Word Study

Word Study

What is word Study? for parents

Who we are

Fay Harrington

Longwood University Graduate Student

Kristen Honeycutt

Bedford County Public Schools

Longwood University Graduate Student

Today’s Agenda

Experience Word Study

Explain the different stages of Word Study

Explain the assessment procedure

Identify where students should ideally be spelling

Identify ways parents can help with word study at home

Create ready to use home instructional materials

Wrap up

What you will learn today

You will learn what word study is

You will learn the different stages of word study

You will learn how students are evaluated for word study

You will learn how to help your child at home

You will learn to create stage specific home use resources

What is word study?

Word study is a research based spelling instruction program focused on learning to recognize word patterns within the English language. It develops general knowledge of spelling and increases specific knowledge of words (WTW). It is sequential instruction involving hands on manipulation of words. Each stage in the sequence relies on skills developed in the previous stage and has some overlapping. There are five stages of word study starting with the youngest child who scribbles on a paper and brings it to a parent all the way to the etymologist (person who studies word history). Although word study does not expect all students to become etymologists, the understanding of the history of a word, and the meaning of its different and related parts can help a person spell and define a word.

Experiencing Word Study

Have you seen these before?

It used to look like this

gaGQaQgRrqzrZgaRAqzZ

Turn and sort

With a person, or people near you please sort the papers you have in your baggie

This is a font sort using beginning letter sounds

GrassRabbitAppleZebraQueengRaZQGrAzqgraZQgRazq

This was a sort for Emergent Spellers

Emergent spellers are the first stage of spellers

Emergent spellers

Alphabet recognition (able to recognize all upper and lower case letters)

Alphabet formation (able to form all upper and lower case letters)

Letter sounds (student is able to match one sound to each letter)

Let’s try it again

It used to look like this

BMC

Beginning letter sound sort

BMC

B

M

C

Bag

Mitten

Cat

Box

Moon

Cow

Bug

Mouse

Candle

Bus

Mop

Corn

Letter Name Alphabetic

Initial and final consonants in a single syllable, short vowel word

Diagraphs (

sh

,

th

,

wh

,

ph

,

ch

,

qu

)

Blends (l blends, r blends and final blends (

ft

,

rd

,

st

)

Common short vowel words often referred to as CVC

Common sight words

Let’s try one a little more advanced

Try this sort with your group

It used to look like this

Short ă

CVC

Long ā

CVCe

Long ā

CVVC

Cap

Lake

Rain

Sat

Flax

Gain

Tax

Base

Plane

Lamp

Plan

Sail

Pail

Fast

Take

Bake

Bare

Maid

Mail

Wave

This is a short ă long ā sort.

Short ă CVCLong āCVCeLong āCVVCCapLakeRainTaxBaseGainPlanPlanePailLampBareMaidFlaxBakeMailFastTakeSatWave

Notice there are two different patterns to make long

ā.

Within Word Pattern

Common long vowel patterns

Uncommon long vowel patterns

Ambiguous vowels (neither long nor short aw in crawl)

Complex consonants (

tch

,

dge

,

thr

,

str

)

Homophones (two words with the same pronunciation, different spellings and different meanings)

Single syllable sight words

Learning to spell and define these words allows students to make quick connections and observations.

Short ă

CVC

Long ā

CVCe

Long ā

CVVC

Cap

Lake

Rain

Tax

Base

Gain

Plan

Plane

Pail

Lamp

Bare

Maid

Flax

Bake

Mail

Fast

Take

Sat

Wave

This sort introduces an oddball; one that doesn’t follow the pattern.

Long ā

CVCe

Long ā

CVVC

oddball

Bare

Bear

Whale

Wail

Stare

Stair

Gait

Gate

Made

Maid

Male

Mail

Plane

Plain

Wave

Waive

Break

Brake

Great

Grate

This sort introduces an oddball; one that doesn’t follow the pattern

Long ā

CVCe

Long ā

CVVC

oddball

Bare

Mail

Break

Stare

Plain

Bear

Male

Wail

Great

Plane

Waive

Gate

Maid

Brake

Pail

Whale

Stair

Wave

Gait

Made

Pale

Grate

Word study allows students to make observations about spelling.

Long āCVCeLong āCVVCoddballBareMailBreakStarePlainBearMaleWailGreatPlaneWaiveGateMaidBrakePailWhaleStairWaveGaitMadePaleGrate

A student may notice

each word has a matching word by sound but not spelling

“

ea

” makes the long a ā sound in these words

w

aive has both silent e and CVVC patterns

A student may wonder

Why?

