed for independent work. Games and puzzles, such as those described in the activities section in this chapter, should be first introduced and modeled in groups and then placed in centers. Writing can be an independent activity as children work in journals or draw and label pictures based on sorts.

Enhanced eText Video Example 4.9 Regina combines support reading and word study of initial consonants in this video.

Enhanced eText Video Example 4.10 Regina explains how she organized her kindergarten classroom in this video.

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TABLE 4.6 Emergent Literacy Plan

Whole-Group Activities Small-Group/Circle Time Differentiated Activities

Seat/Center Differentiated Activities

“Read To”: Read-alouds for thematic units and vocabulary work

Introduce concept sorts

Concept sorts

Retelling, dramatization, rhythm

Practice concept sorts

Retell using picture books, puppets, and so on

“Read With”: Shared reading of big books, rhymes, songs, dictations

Memorize “whole” texts such as nursery rhymes and jingles

Reread familiar texts until memorized

“Parts”—Work with sentence strips, word cards, and so on

Partner or individual work with sentences and words

“Word Study”: Sing and recite alphabet

Share alphabet and language play books

Name of the Day

Introduce differentiated sorts: rhyme, font, initial consonants

Practice sorts

Letter and sound hunts

Games and puzzles for rhyme, alphabet, initial consonants

“Write With”: Modeled and interactive writing

Morning Message

Language experience dictations Picture caption dictations

Draw and label

Journal writing

A number of materials are available to help you imple- ment word study with children in the emergent stage:

1. Words Their Way for PreK–K (Johnston et al., 2015) offers a more thorough coverage of the literacy diet described in this chapter, as well as more activities and lesson plans. It is recommended for early childhood teachers working with children in the emergent and letter name–alphabetic stages.

2. Pictures to create sound sorts for rhyme and initial sounds can be found in Appendix D and can be used with the template on page 502 to create your own sorts. See the directions and lists of rhyming pictures on pages 432–450.

3. Prepared sorts and games are available at WTWD. There are also resources to create your own picture sorts.

4. Words Their Way:® Letter and Picture Sorts for Emergent Spellers (Bear et al., 2019, 3rd edition) offers a complete curriculum of sorts including concept sorts, rhyme sorts, alphabet font sorts, and beginning consonant sorts. There are also numerous reading selections—ready-to-print illustrated copies of short rhymes and jingles to use for developing concept of word.

5. Words Their Way:® Emergent Sorts for Spanish- Speaking English Learners (Helman et al., 2009) provides many prepared sorts to develop concepts and vocabulary as well as sound sorts with different contrasts.

6. Two of many websites to support emergent literacy learning are PALS Virginia and Webbing into Literacy Curry School of Education, both from the University of Virginia. You need not register to take advantage of the resources at PALS.

RESOURCES CONNECTIONS — IMPLEMENTING WORD STUDY in Your Classroom

Note: “Talk With” happens throughout all the activities.

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This section provides specific activities arranged by the six components of early literacy. Within each, the activities are roughly in order of increasing difficulty. However, concept sorts do not have to precede sound awareness, which in turn must precede alphabet. In reality, these develop simultaneously and constitute the “literacy diet” during the emergent years, with many activities that cut across the categories. Some of the games are generic to all stages of developmental word knowledge as indicated by the Adaptable for Other Stages symbol used throughout the book.

WTW Digital activities and interactive digital sorts. There are a dozen sorts and a variety of game templates and materials to print and package for student use. Each sort includes clear directions and questions to encourage discussion.

Multisensory learning. Many word study activities have multisensory properties that involve the senses through seeing, saying, listening, and feeling. Specifically, in this & and Chapter 5, students see the letters, say their names, hear their associated speech sounds, feel how they are made or articulated in their mouths, and how they are formed with their hands and fingers. These visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile (VAKT) experiences solidify their knowledge of letter names, letter sounds, and letter shapes as they say the words aloud, sort them into categories, and write them during word study games and activities. Students articulate speech sounds; write them; engage in word bank activities; check and ref lect on their sorts; and tap, clap, dance, and sing to the rhythm of familiar songs, rhymes, and lines from stories. On the ref lective side, we teach students that “after you say, explain” why they categorized words or pictures the way they did.

Oral Language, Concepts, and Vocabulary

Oral language, concept and vocabulary are developed throughout the day in many different ways. Earlier in this chapter we described some generic ideas, and here we offer some more specific ones.

4.1 Using Interactive Read-Alouds to Develop Vocabulary Books provide the best exposure to new vocabulary for young children, but simply reading to them is not enough. You need to draw attention to words and plan ways to ensure that new words are acquired and used. Interactive read-alouds take additional time to implement because you want children to have the opportunity to engage in a lot of oral language. At the same time, excessive interruptions can disrupt the f low of the text, so striking a balance between stopping and reading is important. Sometimes you may want to read a book with few, if any, interruptions and sometimes you may use a second reading to focus on words and invite responses.

PROCEDURES 1. Select a book with rich language that is age-appropriate for your listeners. Preview the

book, looking for new vocabulary and conceptual understandings that will extend students’ background knowledge. For example, rural or small-town children might not be familiar with the escalator mentioned in Corduroy by Don Freeman. Select three to five words based on (1) utility, (2) concreteness, (3) repetition, and (4) relatedness to themes or topics of study (see criteria on page 100). Prepare child-friendly definitions. (You might occasion- ally model using a picture dictionary, and even use it yourself to develop definitions, but dictionaries often do not provide clear examples or explanations.)

2. Introduce the book by reading the title and naming the author and illustrator. Look at the cover and at least the first few pages to elicit a prediction (“What do you think this book will be about?”) and to set a purpose for reading. Build background knowledge as needed and try to introduce the target words conversationally, perhaps pointing to a pic- ture or supplying a brief definition. Ask the children to listen for the words as you read.

3. Make the read-aloud interactive by inviting comments and questions from the children during reading. Encourage them to connect with the characters and theme (“Have you ever

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worn overalls like Corduroy’s?”). Expand on children’s brief utterances (“lost button”) with complete sentences to model more complex language (“Yes, Corduroy had lost a button but he did not realize it.”). Point out the targeted words when they occur in context and have children say the words with you.

4. After reading, invite children to respond to the story in personal ways and then revisit the targeted words as you model their use, pose questions, and elicit children’s responses. Use the new words in questions about the story and ask children to use them in sentences, act them out, or find other applications for them to engage the children. (“Why do you think Corduroy admired the furniture in the store?” “What is something that you admire?” “Turn to your partner and use the word admire in a sentence.”)

5. Always make books you read aloud available for children to look at on their own. Encour- age them to retell it in their own words (see the next activity) and/or talk with a friend about the pictures to elicit oral language.

4.2 PEER—Retellings through Dialogic Reading Studies of dialogic reading have demonstrated growth in expressive and receptive language when used by parents and teachers of at-risk preschoolers (Whitehurst et al., 1994; Justice & Pullen, 2003; NELP, 2008). In this gradual release of responsibility activity, children learn how to talk about and retell a familiar book after seeing it modeled by adults. Parents can be trained in this technique and you can send books home that have been read and discussed in school. Adults can use the PEER sequence (Morgan & Meier, 2008) to stimulate oral language and help the child become the storyteller.

PROCEDURES Begin by reading a book aloud and then follow up with small-group or indi- vidual rereadings before engaging in a prompted discussion. You might find that children are even happier to do a retelling when they can record themselves and listen to it afterward. Repeat the prompt sequence several times using the PEER guidelines:

P Prompt the child to say something about the book using open-ended questions. (Point to a picture of a mouse and say, “What is he doing?” The child says, “Running.”)

E Evaluate the child’s response. (“That’s right!”) E Expand the response by rephrasing or adding information to it. (“The mouse is running

away from the cat.”) R Repeat the prompt and ask the child to expand on it. (“What is the mouse doing?” The

child says, “He is running away from the cat.”)

Use additional prompts such as the following to stimulate talk:

1. Ask what, when, where, why, and how questions. 2. Leave a blank at the end of a sentence for the children to fill in. 3. Ask children to retell what has happened so far or to retell the ending. 4. Ask children to describe what they see happening in pictures. 5. Ask children to make connections with their own experiences.

4.3 Turn and Talk A good way to increase the opportunities for oral interaction and vocabulary use in your class- room is to ask children to turn and talk to an assigned partner during a discussion. Rather than calling on one child, everyone has a chance to respond to a question, to share an experience, to make a prediction, to summarize, and so on. Turn and talk is a good way to encourage children who might be reluctant to speak in front of the whole group. This includes English learners as well as shy or less verbal students.

PROCEDURES 1. Model your expectations for “turn and talk” with another adult. Demonstrate how both

partners need a chance to speak and suggest ways to encourage a reluctant talker. (“Tell me what you think. It’s your turn now” or “You go first this time.”) You can also ask two

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children who do a particularly good job together to model for the rest of the group. Children should not move about during turn and talk but instead turn “knee to knee and eye to eye” and talk softly so they do not disturb others. Signal cards such as an ear for listening and a mouth for talking can be mounted on tongue depressors or popsicle sticks.

2. Select partners before the read-aloud or other shared experi- ence begins. You may allow children to pick their own part- ners on the way to the group and then sit down together. Or you may select partners, taking into consideration childrens’ language competence and confidence. A more verbal child may provide a model for a less verbal child, but he or she might also dominate the conversation, so watch to see how pairs work out and be ready to intervene with suggestions about ways to give the less verbal child an equal opportunity. Use the same partners for a week or longer to save organi- zational time.

3. Bring turn and talk time to a close by offering a countdown warning. One way to do this is to silently hold up five fingers and then lower each finger in turn. As children notice, they should imitate you down to the final fist when everyone should be done talking. How much time you allow will vary, but bring turn and talk time to a close before children lose their focus and get off the assigned topic.

4. As partners talk to each other, listen in to monitor their conversations. When the group is back together you might call on one or two children to report what they talked about. Because less verbal or shy children have had a chance to rehearse their ideas, they should be better able to speak before a larger group after turn and talk time.

4.4 Paste the Pasta and Other Concrete Concept Sorts Categorizing pasta by size, shape, and color is a good hands-on activity that introduces the idea of sorting to young children. Many early childhood curricula include the study of pattern, but being able to categorize by particular attributes must come first. Staying focused on a single attribute of interest is difficult for young children. They may begin sorting by color and then switch to shape in midstream. They will need many activities of this kind, sorting real, concrete objects that have different features.

MATERIALS You need three to six types of pasta of various sizes and shapes. You may want to use pasta of various colors or you can dye your own by shaking the pasta in a jar with a tablespoon of alcohol and a few drops of food coloring, then lay it out on newspaper to dry. If you dye your own, make sure that any one color encompasses a variety of shapes and sizes. Two or three colors are enough. Children can sort onto paper divided into columns, as shown in Figure 4.13 or simply into piles.

PROCEDURES 1. Prepare a mixture of the dried pasta and give each child a handful and a

sorting paper. 2. Begin with an open sort, in which you invite the children to come up with

their own way of grouping. This gives you an opportunity to evaluate which children understand attribute sorting and which need more guidance. Ask the children to share their ideas and show their groups. Discuss the different features or attributes by which they can sort.

3. Ask children to re-sort using a category different from their first one. You might end this activity by letting the children glue the pasta onto their sorting sheets by categories and then labeling their chosen sorts.

Children have signal cards to use during Turn and Talk

FIGURE 4.13 Paste the Pasta

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VARIATIONS There is no end to the concrete things you can sort with your children as you explore the different features that define your categories, as in the following suggestions

• Children—male/female, hair color, eye color, age, favorite color • Shoes—sandals/sneakers, right/left, tie/hook and loop/buckle/slip-on • Clothing—mittens/gloves, types of headwear, short-sleeved tops/long-sleeved tops, coats

with or without hoods, coats that button or zip • Buttons—two holes/four holes/no holes, shape, color, size • Bottle caps—size, color, plastic/metal, plain/printed, ribbed/smooth • Blocks—shape, color, size, length • Toys—size, color, purpose, plastic/wood/metal • Food—sweet/sour/bitter/salty, fruits/vegetables/grains, healthy/not healthy.

GUESS MY CATEGORY It is fun to sort children by different attributes in a guess my category activity. Begin by calling on a child to stand to one side to start the categories (such as child with long sleeves and a child with short sleeves) without telling what the contrasting feature is. Then sort a few more before pausing to ask, Where will Jill go? Watch to see who is catching on to the categories but don’t let them tell until the end. Of course, objects can be sorted this way also.

4.5 Concept Books and Concept Sorts Simple concept books designed for young children make great beginnings for concept sorts. Examples include Is It Red? Is It Yellow? Is It Blue? and other books by Tana Hoban, and My Very First Book of Shapes by Eric Carle. Topics include shapes, colors, textures, positions, types of clothing, animals, opposites, and so on.

PROCEDURES 1. Because concept books have little text, engage children in discussing what they see and

supplying appropriate labels. “This is a book about colors. Here is a picture of a toy dump truck. What color is the dump truck? Yes, the dump truck is red. Now it’s your turn. Tell me what you see here.”

2. Collect objects or pictures of objects that can be used for sorting. In the case of colors, you can probably find real objects around the room such as books, markers, toys, and so on. Explain to the children that they are going to help you sort the objects by color. Use complete sentences to model: “Here is a red ball. I will put the ball with the other things that are red.” After sorting, help children make generalizations such as “How are all these things alike? Yes, all the things in this category are red.”

3. Make labels for each category of your sort with help from the students: “I am going to write red on this card to label this category. Listen, rrrr-ed. What letter do I need to write down first?”

4. Put sorts where children can use them on their own and encourage them to talk as they sort. Children can look for more pictures in magazines or catalogs that fit the categories or they can draw pictures, cut them out, and paste them into categories. Encourage them to label their own sorts spelling as best they can.

VARIATIONS You can develop other concept sorts along the same lines. The following list of categories represents opposites or antonyms that are frequently confused by young children and can be better understood through sorting.

• Real/imaginary • Smooth/rough • Big/little • Hard/soft

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Of course, books can be the starting point for a concept sort. In Chapter 5, we describe a food sort based on Gregory the Terrible Eater by Marjorie Sharmat.

4.6 All My Friends Photograph Sort Another example of an open-ended sort involves guessing each other’s categories.

MATERIALS Take digital pictures of your students and create a composite so that they are all on one page. Each small group gets a set of pictures to cut apart and sort. The children also need a sheet of construction paper to divide into columns for sorting.

PROCEDURES Brainstorm with the children some of the ways that the pictures might be grouped (hair length, hair color, clothing, boys/girls, facial expressions). Have children work in groups to sort by these or other categories they discover. After pasting their pictures into the columns on their paper, each group can hold up their effort and ask the others in the class to guess their categories. The category labels or key words should then be written on the papers.

VARIATIONS Children can sort photographs from home according to places (inside/outside, home/vacation), number of people in the photograph (adults, sisters, brothers), number of animals in the photograph, seasons (by clothing, outside trees/plants), age of people in the photograph, and so forth. As children learn to recognize their classmates’ names, have them match the names to the pictures.

4.7 Transportation Unit Teachers of young children often organize their curriculum into thematic units of study. Such units frequently lend themselves to concept sorts, which review and extend the understandings central to the unit goals. The following example uses a transportation theme.

MATERIALS You need a collection of toy vehicles (planes, boats, cars, and trucks) or pictures of vehicles. Books featuring transportation, such as My Truck Is Stuck by Kevin Lewis, can introduce the sort.

PROCEDURES 1. Lay out the pictures on the f loor or table and invite the children to

think of which ones might go together. Encourage them to think up a variety of possibilities that will divide everything into only two or three categories. This is an open sort because the children are providing the categories.

2. After each suggestion, sort the vehicles by the identified attributes, talking about the categories and how things are sorted: “A truck has wheels so I will put it with the car and the bicycle.” Record the ideas for different sorts on a chart or chalkboard. Some possibilities include plastic/metal, big/little, old/new, one color/many colors, windows/no windows, wheels/no wheels, and land/air/water.

3. After exploring this open sort thoroughly, have the children select the category they like the best. They can then be given construction paper to label their categories and draw or cut out pictures for each. As always, encourage them to label the pictures and the categories with developmentally appropriate spelling, as shown in Figure 4.14.

FIGURE 4.14 Transportation Draw and Label

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Phonological Awareness (PA)

Phonological awareness consists of an array of understandings about speech sounds that includes a sensitivity to syllables, rhyme, alliteration, and phonemes. Syllables, rhyme, and alliteration are the best places to start with emergent learners and many activities for developing these are included here. The Morning Message (Activity 4.38) and Start with Children’s Names (Activity 4.23) also include phonological awareness instruction in the context of reading and writing.

4.8 Two for One! Long Words, Short Words Emergent learners have difficulty separating the sound structure of a spoken word from its mean- ing. One way to sensitize children to the phonological aspects of words is to build compound words. The following activity focuses on the concept that some words are long and some are short, and the difference between long and short words has nothing to do with the size of the referent.

MATERIALS Consult the list of compound words in Appendix F. Pick concrete, two-syllable compound words that you can easily illustrate. The words bedroom, blackbird, cowboy, doorbell, fin- gernail, fireman, football, doghouse, lipstick, mailman, pancake, raincoat, sandbox, snowman, and snow- ball are good choices for starters. Pictures for many of the words can be found in Appendix D.

PROCEDURES 1. Take a picture of snow and another picture of a man. After discussing the meaning of each word

separately, place the two pictures side by side and ask children to say each word in succession: “snow-man.” Talk about how the one word, snowman, is made of two words, snow plus man.

2. Replace the two separate pictures of snow and a man with one picture of a snowman and discuss again how the word snowman is made up of two words: snow and man. However, because a snowman might not be “as big” as a real man, it is necessary to take this exercise one step further to develop the idea of word size in terms of sound as opposed to meaning.

3. Hold up the picture of snow and ask children to clap as they say the word snow. Next, hold up the picture of the man and ask the children to clap as they say the word man. Finally, hold up the picture of the snowman and ask the children to clap for each word in snowman.

4. Discuss how the word snowman is longer than either the word snow or the word man because snowman has two syllables, whereas snow and man have only one! Snowman has more syllables, so it is a longer word.

VARIATIONS Hold up the printed word snow and compare it to the printed word snowman. Count the letters and talk about which word has more letters. Say, “I’m going to say two short words and you tell me what long word those two short words make. Ready? Bed (pause) room. What longer word do those two smaller words make? Yes, they make the word bedroom! Let’s clap out the syllables in bedroom (clap, clap). Ready for another one?” Repeat with other con- crete words.

4.9 Whose Name Is Longer? Let’s Clap to Find Out! After children develop sensitivity to syllables through clapping out compound words, move on to clapping out the syllables in everyone’s names. Tie this in with Activity 4.23 (start with children’s names).

PROCEDURES Choose two children whose first names differ in the number of syllables. Say each name and have your children clap to each syllable as they pronounce it. “Whose name is longer? Which name has more claps? Shamika has three claps; Charles has only one.” Go around the classroom clapping out the syllables in everyone’s name. Have children move into groups by the number of claps in their names.

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4.10 Rhyme in Children’s Books Filling children’s heads with rhyme is one of the easiest and most natural ways to focus their attention on the sounds of the English language. Books written with rhyme provide one way to do this. As you read and reread these books aloud, pause to allow the children to guess the rhyming word. “I Can’t,” said the Ant is an old favorite that invites child participation, with each line cued by an illustration.

Here are some more of our favorites:

• Bluemie, E. (2012). How Do You Wokka Wokka? Somerville, MA: Candlewick. • Cameron, P. (1961). “I Can’t,” Said the Ant. New York: Putnam Publishing. • Crews, D. (1986). Ten Black Dots. New York: Greenwillow. • Degan, B. (1983). Jamberry. New York: Harper. • Dewdney, A. (2005). Llama Llama Red Pajama. New York: Viking Juvenile. Look for more

books in this series, including Llama Llama Mad at Mama (2007), Llama Llama Misses Mama (2009), and Llama Llama Time to Share (2012).

• Gray, K (2014) Frog on a Log? New York: Scholastic. • Guarina, D. (1989). Is Your Mama a Llama? Illustrated by Steven Kellogg. New York:

Scholastic. • Raffi. (1999). Down by the Bay. New York: Crown Books. Look for other titles by Raffi. • Rinker, S. D. (2011). Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle

Books. • Seuss, Dr. (1965). Hop on Pop. New York: Random House. Also see There’s a Wocket in My

Pocket and Fox in Socks. • Shaw, N. E. (1997). Sheep in a Jeep. Boston, MA: Houghton Miff lin. Look for other books

in this series, including Sheep Out to Eat (1995). • Slate, J. (1996). Mrs. Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten. New York: Scholastic. • Thomas, J. (2009). Rhyming Dust Bunnies San Diego: Beach Lane Books. Also Here Comes

the Big Mean Dust Bunny! • Wilson, K. (2002). Bear Snores On. New York: Little Simon. Look for more titles in this

series, including Bear Wants More (2003), Bear’s new friend (2006), and Bear Says Thanks (2012).

• Wilson, S. (2003). Nap in a Lap. New York: Henry Holt. • Wood, A. (1995). Silly Sally Went to Town. Boston, MA: Houghton Miff lin Harcourt.

4.11 Match and Sort Rhyming Pictures After reading rhyming books aloud, follow up with an activity in which the children sort or match rhyming pictures.

MATERIALS Appendix D in this book contains pictures grouped by initial sounds and by vowels. These can be copied, colored lightly, and glued to cards to make sets for sorting. The lists on pages 430 and 431 will help you find rhyming sets. You can create sets of matching pairs or sets of three or more pictures that can be sorted by rhyme.

PROCEDURES Display a set of pictures and model how to sort them by rhyme. Say something like, “Let’s look for rhyming words. Boat rhymes with coat, so I will put it with the picture of the coat. Can you find two pictures that rhyme?” To make it easier for beginners, put out three pictures at a time: two pictures that rhyme and one that does not. Name the pictures and ask children to find the two that rhyme: “Listen. Boat, train, coat. Which pictures rhyme?” After sorting pictures as a group, put the pictures in a center for child to match on their own or create a rhyming sort handout so that each child can have his or her own sort.

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4.12 Rhyming Books as a Starting Point to Invent Rhymes Making up your own rhymes is quite an accomplishment and it is likely to come after the ability to identify rhymes. Younger children need support to create rhymes, and a good place to start is pure nonsense. Jan Slepian and Ann Seidler’s The Hungry Thing (2001) tells of a creature who comes to town begging for food but has trouble pronouncing what he wants; shmancakes (pancakes), feetloaf (meatloaf), and hookies (cookies) are among his requests. Only a small boy can figure out what he wants.

PROCEDURES After reading the book, children can act it out. As each takes the part of the Hungry Thing, they must come up with a rhyming word for the food they want, such as mough- nut, bandwich, or smello. The story continues in The Hungry Thing Returns.

VARIATIONS No one was a greater master of nonsense than Dr. Seuss. There’s a Wocket in My Pocket (1974) takes readers on a tour of a young boy’s home in which all kinds of odd creatures have taken up residence. There is a woset in his closet, a zlock behind the clock, and a nink in the sink. After reading this to a group, ask children to imagine what animal would live in their cubby, under the rug, or in the lunchroom. Their efforts should rhyme, to be sure, but anything will do: a rubby, snubby, or frubby might all live in a cubby.

4.13 Making Up Rhymes Children who need more explicit instruction in rhyme will benefit from making up rhymes.

MATERIALS Pictures of rhyming objects such as rose, nose, hose, and toes (see the list of rhyming pictures at the beginning of Appendix D).

PROCEDURES 1. Introduce a rhyming element. Explain that you are going to make words that have ose in

them. Ask your children to say ose. Hold up a picture of a rose and ask children to say the word rose and listen for the ose at the end. Emphasize the rhyme in a whole word. Say rrr- ooose, emphasizing the ose.

2. Hold up a picture of a nose. Ask your children to tell you what it is. Tell them that n-ose has ose in it. Hold up other pictures (hose and toes) and ask if they can hear the ose at the end.

3. Ask children whether they can tell what sound is the same in rose, nose, hose, and toes. Emphasize the ose at the end of each word makes them rhyme.

4. Ask children to brainstorm other words that rhyme with rose: goes, chose, and blows, for example. Make other rhymes in a similar fashion.

4.14 Use Songs to Develop a Sense of Rhyme and Alliteration Earlier, we mentioned how appropriate works by the singer/songwriter Raffi are for young children. Teaching these songs by Raffi, some of which are available in books, can lead to inven- tive fun with rhymes and sounds.

• “Apples and Bananas” (from One Light, One Sun) • “Spider on the Floor” (from Singable Songs for the Very Young) • “Down by the Bay” (also available from Singable Songs for the Very Young)

Another song that features names, rhyme, and alliteration is “The Name Game,” originally sung by Shirley Ellis. It has apparently passed into the oral tradition of many neighborhoods and may be known by some children in your class. Sing the song over and over, substituting the name of a different child on every round, as in the following two examples:

Sam Sam Bo Bam, Banana Fanna Bo Fam, Fee Fi Mo Mam, Sam! Kaitlyn Kaitlyn Bo Baitlyn, Banana Fanna Bo Faitlyn, Fee Fi Mo Maitlyn, Kaitlyn!

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Encourage children to share with you any playground songs and chants they might already know. Generations of children have made up variations of “Miss Mary Mack” and a new gen- eration with a taste for rap is creating a whole new repertoire. You can take an active role in teaching these jingles to your students—or letting them teach you! Write them down to become reading material.

4.15 Rhyming Bingo You can adapt bingo to many features like rhyming and initial consonant.

MATERIALS Game boards. Prepare enough Bingo game boards for the number of children who will participate (small groups of three to five children are ideal). An appropriate game board size for young children is a 3-by-3 array; for older students, the game board can be expanded to a 4-by-4 or 5-by-5 array. A ready-to-use version is available at the WTW Digital website.

Copy sets of pictures from Appendix D and form rhyming groups such as those listed on pages 430 and 431. Paste all but one of each rhyming group in the spaces on the game boards and then laminate them for durability. Each game board must be arranged differently.

Deck of Pictures. Prepare a complementary set of cards on which you paste the remaining picture from each rhyming group. These will become the deck from which rhyming words are called aloud during the game.

Markers. You will need some kind of marker to cover the squares on the game board. These may be as simple as two-inch squares of construction paper, plastic chips, bottle caps, or pennies.

PROCEDURES 1. Give each child a game board and markers to cover spaces. 2. You, or a designated child, act as the caller, who turns over cards from the deck and calls

out the name of the picture. 3. Each child searches the game board for a picture that rhymes with the one that has been

called out. Children cover a match with a marker to claim the space. 4. The winner is the first child to cover a row in any direction or the first child to fill his or

her entire board.

4.16 Rhyming Concentration This game for two or three children is played like traditional Concentration or the more cur- rent Memory game.

MATERIALS Assemble a collection of six to ten pairs from the pictures in Appendix D. There is a list of rhyming pictures on pages 430 and 431. Paste the pictures on cards and laminate for durability. Be sure the pictures do not show through from the backside.

PROCEDURES Shuff le the pictures and then lay them face-down in rows. Children take turns f lipping over two pictures at a time. If the two pictures rhyme, the child keeps the cards to hold to the end of the game. A child who makes a match gets another turn. The winner is the child who has the most matches at the end of the game.

VARIATIONS This can be adapted to use with beginning sounds. Put letters on one set of cards and paste a picture of something that begins with that letter on another.

Adaptable for Other Stages

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4.17 Pamela Pig Likes Pencils: Beginning Sounds and Alliteration Sensitivity to beginning consonant sounds is essential for children to move out of the emergent phase and begin to learn to read, and alliteration is a good way to get started. (Alliteration is the occurrence of two or more words having the same beginning sound.) The following activity helps children focus their attention on beginning consonant sounds in sequences of spoken words. You might introduce this by reading A My Name Is Alice, by Jane Bayer and illustrated by Steven Kellogg.

MATERIALS You will need a variety of animal puppets that can be named with matching beginning consonant sounds, such as Bob Bear, Donald Dog, Cass Cat, or Pamela Pig. Try to pick names and animals beginning with just one single consonant sound—not a blend or consonant digraph. Although Charles starts with the letter C, it doesn’t start with the initial c sound (/s/ or /k/); it sounds with a /ch/ sound instead. You want both the name and the animal to have the same beginning sound. Puppets may be store-bought, but they can also be simple pictures of an animal like a bear or a cat cut out and fastened to the end of a stick to hold up.

PROCEDURES

1. Hold up your puppet and introduce it. Emphasize the beginning consonant sound as you introduce the name and the animal name. Say something like, “This is Pamela. She is a pig named Pamela. We call her Pamela Pig.”

2. Explain that Pamela Pig likes things that start with the same sound as her name, /p/. So Pamela likes pencils because pencils start with the /p/ sound just like Pamela and pig.

3. Display various pictures (see Appendix D) or objects, some of which start with a /p/ sound ( pen, paper, paint, pan, pin, pear) and some of which don’t. Pick two at a time (one that starts with a /p/ sound and one that doesn’t) and ask, “Which one would Pamela Pig pick?”

VARIATION Have children brainstorm other things that Pamela Pig would like. They may volunteer such things as parties, plays, or parks. Have children jump rope to the familiar jump rope jingle that plays on alliteration: “(letter) my name is (child’s name) and my friend’s name is (name). We live in (place) and we sell (item).”

4.18 It’s in the Bag—A Phoneme Blending Game MATERIALS You will need a paper bag (gift bags are attractive) and an assortment of small objects collected from around the classroom, from outside, or from home: chalk, pen, paper clip, tack, key, rock, stick, and so on. You might use a puppet to add interest.

PROCEDURES Lay out a dozen or so objects and name them with the students, explaining that you will use them to play a game, and then introduce the puppet. The puppet will name an object in the bag, saying it very slowly (by syllables: pa-per-clip, or phonemes: rrr-oooo-ck), and the children will guess what it is saying. Let children take turns using the puppet to practice saying words slowly.

VARIATIONS Use objects or pictures related to a topic of study. For example, if you are teach- ing a unit on animals, you could put toy animals or pictures of farm animals in the bag. This can be a sensory activity by letting children reach into the bag, figure out an object by touch, and then say it slowly for the other children to guess. Objects that begin with the same beginning sounds can also be put into the bag to sort.

4.19 Incorporate Phonological Skills into Daily Activities Teachers of emergent children can incorporate sound play into many daily activities and routines.

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1. Lining up, taking attendance, or calling children to a group: Call each student’s name and then lead the class in clapping the syllables in the name. Announce that everyone whose name has two syllables can line up, then one syllable, three, and so on. Say each student’s name slowly as it is called. Make up a rhyme for each child’s name that starts with a sound of interest: Billy Willy, Mary Wary, Shanee Wanee, and so on. Substitute the first letter in everyone’s name with the same letter: Will, Wary, Wanee, Wustin, and so on.

2. During read-alouds: Pause to let children fill in a rhyming word, especially on a second or third reading. If they have trouble, say the first sound for them with a clue: “It rhymes with cat and starts with m.” Draw attention to a long word by repeating it and clapping the syllables: “That’s a big word! Let’s clap the syllables: hip-po-pot-a-mus, five syllables!” You can also pause while read- ing and say a key word very slowly before asking the children to repeat it fast: “The next day his dad picked him up in a red . . . jeeeep. What’s that? A jeep, right.” Point to the letters as you do this.

Alphabet Knowledge

The following activities are designed to develop all aspects of alphabet knowledge, including letter recognition (both uppercase and lowercase), letter naming, letter writing, and letter sounds. You may notice that these activities address more than one letter at a time: In kinder- garten, one letter per week is much too slow a pace and it does not address the needs of children who come to school already knowing their letters.

4.20 The Alphabet Song and Tracking Activities Every early childhood classroom should have an alphabet strip or chart at eye level. Too often these strips are put up out of the children’s reach. The best locations for the strips are desktops or tabletops for easy reference. Use the following activities to make active use of these charts.

MATERIALS Use commercial or teacher-made alphabet strips for both wall display and for individual students.

PROCEDURES 1. Learn the ABC song to the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” Sing it many times. 2. Model, pointing to each letter as the song is sung or the letters are chanted. Then ask the

children to fingerpoint to the letters as they sing or chant. 3. Play “find the letter” by naming a letter for children to touch on their strip. Ask them to

name the letter that comes before or after the target letter. 4. When children know about half of the alphabet, they can work on putting a set of letter

cards, tiles, or linking letters in alphabetical order. Use uppercase or lowercase letters, or pair the two (see Figure 4.15). Keep an ABC strip or chart nearby as a ready reference.

FIGURE 4.15 Alphabet Link Letters

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R ES

O U

R CE

C

O N

N EC

TI O

N S ALPHABET BOOKS

Here are some outstanding ABC books for school-age children but there are many more. • Azarian, M. (1981). A Farmer’s Alphabet. Boston, MA: David Godine.

• Baker, K. (2010) LMNO Peas. San Diego, CA: Beach Lane Books.

• Base, G. (1986). Animalia. New York: Harry Abrams.

• Bayer, J. (1984). A My Name Is Alice. Illustrated by Steven Kellogg. New York: Dial.

• Berenstain, S., & Berenstain, J. (1971). The Berenstain’s B Book. New York: Random House.

• Cole, J. (1993). Six Sick Sheep: 101 Tongue Twisters. New York: Morrow.

• Ernst, L. C. (1996). The Letters Are Lost. New York: Scholastic.

• Fain, K. (1993). Handsigns: A Sign Language Alphabet. New York: Scholastic.

• Falls, C. B. (1923). ABC Book. New York: Doubleday.

• Folsom, M. (2005). Q Is for Duck: An Alphabet Guessing Game. San Anselmo, CA: Sandpiper.

• Gág, W. (1933). The ABC Bunny. Hand lettered by Howard Gág. New York: Coward-McCann.

• Hague, K. (1984). Alphabears: An ABC Book. Illustrated by Michael Hague. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

• Horenstein, H. (1999). Arf! Beg! Catch! Dogs from A to Z. New York: Scholastic.

• Jay, A. (2005). ABC: A Child’s First Alphabet Book. New York: Dutton Juvenile.

• Lewis, Betsie (2016). My Alphabet Animals: Learning Letters and Sounds with Critters from A to Z.

• McPhail, D. (1989). David McPhail’s Animals A to Z. New York: Scholastic.

• Miranda, A. (2001). Alphabet Fiesta. New York: Turtle Books.

• Musgrove, M. (1976). Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions. Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. New York: Dial.

• Seuss, Dr. (1963). Dr. Seuss’s ABC. New York: Random House

• Shannon, G. (1996). Tomorrow’s Alphabet. Illustrated by Donald Crews. New York: Greenwillow.

• Sobel, J. (2006). B is for Bulldozer. New York: HMH Books for Young Readers.

• Tyron, L. (1991) Albert’s Alphabet. New York: Atheneum.

• Zuckerman, A. (2009). Creature ABC. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

4.21 Share Alphabet Books Share alphabet books with a group as you would other good literature and plan follow-up activi- ties when appropriate. Some books are suitable for toddlers and merely require naming a letter and a single accompanying picture, such as Eric Carle’s ABC (2007). Others, such as Graeme Base’s Animalia, will keep even upper-elementary children engaged as they try to name all the items that are hidden in the illustrations. Look for the alphabet books in the list that follows by Base, Bayer, Berenstein, Cole, and Suess to draw attention to beginning sounds through alliteration. Many ABC books can be incorporated into thematic units, such as Mary Azarian’s A Farmer’s Alphabet. Other alphabet books present special puzzles, such as Jan Garten’s The Alphabet Tale. Invite children to predict the upcoming animal by showing just the tip of its tail on the preceding page.

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PROCEDURES 1. Discuss the pattern of the books, solve the puzzle, and talk about the words that begin with

each letter as you go through the books a second time. 2. Focus on alliteration by repeating tongue twisters and creating a list of words for a par-

ticular letter. Brainstorm other words that begin with that letter and write them under the letter on chart paper or an interactive whiteboard.

3. Look up a particular letter you are studying in several alphabet books or a picture dictionary to find other things that begin with that sound. This is an excellent introduction to using resource books.

4.22 Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Sort Martin and Archambault’s Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989) is a great favorite and provides a wonderful way to move from children’s books to alphabet recognition. Letters can be sorted by capitals and lowercase and by beginning sounds (see Figure 4.16). Some teachers create a large coconut tree on the side of a metal filing cabinet so that children can act out the story and match uppercase and lowercase forms using magnetic letters.

4.23 Name of the Day Names are an ideal point from which to begin studying alpha- bet letters because children are naturally interested in their own names and their friends’ names.

MATERIALS Prepare a card for each child on which his or her name is written in neatly executed block letters. Put all the names in a box or gift bag. Have additional blank cards ready to be cut apart as described. A pocket chart is handy for displaying the letters.

PROCEDURES 1. Each day, with great fanfare, draw a name—it becomes the name of the day. Begin with an

open-ended question: “What do you notice about this name?” Children will respond in all sorts of ways depending on what they know about letters: “It’s a short name.” “It has three letters.” “It starts like Taneesh’s name.” “It has an o in the middle.”

2. Next, children chant or echo the letters in the name as you point to each one. A cheer, led by you, is lots of fun:

Teacher: “Give me a T.” Children: “T ” Teacher: “Give me an O.” Children: “O” Teacher: “Give me an M.” Children: “M” Teacher: “What have we got?” Children: “Tom!”

3. On another card, write the student’s name as the children recite the letters again. Then cut the letters apart and hand out the letters to children in the group. Challenge the children to put the letters back in order to spell the name correctly in a pocket chart or on a chalkboard ledge. After several repetitions, put the cut-up letters into an envelope with the child’s name and picture on the outside to create a name puzzle. Add the enve- lope to the collection in a center. Children love to pull out their friends’ names to put together.

