Word Study: A New Approach to Teaching Spelling
Click the "References" link above to hide these references. Baker, L. (2000). Building the word-level foundation for engaged reading. Engaging young readers: Promoting achievement and motivation. New York: Guilford Press. Barnes, W. Bear, D. Bear, D. Henderson, E. Henderson, E. Templeton, S. (1991). Templeton, S., & Morris, D. (1999). Zutell, J. (1998). Zutell, J. (1992).
Word Study: What Exactly Is It?
*This post contains affiliate links. To read more, please see my full disclosure policy. Welcome to day 1 of Teaching Spelling through Word Study. Traditional Spelling First, I wanted to drudge up what you probably already know about spelling. SEE Word + WRITE Word = MEMORIZE Word If we see the word a lot + write (or copy) the word a lot, then the string of letters will stick in our brain. We also have our lists of rules: “when two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking” or “the silent e makes the vowel say its name”. With traditional spelling, spelling can become rather dull and boring for the student (and teacher). Rote memorization * Unrelated word lists * Lists of rules * Many exceptions * Dull and boring * Passive * Forgettable Now, contrast traditional spelling with… The Word Study Approach Word Study operates under a different paradigm. Students are given word sorts and asked to be active learners as they compare, contrast, sort/manipulate, and classify the words. ~Becky
Teaching Spelling Through Word Study
*This post contains affiliate links. To read more, please see my full disclosure policy. For the next two weeks, I’m honored to be joining 39 other bloggers in iHomeschool Network’s Hopscotch! I’ll spend 10 days showing how effective Word Study is in teach spelling. Teaching Spelling Through Word Study Topics for Each Day: More Resources for Teaching Spelling: Teaching Kids to Spell: A Developmental Approach to Spelling is my newest ebook (coming soon!). Stay connected to This Reading Mama so you don’t miss a thing: ~Becky
Creative Word Study Activities
For Use in the Classroom or with Individual Students Classroom Activities for Letter Names, Initial Letter Sounds, and Suffixes from "Dr. Jean" Feldman Word Study Directions and Templates from Words Their Way Word Games and Templates from Speech Teach Favorite Word Activities from Cathy Puett Miller Word Activities from BBC Online The links on the left side of their page will take you to a host of online and printable games. Games and Word Activities Prepared by Sadlier-Oxford Educational Publishing Using Know Patterns to Write Unfamiliar Words Connie Campbell Dierking These exercises are most effective when adult guidance is provided. Working With Words: Games from a core list of words. Words Their Way: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction Donald R. Word Journeys Kathy Ganske Building Words: A Resource Manual for Teaching Word Analysis and Spelling Strategies Thomas G.
Why some kids can’t spell and why spelling tests won’t help
A couple of years ago, early one morning, I received an SMS advising “resadents to stay indoors because of a nearby insadent”. I was shocked by the spelling, as much as the message. Surely, I thought, if it was a real message then the spelling would be correct. Spelling matters. Spelling remains the most relentlessly tested of all the literacy skills, but it is the least taught. Sending a list of words home on Monday to be tested on Friday is not teaching. Looking, covering, writing and checking does not teach spelling. And yet, this is a good summary of most of the current spelling programs in schools today. So, what should spelling teaching look like? Finding meaning Children should know the meanings of the words they spell, and as logical as that sounds - ask a child in your life what this week’s spelling words mean, and you might be surprised by their answers. That is not only very very hard, it’s pointless. More than sounds How words make their meanings Where words come from
11 Vocab Games to Make the Learning Stick
How do you make those vocabulary words stick—not just for the vocab quiz tomorrow but for the long term? Practice, practice, practice! The best way to get your students excited about words is if you make them too much fun to resist! It doesn’t matter whether your students are learning about Native American tribes, plant cells, or John Steinbeck, word knowledge impacts comprehension and overall learning. This post contains affiliate links, which means we may collect a share of sales from the links on this page. 1. Students travel the world by identifying words with multiple meanings—and master vocabulary skills as they play! 2. Buckle up and get in the fast lane to fun with Word on the Street, the hilarious tug of words. 3. Perfect game for using words in different contexts. 4. Familiarize students with vocab words with this Bingo-like game. 5. This triple-rhyming card game is loads of fun! 6. 7. A think-quick game for vocabulary practice. 8. 9. This game is harder than it looks! 10.
Classroom Vocabulary Assessment for Content Areas
Osa (all names are pseudonyms) teaches third grade in a high-poverty urban setting with a diverse population that includes a majority of children of color and a high percentage of English-language learners (ELLs). During the most recent school year, she instructed vocabulary in a deliberate way during the literacy block and content area instruction. In light of the increased time and attention to vocabulary instruction, she felt confident that her students had increased word knowledge and word consciousness. However, Osa was disappointed and discouraged by the outcomes of the yearly standardized assessment used by her district, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS). Her students' scores on the vocabulary sub-test did not indicate any significant gains from their previous year's scores. She knew that her students had increased knowledge about words, but she wanted quantitative evidence of that increased knowledge. "But the words I taught weren't on the test" Back to top Assessment Dimensions
New student assessment features and reporting tools for teachers are here!
Last week, we rolled out some brand new features on our site. We’re really excited about how these updates will not only help teachers to check student comprehension but also to use Flocabulary for planning, differentiation and intervention in the classroom. Our new online assessments offer students a more interactive experience, allowing them to demonstrate what they learned from our videos and activities. And with these student features, we’ve created some great new assigning and reporting tools for teachers, too! Explore our new features and what they’ll bring to your classroom below: Check comprehension with a quiz Now, in addition to the videos and activities you see in all of our instructional units, you’ll also find online, auto-graded formative assessments for students. New quiz feature for students Assign a unit We’ve updated our our teacher dashboard, so educators can now set up classes or student groups on their Flocabulary accounts. My Classes in teacher dashboard
