I am very excited to introduce "Words Their Way" to my students! Spelling has always been a hard subject for many. It can be common for students to memorize their spelling words for their test on a Friday, but then not be able to write the words correctly on the following Monday. "Words Their Way" is designed to teach word patterns so students can begin to recognize and understand how words are spelled, and make connections between words. For example, when a student wants to write a word that has the long "e" sound, they will be able to think, "I know 'ee' says the long 'e' sound, but so does 'ea.' I will write both and see which one looks right." They may then write out "tree" and "trea" and realize that the first one looks right, based on the way they have seen it written in books or other text.
Word patterns are taught through word sorts. Students are given a sheet of words, which includes headers, such as "long a," "short a," and, "oddball." They are to cut out the words and then sort them into columns. For example, they will put the word "mad" under "short a" and the word "made" under "long a." The word "what" is put in the "oddball" column because the "a" in "what" does not say long OR short "a."
It is unlikely that your students will be doing the same sort as other students, because it is designed to teach them exactly what they need. The sorts are grouped by categories such as long and short vowels, digraphs (sh, wh, ch) or blends (fl, tr, mp, br, dr). Students will keep working on a sort until they have mastered it, so they may be working on the same words for longer than a week. Rather than moving quickly from list to list, the goal is to teach students how to read and write using word patterns. I have seen "Words Their Way" work well for many students, and am excited to continue teaching it!
Word patterns are taught through word sorts. Students are given a sheet of words, which includes headers, such as "long a," "short a," and, "oddball." They are to cut out the words and then sort them into columns. For example, they will put the word "mad" under "short a" and the word "made" under "long a." The word "what" is put in the "oddball" column because the "a" in "what" does not say long OR short "a."
It is unlikely that your students will be doing the same sort as other students, because it is designed to teach them exactly what they need. The sorts are grouped by categories such as long and short vowels, digraphs (sh, wh, ch) or blends (fl, tr, mp, br, dr). Students will keep working on a sort until they have mastered it, so they may be working on the same words for longer than a week. Rather than moving quickly from list to list, the goal is to teach students how to read and write using word patterns. I have seen "Words Their Way" work well for many students, and am excited to continue teaching it!