4. All the children in the group should attempt to write the featured name on individual whiteboards, chalkboards, or pieces of paper. This is an opportunity to offer some hand- writing instruction, as you model for the students. Discuss the details of direction and

FIGURE 4.16 Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Board

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PROCEDURES 1. Have children practice writing uppercase and lowercase forms of the letter

on each page. 2. Have children cut out letters in different fonts or styles from magazines

and newspapers and paste them into their scrapbooks. 3. Have children draw and label pictures and other things that begin with

that letter sound. 4. Have children cut and paste magazine pictures onto the corresponding

letter page. These pictures can be labeled, too. 5. Have children add sight words as they are learned to create a personal

dictionary.

names with pencils, chalk, and markers, but also with rubber stamps, foam cutout letters, link letters, or letter tiles. The names display is an important reference tool during writing time.

4.24 One Child’s Name Learning the letters in one name is a good starting point for children in the early emergent stage. Use the following approach: Spell out a child’s name with letter cards, tiles, foam, or plastic letters using both uppercase and lowercase. Spell it with uppercase letters in the first row and ask the child to match low- ercase letters in the row below, as shown in Figure 4.17. Ask children to touch and name each letter. Scramble the top row and repeat. Play Concentration with the set of uppercase and lowercase letters needed to spell a child’s name.

4.25 Alphabet Scrapbook MATERIALS Prepare a book for each child by stapling together blank sheets of paper. (Seven sheets of paper folded and stapled in the middle is enough for one letter per page.) Children can use this book in a variety of ways (see Figure 4.18).

Children enjoy reading the name of friends

FIGURE 4.17 Brandon’s Name Puzzle

FIGURE 4.18 Alphabet Scrapbook

movement of letter formation as the children imitate your motions.

5. Each day, add the featured name to a display of all the names that have come before. Compare the names with sort- ing activities: • Sort the names by the number of

letters or syllables. • Sort the names that share particu-

lar letters; for example, find all the names with an e in them.

• Sort the names that belong to boys and girls.

• Sort the names by alphabetical order.

VARIATIONS Create a permanent display of the names and encourage children to practice writing their own and their friends’ names. If you have a writing center, you might put all the names on index cards in a box for reference. Encourage children to reproduce names not only by copying the

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4.26 Alphabet Eggs These are simple puzzles designed to prac- tice pairing uppercase and lowercase letters. Children can put the letter puzzles together at their seats or in centers.

MATERIALS On posterboard, draw and cut out enough four-inch egg shapes for each let- ter in the alphabet. Write an uppercase letter on the upper half and the matching lower- case letter on the lower portion. Cut the eggs in half using a zigzag line. Make each zigzag slightly different so the activity is self- checking. Children should say the letters to themselves and put the eggs back together by matching the uppercase and lowercase form.

VARIATIONS Many other shapes can be cut in half for matching. For example, use pumpkin shapes in October or heart shapes in February. There is no end to matching possibilities. Acorn caps can be matched to bottoms, balls to baseball gloves, frogs to lily pads, and so on. You can also create matching sets to pair letters and a picture that starts with that letter, rhyming words, contractions, homo- phones, and so on.

4.27 Alphabet Concentration This game works just like Concentration with rhyming words, as described in Activity 4.15. Cre- ate cards with uppercase and lowercase forms of the letters written on one side, using both familiar and not-so-familiar letters. Be sure they cannot be seen from the backside. Do not try this with all 26 letters at once, or it may take a long time to complete; eight to ten pairs are probably enough.

VARIATIONS To introduce this game or to make it easier, play it with the cards face-up. As children learn the letter sounds, matching consonant letters to pictures that begin with that letter sound can change the focus of this game.

4.28 Alphabet Spin This fast-paced game helps children practice upper- and lowercase letter recognition.

MATERIALS Make a spinner with six to eight spaces, and label each space with a capital letter. If you laminate the spinner before labeling, you can reuse it with other letters. Print the letters with a grease pencil or nonpermanent overhead transparency pen. Write the lowercase letters on small cards, creating five or six cards for each letter (see Figure 4.19). See Appendix G for tips on making a spinner.

PROCEDURES 1. Lay out all the lowercase cards face-up. 2. Each student, in turn, spins and lands on an uppercase letter. The child then picks up one

card that has the corresponding lowercase form, orally identifying the letter. 3. Play continues until all the letter cards have been picked up. 4. The child with the most cards when the game ends is the winner.

Matching capital and lower case letters

136 C H A P T E R 4

PROCEDURES 1. Allow the children to work individually or in teams to

sort their cereal or letter shapes. 2. After the children finish, they can count the number of

letters in each category. This could become a graphing activity.

3. Finally, eat the cereal! (Or glue it down.)

VARIATIONS Have the children spell their names or other words using the cereal.

4.30 Font Sorts Children need to see a variety of print styles or fonts to iden- tify their ABCs in different contexts. Draw children’s atten- tion to different letter forms wherever you encounter them. Environmental print is especially rich in creative lettering styles. Encourage children to bring in samples from home— like the big letters on a bag of dog food or cereal—and create a display on a bulletin board or in a class big book.

VARIATIONS Ask children to name and write the uppercase and lowercase forms of the letter after each turn. You can adapt this game to any feature that involves matching—letters to sounds, rhymes, vowel patterns, and so on.

4.29 Alphabet Cereal Sort Alphabet cereal or other three-dimensional letters made from foam, plastic, or wood are used in this sorting activity.

MATERIALS You will need enough letter shapes to give each child a handful. Prepare a sorting board by dividing a paper into 26 squares. Label each square with an uppercase or lowercase letter as shown in Figure 4.20.

Adaptable for Other Stages

FIGURE 4.19 Alphabet Spin Game

FIGURE 4.20 Cereal Sort

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MATERIALS Cut out different styles of letters from newspapers, catalogs, magazines, and other print sources. You can also search your computer fonts and print out letters in a large size. Cut the letters apart, mount them on small cards, and laminate for durability. Sample font sorts can be found on the WTW Digital website. Use both capitals and lowercase, but avoid cursive styles for now (see Figure 4.21).

PROCEDURES After modeling the sort with a group of students, place the materials in a center where the children can work independently. Avoid putting out too many different letters at one time—four or five are probably enough, with 8 to 12 varia- tions for each.

VARIATIONS If you created alphabet scrapbooks (Activity 4.25), children can paste in samples of different lettering styles.

Letter–Sound Knowledge

Specific guidelines for creating and using picture sorting for initial sounds are described earlier in this chapter, and general guidelines are presented in Chapter 3. Picture and word sorts are at the heart of word study and the procedures are revisited throughout this book. Use other games and activities to review beginning sounds after children have already practiced categorizing targeted sounds in basic picture sorting activities.

4.31 Use Alphabet Books to Enhance Beginning Sounds and Introduce Dictionary Skills Alphabet books can be a child’s first introduction to reference materials such as dictionaries. They can be used to introduce an initial sound or they can be a resource for a word hunt as children go searching for more words that start with targeted letters. Watch out for the choices authors and artists sometimes make, however. The C page may have words that start with the digraph ch (chair), hard c (cat), and soft c (cymbals), which may be confusing. Children will eventually need to sort out these confusions, but not at this time. It’s best to limit the C page to just hard C exemplars for starters.

MATERIALS A variety of alphabet books (see list in Activity 4.21), picture dictionaries, and word books. The Busy Bee Kids Printables website has an ABC book you can download and print, and you may find others.

PROCEDURES 1. Before studying individual sounds, see whether children can find different letters among

letters placed in alphabetical order, as on an alphabet strip. After children can recite the alphabet in order, select a letter and challenge them to name the letters that follow, in order. Even young children first learning the alphabet and beginning sounds are ready to use the most basic of dictionary skills—alphabetical order.

2. When studying a particular beginning sound, pass out alphabet books to pairs of children and ask them to find a letter and report what is pictured there. Begin by naming the letter, pointing to where it falls in the alphabet, and deciding where in the books to look—in the first, middle, or last part. Otherwise, children may start at the beginning and look through the entire book to get to Z!

3. Create a chart of words or pictures that children find beginning with a particular letter. 4. Read the list to children several times to emphasize the beginning sound and challenge

them to find more words over the next week or so. This will reinforce the idea that there are many words that begin with a particular letter.

FIGURE 4.21 Sorting Letters with Different Print Styles

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VARIATIONS Picture dictionaries and wordbooks such as those by Richard Scarry or Roger Priddy, in which pictures are thematically arranged and labeled with words, are another resource that young children enjoy. They are an excellent way to encourage vocabulary growth as adults and young children take turns pointing, questioning (“What’s that?”), and naming the colorful pictures on the pages. However, young children may ignore the printed labels unless they are pointed out. Challenge children to look through such books on a word hunt for things that start with a particular letter. For example, if you look on the body parts page of such a book you will find several words that start with H—hand, head, and hair. Show children how to use the printed word as a clue in addition to naming and listening for the beginning sound.

4.32 Soundline This center activity is a way to review the beginning consonant matches children learned in the picture sorts.

MATERIALS Use heavy string or a piece of rope and wooden clothespins. Write uppercase and lowercase letters on the top of the clothespins. Glue a picture beginning with each letter on a square of tagboard and laminate. Prepare two or three for each letter that has been studied.

PROCEDURES Introduce this as a group activity before putting it in a cen- ter where children can do it independently. Children match the picture card to the clothespin and hang it on the rope (see Figure 4.22). Add new letters and sounds as children learn them.

4.33 Letter Spin for Sounds This is a popular game to review up to eight beginning sounds at a time. It is a variation of the letter spin described in Activity 4.28.

MATERIALS You will need a spinner divided into four to eight sections and labeled with beginning letters to review; you can use a large cube, like a die, instead of a spinner. You will need a collection of picture cards that correspond with the letters, with at least four pictures for each letter. Follow the procedures for the letter spin activity.

PROCEDURES 1. Lay out all the pictures face-up. 2. Two to four children take turns using the spinner, selecting one picture that begins with

the sound indicated by the spinner. After selecting, the student’s turn is over and the next child spins. If there are no more pictures for a sound, the child must pass.

3. Play continues until all the pictures are gone. The winner is the one with the most pictures at the end.

4.34 Initial Consonant Follow-the-Path Game This game is simple enough that even preschoolers can learn the rules and use it to practice a variety of features.  You will see this game adapted in many ways in Chapter 5 and Chapter 6.

MATERIALS Copy the two halves of a follow-the-path game board, found in Appendix G. Keep the game in a folder that can be easily stored: paste each half on the inside of a manila folder (colored ones are nice) leaving a slight gap between the two sides in the middle (so the folder can still fold). Add some color and interest with stickers or cutout pictures to cre- ate a theme such as “Trip to the Pizza Parlor” or “Adventures in Space.” The photo shows a

FIGURE 4.22 Soundline

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game that goes along with Cat on the Mat. Label each space on the path with one of the letters you want to review, using both uppercase and lowercase forms—sets of three to six letter sounds work best. Reproduce a set of picture cards that correspond to the letters. Copy them on card stock or glue cutout pictures to cards. You will need two to four game pieces to move around the board; f lat ones, like bottle caps or plastic disks, store well. Keep the pictures and playing pieces in a labeled plastic zip-top bag inside the folder.

PROCEDURES 1. Turn the picture cards face-down in a stack. 2. Each child draws a picture in turn and moves his or her playing piece to the next space on

the path that is marked by the corresponding beginning consonant. 3. The winner is the first to arrive at the destination.

VARIATIONS Place pictures in each space for a Follow-the-Pictures game. Children roll a die or spin a spinner marked with letters to move to the appropriate space.

A variety of games can be played in the emergent stage using the blank Follow the Path template in Appendix G.

Concepts About Print (CAP)

Concepts about print are best learned in the context of reading and writing. Put songs that you sing, poems and jingles that you learn, and portions of longer books with catchy memorable refrains (such as “I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house down”) on charts for easy reference. Use them for print referencing and to develop concept of word.

4.35 Who Can Find? This works best with a big book, chart story, or poem you have read several times. It can also be used after creating a dictation or other writing.

Adaptable for Other Stages

Follow-the-path game for Cat on the Mat

140 C H A P T E R 4

2. Draw a speech bubble coming out of one child’s mouth. Explain that the pictures only show what is happening, but you can write what the child actually said in the speech bubble. Prompt by saying something like, “What do you think she is saying in this picture?”

3. Write down what the children say in the speech bubble. You can reference various aspects of print, such as let- ter–sound matches, capitals, and punctuation.

4. Read what it says in the speech bubble while point- ing to individual words. Point out once again that the picture shows what happened, but the writing in the speech bubble tells what was actually said. Ask individual children to come up and read their own speech bubbles.

VARIATIONS Read comic strips, comic books, and chil- dren’s books that feature speech bubbles, such as one of the following.

MATERIALS You will need a digital camera to take photos of your students. If you don’t have a digital camera, find pictures of children engaged in an activity such as kicking a ball to a friend or licking an ice cream cone.

PROCEDURES 1. Print or project a picture that shows children. Ask questions to engage your children in

recounting the event.

PROCEDURES 1. After reading a piece of text several times, ask children questions about conventions of print

such as, “Who can find a period? Who can find a capital A? Who can find the last word in the first sentence? Who can find the title? Who can find a word that rhymes with can?”

2. Call children forward to point to the features of print your name. It is easy to differentiate this activity for children at various points of development so that it offers just the right challenge. Ask some children to find letters, and ask others to find words.

4.36 Explore the World of Logos Children can learn to “read” their environment in the pre-alphabetic or logographic stage in which they use shapes, colors, and logos to distinguish words. Draw students’ attention to these forms of print to emphasize the many functions print serves and the different forms it can take.

MATERIALS Collect commercial labels and logos from cereal boxes, advertisements, signs, and so on. Encourage children to bring in examples from home. Mount these on card stock.

PROCEDURES 1. Hold up an example, such as the label on a fast food bag, and ask children whether they

can “read” it. Talk about what it says and where it came from. 2. Create a sentence strip for a pocket chart printed with: “I can read ______.” Insert the

logo in the empty space. 3. Put these in a center for children to use on their own after introducing it in a group.

4.37 What Were You Saying? Many concepts about print can be directly taught by writing in speech bubbles—especially speech bubbles connected to students’ own pictures.

Using speech bubbles to teach concepts about print

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• Peggy Rathman’s 10 Minutes till Bedtime (1999) and Goodnight Gorilla (1994). New York: Scholastic.

• Susan Meddaught’s Martha Speaks (1992). Boston: Houghton Miff lin. • Mo Willems’s Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus (2003), Knuffle Bunny (2004), and their

sequels. New York: Hyperion Books. • Easy-to-read comics known as TOON books. New York: RAW Junior, LLC.

4.38 Interactive Writing and Morning Message The act of writing with children offers you the opportunity to model the use of the alphabet, phonemic segmentation, letter–sound matching, concept of word, and conventions such as capitalization and punctuation, all in the context of a meaningful group activity. As you write on the chalkboard, chart paper, or an interactive whiteboard, children see their own ideas expressed in oral language transformed into print, allowing many opportunities for print referencing. During interactive writing, children share the pen and are invited to come forward to add a letter, a word, or a period. Such writing can take place any time of the day and for any reason; for example, to list class rules, make a shopping list, record observations from a field trip, create a new version of a familiar text, or list questions for a classroom visitor.

Morning Message is a favorite form of group writing in which you and your children com- pose sentences that report on daily home and school events that are important to the class. Each morning, talk with the entire group to discover bits of news that can be part of the morning message. In preschool or early kindergarten, this may be only one sentence. Keep a lively pace and be sure all children are engaged.

MATERIALS It is important that everyone can see the print. Many teachers use a large sheet of chart paper, markers, and white tape for covering mistakes. To involve students, give each one a lap-sized whiteboard, chalkboard, or clipboard so they can participate in listening for sounds, handwriting, and the use of punctuation.

PROCEDURES 1. Chat with children informally, sharing news from home or the classroom. This is a time

for generating lots of talk so do not rush through this step too quickly. 2. Select a piece of news to record in the form of a single sentence such as, “We will go to

PE.” Recite the sentence together with the children to decide how many words it contains, holding up one finger for each word. Then draw a line for each word on the board or chart (see Figure 4.23).

3. Repeat each word, emphasizing the sounds by stretching them out, and invite the group to make suggestions about what letters are needed: “The first word we need to write is we. Wwwweeee. What letter do we need for the first sound in wwweee?” A child might suggest the letter Y. “The name of the letter Y does start with that sound. Does anyone have another idea?” Clap the syllables in longer words, spelling one syllable at a time. Every letter in every word need not be discussed at length. Focus on what is appropriate for the developmental level of your students.

4. Model how to use resources in the room such as an alphabet chart or a display of children’s names and point out concepts about print such as left to right, return sweep, capitalization, punctuation, and letter formation. Start by modeling (I need to end the sentence with a period.) and gradually release responsibility as children learn the conventions: “What do we need at the end of the sentence?” And then, “Who can come up and make a period here?”

5. Let children take turns coming forward to write, usually just one child per letter or word at this level. You can do the writing in the beginning, but as children learn to write their letters you can share the pen. Use white tape to cover any mistakes made on paper.

6. After the sentence is completed, read it aloud to the group, touching each word, and then have the children read with you. If your sentence contains a two- or three-syllable word,

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MATERIALS All students must be able to see as your write. Much like the Morning Message, use a large sheet of chart paper, markers, and white tape for covering mistakes.

PROCEDURES 1. Plan a language experience. Field trips, cooking activities, sci-

ence experiments, playground events, changes in weather, and class pets provide opportunities for shared experiences in which new vocabulary and the students’ own language abounds. The children dictated their experiences studying rocks. Help the students to generate lots of oral language about their observa- tions and ideas. Introduce new vocabulary, use it several times,

Concept of Word in Text (COW-T)

When children are learning about letters and sounds at the same time or they are fingerpoint- reading from memory, there is a complementary process at work. Learning one gives logic and purpose to learning the other. Fingerpoint-reading familiar rhymes and pattern books followed by deliberate attention to words in and out of context is the best way to achieve a COW-T. See page 119 for a description of the whole-to-part framework.

4.39 The Language Experience Approach (LEA) Language experience accounts are one of the best ways to integrate the six components of the emergent literacy diet. Teachers write down student accounts of these experiences and use them to develop emergent word knowledge, meeting many of the standards for Kindergarten Language Arts.

FIGURE 4.23 Morning Message

Children practice pointing to their dictation

touch it for every syllable, helping children see how it works. Invite children to come forward and fin- gerpoint as they read.

7. Repeat steps 2 to 5 for another sentence. Keep in mind children’s attention span when deciding how many sentences to write. One sentence may be enough at the beginning.

VARIATIONS Leave up the morn- ing message all day and encourage children to read it on their own. You might want to use it for some activi- ties in the next section, such as Cut- Up Sentences, Be the Sentence, or for the whole-to-part lessons. You can send home a collection of all the morning messages for a week on Friday as a summary of class news that most children will be able to proudly read from memory to their parents.

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and encourage children to use it. Then suggest writing down their ideas. Take multiple ideas and help shape the dictation into a coher- ent account as needed. For example, ask a child to hold an idea until later if it comes too early in a sequence of events. Don’t call the dictation a story unless it has elements of a narrative.

2. Record statements on a chart. You may want to write “said” next to each student’s name during a group dictation, as shown in Figure 4.24. This makes it easy for children to find what they said. Students’ own language should be recorded as closely as possible so that they will be able to read it back. The child should approve any grammar correc- tions with prompts like, “Good idea, can we say it this way?” While writing, include print referencing: capitalization, punctuation, and so on and take the time to ask children to listen for some sounds in words much like you do in interactive writing. However, during LEA the teacher does the writing.

3. When the dictation is completed, it should be read and reread over time. With this format, attention to words and sentences can be highlighted in a meaningful context. For example, a child may be asked to locate his or her own name in the group dictation or to find a word that starts with the same letter as his or her own name.

4. If you want to use the dictation in the whole-to-part framework give each child a copy of the dictation to practice voice-pointing while reading together chorally and from memory. These copies can be typed in 26-point, illustrated, and collected into a notebook called a personal reader (described in more detail in Chapter 5). You can cut up a second copy of the dictation into sentence strips or individual words to match back to the original.

5. Children in the late emergent stage with a rudimentary COW-T can begin to select words to include in a word bank of known words. Word banks are described in Chapter 5.

VARIATIONS When time allows, children can dictate individual accounts. You can also use dictations to write variations on a text. For example, after sharing the predictable book Cat on the Mat, children can be asked to compose a new version starring a different set of characters (Monkey on the Mat).

4.40 Cut-Up Sentences The spaces between words are not always obvious to emergent students, so cutting sentences into words is a concrete way to show this. This activity is an important routine in the whole- to-part framework described on page 119.

MATERIALS Write a sentence from a familiar piece of text on a sentence strip. Sentences should come from a familiar book or a poem the group has read together. A pocket chart is handy to hold the sentences. Prepare a second copy to cut into words.

PROCEDURES 1. Gather a small group of children with similar needs and read the sentence several times,

pointing to the words. 2. Cut the sentence into words, snipping off each word as you read it aloud. Explain to the

group that you need their help to rebuild the sentence because the words are all mixed up. Pass out the words to children in the group and then, pointing to the words in an intact copy of the sentence, ask who has each word as they are named from left to right.

3. Give children clues about how to find the words in order to rebuild the sentence: “What letter would you expect to see at the beginning of swam?” The child holding the

FIGURE 4.24 Dictated Language Experience Chart

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4.41 Be the Sentence Children can also rebuild familiar sentences by pretending to be the words themselves. Write a familiar sentence on a chart or on the board. Start with short sentences such as “Today is Mon- day” or “I love you.” Then write each word from the sentence on a large card. Give each word to a student, naming it for him or her. “Stephanie, you are the word Monday. Lorenzo, you are the word is.” Ask the children to work together to arrange themselves into the sentence. Have another child read the sentence to check the direction and order. Try this again with another group of children and then leave the words out for children to work with on their own.

4.42 Stand Up and Be Counted As children build a repertoire of known songs, nursery rhymes, and jump rope jingles, post them around the room and use them for oral concept of word activities that integrate phono- logical awareness with concept of word in print.

MATERIALS You will need a memorized nursery rhyme or jump rope jingle posted on the wall at an appropriate level. Be sure there is some f loor space for everyone to sit in a circle.

PROCEDURES 1. Sitting in a circle, recall the nursery rhyme or jump rope jingle and recite it as you point

to the written copy on the wall or chart. 2. Go around the circle, having children stand up for each word in the nursery rhyme. One

child will stand up for Hey, another for Diddle, and a third for the next Diddle, and so on. Watch to see whether two children stand up for a two-syllable word like Diddle or over.

3. After everyone is finished standing up for each word, have everyone sit down, and say, “I think we made some mistakes. Did anyone notice?” Some children will notice. Ask them to explain.

4. Say to the students, “Yes, two people stood up for the word over but over is one word. It has two syllables, but it means one thing—over (motion with your hands jumping over some- thing). Let’s clap the word over. See? Over has two claps, but it’s only one word. Go to the chart or wall poster and point out the word over. (You might note that it starts with an o.)

5. Repeat the exercise.

VARIATIONS Have children recite a sentence or rhyme and add a LEGO or Unifix cube for each word as it is recited. Count the cubes (words). Compare sentences or lines. Ask the stu- dents, “Which sentence is longer? How can you tell?” (Longer sentences have more words— that is, LEGO or Unifix cubes.)

FIGURE 4.25 Cut-Up Sentences word should come forward and display the word under the target word for comparison, checking each letter before leaving it in place.

4. Give each child a copy of the sentence strip and scissors. Under your guidance, have them cut off each word as it is named and then help them to reassemble the sentence. The words can be pasted down under a drawing done by the child or put into an envelope with the sentence written on the outside (see Figure 4.25). These can be sent home with the students.

5. Leave the word cards and model sentence strip with a pocket chart in a center for children to practice in their spare time.

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The word study activities for the emergent stage promote concept and vocabulary devel- opment, awareness of sounds, concepts about print and of word, and the alphabetic principle. These activities spring from and return to children’s books and are extended through writing. After children achieve a concept of word in print and can segment speech and represent begin- ning and ending consonant sounds in their spelling, they are no longer emergent but beginning readers. This is also when they move into the next stage of spelling, the letter name–alpha- betic stage. Word study for the letter name–alphabetic speller/beginning reader is described in Chapter 5.

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Word Study for the Letter Name–Alphabetic Stage

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The letter name–alphabetic stage of literacy development is a period of beginnings. Students begin to learn words and read text without the support of memory, and their writing becomes readable to themselves and others. This period of literacy development

needs careful scaffolding because students know how to read and write only a small number of words. The reading materials and activities you choose should provide contextual support that relates to students’ language, experience, and interests. In word study, the earliest activities use pictures; later, students work with words in families and known words. In the following discussion of reading and writing development and instruction, we look closely at the support teachers provide and the way word knowledge develops during this stage.

First let’s visit the first-grade classroom of Mr. Richard Perez to see how he implements word study. During the

first weeks of school, Mr. Perez observed his first graders as they participated in reading and writing activities, and

he used the PSI inventory described in Chapter 2 to collect samples of their spelling for analysis. The spelling of

three students is shown in Figure 5.1 Like most first-grade teachers, Mr. Perez’s class has a range of abilities, so

he manages three instructional groups for reading and word study and uses students’ spellings as a guide to plan

phonics and spelling instruction. Some days he uses part of small-group time for teacher-directed word study.

Take a look at three students, Tony, Cynthia, and Maria, and the word study in their respective groups.

Cynthia is a typical student in the early letter name–alphabetic group who writes slowly, often needing help

sounding out a word and still confusing some consonants such as y and w and d and t. Her spelling is limited

primarily to consonants with a few vowels. Cynthia has memorized jingles, such as Five Little Monkeys Jumping

on the Bed, but sometimes gets off track when she points to the words as she reads.

Deciding to take a step back with this group, Mr. Perez plans a quick review of beginning sounds. Every three

days, he introduces a set of four initial consonants, such as b, m, r, and s. After modeling the picture sort and

Word Cynthia Tony Maria

fan FN fan fan pet PD Pat pet dig DK dkg deg wait YAT Wat wat sled SD Sd slad stick SK Sek stik shine CIN Sin shin

FIGURE 5.1 Spellings of Three First Graders

Chapter 5: Letter Name—Alphabetic STAGE D

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THEIR WAY WTW Digital is a new online tool that accompanies this core text, and it was designed to help you implement word study in an engaging and interactive way. Resources for this chapter include:

• Automatically scored qualitative spelling inventories suggest each student’s approximate stage of spelling development. Word study groups are also automatically generated based on inventory results.

• 31 sorts that allow students to engage with word study in a digital environment • 17 games in a printable format that present fun activities for students to build their phonics and spelling knowledge.

An access code for WTW Digital is included with each new copy of package ISBN: 9780135174623. Visit www.wtwdigital. pearson.com to get started.

148 C H A P T E R 5

practicing it in the group, he gives each student a handout of pictures to be cut apart for individual sorting practice,

as shown in Figure 5.2(A). The next day, Mr. Perez observes how quickly and accurately they sort the pictures into

columns. During seatwork time or center time, the students draw and label pictures beginning with those sounds,

paste and label the pictures, and go on word hunts —all extend and follow-up routines described in Chapter 3.

Each day when Mr. Perez meets with Cynthia’s group, they read and reread chart stories, jingles, and

books with predictable text. To help the students in this group develop a sight vocabulary, Mr. Perez has a

collection of known words, a word bank, for each student. To create the word bank, he took the words students

could quickly identify from their reading and wrote them on small cards. The students in this group add new

words from their reading several times a week and review them regularly on their own and with partners.

Tony is part of a large group in the middle letter name–alphabetic stage who can spell the beginning

and ending consonants of words but shows little accuracy when spelling digraphs and blends, as shown in

Figure 5.1. He is using but confusing vowels in some words. Tony points to the words as he reads Five Little

Monkeys and immediately self-corrects on the rare occasion he gets off track with words that have more than

one syllable, such as jumping and mama.

In a small group, Tony and his group sort pictures of digraphs (sh, ch, th, and wh) for several weeks and

then begin the study of same-vowel word families such as op, ot, and og. Mr. Perez takes 10 to 15 minutes

during group time to introduce new word families. The students then receive their own set of words, shown

in Figure 5.2(B), to cut apart for sorting. They work alone and with partners to practice the sort, writing and

illustrating the words, and then they play follow-up games. Students at this developmental level have typically

learned to read more than 100 words automatically, and do not need a personalized word bank, like Cynthia.

Maria represents a third group of students in the late letter name–alphabet stage who correctly spells

single consonants, as well as many digraphs and blends, as shown in Figure 5.1. This group also uses some

short vowels accurately. Maria reads many books independently and is quickly accumulating a large sight

vocabulary, the result of lots of reading. With this group, Mr. Perez reviews different-vowel word families for

several weeks, making an effort to include words with digraphs and blends, but he soon discovers that the word

family sorts are too easy and decides to move to the study of short vowels in nonrhyming words.

Each Monday, he introduces a collection of words that can be sorted by short vowels into three or four sets.

This group also receives a sheet of words, as shown in Figure 5.2(C), to cut apart and use for sorting. Maria and

her partners work in pairs for buddy sorts, writing sorts, word hunts, and games on other days of the week.

FIGURE 5.2 Word Study Handouts for Letter Name–Alphabetic Spellers in Three Different Instructional Groups

A. Beginning Consonant Sort B. Word Family Sort C. Short Vowel Sort

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Literacy Development of Students in the Letter Name–Alphabetic Stage

Many components of the literacy diet described for the emergent stage continue to develop dur- ing the letter name–alphabetic stage. Vocabulary, oral language, and concepts grow throughout all the stages described in this book, but phonological awareness and concept of word in text will reach maturity. At the beginning of this stage, students may only segment and spell the most prominent beginning and final consonant sounds, demonstrating only partial phonemic awareness. By the end of the stage, they have full phonemic awareness and are able to isolate the medial vowel and to pull apart the tightly meshed blends. As they learn to segment these sounds, they also learn the correct letter correspondences that represent them, including initial and final consonants, digraphs, blends, and short vowels. A new component becomes critical during the letter name–alphabetic stage—acquiring a reading vocabulary of sight words that can be recognized automatically in any context. It is fast and ever-growing word recognition that fuels f luency and comprehension.

Reading During the letter name–alphabetic stage, students transition from simple, predictable reading materials they read with support from shared reading and their memory for language, to less predictable beginning reading materials. With less predictable materials they must rely on their sight vocabularies and their abilities to figure out unfamiliar words using a variety of strategies, including decoding, analogy, and prediction. This transition in reading material is accompanied by word study instruction that continues to develop letter–sound correspondences and other phonics features such as consonant digraphs and blends, and short vowels.

The literacy diet described in Chapter 4 is continued during this stage. Teachers should develop new concepts and vocabulary, point out concepts about print, and encourage students to use their growing knowledge of phonics as they read. A key development in this stage hap- pens as students acquire a firm concept of word in text described next.

CONCEPT OF WORD IN TEXT (COW-T). Concept of word in text is the ability to point to words in a memorized text. After students are past the developing level of concept of word in text in the emergent stage, there are two levels: rudimentary and firm COW-T (Blackwell-Bullock & Invernizzi, 2012; Flanigan, 2006, 2007; Morris, 1981; Morris, Bloodgood, Lomax, & Perney, 2003).

Rudimentary COW-T. Students with a rudimentary concept of word can point to and track the words of a memorized text left to right using their knowledge of consonants as clues to word boundaries. However, they may get off track with two-syllable words (see Figure 4.10), and when they are asked to find words in what they read, they are slow and hesitant. They may voice point by returning to the beginning of the sentence or line to get a running start with memory as a support to read and locate the requested word. Students like Tony, who have a rudimentary concept of word, are able to remember a few words from familiar stories and short dictations that they have reread several times. They begin

Enhanced eText Teacher Resource: Continuum of Development in Ms. Kiernan’s First Grade Classroom

Enhanced eText Video Example 5.1 This video provides a description of letter name–alphabetic spelling, word study, and beginning reading.

Child fingerpointing to a familiar text while teachers assesses COW-T

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to understand how the letters at the beginning and ends of words match to sounds and this knowledge helps them store these words in memory as sight words. However, sight words grow slowly and it is common to “know” a word one day, but not the next.

Firm COW-T. Students with a firm concept of word can fingerpoint-read accurately, and if they get off track, they can quickly correct themselves without voice pointing or starting over. When asked to find words in the text, stu- dents can find them quickly using their knowledge of letters and sounds. They remember many words after several rereadings of familiar text, and these

words are becoming recognized “at first sight.” With increasing word knowledge, words begin to stick more readily.

SIGHT WORD LEARNING. Sight words are known words students can recognize automati- cally and consistently in text and in isolation. A large store of sight words makes it possible to read f luently and to devote attention to comprehension rather than to figuring out unknown words. Sight words also provide a spring board from which students make generalizations about phonics principles and how the spelling system works. However, sight word development among beginning readers depends on their knowledge of letters and sounds.

Partial Alphabetic Readers. Early on in this stage, students may be partial alphabetic readers (Ehri, 2000) because what they remember about words may be incomplete. Typically, they know something about consonants, but they lack the vowel knowledge needed to sound out words completely or store them in memory. For example, as they read, early letter name–alpha- betic spellers may substitute lion for leopard in a story about big cats at the zoo. Or, in a familiar rhyming book, like Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow, children might identify the word monkeys by virtue of several letters in the word (m-k or m-y perhaps) but in another context, these partial phonetic cues alone will not suffice. Monkeys might be confused with other words, like Mike or many.

Full Alphabetic Readers. Later in this stage students advance to full alphabetic readers (Ehri, 2006) who know vowel and consonant sounds and can fully connect spelling to pro- nunciation and meaning in memory. It is this “orthographic mapping” between spellings and pronunciations that facilitate the development of sight words (Ehri, 2013).

Common Misunderstandings about Sight Words. The term sight words is often confused with high-frequency words. High-frequency words are the most commonly occurring words in print like was, the, to, was, can, and these, and they account for almost 50 percent of connected text for beginners. A list of Fry’s top 300 high-frequency words can be found in Appendix F. Even though a reader’s store of sight words will include many high-frequency words, stu- dents’ sight words are not limited to high-frequency words; any word can be a sight word if it recognized “at first sight.”

Another common misunderstanding about sight words is that they are phonetically irregu- lar words children cannot sound out and therefore must be learned as unanalyzed wholes or “by sight.” Although there are some high-frequency words that lack dependable letter–sound correspondences (of = /uv/ and was = /wuz/), most high-frequency words are more regular than not, especially in the consonant features that are most likely to be partially understood. For example, the high-frequency word from is 75 percent regular; only the o in the middle is irregular. The question in instruction often becomes how to teach students to read these words.

Mrs. Smith’s students reread familiar text and practice finger pointing

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There is no evidence that readers learn these words in a different way. Repeated exposure to words and the word study described here is what students need to improve their sight-word vocabularies.

READING FLUENCY. All beginning readers read slowly, except when they are reading well- memorized texts. They are often described as word-by-word readers because they do not have enough sight words to read f luently and their reading rates may be painfully slow (Bear, 1989, 1991b). For example, a beginning reader may read as slowly as 30 words per minute, depending on the familiarity, difficulty, and genre of the text (Invernizzi & Tortorelli, 2013). Although f luency is an important goal of learning to read, a focus on getting beginning readers to “read fast” is misplaced. Beginning readers are “glued to the print” (Chall, 1983/1996) and need to pay careful attention to the words on the page if they are going to store words fully in memory to build their sight vocabularies.

Most beginning readers point to words when they read, and they read aloud to themselves. The pointing and reading aloud gives them time to hold the word in memory, read the next word and fit the words together into a phrase. This helps them to keep their place and buys them processing time. While they hold the words they have just read in memory, they read the next word, giving them time to fit the words together into a phrase. If you visit a first-grade classroom during independent reading, you are likely to hear a steady hum of voices. Finger- pointing, dysf luency, and reading aloud to oneself are natural reading behaviors to expect among beginning readers.

Beginning Writing and Spelling There is a similar pattern of dysf luency in beginning writing because students often write words slowly, sound-by-sound (Bear, 1991a), which limits the length of their compositions. Unlike emergent writers, students in the letter name–alphabetic stage can usually read what they write depending on how completely they spell, and their writing is often readable to anyone who understands the logic of their letter-name strategy.

A first grader shares her thoughts about winter in the example shown in Figure 5.3. Ellie spells most beginning and ending single consonants, as in her spelling of LK for like and WR for wear, but the SN blend in snow, spelled SO, is incomplete. Many vowels are missing, although she does include some long vowels that “say their name” as in MAK for make and SO for snow. She substitutes a for short i in mittens and i for short o in hot. Notice how she uses the letter h to represent the ch digraph in chocolate (spelled HIKLT) because the name of the letter (aitch) has the sound she is trying to represent. Correctly spelled words like Mom and the are probably sight words for Ellie. See more detailed information about spell- ing development under “Orthographic Development in the Letter Name-Alphabetic Stage” beginning on page 153.

Vocabulary Children’s vocabularies continue to grow rapidly throughout this stage, but the quality and quantity of this growth depends on the richness and frequency of verbal interactions with peers and adults. Talking about the meanings of words or doing lots of reading helps but is not enough to enhance the vocabulary learning of those stu- dents who need it the most (Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2013). It is very important for you to be mindful and systematic about teaching students new words in the early childhood years, as a way to close the tremendous oral vocabulary gap that exists between children

FIGURE 5.3 Ellie Writes about Winter

I like winter. I make a snowman in the snow. I wear mittens. Mom makes me hot chocolate.

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who come from literate homes and those who do not (Avineri, Johnson, Brice-Heath, McCarty, Ochs, et, al., 2015; Biemiller, 2005; Kuchirko, 2017). Observations of kindergarten and first- grade classrooms reveal that the current focus on teaching phonics in high-risk settings has resulted in measurable progress in decoding skills, but without attention to vocabulary these students are still at risk in later grades when knowing word meanings is critical for comprehen- sion (Juel, Biancarosa, Coker, & Deffes, 2003).

Writing with agency. Writing about what you know and have experienced increases agency and moti- vation. Over three days, Alyssa wrote about her cousin’s accident with detail and power. The Tell a Story activity (Activity 5.6) encourages extended storytelling as a basis for writing.

See what you think of her development as you read her story. Does her writing help you determine her spelling stage? What word study would you assign? Try using the Qualitative Spelling Checklist in Appendix A to answer these questions.

Win My casin FeL OFF her Bed

Alyssa read back what she had written: When my cousin fell off her bed. I helped my cousin when she fell out of her bunk bed. We tried to calm her down but she / wouldn’t calm down. I screamed for my Aunt Jackie she said. She ran upstairs. I was sad. Then we took Anabelle to the hospital. She said can I go home. No said me and Maddie. / And we went home and rest. Anabelle got her cast off on Nov. 14th.

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Orthographic Development in the Letter Name–Alphabetic Stage

Students in the letter name–alphabetic stage provide a wonderful example of how learners construct knowledge in an attempt to make sense of the world of print. Without prior knowl- edge of how to spell words, children carefully analyze the sound system and make surprisingly fine distinctions about the ways sounds and words are formed in the mouth. They match the phonemes they can segment to the letter names of the alphabet in ways that may seem curious and random to the uninformed adult, but the important point is that they are on their way to acquiring the alphabetic principle, the insight that individual speech sounds can be repre- sented by letters of the alphabet.

Letter Names Letters have both sounds and names, and students in the letter name–alphabetic stage use their knowledge of names of the letters in the alphabet to access sound as they spell phonetically or alphabetically. For example, students in the early part of this stage are likely to spell the word jeep as GP, selecting g as the first letter because of its name (“gee”). The letter name “gee” con- tains the phoneme /j/ in the first part of the pronounced name. According to letter name logic, there is no need to add the vowel because it is already part of the letter name for g. Sometimes early letter name–alphabetic spellers do include vowels, especially when they spell long vowels that “say their name,” as Ellie did when she spelled snow as SO. This phenomenon accounts for the reason the stage is called letter name–alphabetic. Spellers in this group operate in the first layer of English—the alphabetic layer.

A few letter names do not cue students to the sounds they represent. For example, the let- ter name for w is “double u” and the name for h is “aitch.” Neither offers a clue to the sound it represents. However, when you say the name of the letter y you can feel your lips moving to make the shape of the /w/ sound and the name for h does end with the /ch/ sound. Conse- quently, early letter name–alphabetic spellers may spell witch as YH. Read through the letter names in Table 5.1 to see what they offer students in terms of sound matches. Most consonants offer a clue to the sound they represent either at the beginning (“bee”) or the end (“ef”) of the letter name.

Letter Sounds Learning the letter-sound correspondences or grapho-phonics relationships constitutes a major achievement in this stage. Children appear to learn the letter sounds for letters that include the sound in their names (b, d, f) more easily than letters whose names have no relationship to their sound (w, y, h). Letters that are associated with more than one sound (c, g, and all the vowels)

TABLE 5.1 Names of the Letters of the Alphabet

A ay H aitch O oh V vee

B bee I ie P pee W doubleyoo

C see J jay Q kyoo X ecks

D dee K kay R are Y wie

E ee L el S es Z zee

F ef M em T tee

G gee N en U yoo

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or letters that share a sound with another letter (k, c, s, g, j) require more instructional time and attention (Huang, Tortorelli, & Invernizzi, 2014). The initial sounds associated with letters should be examined, compared and contrasted, and sorted through carefully sequenced word study routines. These routines must guarantee frequent practice in distributed cycles of review. The word study must include attention to letter names, letter sounds, and letter formation (Jones, Clark, & Reutzel, 2013). Importantly though, until students are required to segment their own speech on their own, and match those segmented speech sounds to appropriate letters, they will not easily acquire the alphabetic principle and their reading will be delayed. Students themselves must do the heavy lifting, and this is best done through daily writing and word study.

Children who demonstrate phonological awareness are better able to learn letter sounds (Piasta & Wagner, 2010) and we can see this in their attempts to spell. During the early part of the letter name–alphabetic stage, when students have only partial phonemic awareness, spelling efforts may be limited to the most prominent sounds in syllables, usually the beginning and ending consonants. As phonemic awareness improves in the middle part of this stage, students’ spellings gradually include a vowel in each stressed syllable, and they spell short vowels by matching the way they articulate the letter names of the vowels (discussed later in this chapter). By the end of the letter name–alphabetic stage, students have learned how to spell many words with short vowels correctly, and with full phonemic awareness, they also spell blends. Table 5.2 summarizes characteristics of the letter name–alphabetic stage.

TABLE 5.2 Characteristics of Letter Name–Alphabetic Spelling

Gradations of Stage with Examples of Spelling What Students Do

Early Letter Name–Alphabetic

B, BD for bed

S, SP for ship

YN for when

L, LP for lump

FOT for float

G, J, JR, GF, JF, or GV for drive

Rudimentary concept of word in text

Partial phonemic awareness

Use letter names sound matches (Y for /w/)

Represent prominent sounds, usually beginning and sometimes ending consonants

Spell consonants based on articulation confusing affricates and voiced and unvoiced sounds (j/dr, b/p)

Vowels generally missing

Partial spelling of consonant blends and digraphs

Spell a few sight words correctly

Middle Letter Name–Alphabetic

BAD for bed

SEP or SHEP for ship

LOP for lump

FOT for float

GRIV, JRIV for drive

Firm concept of word in text

Further development of phonemic awareness

Accurately represent single beginning and ending consonants in spellings

Include short vowels spelled by place of articulation

Spell occurring short vowel words (cat, dog)

Late Letter Name–Alphabetic

bed ship lump

STEK for stick

FLOT for float

DRIV for drive

BAKR for baker

Full phonemic awareness

Spell many short vowels and most beginning consonant blends and digraphs correctly

Learning to spell final blends including preconsonantal nasals (bump).

Spell many sight words, including some containing frequently occurring long vowel words (like, come).

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How Consonants are Made and Articulated in the Mouth Knowing something about phonetics (the science of sounds) will help you understand and appreciate what young students do as they attempt to represent sounds with letters. When they spell, letter name–alphabetic students rely not only on what they hear in the letter names, but also on articulation, or how sounds are formed in the mouth. This can lead to predictable confusions. In addition, many sounds are not easy to isolate.

Affricates. When students try to spell the dr in drive, they are misled in their spelling by the similarity in sound and mouth movements between dr and jr, and they may spell drive as JRV. Say “drive” and “jrive.” Do they sound and feel alike? Linguists call these sounds affricates, which are formed by forcing air through a small closure at the roof of the mouth to create a feel- ing of friction. (Friction, affricatives—see the meaning connection?) English has several other letters and letter combinations that create the affricate sound and these are often substituted for each other: j, g, ch, dr, tr, and the letter name for h (aitch). Try saying “jip / chip,” and then “trip / drip” several times to feel the similarity and help you understand why young students confuse these affricates.

Voiced and Unvoiced Pairs. The voiced and unvoiced consonant pairs discussed in Chapter 4 and listed in Table 4.4 account for other confusions experienced by letter name–alphabetic spellers. Students may spell brave as BRAF or oven as OFN. Both v and f are articulated in exactly the same place on the lips, but one is voiced and the other is unvoiced. When pho- nemes are voiced, the vocal cords vibrate. You can feel in your mouth the difference in the first sound of van compared to fan.

Isolating Sounds. When talking about letter sounds with students, it is important to realize that some sounds are rather difficult to say in isolation. Try to say the sound for b. What vowels did you attach to the b? If you said the letter name (“bee”), then you used the long e vowel. If you said “buh,” the sound associated with b, you attached the schwa sound (/ə/ = “uh”). Now try to say a /b/ sound without a vowel. Try to whisper b and cut your breath short in a whisper. The whisper is as close as you come to separating the vowel from the consonant sound. Con- sonant sounds that cannot be held like these are known as stop consonants (b, d, g, k, p, t). Other consonants, known as continuants (f, l, m, n, r, s, v, z), can be said slowly without adding a vowel. You may find there are times when saying the sound in isolation draws attention to the feature of interest, but asking students to say “D says duh, duh, duh” is not the goal of word study lessons. D says “duh” only in words like duck and dump; it says “dee” in words like deal or deed. The goal of word study is to extrapolate the sound of D across many different exemplars (day, dad, deer, desk, . . . ).

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• Students in the letter name–alphabetic stage benefit from saying the words aloud or naming the pictures aloud as they are sorting by focused contrasts so that they can feel the sound differences. How it feels in the mouth is as helpful as hearing the sounds in this stage.

• When you first teach these sounds, avoid contrasting voiced and unvoiced pairs: b/p, d/t, g/k, z/s, v/f, and j/ch (Purcell, 2002), as suggested by the sixth principle described in Chapter 3, “ begin with obvious contrasts.” Only when most consonant sounds are mastered should students focus attention on these finer distinctions. This is especially true for English learners, who may not have one of the contrasting sounds in their primary language.

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Vowels in the Letter Name–Alphabetic Stage Vowels pose special problems for letter name–alphabetic spellers, who rely on the names of letters and how sounds feel in the mouth. Try saying the word lip. You can feel the initial con- sonant as your tongue curls up toward your palate and you can feel the final consonant as it explodes past your lips, but did you feel the vowel? Unlike consonants—articulated by tongue, teeth, lips, and palate—vowels are determined by more subtle variations in the shape of the mouth. In addition, they are tightly wedded to the consonants around them.

WHAT ARE VOWELS? Where consonants are the noise of language, vowels are the music. Vowels are sounds produced with an unobstructed f low of air through the vocal track and are represented by the letters a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y. Vowels are categorized in many ways but the major difference is described linguistically as tense and lax. The vocal cords are tense when producing the long a sound (ā as in ate), but relax a bit in producing the short a sound (ă as in at). The vowels we call “long” are no longer in duration than short vowels but these are the traditional terms used to describe them. Long vowels are marked with a macron (ā in bait, ē as in beet, ī as in bite, ō as in boat, and ū as in use or boot) whereas short vowels are marked with a breve (ă as in bat, ĕ as in bet, ĭ as in bit, ŏ as in bot, and ŭ as in but).

SPELLING THE VOWEL SOUNDS. Spellers in the early to middle letter name–alphabetic stage use their knowledge of the alphabet to find a letter name to represent the vowel sounds. Long vowels say their letter name, so the letter choices are obvious. Students spell line as LIN, rain as RAN, and boat as BOT. Perhaps what is most interesting about the letter name–alpha- betic stage is the way students spell the short vowels. They turn to the names of the letters, but find no clear letter–sound matches for the short vowel sounds. For example, there is no letter name that says the short i sound in bit or the “uh” sound in cup. (Very early letter name–alpha- betic spellers occasionally use f (“ef”) or s (“ess”) for short e because the letters’ names start with the short e sound.) Selecting a letter to represent the short vowel sound involves issues related to both articulation and letter names.

HOW THE VOWELS ARE ARTICULATED IN THE MOUTH. You may have never analyzed sounds at this level, so let’s take a moment to consider the vowels, and where and how they are made in the vocal tract. In Figure 5.4, the vowels are placed to mimic the general area where you can feel their place of articulation. Vowels are subtly differentiated by the shape of the mouth, the openness of the jaw, and the position of the tongue when a word is said. They are all voiced because it is impossible to articulate a vowel sound without vibrating the vocal cords.

Compare the vowels in this figure by saying the fol- lowing words in sequence several times and trying to identify where the vowel sound is produced:

beet bit bait bet bat bite but bot ball boat book boot

Do you feel how producing the vowels moves from high in the front of the oral cavity (beet) to low in the oral cavity (bite) to the back of the oral cav- ity (bot), down the front, back, and up (boot)? Also contrast the way your lips feel when you say the rounded vowel in boot with the high front vowel sounds in beet or bit.

THE LETTER NAME STRATEGY TO SPELL SHORT VOWELS. Students in the letter name– alphabetic stage often confuse the short vowels, spelling bed as BAD and bit as BET. Without being

FIGURE 5.4 Vowels in the Mouth

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consciously aware that they are doing this, students in this stage use their knowledge of letter names and the feel of the vowels as they are produced in the vocal tract to select erroneous, but logical, substitutions. There are five letter names from which to choose: a, e, i, o, and u. How would an alphabetic speller spell the short vowel in the word bed?

By isolating the medial short vowel in bed, the letter name speller identifies the sound as short e but there is no letter in the alphabet that has that letter name. What letter name is closest to the short e sound in bed? Try saying bed/bead and bed/bait to compare how the short vowel sounds and the long vowels or letter names feel in your mouth. Repeat the pairs several times and pay attention to how your mouth is shaped. Look at Figure 5.4 to see how close the short e is to the long a. The short e sound is closer in place of articulation to the long a or letter name for a (ā) than it is to the letter name for e (ē) so spelling the word as BAD seems logical. Students might spell bit as BET for a similar reason—the short i sound is closer to the letter name for e (ē) than the letter name for i (ī).

Table 5.3 will help you remember how the letter names of vowels are typically substituted for the short vowel sounds beginning readers try to spell. Say the word pairs in Table 5.3 and compare them to the placement of vowels in the mouth. An easier way to think about this is that letter name–alphabetic spellers often confuse the front vowels (a, e, and i) or the back vowels (o and u). The amazing thing about these letter name substitutions for short vowels is that they are so predictable. Read (1975) found that nearly all students go through a period when they substitute the short vowels with other letter names closest in articulation.

LEARNING TO REPRESENT SHORT VOWELS CORRECTLY. Although these developmental spellings are interesting, students in the late letter name–alphabetic stage need systematic word study to learn the correct letter sound matches. Through word sorts they learn that short vow- els follow a specific pattern—a consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) or closed syllable pattern. Regardless of how many consonant letters are on either side of the single vowel (cat, clap, clack, or strap), one vowel letter in the middle signals the short vowel sound. The CVC pattern is introduced in the late letter name– alphabetic stage and is contrasted with long vowel patterns in the early within word pattern stage.

Sometimes students in the letter name–alphabetic stage may spell bent, bet, bat, and bait the same way as BAT. But letter name–alphabetic spellers are also readers, and when they reread their own spelling of bait as bat, a word that they know spells something else, they experience disequilibrium (Bissex, 1980). This forces them to find other ways to spell a word like bait,

TABLE 5.3 Letter Substitutions for Short Vowels

Spelling Attempt Logical Vowel Substitution

BAT for bat None, short a is close to a

BAT for bet a for short e

BET for bit e for short i

PIT for pot i for short o

POT for put o for short u

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• The simplest way to talk about vowels is probably the best. Descriptions like “the sound in the middle” may suffice to draw students’ attention to the vowels at first, but students have no trouble learning long vowel and short vowel; such terms make word study discussions easier.

• Short a poses little problem for spellers because the letter name for a is already close in place of articulation. This is a good reason to teach short a first. However, because short e is close to short a, these pairs are not good contrasts for first introducing short vowel sounds.

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perhaps as BATE. When students are able to spell basic short vowel patterns and also begin to experiment with long vowel patterns, they have entered the next spelling stage: the within word pattern.

Do dialects inf luence how students learn and sort?. The way a word is pronounced may vary by dialect, and this would include students who are learning English. For example, many people say caught and cot the same way. Some rhyme roof with hoof whereas others rhyme roof with poof. Although these dialectical differences do not interfere with learning to spell, being aware of these differences when students sort and talk about words enhances word study. Every- one speaks a dialect, but we all learn to read and write the same orthography. Later, you will see how students’ first language inf luences their spelling in English.

Other Orthographic Features In addition to short vowels, students work through four other features during the letter name– alphabetic stage: (1) consonant digraphs, (2) consonant blends, (3) preconsonantal nasals, and (4) inf luences on the vowel from certain surrounding consonants (see Table 5.4). These phonics features are taught explicitly and sequentially, though different students may start at different places in the sequence depending on what they already know (see Chapter 2).

CONSONANT DIGRAPHS AND BLENDS. Letter name–alphabetic spellers take some time to learn the consonant units known as digraphs and blends.

Digraphs. A digraph is composed of two letters that represent a single sound. Digraphs are generally easier than blends because they only require segmenting and attending to a single phoneme. The digraphs studied in this stage include the bold letters in thin, fish, each, and when. They can come at the beginning or end of words.

The digraph th actually represents two different sounds that are the same in articulation but different in voicing. The th in bath and thin is unvoiced whereas the th in bathe and then is voiced. Most children (and adults) ignore this difference—if they are aware of it at all. However, English learners may need to have the differences discussed. Listen as they try to pronounce words with th and offer help as needed.

Blends. A consonant blend is slightly different. A blend is a spelling unit (sometimes called a consonant cluster) of two or three consonants that retain their identity. Each sound in a blend can be heard, but they are tightly bound and not easily segmented into individual phonemes, making blends difficult for students to spell accurately. This is why the t in the st blend may be omitted in stick, as in the spellings SEK or SEC. Blends can occur at the beginning or end of syllables, as shown by the bold letters in the following words: black, clap, trap, just, lisp, and

TABLE 5.4 Features Studied in the Letter Name-Alphabetic Stage

Consonant Digraphs A unique single sound represented by two letters at the beginning and end of syllables

ch, sh, th, and wh

Consonant Blends A combination of sounds represented by two letters at the beginning and end of syllables

bl, rl, cl cr, dr, fl, fr, gl, gr, pl, pr, sc, sk, sl, sm, sn, sp, st, sw, tr, tw, qu

Preconsonantal Nasals A special final blend of a nasal sound followed by consonant

-mp, -mb, -nd, -nk, -ng

Consonant-Influenced Vowels

Vowels whose sound is neither long nor short before certain consonants

r-influenced: -ar, -or

l-influenced: -all

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mask. If you have trouble remembering these terms it may help to note that blend begins and ends with the blends bl and nd, whereas digraph ends with ph (a digraph representing the /f/ sound studied in later stages).

PRECONSONANTAL NASALS. Some final blends are especially difficult, deserving special mention. The nasal sounds associated with m, n, and ng are made by air passing through the nasal cavity in the mouth. Nasals that come right before a final consonant, such as the n in pink, are known as preconsonantal nasals. Try saying bad and band as you pay attention to way the sounds feel in your mouth. You cannot feel the n in band because it passes out through the nose on the way to the d, but it is definitely there! Preconsonantal nasals are often omit- ted by spellers during the letter name–alphabetic stage (pink may be spelled PEK and jump may be spelled JOP). When students begin to spell words with preconsonantal nasals cor- rectly, they are usually at the end of the letter name–alphabetic stage, having achieved full phonemic awareness. Some students from Asian language backgrounds need more time to learn to spell and hear differences in the various nasal sounds at the ends of words, like /ng/, /n/ and /nk/.

CONSONANT INFLUENCES ON THE VOWEL. The letters r, w, and l inf luence the vowel sounds they follow. For example, the vowel sounds in words like bar, ball, and saw are not the same as the short vowel sounds in bat and fast even though they have the CVC pattern. The consonant sounds /r/ and /l/ are known in linguistics as liquids because they roll around in the mouth and have vowel-like qualities. Both can change the pronunciation of the vowel they follow. These spellings are often known as r-inf luenced (or r-controlled) and l-inf luenced (or l-controlled). The w also has an effect on vowels that follow it in words such as want, was, wash, word, and war but these are not studied until the within word pattern stage.

Spelling r-inf luenced vowels by sound alone can be difficult. For example, fur, her, and sir have the same vowel sound (represented as /ər/) yet are spelled three different ways. In addition, it is impossible to isolate the vowel from the r that follows in words like these. The r-inf luenced vowels that follow a CVC pattern (car, for) are examined during the late letter name–alphabetic stage and can be compared with short vowels in word sorts. Students might also contrast consonant blends with an r (fr, tr, gr) and r-inf luenced vowels (for example, from/ form, grill/girl, tarp/trap) as a way to compare exactly where the r falls.

Developmental Spelling Strategies Young writers spell few words from memory, so if we want them to express their ideas in writ- ing, we need to encourage them to spell as best they can. Children in the letter name–alpha- betic stage benefit from trying to figure out how to spell words as they write independently using what has been called “invented spelling.” We prefer to call this “developmental spelling” because it changes over time as children’s word knowledge grows. This involves analyzing individual sounds or phoneme that make up the word, then matching letters to those sounds. This active analysis and application of growing skills is much more beneficial than simply being given a spelling to copy (Clarke, 1988). In addition, waiting for the teacher to come by and provide the spelling can slow down a student’s production.

Some students might resist spelling as best they can and are anxious that every word is spelled correctly. While we want students to develop a desire to spell correctly, such over- concern at this stage in their development will likely severely limit what they can write about, while also reducing much needed practice. For example, one of the authors had a first grader, T.J., who spelled every word correctly using beautiful handwriting. But T.J. wrote almost the same thing in his journal every day. It was a cause for celebration when T.J began to misspell as he took risks and wrote about a wider variety of topics.

These ideas for teaching guide you in how to introduce sounds, involve parents, develop word banks, present academic vocabulary charts, and dictionaries to use in word study and writing.

for English Learners

Enhanced eText Video Example 5.2 Take a look at how a 2nd and 4th grade teacher engage their students in word hunts, games, and sorting to examine short vowels and consonant digraphs.

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• Model how to analyze the sounds in words. Break words into syllables and slowly stretch out the sounds to match to a letter. Do this during interactive writing and other times when you write for and with students. It is best to select words that have regular letter sound matches (e.g., flat but not laugh) to model. See a model lesson for introducing how to spell as best you can on page 30 in Chapter 2.

• Parents need to understand the rationale behind developmental spelling, so be ready to communicate with them about the value of letting children spell as best they can, and how they can support their children’s efforts.

• Although we want students engaged in developmental spelling, you should also model and teach students how to use resources in the room, such as their word banks, word walls, or other word displays. If children are writing about a specific topic, like autumn, you can brainstorm and post a word bank of special words they could use (like leaves, cool, falling, and down). Such a word bank can often help reluctant writers get started.

• Hold students accountable for what they have learned. For example, Sabina wrote about playing with her sister: “I like to PLA WIT mi STR.” Her teacher complimented her on spelling “like” correctly and asked how she knew it. Sabina replied that she had used the word wall. The teacher then pointed to with and said, “Here’s a word that is almost correct. Listen to the end of the word ’with.’ Do you hear that special sound that needs two letters? It is the sound you hear at the beginning of thumb (referring to a sound board with digraphs). You sorted words with TH several weeks ago. Can you fix that word?” In this way, the teacher helped Sabina apply what she knew. Other words (play as PLA and sister as STR) were left as her best efforts based on her current word knowledge.

• This is a good time to introduce students to the delights of age-appropriate picture dictionaries and wordbooks where they might find labeled pictures arranged thematically as a source of ideas for writing. Refer to Activities 5.16 and 5.17 for ideas about how to teach beginning dictionary skills and a list of resources. Don’t ask students in the letter name–alphabetic stage to look up words in a dictionary, but we recommend that you keep a dictionary handy and occasionally model how you use one.

Word Study Instruction for The Letter Name–Alphabetic Stage

This section starts with a discussion of how to support beginning readers as they acquire a firm concept of word in text and build a sight word vocabulary. Next are ideas for supporting writ- ing and developing vocabulary. This section ends with considerable detail about planning and implementing the kind of focused contrasts that make up word study in this stage.

Reading Instruction Beginning reading should focus on solidifying a concept of word in text so that students can begin to amass a sight word vocabulary by reading and rereading familiar texts and by analyzing known words out of context, in word study. Through rereading, students see the

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same words over and over again, thereby increasing the number of words they can recognize automatically.

MOVING TOWARD A FIRM CONCEPT OF WORD IN TEXT. To develop a firm concept of word children need to do lots of fingerpoint reading in familiar simple text.

SUPPORT READING. Without a large sight vocabulary, beginning readers cannot read very much without some kind of support. Support can come from two sources: the text and the teacher. Predictable text has repetitive patterns, rhyme, and simple language that make it mem- orable when students have recited or sung it, or read or heard it, many times. Texts are also easy to read when the words are about an event students have experienced firsthand. The indi- vidual and group dictations created using the language experience approach (LEA) described in Chapter 3 and extended in this chapter (see Activity 5.9) builds on this assumption. Teacher support comes from shared reading and encouraging students to read in unison (choral read- ing) or immediately after you read (echo reading). Or, you might provide a book introduction or book walk that uses the language of the text and anticipates difficult words and concepts (Clay, 1991). In a book walk, teachers preview the book by turning the pages to look and comment on the pictures while using some of the language students will later encounter in the text.

Tension lies between these two forms of support. The more predictable a text is, the less teacher support is needed. Conversely, the less support provided from recurring elements of the text, the more scaffolding will be required from the teacher. During the letter name–alphabetic stage, students move from reading primarily predictable books to texts that are more controlled in terms of high- frequency words and decodability (Mesmer, Cunningham, & Heibert, 2012). As students develop a sight vocabulary and more automatic phonics knowledge, they will need less support. For a sense of the types of reading materials that beginning readers in the early, middle, and end of this stage, refer to Table 2.3 on page 36.

SIGHT WORD LEARNING. Repeated readings of text are the first step in helping students acquire a sight vocabulary, but after text is highly familiar, there may be diminishing returns. Taking words they first encounter in context to examine out of context makes a difference in how well students learn those words (Ehri & Wilce, 1980), and how many words they learn over time (Johnston, 1998, 2000). Other things that inf luence word learning include the nature of the words themselves. For example, words that have concrete referents (for example, nouns and adjec- tives like moon or green) or that are easily visualized (for example, action verbs like Students reread a familiar book

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• Encourage children to point to words as they read aloud. This helps them keep their place on the page and encourages them to look carefully at the words, which in turn helps them remember the words.

• When young readers get off track, offer explanations (Touch this word rabbit two times for each syllable) and raise questions (Where is the word hopped? Or Could this word be hopped? Why not?) to scaffold their learning.

• After reading, ask children to go back and find targeted words. Teach them to voice-point to find a word (starting at the beginning of the sentence and read- ing up to the word) but also pose questions to get them thinking about the sounds and letters that can help them find the word: What sound do you hear at the beginning of hopped?

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run) are easier to learn than abstract prepositions, articles, or adverbs (such as from or when), which have no meaning by themselves (Mesmer et al., 2012). The whole-to-part model described in Chapter 4 offers ideas about how to isolate words. Here word banks and personal readers are described as an effective and engaging way to focus atten- tion on words.

Word Banks. Students are actively involved in the process of determining which words they want to remember by selecting words from familiar reading materials that are written on small cards to make a word bank. These known words are reviewed in isolation, analyzed for grapho-pho- nic correspondences, and used in word study activities (Stauffer, 1980). The words in a word bank come from many sources that students read and reread: predictable books, preprimer readers, leveled books, poems, and indi-

vidual and group dictations. We discuss how to develop word banks in some detail in Activities 5.9–5.13. Words are reviewed regularly and can also be used for focused sound contrasts in word study. The key is to encourage students to look more thoroughly at the words and note the letter–sound correspondences that will help to secure the words in memory.

Why do students need to review words they already know? The answer is they do not know them the same way more mature readers do; they know them only partially and tentatively. Letter name–alphabetic students who are partial alphabetic readers may confuse ran and run, stop and ship, and lost and little because they have them stored in memory as r_n, s_p or l_t. They may read gingerbread correctly every time because it is the only long word they know that starts with g, but when you ask them to spell it (GRBRD) you get a better idea of what they really know about the word.

Word banks are motivating for students because they offer tangible evidence of a growing sight word vocabulary (Johnston, 1998). Word banks take extra work for a few months, but are well worth the effort, particularly for students early in this stage. At first students may only col- lect a few words per week; middle letter–name students may collect several words a day. When the word bank contains between 150 and 200 words and the student is at the end of the letter name–alphabetic stage, the word bank is discontinued. An alternative to individual word banks is a group word bank, in which case the teacher identifies the most useful words for students to learn and uses them in word study Activities 5.12 to 5.14.

Personal Readers. Collect copies of familiar rhymes and jingles, group or individual dictations, or selected passages from books that children have read in a personal reader (Bear, Caserta-Henry, & Venner, 2004); see Figure 5.5. Students are enormously proud of their personal readers and they reread the selections many times before taking them home to read some more. Text selections in personal readers are ideal sources from which students can collect words for their word banks. They simply underline the words they know best and then these are transferred to small cards. A number can be written on each word card that matches the numbered stories.

The student’s word bank can be a plastic bag that is stored in the personal reader and little books for reread- ing fit inside the front pocket. In addition, a small chart of sounds called a soundboard (see Appendix C) can be included for reference in word study and writing.

Student reviews words from his word bank

Child rereading group experience story in her personal reader

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FIGURE 5.5 Personal Reader with Word Bank

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IP S Personal Readers and Word Banks

There are several ways to manage personal readers and word banks. Here are a few ideas with more in Activities 5.10 to 5.15.

• Make copies of reading selections in a large font and leave an extra space between words when possible. These pages can be numbered, hole-punched, and added to folders or notebooks to form a personal reader. Have a supply of blank word cards ready for recording words for students’ word banks. It is probably best to write the words on the word bank cards for the children rather than asking them to do it and add the number of the selection. Do not expect children to learn every word from the reading selection!

• As they study initial sounds through picture sorts, ask students to then find words in their word banks that begin with those same sounds. This helps them make connections between the pictures they sort and the words they read.

• Create a page of words for each selection that are good candidates for sight words. After several rereadings, ask students to identify the words they know from the list that can be added to their word bank. This can also be used as an assessment tool to see how well students are acquiring at least a few words from each selection.

• By using words from familiar readings and numbering the stories and rhymes to correspond to word cards, you can encourage students to return to the pri- mary source to find a forgotten word or match the word bank card to its coun- terpart in print.

Supporting Writing Children need encouragement and instruction in the letter name stage to grow as writers. Because children are working hard to listen to sounds, match them to letters, and remember how to form those letters, their work is often slow and labored. Typically, they will only produce a few sentences at a time. The Teaching Tips on the next page will guide your writing instruc- tion with beginning writers.

Supporting Vocabulary Development There are many ways you can enhance vocabu- lary development in the letter name–alphabetic stage. Activities from Chapter 4 (Activities 4.1 to 4.7) continue to play an important role in stimulating oral language and encouraging the use of new vocabulary. Throughout the week look for times to:

• Highlight, read, and discuss several words from a read-aloud.

• Engage in interactive read-alouds that encourage students to talk and ask questions.

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• Interactive writing provides an opportunity to model writing and use print referencing to further develop concepts about print as described in Chapter 4. Teach children directly about conventions such as when to use capitals letters and appropriate punctuation.

• Model a variety of writing experiences using the gradual release model described in Chapter 4 on page 93. Journal writing, letters to friends, observations, direc- tions, predictions before reading, and written responses after reading are authen- tic writing activities that offer students opportunities to express themselves.

• Be sure that students write for themselves as they spell “the best they can.” Teachers often guide students in their writing by asking, “What sounds do you hear when you say that word?” and then offering support as needed to write let- ters. Be sure they have an alphabet strip handy for reference. Asking students to simply copy sentences or words is of little value. It is in the hard work of tran- scribing speech into print where they exercise their phonemic awareness and growing understanding of how spellings represent speech sounds and meaning.

• The support writing in the photo on the next page illustrates an activity for beginning writers that also creates patterned material for repeated reading. The support writing you see in the photo only required the student to insert one or two words in the sentence frames. The picture and the repeated text will make it easier for the students to reread their stories.

• In the early phases of the letter name–alphabetic stage, you may sometimes dictate sentences for students to write. This removes the burden on students of trying to remember what they were trying to write so that they can con- centrate on writing for sounds and using the phonics features they have been learning in word study. For example, Tony’s group might be asked to write, “Put the top on the hot pot.” after working with word families for -op and -ot. Watch for accuracy and fluency in this brief dication experience.

• Use “Turn and Talk” during any discussion time to increase the amount of oral language. • Ask children to retell stories and act them out using simple props.

In the Activities section (Activities 5.1 to 5.7), we highlight several vocabulary strategies such as anchored word instruction (Juel et al., 2003), think-pair-share, and using dramatization. Routines to incorporate in daily practice in the classroom are presented here: use sophisticated synonyms, enrich simple text, and assign concept sorts.

Students writing with teacher support

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USE SOPHISTICATED SYNONYMS. This practice illustrates how to systematically expand the vocabulary you use with stu- dents. Opportunities exist throughout the day for you to model sophisticated words for familiar concepts as a way to promote vocabulary growth. Lane and Allen (2010) describe how a kinder- garten teacher began the year by asking the “weather watcher” to report to the group using terms such as sunny, cloudy, or warm. However, as the teacher introduced new terms over several months, the appointed “meteorologist” was expected to observe the weather conditions and report the forecast with terms such as brisk, frigid, or overcast. Lane and Allen suggest that teachers look for, gradually teach, and consistently use synonyms for the com- mon language of everyday routines. Students can be asked to distribute, replenish, dispense, or allocate materials. During group discussions participants are encouraged to contribute, articulate, verbalize, and elaborate their ideas. The class can be asked to line up adjacent to or parallel to the wall and proceed in an orderly fashion. Students are compli- mented for being amiable, agreeable, courteous, proficient, gracious, and considerate. Rather than “dumbing down” our language to children, we should consciously elevate our language and provide appropriate explanations, repeated exposure, and opportunities for them to use that same language.

ENRICH SIMPLE TEXT. Most beginning readers and writers are not able to grow their vocab- ularies through their own reading because the simple predictable texts they use for reading instruction rarely include words whose meanings they do not know. However, you can infuse more vocabulary as you discuss the story and illustrations using alternative words. For example, Cat on the Mat by Brian Wildsmith, described in Chapter 4, is written with very simple, predict- able language. However, the cat experiences a range of emotions, from contented to uneasy to agitated to furious, as more and more animals gather on the mat. Part of your discussion should focus on how the cat feels, offering the opportunity for you to intro- duce many synonyms for happy, sad, and mad—the words children are likely to suggest. Discussing illustrations will especially benefit English learners, who rely on the illustrations to understand much of the story. You might ask students to share synonyms in their home language. Content and furious turn out to be contento and furioso in Spanish! Studying cognates (words descended from the same ancestral root) is addressed more in later chapters, but it can begin in the early stages as well.

ASSIGN CONCEPT SORTS. Use objects, pictures, and known words in concept sorts to expand children’s vocabulary and to encourage rich verbal interactions. For example, after reading about and discussing concepts related to weather, students can sort pictures of mittens, boots , jackets, and caps under the headings of sunny, rainy, and snowy. In your modeling, use the language of comparison/contrast: “warmer than, cooler than, not as hot as,” and so forth. This explicit attention to language helps students “unpack” what they tacitly know about the concepts underlying the labels, which becomes part of their own discussions about words and con- cepts. Students categorize words and pictures multiple times over several days. They might sort in multiple categories—you can see this when they contrast things I like with those I don’t like, animals

Support writing about a wizard story

Weather concept sort

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that live in the water or on land, and so on. Vocabulary is learned best when it is used many times in phrases and sentences.

Concept sorts for English learners are particularly worthwhile because objects (such as plastic animals) or pictures can be sorted into categories without students needing to know the English terms. At the same time, English-speaking partners can supply unknown words and, while talking about the sort, students practice using and hearing the vocabulary they hear from you and their classmates. In a concept sort about weather with English learners, Ms. Polanski introduced three new vocabulary words and asked the students to explain to a partner why they paired two pictures from the sort. One child who spoke Hmong as her primary language made a novel pairing for this weather sort with moon and sun, explaining that “when the sun go down and the moon come up.” Picture concept sorts makes it easy for English learners to show their thinking. Concept sorts are included in the activity section that follows and in the WTW Digital online materials.

Search the Internet for images of objects to compare in concept sorts. For example, in a search of dogs there are a wide variety of pictures to examine and talk about by breed, size, ears, tails, and color.

for English Learners

Enhanced eText Video Example 5.3 This video depicts a concept sort with English learners.

Word Study In the whole-to-part model we propose, students learn to read big books, poems, and jingles at the same time they study letter–sound correspondences through focused contrasts with pictures and words. This analytic phonics approach begins with known words that are broken down into letters and sounds that students can compare and examine. As students begin to generalize these letter–sound correspondences across words, they can be expected to segment and blend those sounds to decode other words as they read in text and to encode words as they write for themselves. Word study entails both analytic and synthetic phonics approaches. Students are

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Here are some high-utility, research-based, vocabulary activities:

• Evidence suggests that linking a word’s spelling to its pronunciation and mean- ing is more effective than vocabulary instruction that does not link spelling to pronunciations and meaning (Rosenthal & Ehri, 2008). Write targeted vocabu- lary words on cards even though you do not expect students to learn them as sight words. Saying the words aloud greatly increases their knowledge of them (Ehri, 2013).

• Be deliberate about using key vocabulary in sentences and phrases; use body movements as you talk; read supporting books and display objects and illustrations.

• Ask and answer interesting questions. Be an active listener and be respon- sive to what students say and want to know (Hamre, Downer, Jamil, Pianta, 2012). Often, teachers ask questions and respond to individual students. Instead, facilitate discussion among students by asking open-ended questions, questions that cannot be answered yes or no.

• Find cognates between English and students’ primary languages. Online resources and print resources will provide cognates that will help students learn English. In Spanish, there are close to 15,000 words that are English cognates. When introducing vocabulary, you may ask students if there is a similar word in their first languages.

• Create charts of interesting words and phrases, including thematic words; general academic vocabulary; and domain, theme, or unit vocabulary.

Developing Vocabulary

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taught to sound out words, as in synthetic instruction, but we start by analyzing known words to ensure that by the time students get through the heavy lifting of segmenting and blending each grapheme and phoneme, they come up with a word they know in the end. Learning to blend letters and sounds together is addressed in the study of short vowels (see Activities 5.23 to 5.24 for examples).

Sequence. Our recommended word study sequence for this stage is outlined in Table 5.5 and is based on research on the developmental order in which phonics features are typically mas- tered. Initially, students use beginning consonants in their writing, so this is the place to begin word study in the early letter name–alphabetic stage. As their ability to segment phonemes becomes more complete later in the stage, they begin to use but confuse consonant digraphs, short vowels, and consonant blends. This is the time to study those features.

Pacing. The pace is not the same for every student because they progress at different rates. In Table 5.5, you can see how to modify instruction for students who are working at an introduc- tory, moderate, or advanced and review pace. However, there is no time to waste—you must set as fast a pace as possible during the letter name–alphabetic stage because success in beginning reading depends on learning the basic phonics elements that comprise written English. Pacing should be tied to ongoing assessment to determine whether instruction is effective. We discuss progress monitoring for this stage on pages 178 and 179.

Early, Middle, or Late Placement. Placing students in the early, middle, or late parts of this stage using the spelling inventory depends primarily on how well they spell short vow- els. If students do not attempt vowels, they are in the early part of the stage. If they use but confuse vowels, perhaps getting one or two correct on an inventory, they are in the middle of the stage. If they spell half or more of the short vowels on an inventory, they are in the late letter name–alphabetic stage. If students are spelling most short vowels, as well as most digraphs and blends correctly, they are ready to move to studying long vowels in the within word pattern stage, in which the spelling of short vowels are reviewed as long vowel patterns are introduced. Table 5.5 helps you identify whether students are in the early, middle, or late part of the stage.

The Study of Consonant Sounds Focused contrasts in the early letter name–alphabetic stage begin with picture sorts to draw attention to initial consonant sounds. Picture sorts help students continue to develop their phonemic awareness as they isolate beginning sounds and learn to pull apart consonant blends.

You can find pictures for sorts in Appendix D and prepared sorts on WTW Digital and in the other books in the Words Their Way series. Chapter 3 identified follow-up activities, such as draw and label or cut and paste, and many of the games described for beginning consonants (Activities 4.32 to 4.34) in Chapter 4 can be easily adapted for this stage. There are also ideas in the Activities section for this chapter (Activities 5.17 to 5.19) and WTW Digital provides games that are ready to print and use.

INITIAL CONSONANTS. Mr. Perez, whom we met at the begin- ning of this chapter, was wise in deciding to take a step back to firm up Cynthia’s understandings of consonants. Many students benefit from a fast-paced review of consonants at the beginning of first grade to secure tentative letter–sound matches. There is no particular order to the sequence of beginning sounds, but we recommend starting with frequently occurring initial consonants, in which the contrasts or differences are clear both visually and phonologically. You might find that the sequence listed in Table 5.5 is effective for a review, but bear in mind that some beginning sounds are easier than others, depending on the relationship of Student sorting pictures by initial consonants

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TABLE 5.5 Pacing and Sequence Guide for Letter Name–Alphabetic Spellers

Introductory Pace Moderate Pace Advanced Pace or Review

Focused Contrasts for Early Letter Name–Alphabetic

Picture Sorts for Initial Consonants*

Contrast two sounds that are very different in place of articulation, such as /m/ and /s/. Contrast up to four sounds when students are able. A suggested sequence is:

1. b m r s 2. t g n p 3. c h f d 4. l k j w 5. y z v

Review all initial consonants sounds (four at a time) and then, as needed, contrast easily confused consonants: w/y/; g/j; c/s; b/p; d/t

Review initial consonant sounds only as needed. Use progress monitoring spell checks to determine which consonants need attention.

Picture and Word Sorts for Same-Vowel Word Families

Start out slowly, spending as much as one week on a set: at; an/ad; ap/ag; op/ot/og; un/ut/ug; ip/ig/ill; op/ot/og; et/eg/en

Use the same sequence but move more quickly after students catch on to how word families work

Use progress monitoring to determine which families need attention.

Picture Sorts for Digraphs

s/h/sh; c/j/ch; h/sh/ch; t/th; th/wh; sh/ch/wh/th

s/h/sh; sh/ch/h; th/wh; wh/ sh/ch/th

wh/sh/ch/th

Pictures Sorts for Blends

Contrast single sound to blends first (e.g., s/t/st or s/p/sp) then compare blends (sp/sk/sm; sc/ sn/sw; p/l/pl; pl/sl/bl; cr/cl/fr/ fl; bl/br/gr/gl: pr/tr/dr; k/wh/; qu/tw)

s-blends; l-blends; r-blends r-blends others as needed

Focused Contrasts for Middle Letter Name–Alphabetic

Word Sorts for Mixed- Vowel Word Families

at/ot/it/; an/un/in; ad/ed/ab/ob; ill/ell/all; ag/eg/ig/og/ug; ick/ ack/ock/uck; ish/ash/ush

an/un/in; ag/eg/ig/og/ug; ill/ell/all; ick/ack/ock/uck; ish/ash/ush

Use progress monitoring spell checks to determine which families need attention

Picture Sorts for Short Vowels

a/o; i/u; e/o; e/i/o/u a/o; i/u; e/i/o/u

Combine with word sorts

Skip unless needed

Focused Contrasts for Late Letter Name–Alphabetic

Word Sorts with Short Vowels in CVC Words

a/o; i/u; e/i/o/u with easy words a/o; i/u; e/i/o/u with easy words

a/e/i/o/u with harder words

Word Sorts for Short Vowels with Blends and Digraphs

Ex: drop trip dish Ex: drag dash sled Use progress monitoring to determine what needs attention

Word Sorts for Preconsonantal Nasals

rag/rang; lip/limp; win/wind; ram/rap/ramp; sad/sand/sank; ng/mp; nt/nd/nk

rag/ran/rang; win/wig/ wing; ng/mp; nt/nd/nk

ng/mp; nt/nd/nk as needed

Word Sorts for R-Influenced

a/ar o/or a/ar o/or Move on to next stage

* When using picture sorts, add words if students can read them. Do not use words students cannot read.

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the sound to the letter name. Because of this, some con- trasts will take more time than others (Invernizzi & Buck- rop, 2018). Some students may still be confused with certain letter sounds based on letter name mix-ups (for example, y and w) or voiced and unvoiced pairs (for example, b and p), and therefore benefit from specific word study activities that contrast those pairs. Many children delayed in language development will benefit from a slower pace of instruction that is coordinated with the language specialist.

Figure 5.6 is an example of a sort with focused contrasts for initial consonants l, k, j, and w. Chapter 4 offers sugges- tions for how to plan and carry out picture sorts for initial sounds on page 107. You can also contrast pictures with ini- tially occurring short vowels (for example, igloo, octopus, apple) as a way to introduce those letter–sound correspondences.

FINAL CONSONANTS. Beginning consonants are reviewed and ending consonants are targeted in same-vowel word fam- ilies. This is because the only difference between mat and man is the final consonant sound, so contrasting same-vowel word families alerts students to looking for and listening to the final phoneme. Most students do not need to study end- ing consonant sounds with picture sorts, perhaps because after they develop the phonemic awareness to attend to final

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English learners benefit from word study that addresses confusions that arise because of sounds that are missing or that are different in their native language. Focused sound contrasts using pictures can clarify beginning consonant sounds in English that may not exist in other languages like those sounds described in Table 5.6. Here are some examples to consider:

• Spanish speakers may benefit from sorting a series of pictures that begin with /j/ or /h/ to clarify the differences in these sounds in English, but that do not occur in Spanish.

• English learners will use what they know in their native languages to spell both consonant blends and digraphs. Spanish speakers also benefit from studying s-blends, a combination that does not exist in Spanish. Spanish speakers may substitute the affricate sound ch for the sh digraph, another sound that does not exist in Spanish.

• Arabic speakers may sort pictures that begin with a voiced /g/ as in goat and a voiceless /k/ as in coat. They may also be unfamiliar with many of the blends in English and insert a vowel between the letters in the blend.

• For Chinese and other from Asian language speakers, it helps to spend time studying nasal sounds to compare /n/ and /ng/.

• Take a look at prepared sorts and word lists in the appendices, the sorts online, and other WTW materials for English learners (Helman, Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, & Johnston, 2011).

• English learners whose native language does not have many ending conso- nants may need more sorts with final consonant sounds.

FIGURE 5.6 Sample Sort for Initial Consonants

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TABLE 5.6 Consonant Confusions for English Learners

Sound Potential Confusion

b The voiced b is confused with the unvoiced p and is difficult in final position.

c Is often confused with hard g. Many languages do not have a hard c.

d Is confused with /th/ in Spanish, so dog may be pronounced /thŏg/.

f Is confused with v, especially in Arabic. In Japanese, it is confused with /h/.

g The hard g sound may be confused with k by speakers of Arabic, French, or Swahili.

h Is silent in Spanish, and in Chinese it sounds more like /kh/ as in loch.

j May be confused with h in Spanish and may also be pronounced /ch/.

k May be confused with hard g by Spanish speakers.

l May be confused with r. Final l may be especially difficult.

m May be dropped at the ends of words.

n Is difficult for speakers of Chinese, especially at the ends of words. May be confused with l.

p Is easily confused with its voiced mate b.

r Is rolled in Spanish and may be spelled with w. It is confused with l in many Asian languages.

s Is difficult to perceive in final position.

sh Is a sound that does not exist in many languages and is confused with ch, g, and j.

s-blends Blends in Spanish such as st, sk, and sp are separate syllables that begin with e as in español.

t Is confused with the voiced sound of d by Spanish speakers and not pronounced at the ends of words.

v May be confused with b in Spanish and Korean. It does not exist in many languages.

w Is a letter that does not exist in many languages and may be confused with v.

y May sound more like /ch/ in Spanish.

z May be confused with s and not voiced in Spanish.

sounds, they transfer their knowledge of letter–sound matches at the beginning to spell those final consonants as well. Some students may have a few problems even when they know most consonant matches, but do not hesitate to move on if they are beginning to represent vowels in their developmental spelling.

After students know their consonant sounds, they are ready to learn about consonant digraphs and blends. The goal is to not only master letter–sound correspondences, but also to help students see these two-letter combinations as single orthographic units in the CVC closed syllable pattern.

DIGRAPHS. Digraphs are introduced before blends because there is only one phoneme to deal with, but most students are ready to study both at about the same time. The suggestions in Chapter 4 on page 107 for picture sorts apply to digraphs and blends as well as single conso- nants. The consonant digraphs to study in the letter name stage are ch, sh, th, and wh. (We do not include ph at this point because there are few words that beginning readers will encounter that begin with ph.) There are several things to keep in mind when setting up focused contrasts for digraphs sounds. First, consider the confusion students show in their spelling attempts. Some students substitute j for ch, as they spell words like chin as JN, or they may confuse the letter name of h (aitch) with ch and spell chin as HN. Consider a contrast to study ch or sh that compares pictures that contrast the digraphs with single consonants, such as h as shown in Figure 5.7. You can compare th to single t, sh to single s, and ch to single c. However, a focused contrast with w and wh would be quite difficult because many words beginning with wh do

Enhanced eText Video Example 5.4 In this video, Darl models a CVC short vowel sort.

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not have a distinctive sound. (Which witch was which?) Compare wh to th, sh, and ch in a culminating digraph sort. Add known words such as who, what, when, and why to the picture sort. Table 5.5 contains a sug- gested sequence and possible contrasts for studying digraphs. Digraphs are revisited in the study of word families and short vowels in both initial and final positions.

BLENDS. You can group beginning consonant blends into three major and one minor categories as follows:

S-blends: sc, sk, sl, sn, sm, sp, st, sw L-blends: bl, cl, f l, gl, pl, sl R-blends: br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, tr Blends with /w/: qu, tw

The easiest group to learn seems to be the s-blends, perhaps because s is a continuant that you can hold without distorting the sound (sssss). Blends with the “slippery” l or r are harder; some r-blends are sometimes confused with affricative sounds such those made by the letter names g or j (this explains why trip and trap are often spelled JRP by so many begin- ners). Finally, the hardest group includes qu and tw. In qu, the u is acting as a consonant representing the /w/ sound. Three-letter blends (spr, str, squ, thr, shr) are less commonly encountered in early reading material so are not studied until the within word pattern stage.

To study initial consonant blends, begin with focused contrasts that compare pictures of a single initial consonant with its blend. This is the problem for spellers such as Tony, who spell stick as SEK. To help Tony listen for the sounds in the blend, contrast st with pictures that begin with s. After studying several blends in this fashion, pick up the pace and introduce other blends in groups such as the s-blends contrast in Figure 5.7. See Table 5.5 for a suggested sequence of sorts and how to pace them. After students catch on to how blends work and learn to segment and blend the individual sounds in a consonant blend, they may move quickly through a sequence of study or even skip some contrasts altogether if you find they have quickly generalized. The procedures and routines for studying digraphs and blends using picture sorts are the same as for other beginning sound sorts, as described in Chapter 4.

Students in the early part of the letter name–alphabetic stage do not need to master con- sonant blends and digraphs completely because they will be revisited throughout the stage by studying word families and short vowels. Research by Johnston (2003) and others shows that blends, digraphs, and short vowels all begin to appear in students’ spelling about the same time, so there should be some interplay among these features in the instructional sequence, as shown in Table 5.5. Consonant blends and digraphs that create an affricate sound (trip, drip, chip) take longer to master because their sounds are so similar.

Final consonant blends (last, lisp, task, left, kept, felt, shelf, and help) are not studied with pictures, due to a lack of examples, but words containing final consonant blends should be included toward the end of the stage in the study of short vowel words. Other ending blends that include an r, like rd, rt, and rp, in words like bird, art, or chirp, are studied with r-inf luenced vowels.

Preconsonantal nasals, a particular type of final blend that includes mp, nt, nd, and nk, are also studied at the end of the letter name stage. We add the digraph ng as well, which may be studied in word families, as there are many words spelled with ang, ing, ong, or ung. Many students find this feature particularly difficult and will need explicit routines for making words with and without the nasal, changing rag into rang or hug into hung, for example. The building, blending, and extending exercises described in Activity 5.22 can be adapted for this.

FIGURE 5.7 Sample Sort for S-Blends

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The Study of Short Vowels After letter name–alphabetic spellers have a solid, if not complete, mastery of beginning and ending consonant sounds, they are ready to study medial short vowels. Students need full phonemic awareness to isolate the elusive vowel, but if vowels are still missing or used only occasionally in their spelling, start with word families as Mr. Perez did with his middle group. After students are using (though still confusing) short vowels consistently, ask them to compare short vowels in word sorts that examine the CVC pattern across a variety of vowels, as Mr. Perez did with his highest group. Appendix E contains lists of words spelled with short vowels that you can use to create handouts similar to those used by Mr. Perez in Figure 5.2(C). Appendix E has suggested sorts, and prepared games and more sorts are on the website and in Words Their Way®: Word Sorts for Letter Name–Alphabetic Spellers.

WORD FAMILIES. Word families, which are sometimes called phonograms, consist of groups of rhyming words like cat, mat, sat, and bat that all follow a CVC short vowel pattern and are spelled similarly. They offer an easy and appealing way to introduce short vowels within closed syllables; that is, one syllable short vowel words ending in a consonant. This supports students in their first efforts to analyze the vowel because the vowel and the ending letter(s) are presented as a chunk or pattern called a rime (for example, the at in cat and mat). What comes before the vowel is the onset. Examples of onset-rime breaks are m-an, bl-and, m-at, and th-at. It is easier and more natural for students to divide and blend words into onsets and rimes than divide them into individual phonemes (Goswami, 2008; Treiman, 1985).

Studying word families makes sense for several other reasons. First, 37 rimes can be used to generate 500 different words that students encounter in primary reading materials (Wylie & Durrell, 1970). In addition, these same rimes are familiar chunks in thousands of multisyllabic words: The an chunk can be found in canyon, fantastic, and incandescent. Second, vowel sounds are more stable within families than across families (Adams, 1990; Wylie & Durrell, 1970). For example, the word dog is often presented as a short o word in phonics programs, but in some regions of the United States, it is pronounced more like dawg. If you say it that way, then you probably pronounce fog as fawg, frog as frawg, and log as lawg. When studying word families, the actual pronunciation of the short vowel does not matter; it is the og chunk that is examined and compared.

SAME-VOWEL WORD FAMILIES. Early letter-name spellers and very beginning readers pay attention to begin- ning and ending consonants in order to read and spell words. Studying same-vowel word families reviews those features. The phonological awareness of the rime unit (for example, -at,-an) also lays the foundation for future vowel study when students begin to look inside the word for common short vowels across families. We suggest studying same-vowel word families before blends and digraphs, but students are usually ready to study all three at about the same time, so you might decide to do blends and digraphs first.

There is no particular order to study word families, but a good choice is to start with short a families (at, an, ad, ap, ag) because these words abound in early reading materials, and students are likely to already know several words from these families by sight. In addition, short a is the least likely short vowel to be confused when students try to make matches based on letter names and place of articulation. Compare other same-vowel word families in a similar way (in, it, ip or ot, op, og, and so on).

Table 5.5 suggests contrasts and a sequence for study- ing word families under three possible pacing guides.

FIGURE 5.8 Same-Vowel Family Sort with Pictures

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However, it is just a suggestion for planning your own course of study. Consider the words that your students know as sight words, and the kinds of words they encounter in their reading. If you are reading a story with lots of short u words, then study a few short u families.

Apply the following procedure when introducing a word family sort with pictures (see Figure 5.8).

1. Start with just the pictures for a rhyming sort. Use pictures as headers for each column (for example, can and dad), name them, and then pick up another picture. Say to students, “Van. Does van rhyme with can or dad—van, can: van, dad? I will put it under the can.” Model several and then have students help you finish the sort. Name all the pictures in each column and talk about how they rhyme.

2. Now lay out the word cards. Name a header such as can, and say, “Who can find the word can? What letters would you look for at the beginning and end?” Repeat for dad, and then ask students to find the word for each picture.

After all the words are sorted and matched to the pictures, read down each column. Ask the students how the words are alike; they should note that they all end with the same two letters. Explain that the words are in the same family (the an family or ad family) and they all rhyme.

3. Remove the words and shuffle them. Give them out to the students to match to the pictures again. Read each column, and then remove the pictures to see whether the students can use just the initial sound and the rime to read each word in the column.

4. Give students their own set of pictures and words to sort for seatwork. Follow up with other word family activities such as Build, Blend, and Extend, described in Activity 5.22.

Introduce Word Families with Pictures

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1. Lay down a known word as a header for each family. Choose words you are sure students can read, such as big, dog, and bag. Explain that the rest of the words are to be sorted under one of these headers.

2. Pick up another word such as frog and say, “I am going to put this word under dog because it ends in o and g.” Then read the words: “Listen: dog, frog.” Continue to model one or two words in each category, always sorting first and then reading down, starting with the header.

3. Ask students to sort the next word. They should sort first and then read from the top of each column to help them identify the new word. They are not expected to sound out the word first and then sort. Instead, their sense of rhyme will support them as they read the new word, by simply changing the first sound of a word they already know. The final sort might look like the following:

big dog bag

dig frog wag

pig hog rag

wig fog flag

log tag 4. After all the words are sorted, read down each

column and lead a discussion to focus students’ attention on the common features (sounds and letters): “How are the words in this column alike?” After giving students a chance to discuss what they notice about the words, summarize by explaining that the words in each column are in the same family because of the two ending letters and sounds that rhyme.

5. Provide students with individual sorts. Conclude with follow-up activities that include students working with partners to do blind sorts as described in Chapter 3. Flip charts and word wheels are just some of the follow-up activities that are found in Activities 5.23 to 5.28).

Introduce a Mixed-Vowel Word Family

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MIXED-VOWEL WORD FAMILIES. The difference between top, tip, and tap lies in the medial vowel, and it is through such contrasts that students are forced to listen to the vowel sound itself and look carefully at the vowel in the middle of a word. Students in the middle

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letter-name stage should be ready to study mixed-vowel word families where the sorts do not have the support of pictures. Students should already know how to read several words in each family. Include words with blends and digraphs after they have been studied with picture sorts. For example, the ag family can be expanded to include words such as f lag, brag, drag, shag, and snag.

THE STUDY OF SHORT VOWELS IN THE CVC PATTERN. After students are spelling about half of the short vowel words correctly on a spelling inventory and working with mixed-vowel word families easily and accurately, they are ready to study short vowels in nonrhyming words outside of word families. This asks them to look at words in a new way, not as two units with various rimes (m-ad, f l-ag, tr-ack), but as three units with the same CVC pattern (m-a-d, f l-a-g, tr-a-ck), one vowel surrounded by consonants. This ability to see words as patterns is the key feature of the next stage, the within word pattern stage. While studying short vowels, students come to see that CVC is the basic pattern for all short vowels across variations that include VC (e.g., at), CCVC (e.g., f lat), CVCC (e.g., fast), and CCVCC (e.g., blast).

R-INFLUENCED VOWELS. Words like car and for look as though they follow the CVC pat- tern, but they do not have the short sounds of a or o. Instead, the vowel sounds are subsumed by the r that follows and are known as r-influenced vowels (or r-controlled vowels). Do not expect students to segment a vowel sound separately from the r but instead teach ar and or as patterns or chunks. Because words spelled with ar and or are common in beginning reading materials, it is worthwhile to introduce them at the end of this stage. The r-inf luenced vowels form a major subcategory of vowels that will be examined more extensively during the next stage. The fol- lowing is a sort that compares the r-inf luenced o sounds with short o. Read down each column so you can hear the difference. What is odd about word and work? How are they different from the other r words? How are they similar to each other?

o or Oddballs fox for word shop sort work spot fort trot horn

Student pasting two-way sort by vowels

Enhanced eText Video Example 5.5 In this video, Darl Kiernan models a mixed- vowel short e, i, o, and u; rock, bed, pig, cup.

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1. Collect a set of word cards that feature two or more short vowels to model on a tabletop, pocket chart, interactive whiteboard, or document camera. See lists and sorts in Appendix E & F and at WTW Digital and other WTW materials. Read through the words before sorting to be sure students know the words and talk about the meaning of any that might be unclear or have multiple meanings. For example, talk about the word block in Figure 5.9 which can mean something you build with, the action of stopping, or a section of a street. If students cannot read a word put it aside to revisit later.

2. Model the sort with one vowel. Begin by laying down a known word as a key word for each vowel. Read each word and isolate the vowel: “Here is the word cap. Listen: cap, ap, /ă/. Cap has the short a sound in the middle. Let’s listen for other words that have the same vowel sound in the middle.” Repeat for the short i and short o categories.

3. Model comparisons. Pick up a new word such as fast and say, “I am going to say this word slowly to listen for the vowel in the middle, /f-a-a-a-st/. Where should I put fast? Listen: ca-a-ap, f-a-a-ast. They have the same vowel sound in the middle so I will put fast under cap.” Continue to model one or two words in each category, reading each new word, saying the medial vowel slowly, and comparing it to the key word.

4. Model an oddball. Hold up an oddball, like for or was. Ask students if they hear the same vowel sound in the middle. Model how to place it in the oddball category because it does not have the same vowel sound. Ask your students to help finish the sort.

5. Discuss the sort. After the words are sorted, read down each column to check and discuss how the words are alike in sound and spelling. Ask: “How are the words in each column alike? How are the words alike under cap? Yes, they have the same vowel sound

in the middle spelled with a. We call this the short a sound. How are the oddballs different? What is odd about them?” Help students identify the CVC pattern by labeling the units in cap, pig, and hot. Point out that hill and trap are also CVC words because ll and tr are consonant units on each side of the single vowel. At this point revisit any unknown words. Ask the students to put each in the correct column and sound it out.

6. Sort a second time. Have students sort a second time. Leave mistakes to the end and check them by reading down the columns.

7. Follow-up activities: Give students their own set of words to sort at their seats, with partners, or at home across several days and have them write the words into categories. Because it is easy to sort the words visually by attending to the vowel letters, the blind sort described in Chapter 3 is important as a follow-up activity. One partner reads each word aloud while the other partner indicates where it goes without seeing the word. Model this first in a small group and then let partners work together. See other word family activites (5.23–5.29). Assess student mastery by calling out at least 10 words to spell.

Contrast Two or More Short Vowels S

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FIGURE 5.9 Short Vowel Sort across Families

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fish

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IP S Word Families

As you study word families, keep these thoughts in mind.

• When studying word families, it is appropriate to modify one of the principles of word study described in Chapter 3, “Use words students can read.” When working with word families, students probably cannot read all the words ini- tially. However, because the words are in rhyming families, students are sup- ported with pictures and with headers that are familiar. Students sort visually by the rime spelling first, and then read unknown words by blending different onsets with the header rime.

• Include words with digraphs and blends after they are introduced. Studying the ack family pays bigger dividends when you include black, clack, track, shack, quack, stack, snack, and crack.

• Supply supplemental reading materials that feature word families. With the publication of research about onsets and rimes, and renewed interest in word families, there has been a flood of reading materials for students that feature a particular family or short vowel. Some of these little books are engaging and well-written, offering students support in the form of patterned or rhym- ing text. Other books are contrived and nonsensical, as in Nan and Dan Sat in the Pan. Use well-written books as a starting point or as a follow-up for word study, and students can use the books to go on word hunts for additional words that follow the same phonics features. However, choose books carefully; text featuring sentences such as “The tan man ran the van” make reading into an exercise in word calling rather than comprehension. Although some phonics readers are better than others, they shouldn’t constitute the sole reading materials used at this level.

• Plan follow-up activities. There are many activities and games to use when studying word families. Follow-ups to sorting include re-sorting, blind sorts, and writing sorts, as described in Chapter 3. Board games designed to study beginning sounds can be adapted to word families. Activities like Build, Blend, and Extend; Sound Wheels; Flip Charts; and Show Me are favorites and are included in this chapter’s activities. Use word study notebooks for students to record writing sorts and the results of word hunts or brainstorming sessions.

• After students are working with word cards you should expect students to spell the words they sort correctly and you can administer short spelling tests to assess their mastery. Include dictated sentences that feature a family (for example, “The frog sat on a log in the fog”).

• Set a fast pace. Studying word families can take a long time if you feel com- pelled to study every family in a thorough fashion, but this should not be the case. See Table 5.5 for ideas about how to modify the pace based on assess- ments such as weekly spelling tests, the qualitative checklist for writing, and spell checks for progress monitoring. Although students may still make errors in spelling short vowels, many quickly pick up the notion that words that sound alike probably share similar rimes and are spelled alike. They will also be able to use this knowledge to figure out new words by analogy; for example, noting the and in stand, they quickly decode it.

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IP S The Study of Short Vowels in CVC Words

(Continued)

As you study short vowels in CVC words, keep these points in mind:

• If students are still making some errors in the spelling of digraphs and blends, which is likely, include words with those features in the short vowel sorts. At this time, they have many more sight words that contain beginning and ending consonant digraphs and blends.

• You might plan a two-way sort as shown in Figure 5.10 —first by vowel sounds and second by digraphs or blends. This encourages flex- ibility in word analysis, a desirable trait (Sharp, Sinatra, & Reynolds, 2008).

• Consider doing a third sort, perhaps sorting by action words (crash, drag, trim) versus things (crumb, truck, crib); take time to discuss words that could be used as both, depending on con- text (for example, “We will trim the tree,” or “We added trim to the valentine.”). Cartwright (2006, 2008) shows that having students think about words by different attributes builds cognitive

flexibility, an important component of reading comprehension. Discussing the different mean- ings and uses of words also makes students aware of the multiple meanings or polysemy of words, an important aspect of vocabulary devel- opment (Templeton et al., 2015).

• Plan short vowel contrasts that are distinct from each other. We recommend that students first compare short a to short i or short o. Wait until later to compare short a to short e, or short e to short i as those sounds students are most likely to confuse.

• Use words and pictures. Most sorts are with printed words, but occasionally use pictures to focus attention on the vowel sounds. Use pictures for column headers, such as the sound board pictures for vowels in Appendix C or the pictures in Appendix D, also found in WTW Digital. Consider what words students already know from familiar texts and word banks as you select words for sorts.

FIGURE 5.10 Two-way Sort by Vowel and Blends

trap

crack

drag

trick

drill

trim

crash drip

drug

First Sort by Vowel Sound

crumb

truck

drum

track crib crush

trap

track

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drag

drip

drum

trim drill

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tr dr cr

crash

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truck drug crib

Second Sort by Blends

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This chapter has presented examples of focused contrasts for all the basic phonics features through explicit, teacher-directed sorts or closed sorts. As in direct instruction, in a teacher- directed, closed sort the teacher selects the words and leads a group sorting activity accompa- nied by a discussion of the features of interest. We recommend teacher-directed sorts when you introduce a new feature. Offer clear explanations when introducing a new feature but gradually release responsibility to students to sort independently. Table 3.1 outlines the support different groups will need. Open sorts, as described in Chapter 3, ask students to establish their own categories and offer you diagnostic information that will help to determine how much students understand the generalization that underlies the activity.

Assess and Monitor Progress in The Letter Name–Alphabetic Stage

It is critical that you monitor student progress in attaining a firm concept of word in text (COW-T), and the fundamental phonics/spelling features that support the automatic recogni- tion of a basic reading vocabulary, or sight words. Without attaining these fundamentals, stu- dents will not progress in reading. Assess students regularly to determine whether they need more practice or are ready to move on.

Assess and Monitor Progress in Concept of Word Over the course of this stage, students move from a rudimentary to a firm concept of word in text (COW-T). Not only should students point accurately to words in familiar text without getting off track on two-syllable words, but they should also be acquiring sight words from the

PROGRESS MONITORING

• Establish the oddball, or miscellaneous category. Good words to use for oddballs in this stage are high-frequency words students may already know as sight words, such as for, put, was, and what. Was will be odd in a short a sort despite its CVC spelling because it doesn’t have the short a sound. Other oddballs have a short vowel sound but are spelled in unusual ways (for example, laugh, head ). You can find examples in the word lists in Appendix F.

• The oddball category can be used to accom- modate variations in dialect and spelling. Some students may hear a short o in lost, but others will hear a sound closer to “aw.” Some students hear a different vowel in pin and pen, but others consider them homophones. Rather than forcing students to doubt their own ear, the oddball category offers an alternative and acknowledges that not everyone speaks the same way, nor does spelling always match pronunciation.

• Plan word hunts and other follow-ups. It is fairly easy to find words with short vowels in just

about any beginning reading material because they are, by their nature, common in English. Encourage students to look for two-syllable words with a CVC syllable, such as funny or kitten.

• Pacing is important. Be prepared to spend some time on short vowels, as they pose special problems for young spellers and can persist as problems beyond first grade. Start with simple three-letter words that include many of the words studied in word families (for example, bag, can, pat) but then move to more complex words with blends and digraphs at the beginning and end (for example, brag, than, path). However, short vowels will be reviewed when they are compared to long vowels in the next stage, so do not expect complete mastery. Move on to the study of long vowel patterns if students have blends and digraphs under good control but seem to have reached a plateau on short vowels.

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texts that they read and from analyzing them in word sorts. The ultimate litmus test of a firm concept of word in text is a student’s ability to identify some words seen previously in context when shown in isolation. So, to the COW-T assessment procedures we described in Chapter 4 we add a procedure for assessing word recognition in isolation. After fingerpoint-reading a text accurately, we ask students to identify words in the middle of some of the lines and then, as you can see in the Concept of Word in Text assessment using “Humpty Dumpty” in Appendix A, we make a randomized list of the words from the text and present them to see how many words the students remember and recognize after reading a simple text. Students with a firm concept of word will be able to read many if not most of the words on the list; they will pick up several words as sight words after several rereadings.

Assess and Monitor Progress in Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, and Spelling Phonemic awareness, phonics, and spelling are all highly related; therefore, frequent spelling assessments scored by features are an easy way to monitor student progress. You can administer the spelling inventories described in Chapter 2 several times a year to track progress. As shown in Figure 5.11, Zack began the year as an early letter name speller, often omitting vowels and blends, which suggested that his phonemic awareness was only partial. By February, he was in the middle letter name stage, including a vowel in each word and spelling many vowels, blends, and digraphs correctly. He had full phonemic awareness, fully segmenting each word into sounds. By May, his correct spelling of short vowels as well as his use of silent e showed that he was transitioning into the within word pattern stage. Zack made solid progress over the course of the year in phonemic awareness, phonics, and spelling.

Ongoing assessment can be as simple as observing how quickly and accurately students sort pictures, or you can have students paste the pictures they have sorted into categories and label them. Weekly assessment in the middle to late part of this stage may involve a brief spelling test of five to ten words. In addition, we provide a series of spell checks in Appendix B for letter name–alphabetic spellers. We recommend that you use these as a pretest before introducing

September February May

fan ✓ ✓ ✓

pet PAT ✓ ✓

dig DK deg ✓

rob ✓ ✓ ✓

hope HOP hop ✓

wait YAT wat wate

gum GM ✓ ✓

sled SLD slad ✓

stick STK stik ✓

shine SIN shin ✓

dream GREM drem dreme

blade BAD blad ✓

coach KOH coh coche

fright FRIT frit frite

FIGURE 5.11 Zack’s Spelling

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a feature, and after spending a few weeks or so on a feature you can use them as a post-test. Progress monitoring or goal-setting forms are also available in Appendix B.

Assess and Monitor Progress in Sight Word Development After students achieve a firm concept of word in text, they should remember some words they have seen in context, out of context. Although students cannot be expected to remember all the words they have read in context, they should be able “pick up” a handful of words after several readings to add to their sight vocabularies. Frequently assessing students’ word recognition in isolation should provide the feedback you need to determine whether or not to back up or move forward in reading levels, spelling features, or instructional support. If students are not progressing, make sure they receive texts that they can read successfully.

The easiest way to monitor progress in sight word development is to keep track of the number of known words in students’ word banks. Early in this stage we have a page of students’ sight words that have been collected from the selections in the personal readers. The number of known words, or sight words, should grow steadily across the early middle to late letter name– alphabetic phase when students are given regular opportunities to select and review words out of context that they have read in context. You will know that a student is developing a solid sight word vocabulary when his or her word bank exceeds 200 known words.

You can also note progress in sight word development as students are able to read increas- ingly difficult levels of reading materials with less support in the form of shared reading. By the middle to late letter name–alphabetic stage, less predictable reading materials require young readers to carefully focus on print. By the middle of this beginning reading phase, students should rely more on word recognition and less on memory of the language. Use running records to monitor word recognition accuracy in context (Clay, 2009) in addition to your assess- ments of word recognition in isolation.

Word Study with English Learners in The Letter Name–Alphabetic Stage

In general, most other languages do not have as many single consonants or blends as we do in English. English learners may need more time to master these sounds because they will have to learn how to hear and pronounce the sounds, segment the sounds, and learn the letter correspon- dences. Table 5.6 on page 170 lists the sounds that English learners may omit or mispronounce.

For example, Spanish-speaking students may confuse words that begin with d and th, pronouncing dog with a th sound, more like “thog.” Jump may be pronounced “chump.” It is important to create sorts that make these comparisons clear (d and th or j and ch) after the other beginning sounds are established. Refer to Words Their Way with English Learners, Words Their Way®: Emergent Sorts for Spanish-Speaking English Learners, and Words Their Way®: Letter Name–Alphabetic Sorts for Spanish-Speaking English Learners (Helman et al., 2012) for additional sorts to help students learn these distinctions.

Consonant Confusions. Only a handful of consonants occur in the final position in Spanish (d, n, l, r, s, z), so it is common for English learners to omit the ending consonant sounds in words like hard, which may be spelled HAR. Final consonant picture sorts may be needed to bring attention to these sounds. Sorting words by rhyme or word families like bag, rag, tag can also be more of a challenge for English learners. Contrasts in which the vowel and the final consonant differ (at, op, un) are a better starting place. In Spanish, the s-blends work differently. In many Spanish words, the sp blend is split between two syllables. The s is given a vowel (es) and p starts the second syllable, as in Es-pañol.

Still, there are many consonants shared by Spanish and English (b, d, f, g, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, w, y), and Spanish-speaking students can begin studying consonants with these. Spanish

for English learners

Enhanced eText Video Example 5.6 In this video, the assessment of students in the Letter Name- Alphabetic Stage is discussed.

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picture sorts can be found in the toolkit for Words Their Way for English Learners (Helman et al., 2012) under both the Emergent and Letter Name catego- ries and in Palabras a Su Paso: El Estudio de Palabras en Acción (Pearson Schools, 2013). Explain the differ- ent sounds in English and Spanish, and acknowledge students’ confusion as logical. See Table 5.6 for more examples of predictable confusions. Because students might not be able to name the pictures, you might pair them with an English-speaking partner who can supply the English names.

Vowel Confusions. As with consonants, other lan- guages do not have as many vowel sounds as we do in English. Spanish has only one short vowel sound (short o), and it is spelled with the letter a as in gracias. Expect students to substitute vowels in their own lan- guage that are close in point of articulation for these short English vowels when they say and spell English words. Short e may be pronounced like the long a (pet as PAIT), short i like the long e (tip as TEEP), and short a and short u like the short o (cat and cut as cot) (Helman et al., 2012). See Chapter 6 for more information about vowel confusions for students learning English.

Word Study Routines and Management

The letter name–alphabetic stage easily spans kindergarten through second grade. A handful of students in third grade and even a few students in the upper elementary grades will still need to work on the features that characterize this stage. It may be tempting to rush through, but word study in the letter name–alphabetic stage helps to build a solid foundation for the study of long vowels and other vowel patterns in the next stage.

RRWWT. A balanced literacy program includes these five activities: Read To, Read With, Write With, Word Study, and Talk With (RRWWT). During read to time, teachers read aloud literature that offers exposure to new vocabulary and literary language. During read with time, students meet in large groups for shared reading and small groups for instructional-level reading. Teachers model how to compose ideas and spell words as they write with students, who, in turn, write for themselves. Word study includes explicit instruction in letter–sound correspondences, phonics, and spelling patterns. Finally, a comprehensive program provides students with ample opportunities to talk with teachers and peers about the books and experi- ences they have shared. Whole-group read-alouds continue to be the best place to focus on vocabulary, but you should look for other opportunities throughout the day to highlight new vocabulary words. Concept sorts can be developed for science, social studies, and math to teach new vocabulary.

Differentiate instruction. To differentiate instruction, you need small groups. In first-grade classrooms, teachers like Mr. Perez often find that reading groups and word study groups are virtually the same. Word sorts can be introduced toward the end of the reading group, using words taken from the selection as exemplars for introducing new features. Students practice categorizing words for seatwork and in centers with partners or individually after they learn the routines. Other teachers have a separate word study time, meeting with small groups ini- tially to introduce a sort, but then expecting follow-up routines to be done independently or with partners. We prefer the former arrangement so that connections can be made between

for English learners

Enhanced eText Teacher Resource: Ms. Kiernan’s Word Study Schedule

Picture sort and word study notebook to help Spanish speakers clarify short a and short o sounds

Enhanced eText Video Example 5.7 This video is about Weekly Schedules and Activities in the Letter Name-Alphabetic Stage.

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the phonics and spelling features learned in word study to the same features encountered while reading.

Word study during the letter name–alphabetic stage begins with picture sorts for initial sounds and ends with word sorts for short vowels in nonrhyming words. During this transition, there are various routines and generic activities to help students explore and study features in depth. Betty Lee’s schedule discussed in Chapter 9 is particularly appropriate in the early let- ter name–alphabetic stage for students who are doing picture sorts and keeping their materials in two-pocket folders. Later in the stage when students are sorting words, other routines that involve writing sorts in word study notebooks are more effective. Table 5.7 summarizes routines for this stage. Games and activities are described in detail in the section that follows.

Pacing is important. There are many blends and many word families, and if every blend were studied for a week, it could take many months. You might want to create two- or three- day cycles. For example, you might introduce two word families on Monday, another two on Wednesday, and then combine them for several days. Be ready to pick up the pace by combining a number of blends or families into one sort (up to four or five) or by omitting some features. The progress monitoring assessments provided in Appendix B will help you to know what stu- dents can do. Ultimately, your own observations dictate the pace that is appropriate for your students. Remember Table 5.5 offers three pacing guides that you may use to identify shortcuts for achieving students or more in-depth study for struggling students.

TABLE 5.7 Sample Weekly Schedules for Word Study in the Letter Name–Alphabetic Stage

Picture Sorting Word Sorting

Day 1 Small-group sort: Introduce the sort and discuss the features

Small-group sort: Introduce the sort and discuss the features

Day 2 Seatwork or center: Repeat the sort, check

Seatwork or center: Repeat the sort, check, write the sort in word study notebook

Day 3 Seatwork: Repeat the sort, draw and label

Seatwork, partner work: blind sort, writing sort, word study notebook extensions

Day 4 Small group or seatwork: Repeat the sort, word or picture hunts in magazines, ABC books, and familiar texts

Seatwork: Repeat the sort

Small group: Word hunt in familiar texts

Day 5 Assessment and games, paste and label pictures used for sorting during the week

Assessment and games

Homework: Students take pictures home to sort again and hunt for more pictures that begin with the sound

Homework throughout the week: Repeat the sort, blind sort, writing sort, word hunts

Enhanced eText Video Example 5.8 Ms. Kiernan demonstrates how to teach students the tricks of cutting and pasting word and picture cards.

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Several sources are available to help you implement word study with students in the letter name–alphabetic stage. These materials to use in the activities that fol- low can be found both in the Appendices in the book as well as on WTW Digital.™

1. The pictures in Appendix D and word lists in Appendix F as well as suggested sorts in Appendix E are available for use with the templates in Appendix G to create your own picture sorts.

2. Prepared sorts and games that can be used cross platform are also available on WTW Digital. Also on WTW Digital, a Create Your Own feature enables you to create your own sorts. Look for the List of Available Images on WTW Digital to find what pictures can be selected. The files can be downloaded to your computer to drag and drop pictures into your own templates.

3. Words Their Way for PreK–K provides a comprehensive description of word study and other literacy activities for the emergent and letter name stage: oral language, vocabulary, and concept development; alphabet recognition and production; phonological awareness; concepts about print and writing; concept of word in text; and word study for phonics and spelling.

4. Words Their Way®: Word Sorts for Letter Name– Alphabetic Spellers 3rd Edition provides a complete curriculum of sorts beginning with a review of initial consonants, picture sorts for blends and digraphs, word family sorts, and short vowel sorts. This book offers detailed directions for implementing the sorts and spell checks are supplied for each of the units.

5. Words Their Way®: Letter Name–Alphabetic Sorts for Spanish-Speaking English Learners provides contrasts and additional practice geared to contrasts that are important for Spanish speakers.

RESOURCES FOR IMPLEMENTING WORD STUDY in Your Classroom

ACTIVITIES for the Letter Name–Alphabetic Stage

Students play word study games

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for English learners

In this section, specific activities for students in the letter name–alphabetic stage are organized into the following categories:

1. Vocabulary activities 2. Phonemic awareness activities 3. Development and use of personal readers and word banks 4. Dictionary skills 5. Study of initial consonant sounds 6. Study of word families 7. Study of short vowels

Adaptable for other stages. Some of the games and activities are adaptable, using a variety of features at different stages. These are indicated by the Adaptable for Other Stages icon.

Many of the activities that follow use the sound board in Appendix C, pictures in Appendix D, and game templates in Appendix G. Some of these materials can also be found online at WTW Digital.

Vocabulary Activities

These activities are designed to help students develop their oral vocabularies. The vocabulary activities in Chapter 4 are also relevant here (Activities 4.1 to 4.7).

5.1 Anchored Vocabulary Instruction Printing words on cards that are the focus of vocabulary instruction during a read-aloud is a way to anchor the meaning of the word to its sounds and spelling (Juel et al., 2003). These vocabu- lary cards will also serve as a reminder to review the words over time and in different contexts.

MATERIALS Children’s books to read aloud and a supply of 2-by-6-inch (or larger) cards. Print words neatly with markers.

PROCEDURES 1. Preview a book that you plan to read aloud and select a few words whose meanings may

not be known to all of your students. Focus on words that are important to the meaning of the story but are also words that are likely to come up again in other stories. Juel et al. (2003) provide the examples of pond, mill, and haystack from Rosie’s Walk (by P. Hutchins) as words urban children would probably not know. Write the words you select on cards in neat block letters.

2. Before reading the story, introduce the words. You might begin by asking students if they can supply a definition and then back that up with your own. At times you might model using a picture dictionary to look up the meaning of a word. If a concrete word like haystack is in the story, show a picture of a haystack. You can supply your own picture, photo, or bring in concrete objects. Even a quick sketch can help and might be added to the card. Always try to use “kid-friendly” definitions with accessible language. For example, a new word like community may be defined as a “neighborhood” or vacant as “empty.” As students develop decoding skills, you might begin by asking them to figure a word out before telling them. Students in the late letter-name stage, for example, would probably be able to read mill or pond but might not know exactly what they are.

3. To help anchor the word in memory, point to the word as you say it slowly, stretching out the sounds as you touch the letters, and then have the students repeat it with you. You might point out the beginning or ending sound, the length and number of phonemes or syllables, or other letter–sound characteristics of the word, depending on what your stu- dents might need. For example, students whose home language is Spanish might have a hard time with double ls at the end of a word like mill, because that combination (ll) has

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a different letter–sound correspondence in Spanish. You could point out the double ls in mill and have the students say it with you, emphasizing the final sound. Students are not expected to learn these as reading vocabulary, but Juel’s research shows that seeing the words can help students remember them as meaning vocabulary.

4. When you come to the word during the read-aloud, hold up the card and brief ly draw attention to it to remind students of its meaning and letter–sound properties. Ask someone to point to the word on the book page.

5. After reading, go through the word cards once more and ask students to say each word, define it, and perhaps use the word in a sentence that also recalls events in the story. For example, you might hold up pond and say, “Who can tell me where the fox got all wet? Yes, he fell in the pond.” Ask questions that use the words, such as “Would you rather land in a pond or in a haystack? Tell me why.”

6. Add new word cards to a growing set to be reviewed over time. Keep them handy to pull out when you have a few minutes to spare and go through them. It is this continued exposure that will ensure that the words are retained over time. If students use the words or notice the anchored words in new contexts, make it a cause for great celebration. You can be deliberate in selecting new read-alouds with these same words, such as The Little Red Hen, in which the hen takes grain to the mill, or In the Small, Small Pond by Denise Fleming.

5.2 Think-Pair-Share In Chapter 4, we described “turn and talk” (Activity 4.3) as a way to give more students the opportunity to engage in oral language and use new vocabulary. Instead of calling on one stu- dent to talk, all students are asked to talk with a partner. Turn and talk can be used with all ages but think-pair-share is a variation that provides more “think time” and ends with the oppor- tunity to share ideas in the larger group. Both activities give less verbal children and English learners a chance to articulate their ideas in a less threatening situation.

PROCEDURES 1. Think. During a read-aloud or discussion, instead of raising hands to answer questions,

make predictions, share experiences, define words, or use words in sentences, ask students to think of their own response for a few moments.

2. Pair. Students then turn and talk to a partner or discuss in small groups. You can assign partners or groups in advance and have them stay together for a week or more. Students can also count off to form groups. Observe the pairs or groups to make sure all students are participating.

3. Share. After everyone has had a chance to talk, call on individuals or groups to report back to the larger group. By listening in on the groups, you might identify ideas or examples that seem particularly worthwhile.

5.3 Books and Concept Sorts Books make great beginnings for concept sorts. As an example to get you started, Gregory, the Terrible Eater by Marjorie Sharmat tells the story of a young goat who wants to eat real food while his parents constantly urge him to eat “junk food.” In this case, the goats’ favorite foods really are junk from the local dump: tires, tin cans, old rags, and so on.

MATERIALS You will need a copy of the book to read aloud. Collect real objects or pictures of items suggested by the story; for example, fruits, vegetables, newspaper, shoelaces, spaghetti, and pieces of clothing.

PROCEDURES 1. After enjoying this story together, introduce the students to a concept sort. Gather the

students on the rug around a large table or pocket chart, and challenge them to group

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3. Plan time for individual sorting. Keep the items and key word cards available so that stu- dents will be free to redo the sort on their own or with a partner at another time, perhaps during free time or center time. Encourage them to talk as they sort.

4. Follow the sorting with draw-and-label or cut-and-paste activities. This may be done as a group activity, in which case a section of a bulletin board or a large sheet of paper is divided into two sections and labeled with the key words. If students work independently, give each student a sheet of paper folded into two sections. Ask the students to draw items, or give them a collection of magazines or catalogs to search for pictures to cut out and paste into the correct category (seed catalogs are great for fruits and vegetables). Again, encourage students to use developmental spelling to label the pictures.

EXTENSIONS Gregory, the Terrible Eater serves as an excellent introduction to studying healthy eating. The same pictures the students have drawn or cut out can serve as the beginning pictures for categories such as meats, grains, fruits and vegetables, and dairy products.

VARIATIONS Other books can also be used as the starting point for concept sorts of many kinds, as in the following:

Noisy Nora by Rosemary Wells. Sort pictures that suggest noisy activities or objects with pictures that suggest quiet activities or objects.

Town Mouse, Country Mouse by Jan Brett and various authors. Sort pictures of things you would see in the country and things you would see in the city.

Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse by Leo Lionni. Sort pictures of real animals and toys or imaginary animals.

Amos and Boris by William Steig. Sort pictures of things that Amos would see on the land and things that Boris would see in the ocean.

Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens. Sort pictures by the vegetables that are found aboveg- round (peas and beans) compared to vegetables below (potatoes and carrots).

5.4 Thematic Unit on Animals as a Starting Point for Concept Sorts Teachers of young students often organize their curriculum into thematic units of study. Such units frequently lend themselves to concept sorts, which review and extend the understandings central to the goals of the unit. Studying animals particularly lends itself to concept sorts and can be used as a way of introducing a unit.

the items by the things Gregory likes and the things he dislikes. Encourage them to talk about the items in complete sentences such as, “Carrots are food that Gregory likes.”

2. After deciding where everything should go, ask the students to describe how the things in that category are alike. Decide on a key word or descriptive phrase that will label each category. Good Food and Junk are obvious choices, but your students might be more inventive. As you print the selected key words on cards, model writing for the students. Say each word slowly and talk about the sounds you hear in the words and the letters you need to spell them. You might give all the students in the group a card and ask them to label one of the individual items using invented spelling.

Gregory the Terrible Eater concept sort

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MATERIALS Plastic animals or animal pictures.

PROCEDURES Lay out the collection of animals and ask students to think of ways that they can be grouped together. Such an open sort will result in many different categories based on attributes of color, number of legs, fur or feather coat, and so on. A lively discussion will arise as students discover that some animals can go in unexpected categories.

The direction you eventually want this activity to go depends on the unit goal. If you are studying animal habitats, then you will eventually guide the students to sorting the animals by the places they live. If you are studying classes of animals, then the students must eventually learn to sort them into mammals, fish, amphibians, and birds. If you are focusing on the food chain, your categories may be carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores.

5.5 Creative Dramatics Creative dramatics is a way to encourage students’ self-expression as well as vocabulary devel- opment (Honig & Shin, 2001; Mages, 2008; Lobo & Winsler, 2006). Students enjoy reciting what they hear and appreciate the rhythm of language as they act out memorable scenes from familiar stories. In creative dramatics, props are not necessary but add to the fun. For example, after hearing the story Caps for Sale (by E. Slobodkina) students march around the room sing- ing, “Caps for sale, caps for sale. Red and white and blue and green. The finest caps you’ve ever seen.” Students can also act out the part of the story when the monkeys steal the caps from the peddler after he falls asleep under a tree and then mimic the peddler with “Chi, chi, chi, chi.”

MATERIALS Many picture books can work, as well as classic folk tales. There are a number of anthologies to consider including:

De Las Casas, D. (2011). Tell along tales!: Playing with participation stories. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.

Mayesky, M. (2008). Creative activities for young children. Boston: Cenage Learning. Siks, G. B. (1958). Creative dramatics: An art for children. New York: Harper & Row,

Publishers. Ward, W. (1981). Stories to dramatize (Reprint ed.). Anchorage, KY: The Children’s

Theatre Press.

PROCEDURES 1. After they listen to a story, ask students to select a character and

think about how that particular character acts, like crawling on all fours and roaring like a lion as in Leo the Lion or stirring a pot of food after hearing a version of Stone Soup.

2. Reread a short scene and have three or four students act out the scene with its movement and a few of its lines. Props are not typically used, and everyone is given a chance to participate.

3. Ask students who were watching to comment on what they liked and how they might improve the next time.

4. Have another three or four students try the same scene.

EXTENSIONS Prepare copies of key lines from the scene in 26-point text that students place in their personal readers to reread, as in Figure 5.12. Note in the figure how Kari has underlined words for her word bank and also how she has recorded her rereadings with tick marks. Have students draw pictures of the scene they dra- matized and bring the stories they have written to the group to dramatize a scene.

FIGURE 5.12 Caps for Sale for Student Rereading

Caps for sale Caps for sale Red and white and blue and green The finest caps you have ever seen.

Caps for sale Caps for sale Red and white and blue and green The finest caps you have ever seen.

188 C H A P T E R 5

5.6 Tell a Story to Get a Story Tell-a-Story activity is a way to encourage students to tell personal narratives about events in their lives (McCabe, 1997). You can conduct this activity as a whole class, in small group, or while students are in line waiting for lunch.

1. Begin by telling students a two- or three-sentence story about a not-too-serious experi- ence that happened to you; maybe a story about an insect sting, a broken arm, a cooking accident, or a time you were sick. Other examples of topics teachers have used can be found in McCabe (1997) and McCabe and Bliss (2003).

2. Ask an open-ended question to encourage students to tell a story about something that happened to them: “Has something like this ever happened to you?”

3. To encourage students to say more, nod, and ask “What else?” or repeat their last phrase.

These personal narratives give teachers, and speech pathologists insight into children’s language development. A scoring quide (see link to the left) can be used to analyze students’ narrative and language development. It comes from Words Their Way with English Learners (Helman, et al., 2012).

5.7 Acting Out Meanings Young children love any type of movement activity. As they encounter new words through read- alouds and your use of sophisticated words (see page 165), take advantage of opportunities to act out words so your students can develop understanding.

MATERIALS Any children’s picture book can work, but choose a picture book that lends itself to action. Morales’ Niño Wrestles the World or Knutson’s Love and Roast Chicken: A Trickster Tale from the Andes Mountains are two excellent examples.

PROCEDURES 1. After reading Love and Roast Chicken: A Trickster Tale from the Andes Mountains aloud, discuss

the meaning of the word scurried. You might demonstrate the terms scurry, scramble, dash, or hustle.

2. Invite the students to do these actions. In so doing, you are supporting their developing awareness of the shades of meaning, or nuances, among these words. Common verbs such as march, stroll, or walk are good starting points because they are the easiest for students to distinguish.

EXTENSIONS 1. Try acting out adjectives, which are just a bit more challenging. Begin with frequently

occurring ones like happy, sad, tiny, and enormous, and invite students to demonstrate them through facial expressions and body movement. This is particularly effective with English learners.

2. Explore antonyms in the same way. Begin by sharing concept books such as Eric Carle’s Opposites or Tana Hoban’s Exactly the Opposite, both of which feature colorful illustrations. Then engage students in acting out antonyms as they follow along with your discussion and modeling. You might play “Simon Says” using directives such as, “Simon says walk fast. Simon says walk slow. Simon says put your hand over your head. Simon says put your hand under your chin.” Other action-filled multicultural choices might include:

Brown, M. (2013). Marisol McDonald and the clash bash: Marisol McDonald y la fiesta sin egual. New York: Lee and Low. (Latino; bilingual; story)

Look, L. (2004). Uncle Peter’s amazing Chinese wedding. New York: Atheneum. (Asian; story) McKissack, P. (1986). Flossie and the fox. New York: Dial. (African American; folktale) Rodgers, G. (2014). Chufki rabbit’s big bad bellyache: A trickster tale. EI Paso, TX: Cinco

Puntos Press. (Native American/American Indian; folktale)

Enhanced eText Teacher Resource: EL Language and Literacy Survey

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Roth, S. L., & Abouraya, K.L. (2012). Hands around the library: Protecting Egypt’s treasured books. New York: Dial. (Middle Eastern; nonfiction)

Woodson, J. (2012). Each kindness. New York: Nancy Paulsen Books. (African American; story)

Phonemic Awareness

Phonemic awareness continues to develop from partial to full across the letter name–alphabetic stage. Students’ developing awareness is exercised by sorting pictures and words for sounds— first for single consonants, then for blends, followed by onset and rime in word families, and finally all the sounds in short vowel sorts. Routines such as interactive writing and morning message, described in Activity 4.39 and Activity 4.40 in Chapter 4, should continue in this stage, providing you with the opportunity to model phonemic segmentation as you stretch out the sounds in words to write. Students will get this same practice as they write for many different purposes, spelling the best they can. Students who need extra help developing full phonemic awareness will benefit from the following activities.

5.8 Beginning-Middle-End: Find Phonemes in Sound Boxes Sound Boxes provide a concrete way to demonstrate how words are made of smaller pieces of sound; some call these Elkonin boxes for the developer (1973). The following variation is a song the teacher and children sing as they try to find the location of each sound in the word.

MATERIALS You will need large letter cards and a three-pocket holder, such as the one shown in Figure 5.13.

PROCEDURES 1. Place the letters needed to spell a three-letter word in the pocket

backwards so the children cannot see the letters. Announce a CVC word, such as sun. Choose words from a familiar book, poem, or dictation when possible. Words that start with continu- ant sounds such as /m/, /s/, or /f/ work well because they can be said slowly.

2. Sing the song to the tune of “Are You Sleeping, Brother John?” Beginning, middle, end; beginning, middle, end. Where is the sound? Where is the sound? Where’s the ssss in sun? Where’s the ssss in sun? Let’s find out. Let’s find out.

3. Children take turns coming forward to pick the position and check by turning the letter card.

5.9 Push It Say It This activity is a good way to teach students how to blend sounds as they move letter tiles or little cards around, as shown in Figure 5.14. Throughout the letter name stage, stu- dents learn to manipulate the sounds in words by exchanging one letter for another to make a new word. This skill will eventually help them sound out or decode unfamiliar words as they read by blending sounds and word parts together.

FIGURE 5.13 Sound Boxes

FIGURE 5.14 Push It Say It

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MATERIALS You will need a large set of tiles or cards containing the letters of the alphabet, the consonant digraphs, and rimes for word families (such as at, ill, ock) for modeling and smaller sets so students can work along with you. Model with the cards on a desktop with a small group or prepare magnetized cards to use on a board.

PROCEDURES 1. Choose the rime card that matches the sort you are about to do or the features from a

previous sort that need reviewing. If you are working with the at and an families, cut out these rime cards as well as an assortment of beginning sounds such as f, m, and r. Two or three rime cards and two or three consonant cards are enough for one lesson. Continuant consonants such as f, m, and r are easier to elongate than the stop consonants (b, t, g) so start with these. Students will need practice with all the consonants eventually.

2. First, identify the rimes as the at or an family, and have your students repeat them after you. Next, push a beginning letter such as the f card up while saying “f-f-f-f.” Then, push the an card up while saying “an.” Say the word fan as you push the cards together, as shown in Figure 5.14.

3. Tell your students that you can take the an away and change the word to fat. Push the f card up a little further while saying “f-f-f-f.” then push the at card up next to it while saying “at.” Then say fat as you push them together.

4. After modeling this procedure, ask your students to push and say fan with their own cards. Ask them how they might change fan into fat. Repeat with one or two other beginning sounds to change fan into man, man into ran, and ran into rat, and so on.

EXTENSIONS 1. Add consonant blends and digraphs as they are studied. Note that digraphs such as sh,

are written on one card (not separated into a s card and an h card), while blends should be on separate cards. Follow the preceding procedures, using the digraphs and blends and exchanging different-vowel rimes. Model how to change ship into shop, shop into chop, chop into chip, using digraphs or top into stop into slop using blends.

2. The “Push It Say It” routine for medial vowel, CVC words is slightly different for the non- rhyming words because you will use a separate vowel card and push three or four cards. Change pat to pet, pet to pit, pit to pot, pot to hot, hot to hit, and so on.

Personal Readers and Word Banks

Personal readers are collections of dictations and other short pieces of text that serve many purposes, helping students develop a concept of word and concepts about print as well as a sight vocabulary. Word banks take words out of context for close study and enhance sight word learning.

5.10 Collecting Individual Dictations and Group Experience Stories Recording students’ individual or group dictations as they talk about personal or group experi- ences is a key feature of the language experience approach, or LEA (Stauffer, 1980). The text created makes especially good reading material for beginning readers because it is inherently familiar and easy to remember. It is ideal to have every student in a group contribute a sentence, but dictations need to be kept to a reasonable length to be sure beginning readers can read them back. This activity is described in Activity 4.39 on page 144 in Chapter 4. Here we offer a description of using group dictations across a four-day sequence to collect words for a word bank. This can be accomplished in fewer days with smaller groups.

MATERIALS You will need chart paper, an overhead projector, a computer, or another way to record dictation so that students can observe you write. You will also need to make copies

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of the dictation for each student. See the See the discussion on pages 162–163 for more direction in how to develop per- sonal readers.

PROCEDURES Day 1. Share an experience and collect dictations, as described in Activity 4.39. When it is complete, read the entire dic- tation as you point to the words. Then have students repeat after you, sentence by sentence using echo reading, as you point to each word. Reread it again as the students read along with you in a choral reading fashion.

Before day 2, make a copy of the dic- tation for each student in the group to add to their personal reader. Computers make it easy to create these copies. Select a font that has the type of letters easily recognized by young readers (Geneva or Comic Sans MS work well) and enlarge it as much as possible. It is also easy to make copies by writing neatly in your best manuscript handwriting.

Day 2. Reread dictations and underline known words.

1. Choral read the original dictation and then again as students follow along on their own copies, pointing to words as they read. Call on individual students to read a sentence.

2. After students can read the dictation successfully, ask them to underline known words to harvest for their word bank, as described in Activity 5.11. Point to the underlined words randomly to make sure they know the words they underline. Students might make an illustration to go with the dictation.

Day 3. Choral read and harvest known words. Students can work together or individually to read the dictation again. Make word cards for underlined words that are recognized accurately and quickly.

Day 4 and on. Choral read and review new word cards.

1. Have students continue to reread their dictations, review the words in their word banks, and complete their pictures.

2. Start a new dictation or story cycle when students can read the previous dictation with good accuracy and modest f luency.

3. Students can take their personal readers home where they reread the stories, review their word banks, and sort pictures and words.

EXTENSIONS 1. Include personal readers in targeted interventions with the literacy specialist and Title

I teachers. Students have additional opportunities to reread their entries to promote f luency, for phonics instruction, and the development of a sight vocabulary. Make an extra copy of the entries, share digital copies, and have the personal readers accessible to students when they meet with their teachers. (Bear et al., 2004; Johnston, Invernizzi, Juel, & Lewis-Wagner, 2009).

2. Bilingual entries in the personal readers are particularly useful during the early part of the letter name–alphabetic stage (Helman et al., 2012). These bilingual stories are written in both the first and second languages. Initially, dictations are just one or two sentences long. A school aide or parent can help with the translations. Shari Dunn and her students

Ms. Bussey conducts a word hunt in students’ group experience chart

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developed bilingual class readers that included students’ individual pages about pets and other themes, like weather and health.

3. Develop digital personal readers that include digital photographs to accompany the stu- dents’ dictations.

4. Incorporate software into the dictation process. Use voice recognition, drawing, and ani- mation software in the dictation process to help students create their own language experi- ence stories (Labbo, Eakle, & Montero, 2002).

5. Extend your language experience dictations into student-generated writing by using an author’s computer chair (Labbo, 2004).

5.11 Support Reading with Rhymes and Pattern Stories Rhymes and jingles and predictable, patterned texts make good reading materials because they provide support for beginning readers and can then be used to harvest known words for word banks. (See pages 118–120 in Chapter 4 for a complete guide to the whole-to-part lesson plan and supporting activities.)

MATERIALS Find a rhyme, jingle, song, or predictable story that students will find memorable and readable. You can focus on one major pattern or verse, such as the refrain in The Gingerbread Man. Find a big book, make a chart, or project a copy of the text electronically for group work, and make copies of the rhymes and patterns for students’ personal readers.

PROCEDURES Day 1. Introduce and read the text.

1. Talk about the title and cover and look at the pictures (if applicable) with the students. 2. Read the rhyme or story while fingerpointing the text. Read f luently and with expression,

but not too fast. Stop periodically to discuss and enjoy the story. 3. Reread the text and invite students to choral or echo read the entire text if it is short; or

read parts of the text. 4. Decide which parts of the text will be compiled for personal readers. Type the text onto a

single page that can be duplicated for each student. Number and date this entry.

Days 2, 3, and 4. Reread the rhyme or story and harvest words for word banks as described in Activity 5.11. Use the same procedures described in Activity 5.9 for dictations as follow-ups for rhymes and predictable text. Write sentences from the text can on sentence strips, and have students work to rebuild the text in a pocket chart as described in Activities 4.40 and 4.41 in Chapter 4. In Figure 5.12, you see a sample of a rhyme adapted from the story Caps for Sale (by E. Slobodkina).

5.12 Harvesting Words for Word Banks Students need to have a stock of sight words that they can read with ease. These can be harvested from books, familiar rhymes, or dictations, and stored in a word bank to be reviewed over time. Although word bank words are traditionally chosen by the students, you can encourage young readers to include high-frequency words (will, this, want) that they need to learn, or words containing the spelling features being examined during word study. Favorite words are those that interest the reader (dinosaur, chocolate, birthday); these longer concrete nouns may be more memorable to the student than the high-frequency words! The following activities help students develop and maintain a word bank.

MATERIALS You will need copies of personal readers, dictations, familiar books, and so on. Prepare a collection of blank word cards. Tagboard and index cards can be cut to a size that is large enough to hold easily, yet small enough so that students can work with them on a desktop when sorting (4 by 1.5 inches is about right). You can also create a sheet of words for a particular story or poem read by a group of

for English learners

Student circles sight words from a selection in her personal reader

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students. Reproduce and cut apart the sheets and the words, which you can hand out as students identify them.

Have students store their words in envelopes, plastic bags, small margarine containers, or small gift bags. Plastic and metal index card file boxes work well—words can be sorted with dividers. You can start with plastic bags for the first 50 words and then move to a box.

PROCEDURES Harvesting words may vary depending on the sources: 1. From personal readers. If students have an individual copy of dictations, jingles, parts

of stories, and so on, simply ask them to underline the words they know. Many students will be tempted to underline every word, but over time they will begin to understand the procedure and realize they need to be selective and underline only words they really know. Suggesting that they scan through the text backwards can help some students find known words more accurately. You, your assistant, or a classroom volunteer can point to the underlined words in a random fashion to check whether the student can indeed name the word quickly (without rereading the sentence in which it occurs). Write known words on word cards. Writing the word for the student will ensure that it is neat and accurate. Ask the student to spell it aloud as you or another adult writes, to focus their attention on all the letters. On each card, usually on the back, write the number of the page in the personal reader. This makes it possible for students to go back and use context clues to name the word if they forget it. Then ask students to write their initials on the back of each card in case words get mixed up during word bank activities.

2. From familiar books. Students can also collect sight words independently from books they have read. Select words from the book that seem useful or interesting, write them on cards and store them in a library pocket in the back of the book. After reading the text, teach students to read through the words in the pocket to see which ones they know at sight. Have students write the words they know onto their own cards and place them in their word banks. They can match unknown words back to their counterparts in the text.

3. From any text. The easiest procedure for harvesting words is to simply ask the students to point to words in a book or from a chart that they would like to put in their word bank. After several words are written on cards, you or a helper can hold up the words to check for recognition.

TIPS To ensure that unknown words do not enter students’ word banks, develop a short-term word bank for words that students recognize from the latest stories and dictations stored inside their personal readers (see Figure 5.5). Periodically, work with students in small groups to have them read through the words in their short-term word banks. Words they know from memory go into the permanent or long term word bank which can be stored in a different plastic bag, in a file card box, or a similar container.

Create a group word bank to use instead of or in addition to individual word banks. The group agrees on the words to add (with some gentle prodding by you to add high-frequency words that will show up in other stories) and the words can be reviewed in the group. Also make them available for individuals or partners to use in the word bank activities described in Activities 5.13–5.15.

5.13 “I Know It”: Reviewing Word Bank Words Reading through their words banks is a common activity with your supervision in circle time, with a partner or classroom volunteer, or independently. Have students review their word banks regularly as an important way to secure those words in memory as sight words. In this sort, students simply go through their word cards, say the words they know and put them in one pile, and place unknown words to the side. Have students try to move quickly reading through the pile. The words students put in the “I know” pile are words you and they can use in other sorts.

You can discard the unknown words, but this can be a touchy point for some students who are hesitant to throw away words. There is no harm in letting a few temporarily unknown words remain, but working with a lot of unknown words makes students’ work hesitant, prone

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to errors, and frustrating. Students in the early letter name–alphabetic stage do not have the word knowledge they need to sound out many unknown words, so you should show them how to figure out an unknown word by using context. Referring to the number on the card, the students return to their personal reader to find the word and figure it out in context. Because this procedure can be time-consuming, it is important that only a small percentage of words in a word bank are unknown.

5.14 Other Ways to Work with Word Bank Words There are other ways to review and work with words in the word bank.

1. Pickup. Lay out a collection of five to ten words face-up. Words that the student does not know or frequently confuses are good candidates. Someone calls out the words randomly for the student to find and pick up. This simple activity requires the student to use at least partial alphabetic cues to find the words but does not require him or her to sound out the word.

2. I Am Thinking Of. This activity is similar to Pickup, but the student is given clues instead of words: “I am thinking of a word that rhymes with pet” or “I am thinking of a word that starts like play.”

3. Concentration. Make a second set of words and play this classic game as described in Activity 4.16 in Chapter 4. Work with no more than ten sets of words at a time so that the activity moves quickly.

4. Word hunts. Have students look through their word banks for words that have a particular feature; for example, words that start with t, words that end in m, or words that have an o in them.

5. Alphabetize words. Make and laminate a large alphabet strip up to six feet long. Students place their words under the beginning letter. Sort pictures by beginning sounds as well.

6. Build sentences. When students have nouns and verbs included in their word banks, they can start to build sentences. It’s fun to add the names of friends and family to their word bank so they can build sentences like “Devon can run.” During writing time, encourage students to use their word banks as a resource for words they might want to use. Sentence starter frames such as “I like to . . . ” might get them started if they can’t think of anything to write about.

7. Sort words. After students have 50 or more words in their word banks, they can use them to sort in various ways: by conceptual groups (such as animals, people, things we do), by beginning sounds, by alphabetical order, and so on.

5.15 Read It, Find It This simple and fun game for two players reinforces the identification of words.

MATERIALS You will need 30 pennies, or as many pennies as there are words on the game board. Prepare a game board by creating a 5 by 5 or 6 by 6 grid. Write each word into one of the spaces on the grid. Prepare a set of word cards that have the same words as those on the board and place them face down. It is okay if some words repeat. You can take words from word banks or from previous word sorts.

PROCEDURES 1. One player f lips a penny for heads or tails position. Each player chooses 15 pennies. One

player will be heads and turns all his or her pennies to the heads side. The other will be tails and turns the pennies to the tails side.

2. The player who did not f lip begins by taking a card from the pile and reading it. The player then finds the word on the board and covers it with a penny. If the player cannot read the word or reads it incorrectly, he or she cannot cover the word. The game proceeds as each player draws one card per turn.

3. The first player to cover 15 words, using up all his or her pennies, is the winner.

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Dictionary Skills in the Letter Name– Alphabetic Stage

Children can begin to use simple dictionaries and learn some basic skills, even in kindergarten and first grade.

5.16 Alphabetical Order Alphabetical order is a skill that students in this stage can begin to master after they know their letters. Begin with activities that students can complete with relative ease. You may want to demonstrate whole class and then guide facilitated practice in differentiated groups.

• Develop f lexibility with the alphabet. Help children learn to recite the alphabet in order starting at any point and going forward.

• Ask students to quickly find a letter on an alphabet strip to develop a sense of where letters fall in sequence; before M or after M is a good starting point.

• Keep a collection of alphabet books handy and ask students to find a page for a particular letter or beginning sound, and to look for pictures of other things that begin with that sound. Get them to think about where to look in the book—beginning, middle, or end to find the letter.

• Ask students to find words on a word wall. As a partner center activity, students call out words for each other.

• Look for opportunities to order words alphabetically: students’ first names, color words, pictures with their names printed on them.

• Students with at least 50 words enjoy using index card boxes with alphabet dividers to organize their word bank words in by the first letter.

• At first, have students use alphabet strips as a guide. These strips can be a size that fits on their desks, or they can be large strips on the f loor. Have students place their word bank words beside the letters, and have them use pictures in the same way.

• When large numbers of words end up under the same letter, introduce the idea of ordering them by the second letter. Model how to do this as you add words to a word wall where you will need to go to even the third or fourth letter to alphabetize words like them, then, and they.

5.17 Picture Dictionaries and Illustrated Word Books When you teach young children, keep a simple dictionary handy and occasionally model how to look up words. Letter name–alphabetic spellers can begin to use these resources as well. The following are some ideas about how to use picture dictionaries along with a list of dictionaries and word books for young children.

• Word books are wonderfully illustrated collections of words that are fun for browsing but can also be used for word hunts and to get ideas for writing. In Richard Scarry’s Best Word Book Ever you can find words arranged thematically, usually in the form of labeled pictures. Others like My First Dictionary by DK are arranged alphabetically with each word illustrated.

• Students studying beginning blends and digraphs often find words that begin with those sounds. They would find chair, change, chicken, choose and chopstick in Curious George’s Dictionary.

• In addition, picture dictionaries can be used to for vocabulary development. Because he is so active and expressive, Curious George can be used to vividly illustrate words such as afraid, before, curious, peek, and scamper and each entry word is accompanied by a sen- tence defining that word. Suggestions for supporting young children’s exploration of this

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dictionary and engagements with print more generally are provided in the dictionary’s Foreword (Templeton, 2008).

• Websites such as Enchanted Learning have simple alphabet books and picture dictionaries to download and print (see above for a list of dictionaries in “Resource Connections”).

Initial Consonant Sound Word Study

A number of activities or games in Chapter 4 are appropriate for students in the letter name– alphabetic stage who are working to master single consonants, digraphs, and blends: Soundline (4.32), Letter Spin for Sounds (4.33), and Initial Consonant Follow-the-Path Game (4.34). Concentration is another adaptable game. Any two pictures that begin with the same sound(s) make a match that can be claimed.

5.18 Sound Boards Sound boards are references for letter–sound features (beginning consonants, digraphs and blends, and vowels).

MATERIALS You can find examples of sound boards in Appendix C. They provide a key word and picture for each letter–sound match, helping students internalize the associations.

PROCEDURES Place a copy of the sound boards at the front of students’ writing folders or personal readers. These boards make it easy for students to find letters to stand for the sounds they want to use. Tape reduced copies of relevant sound boards to students’ desks; you can also post charts of various letter–sound features. Chart printers have made it possible to take the individual sound boards and enlarge them to poster size. Add a little color and display them in a prominent place for reference. Keep sound boards in students’ word study folders (see Figure 9.1) to serve as a record of progress. Students can lightly color the letters they have studied.

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Richard Scarry’s Best Picture Dictionary Ever (1998)

Richard Scarry’s Best Word Book Ever (1999)

Richard Scarry’s Best First Book Ever! (1979)

Scholastic First Picture Dictionary (2009)

My First 1000 Words (2005)

My First Dictionary (by DK) (2012)

The Cat in the Hat Beginner Book Dictionary (1964)

Curious George’s Dictionary (2008)

The American Heritage Picture Dictionary (2006)

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Use sound boards to generate more words to add to a word family. Write the family rime on a small card and slide it down beside the beginning sounds. In Figure 5.15 the word family ack has been expanded by adding many different blends and digraphs.

5.19 Hunting for Words and Pictures Word hunts, described in Chapter 3, are con- ducted several different ways and at different times in the letter name–alphabetic stage.

1. Picture Hunts: In the early letter name– alphabetic stage, students can hunt for pic- tures that correspond to beginning sounds in magazines or catalogs, and paste them onto individual papers, onto group charts, or into alphabet scrapbooks. To save time, you, an aide, or a student helper can rip out pages on which there are pictures that contain the feature being hunted. Have students label the pictures they find by spelling as best they can. Students can also hunt for pictures in alphabet books and record their findings as drawings.

2. Word Hunts: Students can also search for words that begin with the particular initial consonants, blends, or digraphs in familiar reading materials such as their personal read- ers or by going through their own word banks. After they begin studying vowels, picture and word hunts will help them attend to those medial sounds and letters. Note that hunt- ing for additional word family words can be challenging for certain families unless you have books that have been specially written, but words with most short vowels should be plentiful in the materials they are reading (short-u words can be harder to find than the others).

At first students will need to be supervised as they work in small groups to find words and you, an aide, or a helper can serve as a scribe to record their findings. By the late letter name– alphabetic stage, students can work independently and record results of word hunts in their word study notebooks.

5.20 Initial Sound Bingo In this version of Bingo, students discriminate among the  initial sounds. This is another activity that can be adapted to single consonant, blends, digraphs, and word families.

MATERIALS Make Bingo cards with 9 or 16 squares. In each square, write a letter(s) that features the sounds students have been studying in sorts. Figure 5.16 shows a game prepared to review the s-blends. Note that each card must be different. You also need markers (bottle caps. pennies, or squares of paper work well) and picture cards to match sounds. A copy of this game can be found at WTW Digital.

FIGURE 5.15 Expanding a Word Family Using a Sound Board

FIGURE 5.16 Blend Bingo Cards

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PROCEDURES Work with small groups of two to four students. Give each student a Bingo card and markers. Have students take turns drawing a card from the stack and calling out the picture name. Students place a marker on the corresponding square. Play continues until some- one gets Bingo (three or four in a row) or the board is filled.

5.21 Gruff Drops Troll at Bridge This is a special version of the basic follow-the-path game, described in Activity 4.34 in Chapter 4, that reinforces r-blends. This game was developed after reading Paul Galdone’s The Three Billy Goats Gruff, which was part of a class study of books about monsters. Many of the books yielded a great crop of consonant-plus-r words such as growl, groan, and fright.

MATERIALS Prepare a game path filled in with r-blend combinations, as shown in Figure 5.17 (or whatever features you want to review). You will also need markers and pictures. A copy of this game board as well as other follow the path games can be found online at WTW Digital. Appendix G has blank templates.

PROCEDURES Each student selects a marker. Students turn over picture cards and move the marker to the correct space. In this game, the winner drops the troll from the bridge by turning up a picture that begins with dr (for drop) or tr (for troll) for the last space.

5.22 Match! In this game, similar to the game of Slap Jack, students look for pairs that match by beginning sounds.

MATERIALS Create a set of cards that feature pictures with four to eight different beginning sounds. Include at least four pictures for each sound. Pictures can be copied from Appendix D glued on card stock, and laminated.

PROCEDURES Each student has half the deck of pictures. Students turn a picture card face-up from their deck at the same time. If the pictures begin with the same sound, the first person to recognize and say “Match!” gets the pair. If the pictures do not match, another set is turned

FIGURE 5.17 Game Board for Gruff Drops Troll at Bridge

Adaptable for Other Stages

Adaptable for Other Stages

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over until a match occurs. There can be penalties for calling out “Match” carelessly, such as losing a turn.

The Study of Word Families

After students begin studying word families, they are expected to read and spell the words they sort. Many word games can be adapted, such as Match! (Activity 5.22). Some activities are especially designed to enhance students’ understandings of how families work.

5.23 Build, Blend, and Extend This series of teacher-led activities is designed to reinforce phoneme segmentation, phoneme blending, and using analogy as a spelling strategy (“If I can spell cat, then I can spell fat”) as stu- dents work with onsets and rimes. This should fol- low sorting lessons in which students have worked with a collection of word families.

MATERIALS Prepare a set of cards to use in a pocket chart. Write the targeted onsets and rimes on these cards, keeping the letters of the rime together. For the at family, you would have cards with at, b, c, f, h, m, p, r, and s. As students study digraphs and blends, add those as well, such as th, ch, and f l; see Figure 5.18. Give students similar materials to use individually after you model for them.

PROCEDURES 1. Building. This procedure reinforces the spelling of word families. Explain that you are

going to build or make a word such as bag and display two cards (b and ag). Then ask what letter needs to change the word to rag. Replace the b in bag with the r to make the new word. Model several words and then have students build additional words that you call out: sag, tag, and brag.

2. Blending. This activity reinforces the reading of word families. It is similar to build- ing except that you start by displaying a word the students all know, such as cat, and then substitute a different beginning letter. Model how to blend the new onset with the familiar rime to read the word: “Mmmmmm, aaaaaaat, mat. The new word is mat.” Ask students to use the two parts of the onset and rime to sound out the word just as it was modeled.

3. Extending. During the extending part of this activity, find words that are not included in the sort to demonstrate to students that they can read and spell many more words after they know how to spell several words in a family. You may want to demonstrate using unusual words like vat or challenging words with digraphs and blends such as chat, f lat, or scat.

VARIATIONS 1. Students work with small cards at their seats as you lead the activity,

or ask students to write the words on paper, small whiteboards, or chalkboards.

2. Add more digraphs and blends as they are studied. There are many words you can make with families such as ack and ick.

3. For the study of short vowels and the CVC pattern, the vowel is separated from the rime (at is cut apart into a and t).

FIGURE 5.18 Build, Blend, and Extend Cards

Build, Blend, and Extend to make word families

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3. Cut a slit in the middle of the second circle. Put the circle with the wedge on top of the other circle. Push a brass fastener through the round hole and the slit. Flatten the fastener, mak- ing sure the top circle can turn.

Use the following steps to make f lip books:

1. Use a piece of tagboard or lightweight cardboard for the base of the f lip book. Write the family or rime on the right half of the base.

2. Cut blank pieces of paper that are half the width of the base piece and staple to the left side of the base. Write beginning sounds or onsets on each one. Have students draw a picture on the backside of the pages to illustrate the word.

5.24 Word Family Wheels and Flip Charts Wheels and f lip charts are fun for students to play with independently or with partners. Use the wheels and f lip charts to reinforce blending the onset with the rime to read words in word fami- lies they have sorted. Several f lipbooks and word family wheels can be found at WTW Digital

PROCEDURES To make word family wheels, follow these three steps.

1. Cut two 6-inch circles from tagboard. Cut a wedge from one circle, as shown in Fig- ure 5.19, and write the vowel and ending consonants or rime to the right of it. Make a round hole in the center.

2. On the second tagboard circle, write beginning sounds that form words with that family. For example, the op family can be formed with b, c, h, l, m, p, s, t, ch, sh, cl, and st. Space the letters evenly around the outside edge so that only one at a time will show through the “window” wedge.

FIGURE 5.19 Word Family Wheel and Flip Book

FIGURE 5.20 Show Me Game

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5.25 Show Me This activity is a favorite with teachers who are teaching word families and short vowels.

MATERIALS • Make each student an individual three-pocket folder to hold letter cards. To make the

folder, cut paper into approximately 7-by-5-inch rectangles. Fold up a 1-inch section along the 7-inch side, and then fold the whole thing into overlapping thirds. Staple at the edges to make three pockets (see Figure 5.21).

• Cut additional paper into 1.5-by-4-inch cards to make 14 for each student. Print letters on the top half of each card, making sure the entire letter is visible when inserted in the pocket. A useful assortment of letters for this activity includes the five short vowels and b, d, f, g, m, n, p, r, and t. Too many consonants can be hard to manage. A copy of this activity can be found at WTW Digital.

PROCEDURES Each student gets a folder and an assortment of letter cards. When you or a student helper call out a word, the students put the necessary letters in the spaces and fold up their pockets. When “Show Me” is announced, all students open their pocket folders at once for you to see.

VARIATIONS Start with words having the same families, such as bad, sad, or mad, in which the students focus primarily on changing the initial consonants. Move on to a different family and different vowels. For example, you could follow this sequence: mad, mat, hat, hot, pot, pet. Add cards with digraphs or blends to spell words such as sh-i-p or f-a-st.

5.26 Word Maker Students match blends and digraphs with word families to make words.

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MATERIALS Create a collection of cards that have onsets on one half (single consonants, blends, and digraphs) and common short vowel rimes on the other, such as at, an, it, ig, and so on (similar to the cards shown in Figure 5.18). For students in the later letter name–alphabetic stage, include rimes with ending blends, digraphs, and preconsonantal nasals, such as ish, ang, ast, amp, and all.

PROCEDURES 1. Each student begins by drawing five cards from the deck. With the five cards face-up, each

student tries to create words, as shown in Figure 5.18. 2. After the students have made one or two words from their first five cards, they begin taking

turns drawing cards from the deck. Every time they make a word, they can draw two more cards. If they cannot make a word, they draw one card.

3. Play continues until all the letter cards are used up. The player with the most words is the winner.

VARIATIONS Have students work independently with the word maker cards to generate and record as many words as possible. Students can write words they make onto word cards to add to their word banks.

5.27 Roll the Dice This game for two to four players reinforces word families.

MATERIALS You need a cube on which to write four to six contrasting word families, (for example, an, ap, ag, and at). One side can be labeled “Lose a Turn,” and “Roll Again” (see Figure 5.21). You will also need a blackboard, paper, chart board, or generic interactive white- board for recording words.

PROCEDURES The first player rolls the die. If it lands on a word family, the student must come up with a word for that family and record it on the chalkboard or paper. Students keep their own lists and can use a word only once, although someone else may have used it. If a player is stumped or lands on Lose a Turn, the die is passed to the next person. The person who records the most words at the end of the allotted time wins.

VARIATIONS Play with two teams for a relay. The first person of each team rolls the die and writes a word on the board. The player hands the die to the next player and goes to the end of the line. No word can be repeated by either team. This game can also be used with blends, digraphs, and vowel patterns.

5.28 Rhyming Families Game Use this is variation of the follow-the-path game to reinforce word families.

MATERIALS Prepare a game board as shown in Figure 5.22. You will also need a single die or a spinner, pieces to move around the board, pencils, and paper for each player. Directions for making game boards and spinners as well as game board templates are in Appendix G and a ready-to-print Follow The Families game is at WTW Digital. Write a word from each word family you have been studying in each space on the board. You can also write in special direc- tions such as Roll Again, Go Back Two Spaces, and Write Two Words.

FIGURE 5.22 Game Board for Word Families

FIGURE 5.21 Cube for Roll and Dice Game

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PROCEDURES The object is to make new words to rhyme with words on the game board that differ from the other players’ words.

1. Spin to determine who goes first. The first player spins and moves the number of places indicated on the spinner. The player reads the word in the space where he or she lands. All players write a rhyming word by changing the initial letter(s). Players number their words as they go. Play continues until someone reaches the end of the path.

2. Beginning with the player who reaches the end first, each player reads the first word on his or her list. Players who have a word that is different from anyone else’s gets to circle that word. Continue until all words have been compared.

3. Each circle is worth one point; the player who reaches the end first receives two extra points. The student with the most points wins the game.

VARIATIONS Label each space on the game board with the rime of a family you have studied (at, an, ad, ack). Use no more than five different rimes and repeat them around the path. Prepare a set of cards that have pictures corresponding to the families. Students move around the board by selecting a picture and moving to the space it matches. For example, a student who has a picture of a hat would move to the next space with at written on it.

5.29 Go Fish This version of the classic game can be used as a review of word families.

MATERIALS Create a deck of 32 cards with four words from eight different word families written on them (for example, that, bat, fat, and hat). Write each word at the top left of the

card so that the words are visible when held in the hand, as shown in Figure 5.23. A prepared set of cards can be found at WTW Digtial.

PROCEDURES

1. Deal five cards to each player and place the remainder in the middle as a draw pile.

2. The first player asks any other player for a match to a card in his or her hand: “Do you have any words that rhyme with hat?” If the player receives a matching card or cards, he or she may ask for another rhyming word. If the other player does not have the card requested, he or she tells the first player to “Go fish,” which means that the first player must draw a card from the “fish pond.” The first player’s turn is over when he or she can no longer make a match.

3. After a player has a set of four rhyming words, she can lay the set down. Play continues until one player runs out of cards. Award points to the first person to go out and to the person who has the most sets of cards.

VARIATIONS Go Fish can be adapted for beginning sounds and blends using pictures.

Short Vowel Word Study

After short vowels have been explored through word sorts and weekly routines, games can provide additional practice.

5.30 Hopping Frog Game This game is for two to four players to review the five short vowels.

MATERIALS • Create a game board like the one shown in Figure 5.24. A prepared game board can be

found at WTW Digital.

Adaptable for Other Stages

FIGURE 5.23 Playing Cards for Go Fish

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• Cut green circle lily pads for each space and write CVC words students have used in word sorts on each one (for example, pin, get, hot, bad, leg, run, bug, wish).

• You will need four frog markers (in different colors) or some other playing pieces. • The spinner is marked into five sections, with a vowel in each one. Add pictures to cue

the sound: a, apple; e, ten; i, fish; o, frog; u, sun. See Appendix G for directions on how to make a spinner.

PROCEDURES Each student selects a marker. Players take turns spinning and moving their markers to the first word that matches the vowel sound on which they land (for example, e, get). They then pronounce this word and must say another word with the same vowel sound to stay on that space. The next player then spins and plays. The first player who can finish the course and hop a frog off the board wins.

VARIATIONS Label the spaces with a, e, i, o, or u. Make a collection of short vowel pictures on tagboard using the short vowel pictures in Appendix D. It is important that the pictures do not show through the card. On several additional cards write commands such as Skip a Turn, Go Back Two Spaces, and Move Ahead Three Spaces. The players move around the board by turning over a picture and moving their playing piece to the next free space on the board that has the corresponding short vowel.

5.31 Making-Words-with-Cubes Game Short vowel words are built with letter cubes in this game. It can be used for other vowels as well.

MATERIALS • Letter cubes can be found in commercial games or made from blank wooden cubes. • Write all the vowels on one cube to be sure that a vowel always lands face up. (The sixth

side can be a star that indicates that the player can select the vowel.) • Put a variety of consonants on five or six other cubes. (You can write pairs like qu and ck

together.) • The students need a sand clock or timer, paper and pencil, and a record sheet such as the

one shown in Figure 5.25

FIGURE 5.24 Frog Marker and Hopping Frog Game

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PROCEDURES 1. In pairs, students take turns being the

player and the recorder. The recorder writes the words made by the player.

2. A player shakes the cubes just once or twice given the class noise this can make, spills them out onto the table, and then starts the timer. Whatever letters land face up are used to make words. The word maker moves the cubes to create words and spells them to the recorder. The cubes can then be moved around to make more words. Ignore errors at this point. Write the words in columns by the number of letters in the words.

3. When the time ends, the students review the words and check for accu- racy. Score words by counting the total number of letters used. Students soon realize that the bigger the words they make, the greater their score.

VARIATIONS Students in the within word pattern stage should work with two vowel cubes. On a second cube, write vowel markers such as e (put two or three), a, i, and o. By this time, students may be able to use multiplication to total the letters (for example, four three-letter words is 12).

5.32 Follow-the-Pictures Spelling Game This variation of the basic follow-the-path game works as a follow-up to word sorts for short vowel words.

MATERIALS • Copy pictures from Appendix D for medial short vowels, then cut apart and paste them

onto a follow-the-path template that you copy from Appendix G. You may need to adjust the size to fit.

• Use two to five short vowels at a time. You will also need play- ing pieces to move along the path and a spinner or single die. In some spaces you can write Roll Again, Go Back Two Spaces, and other directives.

• Include an answer card on which all the words are written in the same order they are pasted on the board to settle any arguments about spelling.

PROCEDURES Students take turns spinning for a number. Before they can move to the space indicated by the spinner, they must cor- rectly spell the word pictured. If they cannot spell the word, they must stay where they are for that turn. The student who reaches the end first is the winner.

VARIATIONS Paste pictures on the game board. Use long vowel pictures for students in the within word pattern stage.

5.33 Slide-a-Word Ask students to list and then read all the CVC words they are able to generate using a slider, as shown in Figure 5.26. As different short vowels are studied, the central vowel letter can be changed.

Students play the Follow-the-Path game with short vowel words

FIGURE 5.25 Making-Words-with-Cubes Game

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MATERIALS Supplies include tagboard or poster board, ruler, marker, single-edge razor blade, and scissors. Cut a piece of tagboard or poster board into 8.5-by-2.5-inch strips. Using the razor, cut a pair of horizontal slits on each end 1.5 inches apart. Write a vowel in the center. Cut two 12-by-1.5-inch strips for each slider. Thread them through the slits at each end and print a variety of consonants, blends, or digraphs in the spaces as they appear through the slits. Turn the strips over and print additional beginning and ending sounds on the back. A prepared slide-a-word can be found at WTW Digital.

PROCEDURES Students slide the strips to generate as many words as they can, listing each word as they find it.

VARIATIONS Students using word banks can add known words to their word banks.

5.34 Put in an m or n: Preconsonantal Nasals The difference between rag and rang is real but it is subtle, so these contrasts can help learners understand how the preconsonantal nasals work.

MATERIALS Create word pairs like the following on word cards.

rag rang rig ring sag sang tag tang cap camp rap ramp trap tramp bag bang dig ding pup pump hag hang lip limp rug rung gag gang bet bent wig wing sprig spring pin ping hug hung lap lamp swig swing

PROCEDURES Three or four students can play. Shuff le and deal all the word cards. Have players look for pairs (for example,, rag/rang or cap/camp) in their hands and lay them down before play begins. Students then take turns laying down a word from their hand. The student who has the match to the pair takes the card, matches it to the word in his or her hand, reads the words aloud, and adds the two cards to his or her pile. The student with the most cards is the winner.

FIGURE 5.26 Slider for Slide-a-Word

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On Monday morning, after meeting briefly with a reading group to share responses to Fox and His Friends by

James Marshall, Ms. Watanabe takes time to introduce a new sort. She has prepared a word study sheet, like

the one in Figure 6.1, and has written the words on index cards that she will use to model in a pocket chart.

The students have already studied the common long a patterns (CVCe in cake, CVV in say, and CVVC in chain),

and this lesson will introduce long e patterns. Notice how she guides the discussion so that students are led to

make discoveries and connect with a previous sort.

Ms. Watanabe begins by saying, “Let’s read these words together.” As she reads each of the words,

Ms.  Watanabe places it randomly at the bottom of her pocket chart. There is some discussion of the homograph

read when Jason points out that it can be read two ways. They agree for

now to pronounce it as “reed.” She then says to the group, “Turn and talk

to your partner about the sounds and patterns in these words. What do

you notice when you use your ears and eyes?” After a few minutes she

calls on several students to share. Troy explains that they all have e’s in

them and Ms. Watanabe responds with, “Tell me more.” The group contin-

ues discussing the sounds and the fact that some words have one e, two

e’s, or an e and an a.

Ms. Watanabe continues: “Let’s start with a sound sort listening for

long and short vowels.” She puts up pictures of a web and a queen as

headers for the sounds they are to listen for: “We’ll place all the words

with short e in the middle under this picture of a web. We’ll put words

with the long e sound under this picture of a queen. Let’s place words that

do not fit either under the oddball column. Jean, get us started. Where

would you put this word?”

Jean places the word bed underneath the picture of the web while

she says, “Web. Bed.”

Chapter 6: Within Word Pattern STAGE D

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THEIR WAY WTW Digital is a new online tool that accompanies this core text, and it was designed to help you implement word study in an engaging and interactive way. Resources for this chapter include:

• Automatically scored qualitative spelling inventories suggest each student’s stage of spelling development. Word study groups are also automatically generated based on inventory results.

• 37 interactive sorts that allow students to engage with word study in a digital environment • 13 word study games in a printable format that present fun activities for students to build their phonics and spelling knowledge.

An access code for WTW Digital is included with each new copy of package ISBN: 9780135174623. Visit www.wtwdigital. pearson.com to get started.

O rthographic development and word study instruction during the within word pattern spelling stage helps students build on their knowledge of the sound layer of English orthography as they begin to explore the pattern layer. Before we discuss development,

let’s visit the classroom of Ms. Watanabe, a second-grade teacher working with a group of eight students in the early part of this stage of development.

FIGURE 6.1 Long e and Short e Word Study Sheet

208 C H A P T E R 6

“Jean, why did you put bed under the

web?”

“Because they sound alike in the

middle. They both say ‘eh’ in the middle.”

“Thank you! David, where would this

word go?” Ms. Watanabe hands David

the word team. David takes the word

card and talks himself through the task

as he has seen Ms. Watanabe model:

“Team, web . . . Team, queen. Team has a

long e sound.” He places the word team

underneath the picture of the queen.

Further into the sort, the students

struggle with the vowel sound in the word

been but agree it does not sound like a

long or a short e so they put it in the odd-

ball column. After all the words are sorted,

Ms. Watanabe and the students check each

category by reading the words from top to bottom as they listen for the medial vowel. Then Ms. Watanabe begins

the reflection part of the lesson with the question, “How are the words in each column alike?”

David notes that the words under the picture of the web all have one e. Jean points out that the words

in the second column all have two vowels. This leads to Ms. Watanabe’s next question: “Do you see some

words in the second column that look alike or are spelled alike?” Ms. Watanabe invites Tomas to come up,

and he quickly pulls out all the words spelled with ee and puts them in a new column, leaving behind the

words spelled with ea. Once more, Ms. Watanabe asks the students how the words in each column are alike.

She helps them come to the conclusion that short e is spelled with a single e, whereas long e is spelled with

two vowels—either ee or ea (refer to the final sort in Figure 6.2). Ms. Watanabe wants the students to make

connections with a previous sort, when she introduced the use of initials C (for consonant) and V (for vowels)

to talk about the patterns; she asks, “These words with ee and ea remind me of a long a pattern we labeled

CVVC. Does anyone else notice that?”

The children think for a few moments then Troy begins waving his hand. “Both of these columns have the

CVVC pattern!” said Troy. Ms. Watanabe asks him to explain and he adds that the words have two vowels in the

middle just like the ai pattern. “Do the rest of you agree with Troy? Could we say that another way?” asks

Ms. Watanabe. Sylvia responds by saying, “Long e has two different CVVC patterns—ea and ee.”

Ms. Watanabe continues with, “And what about the short e words?” The students agree that they have the CVC

pattern—just like short a. After labeling the key words headers with C and V to show the patterns, they revisit the

oddball word been to talk about how it has the CVVC pattern but not the long e sound.

Ms. Watanabe ends the lesson by giving each student a copy of the word study sheet in Figure 6.1. Under her

direction, the students underline the patterns in the key words and label them with C and V to use as headers. The

students return to their seats, cut apart the words, and sort them independently while Ms. Watanabe checks in

with another group. Later, Ms. Watanabe moves among the students and asks them, “Why did you put these words

together?” This prompt gets individual students to reflect again on the categories and explain why they sorted as

they did. Students store their word cards in plastic bags to sort throughout the week. The next day they will sort

again, and Ms. Watanabe will watch to see how accurately and easily they sort. Later they will write the sort in their

word study notebooks, work with partners to do a writing sort, and go on a word hunt for more words that have the

same vowel sounds and patterns.

FIGURE 6.2 Long e and Short e Pattern Sort

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Literacy Development of Students in the Within Word Pattern Stage

The within word pattern stage is a transitional stage of literacy development between the beginning stage when students’ reading and writing are quite labored, and the intermediate stage when they can read and write a variety of genres quite f luently. We think of transitional readers as the “Wright Brothers” of reading: They have taken f light but have limited elevation in their reading, and it does not take much to bring them down to frustration level or to cause them to be less f luent in their reading. You will find transitional students in the middle-to-late part of first grade, but most are in second- and early third-grade classrooms. You will also find struggling readers in middle school and high school who are in this stage (Flanigan, Hayes, Templeton, Bear, Invernizzi, & Johnston, 2011).

Reading in the Within Word Pattern Stage Transitional readers read most single-syllable words accurately when they read at their instructional level, and they also read many two- and three-syllable words when there is enough contextual support. During this stage, students move from the full alphabetic phase to the consolidated alphabetic phase (Ehri, 2000), in which they begin to recognize patterns and chunks to analyze unfamiliar words. Instead of processing a word like chest as four speech sounds to match to letters (ch-e-s-t), they process it as two chunks (ch-est). This enables them to decode and store words more readily and their sight word vocabulary grows quickly. This, in turn, enables them to read in phrases and with greater expression (Templeton & Bear, 2011). Most fingerpointing from the beginning stage disappears, and transitional readers read orally at rates of more than 60 words per minute (Bear, 1992; Morris, 2013; Morris et al., 2013). All of these factors account for a transitional reader’s increasing f luency compared to the dysf luent, word-by-word reading in the beginning stage of literacy.

Students generally read out loud at the beginning of the transitional period, but by the end they can manage substantial periods of silent reading during independent reading at school and at home. They can now read without support and this makes it possible to use reading group time to share reactions to a selection and to reread sections to find support for ideas. Transitional readers can discuss text in greater depth than they did as beginning readers, partly because what they read is longer and more complex.

Books for transitional readers cover a wide range of levels, from late first-/early second- through third-grade materials. In the early part of this stage, transitional readers read and reread familiar text from several sources—core reading programs, picture books, and favor- ite poems. They can read beginning chapter books such as the Frog and Toad books (by A. Lobel) and the Henry and Mudge books (by C. Rylant). By the end of this stage, students can read easy chapter books such as The Time Warp Trio series (by J. Scieska), the Nikki & Deja series (by K. English), or the Magic Tree House series (by M. P. Osbourne). Transitional readers also explore different genres, and informational text is more accessible. For example, they read informational books from the Let’s Find Out and I Can Read series, and magazines such as Ranger Rick.

Lots of reading experience is crucial during this stage. Students should read instructional- level and independent-level materials for at least 30 minutes each day. They need this practice to propel them into the next stage; otherwise, they will stagnate as readers and writers. You can promote f luent and expressive reading, which is an important goal during this stage, by rehearsing (through repeated readings) for activities such as reader’s theater, poetry readings, and reading famous speeches (Rasinski, 2010; Samuels, 1979; Therrien, 2004). However, f luent, expressive reading relies on automatic word recognition and extensive word knowledge (Bear, 1989). Simply trying to increase reading rates without building the underlying word knowledge is a shortsighted goal.

Enhanced eText Video Example 6.1 Ms. Flores discusses how she integrates word study that includes spelling and vocabulary in the reading lesson.

210 C H A P T E R 6

Writing in the Within Word Pattern Stage Just like reading, writing also becomes more f lu- ent during this period because students know how to automatically spell many words. They write with greater speed and less conscious attention (Bear, 1991a; Nagy, Berninger, Abbott, Vaughan, & Ver- meulen, 2003; Graham, McKeown, Kiuhara & Harris, 2012). This added f luency gives transitional writers more time to concentrate on ideas, which may account for the greater sophistication in the way they express their ideas. Cognitively, they compose with a better sense of the reader’s background knowledge and with a greater complexity in the story line or informational piece. Nevertheless, they often use but confuse the many ways of representing long vowel sounds as they work through their compositions.

Excerpts of Yolanda’s two-and-a-half-page, single-spaced story about a squirrel named Nuts (see Figure 6.3) show how much students know about written language and spelling in the later part of the within word pattern stage. Yolanda, a second-grader, has a rich language base, and she writes with a strong voice. In terms of orthographic knowledge, Yolanda spells most long vowel patterns and r-inf luenced words correctly (woke, search). But her word knowledge is not stable, as seen in her later spelling of searches as SERCHES and her overgeneralization

of patterns (BREAKFEAST for breakfast and HOWL for whole). Later in the story, Yolanda spelled thought as TOOUGHT but then went back and wrote in an h. She also confuses homophones (there/their). Yolanda is a late within word pattern speller who should be placed in a word study group in which students are studying diphthongs and ambiguous vowels.

Vocabulary Learning in the Within Word Pattern Stage Estimates vary, but students in the early grades can add, on average, 10 to 15 new words a week to their oral vocabularies ( Biemiller, 2005). During the transitional stage of literacy, you need to take an active and deliberate role in making sure this vocabulary growth happens for all students. You can make words interesting in many ways and in so doing help students become “wordsmiths”—children who are curious

about words, their sounds, meanings, and usage. This type of attitude toward words raises stu- dents’ word consciousness or word awareness, which is a critical aspect of vocabulary growth ( Blachowicz & Fisher, 2009; Scott, Skobel, & Wells, 2008).

Do not confuse vocabulary instruction with spelling or phonics instruction (Gehsmann & Templeton, 2013). When we refer to vocabulary we are referring to meaning and concepts. We have observed that sometimes teachers assign spelling words in elementary classrooms that are really vocabulary words (for example, butterf ly or antenna). Although students in

Using but confusing long vowel patterns in writing

FIGURE 6.3 Yolanda’s Squirrel Story

Twelve year old Chistine was glad it was Fially Satarday alltow she loved school Epspshelly math she loved taking her pet Squrrle Nuts to the park even more.

(Nuts runs away and)

Christine orginizes a search. She looked evrywhere. Christine climbd a tree Nuts wasnt there.

(Nuts returns and the next day)

Christine and Nuts woke up they went down stairs and there breakfeast was ready it was all difrent kinds of pancake animals.

(Later)

Christine to ought Nuts ran away but he didn’t because Nuts went to a difrent park. Christine serches the howl park.

(The story ends with Christine)

niting a sweter for Nuts the colors where red, white and blue.

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the within word pattern stage can read and learn the meanings of many multisyllabic words (glimmer, strategy, gesture), they should not be expected to spell those words. This difference ref lects the slant of development in word learning during the elementary years; the words students may read and study for meaning are more complex than those they study in spelling. For example, with context you can probably identify the partially spelled word in this sentence, “The caterpillar changes into a butterf ly during the time it spends in the c-r-sa-lis.” However, spelling chrysalis is a challenge for even adult spellers. Spelling a word is more exact than read- ing a word, as every letter must be represented accurately.

Orthographic Development in the Within Word Pattern Stage

Students in the within word pattern stage “use but confuse” vowel patterns (Invernizzi, Abouzeid, & Gill, 1994). They no longer spell boat sound by sound to produce BOT but as BOTE, BOWT, BOOT, or even BOAT as they experiment with the possible patterns for the long o sound. When spell- ers begin including silent letters, they are ripe for instruction in long vowel patterns. In Eduardo’s early within word pattern writing in Figure 6.4, we see that he knows a good deal about short vowels, spelling with, pick, on, it, and up correctly and blanket as BLANCKET. But Eduardo is experimenting with long vowel patterns, as in PLAED for played and TOOTHE for tooth.

Table 6.1 summarizes students’ orthographic development across the within word pattern stage. Short vowels, blends, and digraphs are nearly mas- tered and should only require some review. Their phonemic awareness is well developed and students should be able to isolate the vowel sounds in the middle of words. However, learning the various ways the sounds within those words can be spelled with patterns is the challenge— and accounts for the name selected to label this stage.

The Pattern Layer Students in this stage explore the pattern layer of English spelling. This requires a higher degree of abstract thinking because they face two tasks at once. They must not only isolate the phonemes to determine the sounds they need to represent, but must also choose from a variety of patterns that represent the same phoneme, which usually involves silent letters as part of the vowel spelling (cute, through, suit) or special consonant patterns (lodge, itch). There are several reasons why the same phoneme may be spelled with different patterns.

• How words are spelled may depend on their histories and origins. English has been enriched with vocabulary from many different languages over hundreds of years and has also imported diverse vowel sounds and spelling patterns. In addition, certain pat- terns represent sounds that have changed over the centuries. For example, igh, as in knight, once sounded quite different from long i (the word was pronounced k-n- ict in early Middle English). Over time, pronunciation is simplified but spelling tends to stay the same. Therefore, one vowel sound may be spelled many different ways ( Vallins, 1954).

• How vowel sounds are spelled may depend on their position within a word. Comparing words such as say and rain reveals that, in single-syllable words, long a is usually spelled ay at the end of a word (but rarely in the middle) and often ai in the middle (but never at the end). Similarly, oy and ew usually occur at the ends of words or syllables whereas oi, ui, and ou occur in the middle of words.

• How some sounds are spelled may depend on the letters next to them. Examining words such as ridge and cage reveals that the /j/ sound is usually spelled dge when it follows a short vowel and ge when it follows a long vowel.

FIGURE 6.4 Eduardo’s Tooth Story

M y t o o t h e c a m e O u t beckus I p l aed tugwoure w ith a b lancket with botes on i t and the tooth fa i ry c a m e to pick it up.

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Enhanced eText Video Example 6.2 This is an overview of the Within Word Pattern stage.

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TABLE 6.1 Characteristics of Within Word Pattern Spelling

Gradations of Stage with Examples of Spelling

What Students Spell Correctly

What Students Use but Confuse What Is Absent

Early Within Word Pattern

ship, when, jump

ROBE for rob

FLOTE for float

TRANE for train

BRITE for bright

Consonants, blends, digraphs

Preconsonantal nasals

Short vowels in CVC words

R-influenced CVC words: car, for

Known sight words

Silent letters in long vowel patterns

-k, -ck, and -ke endings: SMOCK for smoke, PEKE for peak

Substitutions of short vowels for ambiguous vowels: COT for caught

Vowels in unaccented syllables: FLOWR for flower

Consonant doubling: SHOPING for shopping

E-drop: DRIVEING for driving

Middle Within Word Pattern

float, train

FRITE for fright

TABUL for table

All the above plus:

Common long vowel patterns (CVCe, CVVC)

-k, -ck, and -ke endings

R-influenced vowel patterns: TERN for turn; LIER for liar.

Less common and ambiguous vowel patterns: THOWGHT for thought.

-ed and other common inflections: MARCHT for marched, BATID for batted

Consonant doubling

E-drop

Late Within Word Pattern

bright

SPOYLE for spoil

CHOOD for chewed

SURVING for serving

All the above plus:

Long vowel patterns in one-syllable words

R-influenced vowel patterns

Ambiguous vowels

Complex consonant units: SWICH for switch, SMUGE for smudge

Homophones: CLOSE for clothes

Plural Endings: MONTHES for months

Irregular Verbs: SWEEPED for swept

Vowels in unaccented syllables: COLER for color

Consonant doubling

E-drop

Changing y to i: CAREES for carries

• How vowel words are spelled may depend on the meaning of the word. Although the long vowel sound in /pān/ may be spelled a-consonant-e or ai, the appropriate spelling is determined by meaning. Are you writing about the glass in a window ( pane) or extreme discomfort (pain)? The meaning carries with it a consistent spelling: the /sāl/ on a boat is always spelled sail; the /sāl/ where products are sold is always spelled sale. For homophones like these, we hang our memory for spelling on a meaning hook.

The Complexities of English Vowels Studying vowel patterns characterizes much of the word study during the within word pattern stage. Short vowels pose a problem for letter name–alphabetic spellers because they do not match a letter name. However, after students learn to associate the five common short vowel

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sounds with a, e, i, o, and u, the relationship is usually one letter to one sound. In contrast, mastering the spelling of other vowel sounds is challenging due to the following factors.

1. There are many more vowel sounds than there are letters to represent them. Each des- ignated vowel, including y, represents more than one sound. Listen to the sound of a in these words: hat, car, war, saw, father, play. To spell so many sounds, vowels are often paired (for example, the ai as a long a in rain, or au for the sound in caught); a second vowel or consonant is used to mark or signal the previous vowel sound. The silent e in came, the y in play, and the w in saw are all silent vowel markers.

2. Not only are there more vowel sounds than vowels, most of those sounds are spelled a number of different ways, as indicated in Table 6.2. However, some spelling patterns are far more likely to occur than others. For example, there are more instances of the a-consonant-e pattern (VCe) for the long a sound in the middle of a syllable than for any of the other patterns, and there aren’t many words in which long a is spelled ei, as in eight.

3. In addition to short and long vowel sounds, there are “other” vowel sounds, all of which are spelled with various patterns. These other vowel patterns involve either a second vowel, or the vowel is inf luenced by a consonant letter that has some vowel-like qualities, such as l, r, or w (bald, bird, crowd). Other vowels include r-inf luenced vowels (car, sir, earn), diph- thongs that blend two vowel sounds (brown, toy), and ambiguous vowels. Ambiguous vow- els represent a range of sounds and spellings. For example, the vowel sound is the same in cause, lawn, and false, but is spelled three different ways (au, aw, al). The ou spelling pattern has four different sounds in shout, touch, through, and thought. These variations are often cited as examples of the irregularity of English spelling, but word sorting allows students to see that they form consistent categories just like other vowel patterns (Johnston, 2001).

TABLE 6.2 Vowel Patterns

Long Vowels Other Vowels

Common and Less Common Long Vowels Consonant-Influenced Vowels

Diphthongs and Ambiguous Vowels

ā: Common long a patterns:

Less common:

ē: Common long e patterns:

Less common:

ī: Common long i patterns:

Less common:

Ō: Common long o patterns:

Less common:

oo: Common long u patterns:

Less common:

a-e (cave), ai (rain), ay (play)

ei (eight), ey (prey)

ee (green), ea (team), e (me)

ie (chief), e-e (theme)

i-e (tribe), igh (sight), y (fly)

i followed by nd or ld (mind, child)

o-e (home), oa (float), ow (grow)

o followed by two consonants (cold, most, jolt)

u-e (flute), oo (moon), ew (blew)

ue (blue), ui (suit)

R-influenced vowels

/är/: a with r: ar (car)

/â/: are (care), air (fair)

/ôr/: o with r: or (for), ore (store), our (pour), oar (board)

/әr/: e with r: er (her), ear (learn)

/îr/: e with r: eer (deer), ear (dear),

/әr/: i with r: ir (shirt)

/ īr/: i with r: ire (fire)

/әr/ u with r: ur (burn)

/yoor/ u with r: ure (cure)

W influences vowels that follow: wa (wash, warn), wo (won, word)

L influences the a as heard in al (tall, talk)

oo (moon) and (book)

oy (boy), oi (boil)

ow (brown), ou (cloud)

aw (crawl), au (caught)

o (dog)

ough (though, fought)

214 C H A P T E R 6

4. English is a language of multiple dialects, and the dialect differences are most noticeable in the pronunciations of vowels. In some regions of the United States, the long i sound in a word like pie is really more of a vowel diphthong as in pi-e (can you hear both a long i and a bit of a long e at the end?). House may be pronounced more like hoose in some areas, and roof may sound like ruff. Sometimes the final r in r-controlled vowels is dropped, as in Boston where you “pahk the cah” (park the car). In other regions, a final r is added to words, as in the “hollers” (hollows) of southwest Virginia. Such regional dialects add variety and interest to the language, but some teachers worry about how speakers of such dialects will learn to spell if they cannot pronounce words “correctly.” Rest assured that all students speak a dialect and that all students will learn to associate certain letter patterns with their own pronun- ciations. Over time, the associations students make between their own pronunciations and spelling will sensitize them to the sound patterns of Standard American English (Cantrell, 2001). The value of Words Their Way word study over more inf lexible phonics programs is that students can categorize word spellings according to their own pronunciations, and a miscellaneous or oddball column can be used for variant pronunciations.

5. Many words in English do not match even one of the patterns listed in Table 6.2. These words are sometimes called “exceptions to the rule.” We prefer to put them in the miscel- laneous or oddball category. When students study words in the within word pattern stage, the oddball category will get a lot of use. Sometimes these words are true exceptions (was, build, and been); at other times they are not exceptions, but rather part of a little-known category. For example, in dance, prince, and fence the words may look like they should have long vowel pronunciations because of the final e. But in these words, the e is there to signal or mark the “soft” /s/ sound of c (consider the alternative: danc, princ, and fenc). Do not ignore the exceptions; in fact, deliberately include a few such words in your sorts. They become memorable as deviations from the common patterns.

Teaching Vowels to English Learners English vowels pose special challenges for English learners as they compare vowels in their primary language with English. Students may find that some vowel sounds in English do not exist in their native language, and even if they do, they may not be spelled the same way. The long a sound in Spanish, for example, is spelled with an e, so it might not be unusual for Span- ish speakers to spell the word train as TREN. Drawing explicit attention to such differences whenever possible is helpful (Bear, Templeton, Helman, & Baren, 2003; Helman, 2004).

Unlike English, Spanish vowels have only one sound for each letter. Some are the same as English, but others are different. For example, o and u represent long o and long u, as in uno. However, i represents the long e sound (amigo or sí ) and e represents a sound that is close to long a (tres, /trās/). The letter a is the only vowel in Spanish that is close to a short vowel sound in English: “ah” (/ö/) as in the vowel in hot. Table 6.3 shows these comparisons and some of the spelling errors students who are literate in Spanish might make, such as spelling job as JAB.

for English learners

TABLE 6.3 Vowels in Spanish and Predictable Spelling Errors

Letters Comparable Sound in Spanish

Spanish Examples

Possible Spelling Errors in English

a / ä / “ah” papa, madre, casa job as JAB

e / ā / “ay” tres lake as LEK or LEIK

i / ē/ “ee” si, mi, amigo reach as RICH

ai / ī / “eye” aire night as NAIT

o / Ō/ “oh” uno, loco float as FLOT or FLOUT

u / ū / “oo” (never “yoo”) uno, tu, mucho tune as TUN

Source: Adapted from Words Their Way with English Learners: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction (2nd ed.), by Helman, Bear, Templeton, Invernizzi, and Johnston. Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.

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For students who have learned to spell in Spanish there will be some predictable confu- sion with long vowels, such as using i for long e (RICH for reach). Students literate in Span- ish expect each vowel sound to be represented. What English speakers think of as a single long vowel is actually sometimes pronounced as a diphthong or glide, as in “pi-ee” (pie) or “lay-eek” (lake)—depending on one’s dialect. Spanish speakers may be more sensitive to these glides and attempt to spell both of the vowel sounds they hear. For example, when you pronounce the English long i slowly, you can feel and hear how the long i is a combination of the bottom vowel “ah” and the “ee” formed at the top of the mouth. The “ah” sound in English may be spelled with a short o, but in Spanish, this sound is spelled with an a and the long e sound is spelled with an i, so pie might be spelled PAI and night as NAIT. See Table 6.3 for more examples.

Other Romance languages, such as French, also represent long a with e (tres) and long e with i (merci). Four to five hundred years ago, English strayed from the original continental pronunciation of vowels and has, over time, changed or dropped the pronunciation of one vowel in combinations such as ai, oa, ea, or ui, so that the second vowel is now silent.

Despite the complexity of vowel spellings, by the end of the within word pattern stage, students who have experienced systematic word study have a good understanding of vowel patterns in one-syllable words. This knowledge is required to examine the way syllables are joined during the next stage of development, the syllables and affixes stage. For example, when students understand the patterns in words like bet and beat, they are ready to understand why betting has two ts and beating has only one.

The Influence of Consonants on Vowels In English, vowel patterns often consist of two vowels, one of which signals or marks a par- ticular sound for the other vowel. Common examples are the silent e in words such as bake and green; however, consonants can also serve as vowel markers, such as the gh in night and sigh, which signals the long i sound. Students who associate the CVC pattern with short vowels may be puzzled by saw, joy, hall, or car. In those words, w, y, and l no longer act as consonants but take on vowel-like qualities. The consonant sound of l is lost in a word like talk—it has become part of the vowel sound, which is neither long nor short. When w precedes a, ar, and or the vowel takes on a different sound, as in wand, war, and word. These words may look like they are exceptions, but they are, in fact, simply additional patterns that are very regular. This is why it is important to learn patterns that relate to sound and meaning as opposed to memorizing rules. The inf luence of r is particularly common and deserves further discussion.

THE R-INFLUENCED VOWELS. As our friend, Neva Viise, says, “R is a robber!” The presence of an r following a vowel robs the sound from the vowel before it. The terms r-inf luenced or r-controlled both refer to this situation. Listen to the sound of a in car—it sounds quite different from short a in cap. The inf luence of r in er, ir, and ur makes them indistinguishable in some cases (herd, bird, curd). Even long vowel sounds before the robber r are pronounced differently than the same vowels preceding other consonants (pair versus pain). Young students sometimes confuse r-blends with r-inf luenced vowels, as in the spelling of girl as GRIL or bird as BRID. They can hear an r but are not sure of its location.

Triple Blends, Silent Initial Consonants, and Other Complex Consonants Several other consonant issues pose challenges for within word pattern spellers who already know basic beginning and ending consonant blends and digraphs. For example, three-letter blends and blend-digraphs combinations often require further study: spr (spring), thr (throw), squ (square), scr (scream), shr (shred), sch (school), spl (splash), and str (string). Because words that contain these triplets have a variety of vowel patterns, they are specifically studied toward the end of the stage but you can include them in sorts throughout the stage when appropriate. There are also several silent consonants to study in one-syllable words: k (knife), w (wrong), and g (gnaw).

Enhanced eText Video Example 6.3 Ms. Grotting discusses r-influenced vowels with her student and then reflects on her lesson.

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TABLE 6.4 Complex Consonants Patterns

tack take fetch peach fudge huge

lick like notch roach badge cage

rack rake patch poach ledge siege

smock smoke sketch reach ridge page

Another pattern of special interest is related to vowel sounds. Based on Venezky’s (1970) work, Henderson (1990) called these complex consonant patterns. For example, students in the within word pattern stage can examine words that end in ck (kick), tch (catch), and dge (ledge). Contrasting these pairs helps students make interesting discoveries. Say the word pairs in Table 6.4 and listen to the vowel sounds. What do you notice about the vowel sounds in the ck, tch, and dge patterns? What about the vowel sounds in the ke, ch, and ge patterns? By now you’ve probably figured out that ck (tack), tch (fetch), and dge (fudge) are associated with short vowel sounds, whereas ke (take), ch (peach), and ge (huge) are associated with long vowel sounds.

The consonants g and c have two different sounds that are inf luenced by vowels. When g and c are followed by a, o, and u, they have a “hard” sound, as in gate and cake. When they are followed by i, e, or y, they have a “soft” sound (/s/ or /j/) as in ginger or cent. (C is more regular than g because the g is hard in many words like girl and gill.) Similarly, words ending in ce (dance), ge (edge), ve (leave), and se (sense) have a silent e associated with the consonant rather than the vowel. These patterns illustrate that how sounds are spelled often depends on other sounds next to them.

Homophones, Homographs, and Other Features Homophones will inevitably turn up when students study vowel patterns and you can include them in the word sorts you plan even at the beginning of this stage. However, we also recom- mend an intensive look at homophones at the end of this stage as they summarize the two big ideas of the within-word pattern stage:

• Homophones illustrate the role of meaning in determining spelling patterns; and • The many vowel patterns that appear in homophones summarize the pattern-to-sound

principle of the within word pattern stage.

Note the contrasts involving sound, pattern and meaning in the following long o homophone sort:

Long o homophones oa o-e ow oddballs loan lone groan grown

throne thrown toe tow rose rows role roll close clothes

At this point, students know most of the vowel patterns and are ready to focus on the mean- ings of the words. The different spellings of homophones (Mary/marry/merry) and the dif- ferent pronunciations of homographs (wind up string, listen to the wind ) may at first seem

Enhanced eText Video Example 6.4 Watch Ms. Wilson discuss complex consonant patterns with her students.

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confusing, but they ref lect the historical origins and may even make reading easier and meaning clearer (cf., Taft, 1991; Templeton, 1992).

Pairs of homographs and homophones sometimes differ grammatically as well as seman- tically. For example, when you discuss the homophones read and red, it makes sense to talk about the past tense of the verb to read and the color word red. Take the opportunity to explore the interaction of sound, pattern, and meaning of irregular or “strong” verbs. Many of these verbs differ by vowel sounds (drink/drank), spelling patterns ( pay/paid ), or both (sweep, swept). Studying contractions presents students with a new series of features to examine that are rooted in the pattern and meaning layers of the orthography. For example, we examine grammatical constructions and meaning when we compare its and it’s or we’re and were.

Word Study Instruction for the Within Word Pattern Stage

Carefully planned contrasts are a systematic way to guide students’ mastery of the complexities of vowel and consonant patterns in the within word pattern stage. Principles of instruction were previously outlined in Chapter 3 but here we highlight five that are particularly applicable to this stage:

1. Use words students can read. Be sensitive to the difficulty of words in the sort and make sure students can read most of them easily. Words starting with consonant blends, like blame or frame, are harder than words starting with single consonants like came or name even though they share the same CVCe spelling pattern. If there are words that students cannot read set them aside and revisit them later in the sort when they can apply what they have learned to sound out the word.

2. Look for what students use but confuse. A spelling inventory will give you a good idea of what students know and what they are ready to learn. However, it is also important to look in your students’ personal writing and reading materials for words to include in sorts. The words students can already read and spell are still useful when they are looking for patterns across words to form generalizations.

3. Sort by sound and pattern. Many word study lessons first ask students to contrast vowels by how they sound. Long vowels should be first introduced by comparing them to their corresponding short vowel sounds, as Ms. Watanabe did in the vignette at the beginning of this chapter. Sound sorts are important because sound is the first clue that spellers have to use and because certain patterns go with cer- tain vowel sounds. You can use long and short vowel pictures for sound sorts, but most sound sorts at this stage are done with words. Consider using pictures as the column headers for your initial sound sort. After sorting by sound, sort by sight—look for the visual orthographic spelling patterns used to spell each sound category.

4. Avoid teaching rules—instead, have students find reliable patterns. Traditionally, students were taught rules about silent e and jingles like “when two vowels go walking the first one does the talking.” However, rules are often unreliable. For example, the rule about two vowels works for oa and ai in boat and rain, but does not work for oy or oi in boy or join, yet oy and oi are regular spelling patterns (Johnston, 2001). We prefer to talk about patterns rather than rules. The time to talk about rules is when students have already

Enhanced eText Video Example 6.5 Ms. Grotting discusses homophones with her second-graders.

Sorting first by short and long vowel sounds before subdividing by pattern

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observed a pattern, can think of other examples that fit the pattern, and understand the pattern as demonstrated in their ref lections. Consider rules as useful mnemonics for some- thing already understood; they are not for teaching.

5. Don’t hide exceptions. Include two or three oddball words in sorts when appropriate. For example, include love and some in a long o sort, which look as though they fit the CVCe pattern but whose vowel sounds are not long. However, don’t overdo it. Too many odd- balls placed in a sort can make it difficult for students to find the pattern. The best odd- balls are high-frequency words like done or come that students already know how to read. High-frequency words (both regular and irregular) are listed in Appendix F and marked with asterisks in the word lists. Help students see that even the oddballs are mostly predict-

able in terms of sound–spelling correspondences, it is often the vowel sound or spelling that is “odd.” Students enjoy the challenge of finding the oddballs in a sort and the oddballs often serve as the real test of whether students are sorting carefully.

The Word Study Lesson Plan in the Within Word Pattern Stage Word sorts often begin as a teacher-directed activity and then offered as individual practice throughout the week. Teacher-directed closed sorts are help- ful when students are new to sorting or when they start studying a new feature. Most sorts will follow the standard format presented in Chapter 3 and are reviewed here.

INTRODUCE THE SORT. Follow these four steps to introduce a teacher-directed or closed sort for the within word pattern stage.

1. Read the words and explore word meanings. When starting a sort, go over the words with students to be sure they can read the words and talk brief ly about the meanings of unfa- miliar words or multiple meanings of polysemous words like park or train. If there are more than a few words whose meanings students do not know, which is often the case for English learners, continue to talk about the meanings throughout the week. Be sure to keep a picture dictionary close by for English learners. Set aside any words students were not able to read and revisit them after the generalization has been established as a chance to apply what they have learned.

2. Establish the categories. As described in Chapter 3, there are many ways to introduce a sort. Some teachers set up the categories with key pictures or key words, as Ms. Watanabe did with short e and long e. Other teachers like to establish the key words as part of the group discussion with students, then highlight them. In a teacher-directed closed sort, introduce your headers, whether they are key pictures or key words, or in some cases, the short vowel and long vowel symbols as shown in the table. After going over the words, begin the sort with an open-ended question such as, “What do you notice about these words?”

3. Model how to sort several words. Model how to sort at least one word or picture into each column, stretching out the vowel sound in the middle to emphasize its sound. For example, you might say, “We’re going to listen for the vowel sound in the middle of these words and decide whether it sounds like the /ě/ sound in the middle of bed, or like the ē sound in the middle of feet. I’ll do a few first. Here is a net. Net-et-ĕ. Notice how I peel off the sounds before and after the vowel to make it easier to hear the vowel in the middle. Net has the “eh” sound (/ĕ/) in the middle, so I’ll put it under bed-ed-ĕ. Here is a jeep. J-ee-p. I’ll put jeep under the picture of feet. Jeep and feet both have the /ē/ sound in the middle; the /ē/ sound is made by two ees.”

for English learners

Ms. Wilson introduces the sort

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4. Invite students to help with the sorting. Continue with the children’s help. Encourage them to say the word slowly and compare the vowel sound to the headers, using the terms long and short. Students should name the picture or read the word aloud, then place it in a category and explain why it goes there. If a student makes a mistake at the very beginning, correct it immediately by saying, “Wheel would go under feet because it has the long e sound in the middle—it sounds like /ē/ in the middle.” Then model how to segment the phonemes to isolate the medial vowel: /wh-ē-l/. Be sure to model the discovery and placement of the oddballs. “Listen to the sound in the middle of been: /b-ĭ-n/. Does been have the long e sound we have been listening for in words with the ee pattern today? It’s an oddball because it has the ee pattern but it doesn’t have the /ē/ sound.”

GUIDE THE REFLECTION. After sorting have students read down the lists of words in each column to check for the sound or pattern. Ask them to verbalize what the words or pictures in each column have in common and to arrive at some conclusion or generalization. Begin with open ended questions presented on page 61 in Chapter 3 such as:

• How are the words in this column alike? • Why did you put these words together? Do you all agree?

Focus attention on the contrasts in vowel sounds, pattern, and/or meaning. Use probing questions such as,

• What do your ears tell you? What do your eyes see? • Are there any oddballs? What makes them odd?

Talk about where in the word the spelling pattern occurs, how often they have seen that spelling pattern in their reading, and other words they know that have those same patterns. By paying attention to the position of a spelling pattern within a word, students can often deter- mine which spelling pattern occurs most often. For example, aw and oy usually occur at the ends of words or syllables (straw, boycott), whereas au and oi are found within syllables (fault, voice).

Help your students formulate their ideas into generalizations such as, “All of these words have the letter e in the middle and make the ‘eh’ sound,” or “The words with two es in the middle have the /ē/ sound in the middle.” With the generalization or “big idea” now explicitly stated, they may be able to apply it to the decoding of unfamiliar words. Refer to Table 3.2 in Chapter 3 for a menu of other questions that can help your students reach conclusions. During the reflection part of the lesson, students are asked to verbally declare and discuss their understanding about sound, pattern, and meaning. Encourage them to “turn and talk” to their classmates about what they learned from the sort. If students seem just to mimic other students, you can ask them to say it another way or ask, “What else did you notice about the words we sorted?”

RE-SORT AND CHECK. After guiding the ref lec- tion, have your students re-sort again. Insist that they say each word aloud as they sort it, to “say it as they lay” it down. Teach them how to check their sort by reading down each column to listen for sounds or to look for patterns that ref lect on what the sort reveals. When there are errors in the sort, offer gentle hints such as, “One word in this column does not sound (or look) right. Can you find it?” Students can check each other’s work in a similar fashion. A sort is successful when students sort accurately and easily and can dis- cuss why they sorted as they did.

EXTEND. After a group sort, it is important for stu- dents to work independently or with partners using their own sets of words across the week in repeated sorts and other extensions. Some teachers create Ms. Grotting guides the reflection after the sort

Enhanced eText Video Example 6.6 Ms. Flores describes her three groups and how she introduces the sorts.

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reusable sorts in manila folders with the key words or pic- tures at the top and the words stored in a plastic bag inside the folder. Figure 6.5 shows a student isolating the long e sound in leaf before placing it in the column with the picture of the feet at the top. Saying the words aloud and comparing them in this way is a necessary strategy when students begin to sort independently.

Word study is extended through activities that students complete at their seats, in word study notebooks, at a word study center, or at home. Several word study extensions and follow up routines are discussed in detail in Chapter 3, but we particularly recommend those activities that link word study to reading and writing:

1. Word hunts  (see page 69) in previously read material, provide opportunities for students to make connections between what they are learning in word study and the words they read in books. Often students will find more difficult two-or-three syllable examples of a spelling feature they have been studying in one-syllable words. For example, they might find retreat, ordeal, or creature as examples of the long e sound (/ē/) spelled with an ea. Word hunts help students generalize what they are studying to other words.

2. Blind sorts and blind writing sorts (see pages 66–67), in which students sort words by sound as a partner reads them aloud, help students distinguish the vowel sound, associate it with a visual spelling pattern, and then reinforce this link through the multisensory act of writing. Be careful not to assign blind sorts until after students have already had plenty of opportunities to sort and discuss the words.

3. Word operations (see page 68). Exchanging spelling features in various word positions give students an opportunity to apply what they are learning in their word study lessons to read, write and decode new words. Typically, consonants, blends, and digraphs are exchanged for other consonants at the beginning of words (for example, make-bake-brake-flake) or end (mad-math—mash-mask). Within word pattern spellers can exchange the vowel or vowel pattern in the middle to create new words (for example, drive-drove; give-gave; braid- breed). Students can record their word operations in their word study notebooks.

4. Build, blend, and extend is another type of word operation that is described in Chapter 5 but is also recommended in this stage. To build words, give students the vowel pattern (-ime) then name words for them to spell by changing the initial letter (dime, crime, shine). To blend, write the vowel pattern and substitute different beginning letters to create new words for students to read. Extend involves spelling and reading words that were not part of the original sort. See Activity 5.22 for more details.

5. Games are an enjoyable way to practice reading the words and think about their spelling patterns. Many games are described in the activities section at the end of this chapter, or can be adapted from games in Chapter 5.

Picture Sorts to Contrast Long and Short Vowels Students in the early part of the within word pattern stage who still have prob- lems distinguishing spoken vowel sounds benefit from picture sorts that contrast the short and long vowel. Picture sorts develop phonemic awareness and focus attention on the sound without the support of the printed word. Use picture sorts for just one day and then follow up with word sorts. See an example of a teacher- directed sort in the sample lesson in the following box.

FIGURE 6.5 Long Vowel Sorts: Student Sorts by Sound

Racetrack game for R-Influenced vowels

Enhanced eText Video Example 6.7 Ms. Flores discusses the word study extensions she implements across the week.

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1. Prepare the sort. Use a prepared sort as shown in Figure 6.6 or select 10 to 14 pictures for one short vowel and its corresponding long vowel from the picture sets that come with this book. Arrange them in a template that students can later use to sort on their own. Prepare headers with a picture that will be a key word. Headers such as cup and tube are good, are used in many sorts, and can be found on the sound board in Appendix C. Include one or two words that do not have the sounds as oddballs.

2. Introduce the sort. Set up the headers and explain, “Today we will be listening to the vowel sound in the middle of words. Some of the words have the short u sound, as in cup. (Isolate the vowel by peeling off the initial consonant and then the final consonant: cup, up, ŭ). Some words will have the long u sound, as in tube (tube, ube, ū).”

3. Sort. Model several pictures: “Here is a cube. Listen to the vowel: c-yū-b. Will I put that under cup or tube? Yes, cube has the long vowel sound in the middle just like tube. They both have the /oo/ sound in the middle.” (Note that there is a slight difference between the long u in tube (/ū/ or /oo/) and cube (/y/ū/ or /yoo/). The long u sound seldom really “says its name” (“yoo”), except in a few words like cube, mule, use, and huge. Adults tend to lump these variations together, but children can sometimes be more sensitive to the differences. They could be sorted into a different category but students should understand that both are long u and both have the /oo/ sound.) Find the oddball skate and place it in a third column.

4. Check and discuss. Have students sort the remaining pictures. Then check the sort by naming the pictures in each column to be sure

they have the same sound. Then ask. “How are the words under cup alike? (They have short u in the middle). How are the words under tube alike? (They have long u in the middle). You might point out that long u is not really “longer” than short u but that is just what the vowels are called. Ask, “What was the oddball and why?” (Skate has a long a sound.)

5. Sort again. Repeat the sort in the group if time allows and encourage students to name each picture as they sort and identify it as having short u or long u, saying something like: “This is a bug and it has the short u sound in the middle.”

6. Extend. Give the students their own set of pictures to sort and observe them to see how accurately they sort. Do not expect students to spell these words because they have not been working with the printed forms.

Contrasting Short and Long u in a Teacher-Directed Lesson S

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FIGURE 6.6 Picture Sort for Short and Long u

Teacher-Directed Sorts for Long Vowel Patterns After students can isolate the vowel sound in the middle of words and distinguish a long vowel sound from a short one, it’s time for them to associate the spelling patterns with each category of sound. One basic procedure is a two-step sort that begins with sound and moves to patterns. The example in the box is similar to the sort done by Ms. Watanabe but contrasts short a and long a sounds first, and then contrasts short a and long a spelling patterns second.

You can find prepared sorts in Appendix E, on the website for WTW Digital, and in the supplemental book Words Their Way Word Sorts for Within Word Pattern Spellers.

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1. Prepare the sort. Use a prepared sort or create your own sort for students. To create your own sorts, use the word lists for this stage in Appendix F and select about seven short a words, seven long a words that are spelled with the ai pattern (rain, pail ), and seven with the a-e pattern (cake, tape). Include one or two oddballs that do not fit the expected sound or pattern (for example, was or said). Use short a and long a pictures (such as, cat and cake) as sound headers. Prepare word cards or write the words randomly on a word study handout template for students to cut apart. This teacher-directed sort starts with one set of words that everyone uses, after which students use their own sets at their seats.

2. Introduce the words. Begin by reading the words together and talking about any whose meaning may be unclear. If there are homophones (like tale and tail), talk about what each means. Set aside any words students cannot read. Invite students to make observations about the words: “What do you notice about these words? How are they alike? Do they all have the same vowel sound in the middle?”

3. Introduce the sound sort. Display the cat and cake key words or pictures for the sound sort. Say, “Listen to the vowel sound in the middle of cat. What vowel sound do you hear? Cat has a short a—it makes the / ă / sound in the middle.” Repeat with cake. Then model how to sort a few words by the sound of the vowel in the middle and then ask the students to help you finish the sort. Warn

them that there are oddballs with neither a short nor long vowel sound and challenge students to be on the lookout for them. When they are found, set them to the side or put under the oddball header. Read all the words in each column to check them and verify that they all have the same vowel sound.

4. Introduce the pattern sort. After discussing the two sound categories, ask students to look for patterns in the long a column and separate them into two subcategories. Talk about how the words in each column have different spelling patterns and why the oddballs don’t fit. Help students see that the words with a silent e fit the CVCe pattern: a consonant, a vowel, another consonant, and the silent e. Repeat for the CVVC pattern and contrast with the CVC words in the short vowel category. Decide on key words for new headers from among the word cards and label them CVC, CVCe, and CVVC.

5. Sort again and reflect. Keep the headers in place and scramble the words to sort a second time. Do not make any corrections until the end. Check each column by reading the words and review how the words in each column are alike by sound and by pattern. If a mistake has been made, ask the students to find it. Ask, “What did you learn about long a?” (It can be spelled with the a-e or ai patterns.) Talk about why the oddballs don’t fit. (They have the pattern but not the sound). Revisit any words students could not read and apply the generalization to sound out the words. The final categories will look something like this:

CVC CVCe CVVC

cat cake rain

flat late paint said

snap shade paid was

tax state nail

black flame pail

plan wave train plate

Teacher-Directed Two-Step Sort for Long a by Sound and Pattern

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Handout for short a and long a with a-e and ai patterns

cat

paint

snap

tax

was

flame

wave train plate

plan pail

nail black

said state

paid shade

late flat

cake rain Enhanced eText Video Example 6.8 Watch Ms. Flores working with her second-graders to sort short and long a.

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6. Extend. Students need their own sheet of words to cut apart and sort again. Remind students to scribble on the back or draw three stripes in a color they can recognize if they lose a word card. Label the headers with CVC, CVCe, and CVVC and ask students to sort words while you observe. After sorting, check and reflect, and then ask students to shuffle the words and store them for activities on subsequent days.

Students sort their word cards by short and long vowel patterns

Open Sorts After students understand the process of sorting, use open sorts to require more analytic think- ing and encourage problem solving. The open sort starts with everyone sorting their own set of words with no key words or headers. Students are challenged to determine their own catego- ries and explain why they sorted the way they did. After sorting, get students together to talk about the distinguishing features of the contrast. See Table 3.2, “Questions to Guide Critical Thinking during Word Study,” on page 65. You might start with, “What can you tell us about these words now that we have sorted them? How are they alike? How are they different from this set over here?”

Some vowels are called ambiguous because they are used to spell several sounds with different patterns. Listen to the sounds of ow in snow and clown and to ou in shout, through, and thought. The open sort described on the next page contrasts some of these patterns and sounds.

Spelling Strategies Students in the within word pattern stage have a growing store of known words they can spell accurately, including many high-frequency words, but there are still many words they don’t know how to spell. Accept students’ best spelling efforts but make it clear that they are also accountable for spelling word features they have formally studied, and that they should use a variety of strategies to spell words they do not know.

ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO TRY A WORD SEVERAL WAYS. Teach students to attempt spelling a word before they ask for help and offer positive feedback on what they try. Australians Parry and Hornsby (1988) described this popular strategy as “have-a-go,” and various forms have been developed. See Activity 6.6 for an example and procedures.

USE AVAILABLE RESOURCES. Model for students how to use the Sound Board for Long and Short Vowels found in the Appendix B on page 423, the word wall (described in Chapter 3), homophone charts, and other word sources in the classroom. Modeling the use of these resources as you write with students is essential if you want them to use the

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1. Introduce the sort. For an open sort that asks students to really think about sound and pattern, you should cut off the headers and even the bolded key words. See Figure 6.7 for the handout we would recommend for this open sort. Give students a copy of the words and say, “I want you to read these words and use your eyes and ears to think about patterns and sounds. What categories can you find? Sort these words by yourself. Set aside any words you could not read and look out for several oddballs!”

2. Discuss the sort. Call the students together and ask them to sort their words where you can see them. Some students may have sorted by sound alone whereas others sorted by pattern alone. Ask, “What categories did you find? How are the words alike in each column?” Call on different students to describe the rationale for their sort. Probe with questions such as, “What sounds did you find in these words? How would you describe the patterns in the words you sorted? What oddballs did you find and why were they odd? Were there any words you had trouble reading?”

3. Close the sort. Hand out copies of the headers (ow = ō, ou, and ow) and key words (show, out, and how). Ask everyone to sort under them and check the sort by reading down each column to listen for the sound. Take time to talk about the meaning of any words that might be unfamiliar. Ask, “Does the position of the pattern matter?” (Yes, words that end with a single consonant are more likely to be spelled with ow than ou, and only ow can come at the end.) “Do certain ending consonants tend to go with certain patterns?”

(Yes, t and d go with ou, whereas n and l go with ow.) “What are the oddballs and why?” (They are spelled with ou but have a different sound.) The final sort will look like this:

ow = ō ou ow oddball

show out how

glow cloud down rough

crow round growl through

ground clown

found owl

shout brown

count frown

mouth gown

south plow

4. Reflect. Summarize by asking, “What did you learn from this sort?” Help students conclude that both ou and ow can spell the same sound, while ow can also spell another sound. Ask, “What makes these words hard to spell?” (Sound does not offer a clue.) “If you hear sound at the end as in brow or stow what would be your best guess for spelling that word? Why?” (ow is likely to come at the end of a word whereas ou does not.) “What could help you spell an unfamiliar word like snout?” (Think of known words like out or shout.)

5. Extend. Students should sort again over several days and work with partners to do a blind sort. Help them write a reflection that covers some of the ideas about how the sound is spelled two ways but position and ending consonants offer clues to the most likely pattern.

Open Sort for Ambiguous Vowels: ou and ow S

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FIGURE 6.7 Handout for Open Sort

growl

ground

found

frown

plow

town

crow

cloud

round

brown

shout

gown

south

count

clown

down

owl

rough

mouth

through

glow

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resources for themselves. Have students keep a sound board in their writing folder and model how to locate the pictures associated with a given long vowel sound. If you write the sentence “Today is the first day of October,” remind students that the name of the month is on the calendar. Or if you need to spell “through,” identify it as a word wall word and model how you first listen to the beginning sound and then check out the words under TH. Challenge students to master words that they use frequently to wean them from the word wall or to add additional columns to the Sound Board for Long and Short Vowels as less common patterns are learned.

USE SPELLING DICTIONARIES TO LOOK UP WORDS. Spelling dictionaries or personal dictionaries are simply alphabetic lists of words (without definitions) commonly needed by young writers. This can be as simple as a blank book made by folding several sheets of paper (put two or three letters on each page). You can also download printable versions or buy commercially prepared books like those listed next. These usually have one or two pages for each letter with a list of the most common words as well as space for students to add more words.

• My Dictionary, available from Sunshine Books International (65 pages), also has words organized thematically

• My Word Book, published by Primary Concepts (35 pages) • Words I Use When I Write (different grade levels), available from Educators Publishing

Service

Add words from the word walls to spelling dictionaries as they are introduced. Students might also request words that they want to use in their writing on a regular basis. Model for students how to use a spelling dictionary by narrowing down the beginning sound and first letter before thinking about where in the alphabet that letter would be—the beginning, middle, or end. Personal dictionary words can also be organized thematically by colors, food, action words, word wall words, and content area words that students might need for writing about a topic of study.

REMIND STUDENTS WHAT THEY KNOW. Students often forget to use what they already know to figure out something new. Here are reminders to use when students ask you how to spell a word, or during conferencing when you see they have made a mistake:

1. Use rhymes to make analogies. One easy way to encourage students to puzzle out the spelling of a new word on their own is to ask them if they know how to spell another word that rhymes. For example, if a student is unsure of how to spell the name of the country Spain ask her if she knows how to spell rain, drain, or brain. Of course, not all words that rhyme are spelled the same (for example, mane also rhymes with Spain), but thinking of a known rhyming word will work more times than not. Prompt students by saying something like, “If you know how to spell night, then you can spell slight.”

2. Use word chunks. Encourage students to spell chunks of the word that they are sure of first, then tackle the next part. Getting down the initial consonant chunk, whether it is a single consonant, a blend, or a digraph, leaves the vowel and what follows as the chunk to ponder. Using Word Operations (explained in Chapter 3) as a routine in the word study notebook will encourage this strategy.

3. Use the “best guess” strategy. While sorting and studying vowel patterns, students will notice that one pattern invariably has more examples than another. For example, there are always more long u words spelled u-consonant-e than long u words spelled with ui. Prompt students to think about the most common pattern they know first, and then use some of the other strategies such as thinking of rhyming words they know.

4. Refer to their word study notebook. Students don’t always make the connection between spell- ing and word study unless you remind them. If they ask you how to spell a word that follows a sound or pattern that you have studied and recorded in the word study notebook, refer them back to their word study notebook.

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Word Sorting with English Learners Word sorting lessons are an explicit way to draw English learners’ attention to both the similari- ties and differences between languages in terms of sounds and spelling, while simultaneously helping them to build vocabulary. For English learners, the following suggestions can enhance the effectiveness of the word study lessons described earlier:

1. Search online resources to learn about similarities and differences in the sound and spelling systems of languages spoken by your students.

2. Use concrete, highly imageable words that can easily be visualized, drawn, or acted out— concrete nouns, imageable adjectives, action verbs. These words will be easier to learn than prepositions, conjunctions, or helping verbs.

3. Discuss the meanings of the words in the introductory lesson and review throughout the week as needed. Act out words when appropriate and supply photographs or drawings to develop meaning. Students can illustrate words in their word study notebooks or add a small drawing or definition to the word cards to remind them of meaning (see Figure 6.8).

4. Reduce the number of words in a sort so students will not be overwhelmed with too many new vocabulary words. Spend extra time reading the words in columns aloud as students check their sorts.

5. Pair words and pictures when possible. Long and short vowel pictures are included in the pictures that come with this book; more images can be downloaded from the Internet (for example, from Google images).

6. Pair English learners with native English speakers who can supply pronunciations during partner sorts.

7. Model careful pronunciation but do not be overly concerned if English learners do not master the correct pronunciations.

For further information on these recommendations, refer to Words Their Way® with English Learners.

Sequence and Pacing of Word Study in the Within Word Pattern Stage

The sequence of word study in the within word pattern stage begins by taking a step back with a review of short vowel sounds as they are compared with long vowel sounds in CVCe words. If students have not completely mastered short vowels, they have another chance to study them in a different context. Then the focus shifts to the spelling of other vowel sounds that are neither long nor short—sounds like the /ô/ sound in paw or the /oi/ sound in spoil, and the spelling of r-inf luenced vowels like the û in turn. Complex consonant patterns (such as _tch versus ch; _dge versus _ge) are studied toward the end of the stage along with an intense study of homo- phones (sail-sale; beet-beat), contractions (we’ll-we will; we’ve-we have), plurals (babies-monkeys), and irregular verbs (such as keep-kept; sweep-swept; tear-tore; wear-wore).

Early, Middle, or Late Placement Identifying whether students are in the early, middle, or late part of the stage (refer to Table 6.1, page 212) will help you target where in the sequence of features to begin word study instruc- tion. After administering a spelling inventory, consider your students’ scores in the different categories of vowels.

for English learners

FIGURE 6.8 Simple Drawings Help English Learners Associate Meaning with Spelling

Enhanced eText Video Example 6.9 Ms. Wilson discusses adjustments she makes for English learners in the within word pattern stage.

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EARLY. In the early within word pattern stage, students know blends and digraphs and spell most short vowels correctly. They often experiment with silent letters that mark long vowels. The final silent e is the most common pattern and the most likely to turn up first. Students might use it but confuse it when spelling short vowels (job as JOBE) or long vowel patterns (FLOTE for float). If students spell fewer than two of the CVCe long vowels correctly, they are probably in the early part of the stage. They will begin comparing short and long vowel sounds and learning the consonant-vowel-consonant-e (CVCe) pattern across all five vowels. Other common and less common long vowel patterns, such as the consonant-vowel-vowel-consonant pattern (CVVC), are systematically studied across all five vowels.

MIDDLE. By the middle of this stage, students are spelling the most of the long vowels with the CVCe and CVVC patterns correctly but still make mistakes on other vowels such as r- inf luenced and ambiguous vowels. Short and long vowel patterns are reconsidered in the context of r-inf luenced words where AR words (start, sharp, chart) are contrasted with ARE and AIR words (stare, fare, rare versus stair, hair, fair). Similar contrasts are examined for the other r-inf luenced vowels. Students also will encounter other vowel sounds, such as the /oi/ sound in noise or joy or the /aw/ sound in taught or crawl, and these other vowel patterns are methodically examined at the end of the middle within word pattern stage.

LATE. By the end of this stage, students will have mastered the long vowel patterns and most spellings for r-inf luenced vowels like the û in turn and other vowel sounds such as the /ô/ sound in saw or the /oi/ sound in boil. They may be using but confusing patterns related to meaning differences so an intense examination of homophones (such as side versus sighed; close versus clothes) is appropriate for the late within word pattern stage. They also may be using but confus- ing some of the complex consonants (such as -tch, -dge) as well as the conventions for making singular nouns plural (for example, eyes versus coaches) and/or for representing the present and past tenses of irregular verbs (for example, break-broke; speak-spoke). Contractions, especially those that overlap with homophones (for example, who’s versus whose), are also problematic for within word pattern spellers right up through the late end of the stage.

Pacing Table 6.5 suggests focused contrasts and a sequence of word study under three possible pacing guides in the early, middle, and late part of this stage. You can adjust pacing by adding more categories to a single sort (up to four or five) or by dropping back to fewer categories when students are confused. Because there is a lot to cover in this stage, two years is not too long to address the range of features for students of average achievement.

Pacing depends on several factors:

• Developmental level • Grade level • Rate of progress

For early within word pattern spellers in late first or early second grade, we recommend an introductory pace. Start with some picture sorts to focus attention on the different short and long vowel sounds, and then study the common CVCe pattern across four long vowels (the CVCe pattern is not studied among long e words because the CVCe pattern is rare in one- syllable words). During this introductory pace, students may be using word study notebooks for the first time and learning new sorting routines as described in Chapter 3.

If you teach students beyond the primary grades who are still in the early part of this stage, there is a greater sense of urgency to catch them up with peers. The moderate pace is a good place to start but monitor progress through observation and assessments to determine whether to go faster or slower. The first few vowels may take more time than those studied later. Students in the middle within word pattern stage might benefit from the fast pace outlined in the last column of Table 6.5: a quick review of long vowels before going on to r-inf luenced and ambiguous vowels.

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TABLE 6.5 Pacing and Sequence Guide for Within Word Pattern

Slow Introductory Pace Moderate Pace Advanced Pace or Review

Early Within Word Patterns: Common and Less Common Long Vowels

Compare long and short vowels in picture and word sorts: short a, a-e; short i, i-e; short o, o-e; short u, u-e.

Review all CVC vs. CVCe

Contrast final -k, -ck, -ke.

Compare short and common long vowel patterns: short a, a-e, ai; short o, o-e, oa; short u, u-e, oo, ui; short e, ee, ea.

Review all CVVC patterns

Compare all long vowel patterns: a, a-e, ai, ay; e, ee, e; o, o-e, oa, ow; u, u-e, ew, ue; i, i-e, igh, y; VCC in il, in, ol, os.

Long and short vowel in word sorts: short a, a-e; short i, i-e; short o, o-e; short u, u-e.

Contrast final -k, -ck, -ke.

Compare short and common long vowel patterns: short a, a-e, ai; short o, o-e, oa; short u, u-e, oo, ui; short e, ee, ea.

Compare all long vowel patterns: a, a-e, ai, ay; e, ee, ea; o, o-e, oa, ow; u, u-e, ew, ue; i, i-e, igh, y; VCC in il, in, ol, os.

Compare all vowel patterns: a, a-e, ai, ay; e, ee, ea; o, o-e, oa, ow; u, u-e, ew, ue; i, i-e, igh, y; VCC in il, in, ol, os.

Middle Within Word Pattern: R-influenced Vowels, Diphthongs, and Ambiguous Vowels

Contrast short a and o with with ar and or.

Contrast r-influenced vowels: a-e, are, air; er, ere, eer, ear; i-e, ire, ier; o-e, oar, ore, oor; ur, ure, ur-e; or, ur, ir; w+or, w+ar.

Review ar, er, ir, ur, or.

Contrast r-influenced vowels: a-e, are, air: er, ere, eer, ear; i-e, ire, ier; o-e, oar, ore, oor; ur, ure, ur-e; or, ur, ir; w+or, w+ar.

Contrast r-influenced vowels: a-e, are, air; er, ere, eer, ear; i-e, ire, ier; o-e, oar, ore, oor; ur, ure, ur-e; or, ur, ir; w+or, w+ar.

Contrast long o, oi, and oy.

Contrast diphthongs and ambiguous vowels: oo; ou, ow; oi, oy, ou, ow; al, aw; al, au, aw, wa, al, ough.

Review ow, ew, aw.

Contrast diphthongs and ambiguous vowels: oo; ou, ow; oi, oy, ou, ow; al, aw; al, au, aw; wa, al, ough.

Contrast diphthongs and ambiguous vowels: oi, oy, ou, ow; al, au, a; wa, al, ough.

Late Within Word Pattern: Complex Consonants and Homophones

Contrast complex consonants: kn, wr, gn; sh, shr, th, thr, scr, str, spr, spl, squ; dge, ge; ch, tch; ce, se, ve, ge.

Contrast hard/soft c and g.

Homophones.

Contrast complex consonants as needed:

Compare dge, ge; tch, ch.

Contrast hard/soft c and g.

Homophones.

Contrast complex consonants as needed:

Compare dge, ge; tch, ch.

Contrast hard/soft g and c.

Miscellaneous: Contractions, Plurals, and Irregular Vowels

Word Study for the Within Word Pattern Stage 229

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Many teachers are expected to use their school district’s adopted phonics or spelling pro- gram and/or their district’s core reading program. Although these published programs may follow a developmental sequence similar to the one in Table 6.5, they often set a pace that is too fast for low-achieving students and do not supply enough practice to master the features. To differentiate instruction at students’ developmental levels, you must monitor progress and adjust the lessons by adding extra sorts for students who need a slower pace or skip some sorts to increase the pace when possible.

Keep in mind that studying vowel patterns in single-syllable words lays a critical foundation for studying two-syllable words in the next stage and cannot be shortchanged. Perhaps 25 per- cent of the adult population in the United States is stunted at this point of literacy proficiency. Even community college and university students who are poor spellers benefit from beginning their word study by reviewing vowel sounds and their spelling patterns (Massengill, 2006). It is important to take a step back and conduct word study activities that help students cement their knowledge of vowel patterns in single-syllable words to get a running start as they study two-syllable words. For many of these students, the fast pace in the third column of Table 6.5 may be appropriate.

The Study of High-Frequency Words

A few spelling programs feature high-frequency or high-utility words. The authors of these programs argue that spelling instruction should focus on a small core of words students need the most, such as said, because, there, they’re, friend, and again, and because such words are irregular they simply must be memorized. Unfortunately, this narrow view of word study ignores the relationship between reading and spelling, and it offers students no opportunity to form gen- eralizations that can extend to reading and spelling of thousands of unstudied words (Miles, Rubin & Frey, 2018).

There are high-frequency words that do not follow common spelling pattern-to-sound conventions, and they should be included in within word pattern sorts as oddballs. For example, said is usually examined with other words that have the ai pattern, such as paid, faint, and wait. It becomes memorable because it stands alone in contrast to the many words that work as the pattern would suggest. Most students are more likely to spell it correctly after noting its differ- ence with paid and wait. Note that most of the top 300 most frequently occurring words listed in Appendix F (Dolch, 1942; Fry, 1980; Zeno, Ivens, Millard, & Duvvuri, 1996) are covered in the suggested word sorts by the end of the within word pattern stage. See Appendix F for a list of high-frequency words compiled by Fry.

There are also some words that students need to write fre- quently in the lower grades that are not included in the weekly word study lessons designed to meet their developmental needs. An example is because, which occurs often in the writings of first graders. Many teachers accept students’ inventions for such words (BECUZ, BECALZ, BECAWS), but some teachers grow tired of and concerned about such errors, especially beyond the primary grades. Although we feel confident that such errors will be worked out over time with developmentally appropriate instruction, there are good reasons to address them sooner.

However, asking students to memorize high-frequency words as whole words without any attention to their internal sounds and spelling patterns is not the answer (Mesmer & Duke, 2016). Instead, the teaching of high-frequency words should follow the same pro- cedures for instruction in word decoding in general.

High-frequency word “give” in word study notebook under oddball column

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As you discuss high-frequency words with your students, be sure to ask,

• “What part of this word do you already know how to spell?” (For friend, within word pattern spellers will already know how to spell the fr.) • “What part of this word might be hard to remember and why?” (For friend, focus on the fact that it has a silent i.) • “What might help you remember how to spell this word?” (Students might note that it

ends with end.)

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Consider the following suggestions when teaching high-frequency words at the within word pattern stage:

1. Analyze the words. Ask students to listen for the sounds within high-frequency words and note the individual letter–sounds and spelling patterns that are consistent and inconsistent with each those sounds. Break down a word like said into its three phonemes (that is, /s/-/ě/-/d/) and discuss which sounds are consistent with its corresponding spelling and which ones aren’t. In the case of said, only the ai is inconsistent with the phoneme /ě/. Ask students to say how the word said should be pronounced if it followed the generalization for the ai pattern (/s/-/ā/-/d/). This kind of discussion builds a phonological representation of the word, which supports the learning of its spelling pattern (Ehri, 2004).

2. Play Friends and Enemies. In Friends and Enemies, students use high- frequency words like take as a springboard for categorizing other CVCe words into groups of friends and enemies. Make, take, came, made, name, would all be take’s friend—but the word have would be take’s enemy. After a while, students can note which high-frequency words have more friends than enemies, or vice versa. The high frequency word play has many friends with the AY pattern (may, say, way, and so on) but quite a few enemies that use the EY pattern instead (they, prey, grey, hey) (Rawlins & Invernizzi, 2019).

3. Teach high-frequency words in groups that have similar spelling patterns. For example, instead of teaching the word above as a rule breaker, show how it is similar to love, shove, and glove. The first syllable of because might be pronounced like /buh/, but so is the first syllable of is begin, before, between, and behind (Warley, Invernizzi & Drake, 2015). You might not pronounce the second syllable of because exactly like pause, but noting the similarities helps remember the spelling.

4. Help students use high-frequency words they know to figure out words they don’t know. If students know the word could, they can figure out the words should or would. If they know the word own, they can figure out the words shown or grown. Ehri, Satlow, & Gaskins (2009) demonstrated that students who were taught to analyze the letter-sound relationships within high-frequency words were better able to generalize from those words to new words. They could say, “If I know found, then I know around.” Engaging in word operations in the word study notebook, as described in Chapter 3 (page 68) helps students learn to generalize in this way.

5. Practice reading high-frequency words in isolation and in context. Miles and Ehri (2017) found that the students in their study learned word meanings better with practice in context but they learned letter-sound associations better with practice in isolation. Therefore, to unite the meaning, pronunciation, and spelling of a word, both contextual and isolated practice are necessary.

Word Study for the Within Word Pattern Stage 231

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Vocabulary Instruction

There are many ways you can help students develop a deeper, richer oral vocabulary. Use sophisticated language in daily interactions (see Vocabulary Activities in Chapter 5), and develop the habit of commenting on and making observations about words throughout the day. Read-alouds, word sorts, and concept sorts provide opportunities to discuss new words and focus on multiple meanings. Students in this stage should start using a dictionary as a reference tool and begin studying common prefixes and suffixes and how they affect the meaning of the base words to which they attach.

Read Alouds Good children’s literature and informational texts are the best starting place for vocabulary instruction and are much richer sources than television or adult daily conversation ( Cunningham, Stanovich & West, 1994; McKeown & Curtis, 2014). Picture books and chapter books are full of new, rich vocabulary that is wrapped in complex sentences. Discussion is the key to unpack- ing the meanings of new words from read-alouds, and with your help, students can learn to use context to infer the meanings of new words. During and after listening to books read aloud, encourage students to talk about what they heard. Use the think-pair-share strategy described in Chapter 5 (Activity 5.2) to maximize the opportunity for everyone to use oral language.

Repeated Exposure When learning new vocabulary during this stage, students benefit from repeated exposure to words and from seeing the words in print as they hear them (Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2013; Rosenthal & Ehri, 2008). To help students, record words on cards, charts, and webs; post them for everyone to see; and refer to them as a reminder to use them in conversation throughout the day. It takes many exposures, over several weeks and in multiple contexts for students to learn a new word, so be deliberate when using new words and encouraging students to use them as well. Refer to Chapter 5 for anchored vocabulary instruction in Activity 5.1 (Juel, Biancarosa, Coker, & Deffes, 2003).

Word Sorts and Vocabulary Always take the time to read through words in a spelling sort to be sure students know the meanings. Most of the words will be familiar ones, unless students are English learners, but there are still opportunities to explore the meaning layer of English, most specifically in the case of homophones, homonyms, and polysemous words, or words with more than one meaning.

HOMOPHONES. Students will encounter many homophones during this stage—these words that sound the same but are spelled differently provide rich fodder for vocabulary development. Why is thrown, the verb, spelled with an ow? Because the vowel-consonant-e pattern is already taken for the noun throne—the chair occupied by kings and queens. The spelling pattern ref lects the different meaning! Share with students that we spell these words differently because they mean dif- ferent things! This insight provides a fun and interesting approach to both spelling and vocabulary instruction.

HOMONYMS. English is also rich in homonyms—words that sound the same and are also spelled the same despite the fact that they have different meanings. You can park (verb) the car or play in the park Homophone pear/pair tree

pair pear

bare bear

bored board

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(noun). You might tire (verb) easily while climbing up a mountain but have to change the tire (noun) when it’s f lat. Discussing the multiple meanings of these words leverages vocabulary learning and leads the way to an understanding of the polysemy of words—their multiple mean- ings. Consider a simple homonym like block—something you build with, something you run around in the neighborhood, something you might do during a soccer game, or something you might do to your calendar to save a portion of time.

HOMOGRAPHS. There are also homographs—words spelled alike but pronounced differ- ently, depending on their verb tense or part of speech. You can read a book or discuss one that you read yesterday. You can wind the string around a stick or lose your hat in the wind. Look for these words in word sorts and take the time to explore their multiple meanings through discussion, illustration, and examples in sentences.

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N S Books that Celebrate Homophones, Homonyms, and Homographs

The King Who Rained (1988), A Chocolate Moose for Dinner (1988) and A Little Pigeon Toad (1988) by Fred Gwynne

Eight Ate: A feast of Homonym Riddles by Marvin Turban

Dear Deer: A Book of Homophones (2010), Zoola Palooza: A Book of Homographs (2011), The Bat Can Bat: A Book of True Homophones (2018), and The Bass Plays the Bass and Other Homographs (2018) by Gene Barretta

How Much Can a Bare Bear Bear? (2007) by Brian Cleary and Brian Gable

The Dove Dove: Funny Homograph Riddles (2008) by Marvin Terban

If You Were a Homonym or a Homophone (2007) by Nancy Loewen and Sara Gray

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FOR HOMOPHONES: 1. Create an ongoing collection, such as a Homophone Pear/Pair Tree, as a

whole-class activity in second- or third-grade classrooms that goes on all year long. When students discover a homophone pair, ask them to write it on a pear shape and then add it to the branch of a tree posted on a bulletin board. This encourages students to always be on the lookout for homophones. They will truly become wordsmiths as they collect hundreds of homophones, such as the ones on page 477 in Appendix F. Usually there is one homophone in a pair that is familiar (bear), while the other one (bare) is what Beck and colleagues (2013) call a Tier 2 word. These are words that students can use in multiple contexts and are part of the general academic vocabulary that students need to acquire throughout the school years (Templeton et al., 2015). As teachers, we can never rest until we wrest every ounce of meaning from word study!

2. A class homophone book is shown in Figure 3.11. Students can be invited to add drawings to the book when homophones turn up.

3. Look for games in the Activities section. Homophone Win Lose and Draw (6.22), Homophone Rummy (6.23) and Concentration (6.26) are favorites.

4. Share books that feature homophones and homonyms such has those listed in the Resource Connections. Our favorites are The King Who Rained and others by Fred Gwynne.

Teaching About Homophones

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POLYSEMOUS WORDS AND IDIOMS. Polysemous words and phrases share meaning in their origin, like bed, a place for sleeping and the place where a stream runs, or the two meanings of head, a part of the body or the chief of an organization. But even simple words like run can have more than one meaning. There can be a run on the stock market, or a run in your stocking; your nose can run, and a salmon run is when they migrate upstream. Be sure to point out how context helps to determine which meaning should be taken into account and include idiomatic expressions in your discussions. What does it mean to run against the grain? What is a dry run? What does it mean if something runs in your family? Are you giving me the run around? So much of comprehension depends on these more abstract, often metaphorical uses of word meanings. Native speakers and English learners alike benefit from spending time discussing the multiple meanings of words and the context clues that tell us which meaning is relevant.

CONCEPT SORTS. Studying subjects such as math, science, and social studies exposes students to many new ideas and vocabulary that they can explore through concept sorts. In Activity 6.1, we describe a concept sort with math terms related to addition (plus, combine, increase) and sub- traction (take away, difference, decrease) and also offer other examples. To prepare concept sorts, preview the vocabulary in textbooks or other curricular materials looking for the key terms, and then write them on cards or sorting templates like the one in Appendix G. Work with students to brainstorm words on a particular topic (for example, words related to outer space, govern- ment words, or key vocabulary words from other content areas) that can then be sorted into categories.

Plan a concept sort for the beginning of a study unit as an informal assessment of background knowledge. Begin by going over the words to be sure students can read them and are familiar with the meanings of the words (they will develop deeper understanding with repeated exposure). Students can sort the words as an open sort either individually or with a partner. This enables you to see what students know about a topic and get a sense of the difficulty of the reading. Similarly, at the end of a study unit, ask students to complete the sort again and add related words to show what they learned.

Dictionary Use All kinds of dictionaries and thesauruses are important resources for within word pattern stage students. Students in the beginning of this stage can start using dictionaries to check word meanings. This does not mean students should be assigned to look up ten definitions to fulfill a seatwork or homework requirement—a strategy sure to make them dislike dictionaries. Instead, use a dictionary as a resource during reading groups, class discussions, word study lessons, and content area study to answer questions, resolve disagreements, and/or to provide information. For example, the dictionary can help students understand what vent means in the sentence “Josh had to vent when he got outside with his friends.”

Teaching Basic Morphology: Prefixes and Suffixes Students learn to spell prefixes and suffixes in the next stage—syllables and affixes. However, they are taught simple affixes as meaning vocabulary beginning in late first and early second grade, when most students are developmentally in the within word pattern stage of spelling. Understanding how simple affixes combine with base words lays the foundation for more exten- sive exploration in forming words later on. But words with affixes are explored first as vocabulary words that students encounter during reading and content studies. They should not be treated as spelling words until students know how to spell the base words on which they are built.

for English learners

Concept sort for frogs and toads

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The most common prefixes in the English language are un- (meaning “not”), re- (“again”), in- (“not”), and dis- (“not”), and account for about 58 percent of all prefixes (White, Sowell, & Yanagihara, 1989). Some state standards mandate studying the prefixes un- and re- as well as the suffixes -ly, -ful, and -y, and the comparatives -er/-est in second grade. Use frequently occurring and easily understood words to walk students through a discussion of, for example, small/smaller/smallest versus tall/taller/tallest to learn how suffixes are added to a base word to change the meaning. Beginning with the base word care, talk about being careful and watching over a baby brother or sister carefully. Appendix F has lists of words with prefixes and suffixes.

Assess and Monitor Progress in the Within Word Pattern Stage

By the end of second grade, most students should be well into the middle of the within word pattern stage or beyond. Students who are not should be getting carefully planned systematic word study in supplemental interventions. There are several ways to monitor students’ progress in the within word pattern stage.

Weekly Spelling Tests In this stage, we recommend weekly spelling tests as a way to both monitor progress and to make students accountable for their learning. Select at least ten words from the sort and call them out in a traditional way. Many teachers also call out one or two transfer words—words that

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Teach Dictionary Skills

1. Model the use of dictionaries. Keep dictionaries handy and use them often to look up definitions, to check spellings, or to answer questions such as, “Do many words begin with QU?” Model for students how interesting and informative dictionaries can be and show them how they are organized.

2. After students have some skill using alphabetical order and guide words, take turns assigning a student each day to be the “dictionary meister” responsible for looking up any word that the class is curious about. Or, when introducing a new sort, ask students to each look up one word and report what they found out, particularly the multiple meanings of homonyms like drive, or fudge.

3. Children’s dictionaries are most appropriate for second to fourth grade, where you will find most within word pattern spellers. Modern dictionaries, such as the Merriam-Webster Children’s Dictionary published by DK, are visual feasts that invite students to browse.

4. See Activities 6.7 and 6.8 for resources and ideas about teaching dictionary skills.

5. Over the course of this stage, build a word reference area in your class library that includes thesauruses; various dictionaries (like rhyming dictionaries); Spanish and other language dictionaries; and books of antonyms, synonyms, and homophones. Although students’ spelling focuses on the single-syllable word patterns, students can use these references to learn more about the meaning of two- and three-syllable words.

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fit the features but that were not included in the sort. Prompt students to use analogy by saying something like, “If you know how to spell rain, then you can spell stain.” When students are appropriately placed they should score 90 to 100 percent on these weekly assessments. If they do not, you should reconsider the placement or pacing of instruction. Also consider whether students are getting enough practice with the words across a week. We also recommend design- ing your weekly spelling test as a blind writing sort, having students sort the words into categories as they write them. This rewards the kind of thinking about sound, pattern, and meaning that is the whole point of word study. Give one point for the correct spelling and a second point for the correct grouping.

Monitoring Progress and Setting Goals Teachers often observe that students study for weekly tests and then forget the words when they need them for real writing (Gill & Scharer, 1996; Graham et al., 2008; Schlagal, 2013). For this reason, we recommend periodic unit spell checks to determine whether the words and features are retained over time. Spell checks have been developed for each of the major units of study and can be found in Appendix B or in Words Their Way®: Word Sorts for Within Word Pattern Spellers, 3rd edition.

You can easily create your own spell checks to use every three to six weeks by selecting words from the word sorts to assess retention of studied words and perhaps including addi- tional transfer words to see whether students can apply their growing knowledge of sounds and patterns to unstudied words. Use these spell checks to monitor progress and fine-tune your instructional pacing. Depending on results, you may find you need to drop back to a slower pace or ratchet up to a quicker pace, as suggested in Table 6.5.

Students in the within word pattern stage can be involved in setting their own goals, using the forms described in Chapter 2 and found in Appendix B. This is especially beneficial for older students who struggle with spelling and need to see their own progress.

Strategies for Assessing and Monitoring Progress of English Learners When setting goals and planning word study with English learners it is important to know something about their native languages and what literacy experiences they have had. As discussed in “Teaching Vowels to English Learners” on page 214, students who are literate in their first language may spell the sounds they hear in English with the letter–sound cor- respondences they know from their first language, or if the sounds do not exist they will substitute close approximations. Knowing something about students’ native languages and writing systems is helpful so you can guide comparisons and understand the difficulties English learners face.

Some English learners can memorize many words, but their strategies for spelling unknown words often indicate that their orthographic knowledge could be deeper. For example, a student memorized the spelling of rain but continued to spell unknown long a words with an e (train as TREN), using the Spanish spelling of the long a sound as shown in Table 6.3. The spelling errors in uncorrected writing and spelling inventories described in Chapter 2 reveal what word knowledge English learners bring to the task of reading and writing English.

There may be times when you want to assess students’ spelling development in their primary languages. Inventories for Spanish, Chinese, and Korean are available in Words Their Way® with English Learners. Inventories such as the Spanish Spelling Inventory will help you find out what students know about their own written language (Ford, Invernizzi & Huang, 2018). The more literate students are in their first language, the more information there is to transfer to learning to read in English (Proctor, August, Carlo, & Snow, 2006).

for English learners

Enhanced eText Video Example 6.10 Ms. Flores discusses assessing and monitoring progress with her second graders.

Enhanced eText Teacher Resource: Spanish Spelling Inventory

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Word Study Routines for Within Word Pattern Spellers

The within word pattern stage easily spans a number of grade levels, usually from first to fourth grade and beyond that for struggling students. A typical third-grade class will have students in the middle and late within word pattern stage, as well as students in the next stage, syllables and affixes. Differentiation occurs when students meet in small groups in which sorts are introduced and discussed under your guidance. However, after that, everyone can engage in the same weekly routines described in Chapter 3 (blind sorts, writing sorts, word hunts, speed sorts, word operations, homework). Table 9.4 (page 354 in Chapter 9) shows a weekly schedule for students in the within word pattern stage, and Table 9.5 (page 355 in Chapter 9) offers a varia- tion on this. After students learn the schedule and the routines, they can work independently, with partners, or in small groups on most days of the week, freeing you to meet with reading groups. As in the letter name–alphabetic stage, you might find that reading groups are usually the same as the word study groups.

When word study follows the small-group reading lesson, more connections can be made between reading, writing, spelling, and vocabulary. Although vocabulary instruction usually takes place in whole-group settings, during read-alouds, and during content area instruction, conducting word study at the end of a small-group reading lesson creates additional opportuni- ties to link to similar vocabulary. You might be learning about dictators in social studies, but in the reading group you might encounter the word predict and look it up in the dictionary. This is a great opportunity to discuss the meaning of the root dict, which means to say or to speak. A dictionary is a book that speaks about words. People who a ruled by a dictator have no say in what happens in their county. The prefix pre- means “before.” To predict is to say what might happen or what might have happened before you really know. Now that links have been made between a content-area vocabulary word, dictator, and a word encountered and discussed in the small reading group, predict, students may be more equipped to figure out the meaning of other words with dict in them, such as diction, or edict (Templeton et al, 2015). Including word study in the reading group time extends the study of words beyond phonics and spelling to include

the vocabulary that students are seeing and hearing, which typically exceed their level of spelling development.

Word Study Notebooks A word study notebook is an essential tool in the within word pat- tern stage and provides an organizational structure and documen- tation of student work. It is used across the week for a number of activities (see Chapter 3) and students should have ready access to it throughout the day. Ask students to bring their notebook to small- group sessions, along with reading materials and response journals or logs. We recommend using sturdy stitched composition note- books with a hard-marbleized cover or 3-brad folders with notebook paper and dividing them into several sections set off with a tab or sticky note. Word cards can be stored in a library pocket or envelope glued to the back cover and replaced each week. The sections might serve different purposes, as described next:

1. Students record their weekly sort, word hunt, and other activities such as Word Operations in the word study section (see pages 67 to 76 in Chapter 3). Ask students to summarize what they learn from their sorts in their own words as shown in Figure 6.9.

2. Students record words from their reading or from content area instruction in the vocabulary section. For example, when reading Stuart Little encourage students to make lists of boat terms (rigging, bow, stern) or weather-related words (squall, breeze, mist). These words can be shared and then combined and sorted into semantic categories or added, where possible,

Word study notebook

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to the spelling sorts (for example, add breeze to a long e category of ee patterns). Students might create a science web on pandas, make a list of concepts related to immigration, or compare and contrast geometric terms.

3. A third section might be an ongoing list of homophones, homographs, idiomatic expressions, and polysemous words, with sentences or pictures to illustrate the different meanings.

Incorporating the use of the word study notebook into the English language arts and other content area instruction encourages students to truly become word conscious—always on the lookout for interesting words that can be analyzed by sound, pattern, and meaning. Used in the ways described here and in Chapter 3 (pages 67–76), word study notebooks play a critical role in vocabulary learning across the content areas and increases students’ awareness of how the spelling of words is also critical to their understanding of word meanings, something they will study in even greater depth in the next two stages.

Homework Homework provides another opportunity to practice analyzing how the spelling pat- terns in words represent pronunciations and meaning. In addition to much needed practice, homework also serves an important role in communicating with parents and caregivers. Not only do word study notebooks provide an organizational structure for your daily word study instruction, but they also provide a record of student work and document what they are learning. For these reasons, we recommend that word study homework be conducted in the word study notebook and that the expectations for doing so be incorporated into your word study notebook routines. This means that the word study notebook will be sent back and forth between home and school, with parents signing off that they have read through the notebook each week.

Many teachers review their students’ work in the word study notebook on a weekly if not daily basis and provide a weekly grade. Grading expectations are described in further detail in Chapter 9, as well as the details of a parent letter describing homework routines for each day of the week. To preview here, parents deserve to be informed of the daily routines expected to be completed in the notebook—such as sorting words into categories (on Monday), completing a writing sort (on Tues- day), going on a word hunt (on Wednesday), doing a blind sort (on Thursday), or a similar routine that are the same every week for at least a marking period. These routines are especially appropriate for within word pattern spellers for whom homework will provide much needed extra practice.

It’s also important to communicate clearly with parents that their children will be held accountable for what they’ve been taught in phonics and spelling, but, at the same time, they won’t be penalized for what they haven’t yet been taught (see Table 3.3 in Chapter 3). The word study notebook provides the perfect vehicle for communicating what has been taught.

FIGURE 6.9 Written Reflection below a Writing Sort in a Word Study Notebook

flag cage bridge plug huge smudge drug page lodge drag stage ridge blog pledge

fudge

GE at the end of a word is soft like J. DGE comes after a short vowel.

A number of materials are available to help you imple- ment word study with students in the within word pat- tern stage that have been mentioned throughout this chapter. Here is a summary.

1. Suggested sorts in Appendix E can be used with the template on page 502, and the word lists in Appendix F can be used to create your own sorts.

2. Prepared sorts and games are available on the website for WTW Digital. With the Create Your Own feature, you can make your own sorts.

3. Words Their Way®: Word Sorts for Within Word Pattern Spellers provides a complete curriculum of sorts divided into ten units. The spell checks that are supplied for each unit can be used for pretesting to better identify what students are ready to study and for post-testing to monitor progress.

4. Words Their Way: Within Word Pattern Sorts for Spanish-Speaking English Speakers helps students to focus on English vowel sounds and grow their vocabularies.

RESOURCES FOR IMPLEMENTING WORD STUDY in Your Classroom

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Several vocabulary activities are described first in this section followed by some dictionary activities. The remaining games and activities are designed to extend and reinforce spelling sorts.

Vocabulary Activities

Refer to vocabulary activities in Chapter 5 (5.1 to 5.5) that are also appropriate for this stage.

6.1 Concept Sort for Math Concept sorts are an excellent way for students to work with vocabulary related to units of study. In this example, students categorize terms related to addition and subtraction that they are likely to encounter in word problems.

MATERIALS Prepare a set of word cards with the terms to sort on the front and sample word problems on the back using the terms. For example, “Take away. If I have three books and you take away two, how many will I have?” If you want students to work with these terms individu- ally, use a blank template and write the terms in the boxes in random order. Set off the headers in bold or underline.

PROCEDURES 1. Remind students that there are many words that mean the same thing as “add” and “sub-

tract” and that these words will show up in written word problems. 2. Set up the headers, Add and Subtract. Introduce each new term in a simple problem sen-

tence. “Lost. I had 10 pencils and I lost three so how many do I have left?” Or “Difference. What is the difference between six goals and three goals? Do I add or subtract to get the answer?”

3. Continue to sort all the terms, discussing where the terms should go and why. The final sort will look something like the following set of lists. Put the words in a student activity center for students to sort independently or give students their own sheets to cut apart and sort.

add + subtract − and plus minus difference in all more take away leave/left combine sum lost less increase join decrease delete together fewer reduce

Challenge students to write their own word problems using the terms.

VARIATIONS You can add terms for multiplication and division. Many content area terms and concepts can be sorted in a similar manner. Simply write words into a template or onto cards, draw a simple figure, or use an online search engine to find pictures and images you can download. A book of mathematics sorts is also available across the elementary grades (Helman, Cramer, Johnston, and Bear, 2016). Use both pictures and words when appropriate. Here are more examples:

1. Geometric shapes: quadrilaterals, hexagons, right triangle, equilateral triangle 2. Open and closed figures

ACTIVITIES for the Within Word Pattern Stage

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3. Objects that will or will not be attracted to a magnet 4. Food groups: protein, fruits, vegetables 5. Parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs (see Figure 6.10) 6. Animals by carnivores, herbivores, or omnivores; mammals, birds,

reptiles, and amphibians 7. Things we can and cannot recycle 8. States of matter: solids, liquids, and gas 9. Simple machines: lever, pulley, wedge, inclined plane, wheel, screw

10. Fact and opinion statements 11. Habitats and the plants and animals that live there 12. Equivalent fractions 13. Objects you would or would not see used by settlers or Native Ameri-

cans of the Old West

6.2 Semantic Brainstorms This small-group activity focuses on the meanings of the words and serves as a great activity for content studies.

PROCEDURES 1. Choose a topic related to an area of study. Start with easy, familiar topics

such as sports (or countries, animal life, clothes, furniture, or modes of transportation). 2. Have students brainstorm related words and then record them using chart paper or an

interactive whiteboard. 3. Ask students to share their findings and see whether they can come up with subcategories

from their brainstorming. Categories can be circled by color or written over into columns.

VARIATIONS Look in magazines, newspapers, and catalogs. Circle words that express feelings, colors, people’s names, or parts of speech. Use organizing software to record these brainstorms electronically, to be moved about on an interactive white board; use software for drawing graphics the same way. You can record student responses within circles and rectangles using the drawing toolbar in PowerPoint software.

6.3 Semantic Sorts Students work with content-related words to compare and contrast. In Figure 6.11, terms related to bees have been sorted into categories.

PROCEDURES 1. Look through a chapter or unit in a textbook and make a list of the key terms; they are

often listed at the end of a unit. Make word cards for the words or fill in a template such as the one in Appendix G.

2. Have students work alone or with partners to sort the words in an open sort, establish- ing their own categories. Then bring everyone together to compare and defend their groupings.

3. When doing a sort to introduce a unit of study, do not evaluate student groupings as right or wrong. Let disagreements or errors be the basis for questions to be answered with further study. For example, students might logically put royal jelly under “benefits” of honeybees. Rather than telling them where it should go, say something like, “I see that there is some disagreement about where to put royal jelly. As we read about honeybees we will pay special attention to this term.”

4. Have students sort words again after a unit of study is finished. They can copy the sorts into word study notebooks in a separate section for that content area, and be used as one way to evaluate student learning.

FIGURE 6.10 Sorting Words by Part of Speech

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FIGURE 6.11 Honey Bee Semantic Sort

Flower

pollen

nectar

bloom

Benefits

Honey Bees

beeswax

pollination

honey

Life Cycle

adult

royal jelly

pupa

egg

larva

Colony

worker bees

queen

drones

nurse bees

6.4 Shades of Meaning This small-group activity focuses on the nuances of meaning among words in the same semantic category. It is useful for nurturing word consciousness in writing as well as reading. The activity focuses on the discussion and not on whether the order is right or wrong.

PROCEDURES 1. Choose a vocabulary word that is essential to understanding a particular book or topic of

study. For example, you might choose stampede from Scieszka’s The Good, the Bad, and the Goofy, because this term describes so much of the action in this book.

2. Come up with other words that are similar to a stampede (noun): a charge, rush, f light, mad dash, and so on. Students can also contribute words.

3. Have students place the words along a continuum of strength (move, rush, flight, mad dash, charge, stampede) and then discuss the reasoning for their arrangement. Students might say that a charge is more forceful than a rush, or a stampede is even stronger than a charge.

6.5 “Said Is Dead” and “Good-Bye Good” As students increase their writing f luency their word choices should ref lect a more extensive and vivid vocabulary. These two activities are frequently used across the grades to help students add spice to their writing.

MATERIALS You will need a thesaurus for every small group, as well as chart paper, a projec- tor, and models of either exemplary or tired writing. Some teachers use chart paper cut in the shape of a headstone. You can find prepared posters of “Said Is Dead” and other word lists online, but it is better to have students create their own and add to them.

PROCEDURES 1. Begin with a piece of writing (a student sample or something that you create) and project

it for all to see. Look through the selection for overused words, such as the verb said or the adjective good. Then project a piece of literature with a variety of words for contrast.

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