How do I know which one to use?

Is “

ea

” and oddball?

Are there other words that have silent e markers and CVVC spellings?

Word study encourages these observations and questions. Word study works to help students understand the whys and the

hows

of spelling.

Ready to try another?

Adding ING

Double

Nothing

E-drop

oddball

Trimming

Diving

Pushing

Floating

Mixing

Taxing

Sleeping

Jumping

Riding

Popping

Munching

Cheering

Waiting

Wanting

Kicking

Quitting

Wasting

Sliding

Driving

Dragging

No, we’re not trying to trick you.

This is a syllables and affixes sort

DoubleNothingE-drop oddballTrimmingJumpingPushingPoppingSleepingJumpingDraggingCheeringWaitingQuitting WantingSlidingTaxingWastingMixingDivingMunchingRidingFloatingDrivingKicking

You may say “There are no oddballs. But when you know what pattern to look for…..

This is a syllables and affixes sort

DoubleNothingE-drop oddballTrimmingJumpingPushingMixingPoppingSleepingJumpingTaxingDraggingCheeringWaitingQuitting WantingSlidingTaxingWastingMixingDivingMunchingRidingFloatingDrivingKicking

PUT THE pATTERN GUIDELINE HEREYou’ll see that mix and tax don’t fit the pattern. Words that end in “x” don’t fit the pattern. They make their own.By giving students the opportunity to study the words and the patterns they make students can make better decisions when spelling words.

Syllable and Affixes

Learn about the spelling changes that often take place at the joining of two syllables.

Compound words

Unusual plurals

Two syllable homophones (pedal, petal, peddle)

Multiple syllable words without affixes (cattle)

Homographs (two words spelled the same but pronounced differently)

Identify simple affixes

Last one, we promise.

-able

-

ible

Dependable

Edible

Agreeable

Legible

Credible

Laughable

Perishable

Possible

Feasible

Visible

Agreeable

Expendable

Predictable

Readable

Plausible

Remarkable

Profitable

Audible

Horrible

Tangible

Obvious, you say?But why?

-able-ibleDependableEdibleLaughablePossibleAgreeableLegiblePerishableFeasibleExpendableCredibleRemarkableVisiblePredictablePlausibleReadableHorribleAgreeableTangibleProfitableAudible

Take away the suffix. What do you find?

Words that end in –able the remaining word is a base word.

Words that end in –

ible

the remaining word is a root word.

What’s the difference?

A base word can stand alone.

This is why word study is sequential. When students are in the syllables and affixes stage they learn about bases and roots. They learn how to identify them within multi syllable words.

Derivational Relations

This is the study of how new words are created from existing words; and the development of a word from its historical origin.

Additional study of prefixes and suffixes

Greek and Latin word elements

Advanced suffix study

What are the 5 stages?

EMERGENT (beginning, middle and late)

LETTER NAME ALPHABETIC (beginning, middle and late)

WITHIN WORD

PATTERN (beginning, middle and late)

SYLLABLES AND

AFFIXES (beginning, middle and late)

DERIVATIONAL RELATIONS

Spelling stage expectations by grade level.

Grade level

Typical spelling stage ranges within

grade

End of year spelling stage

goa

l

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

Where do TJES students fall?

The following results are based on the PALS exit assessments for 2014

Grade

Year End Spelling

Stage

Goals

% Achieved %

Surpassed

K

1

2

3

4

5

How do teachers determine what spelling stage is right for my child?

Student are given a spelling inventory. It is a spelling test that should not be studied for.

The words in the spelling inventories have been chosen specifically because they provide the spelling features that word study studies.

Words in the spelling inventory start off with short vowels, then common long vowels, and progress through other long vowels and ambiguous vowels.

The words get more difficult as the inventory asks students to spell words with variable affixes requiring knowledge of syllable juncture changes.

Teachers will not ask K student to spell words for derivational spellers.

Determining spelling stage.

Spelling inventories are not evaluated in the same manner as a spelling test.

Features within a word are worth points.

Students get one point for each correctly spelled word.

They get additional points for each feature within the word the inventory is evaluating.

MOP might be worth 4 points. 1 for getting the short vowel right, 1 for the beginning sound, 1 for the ending sound and 1 for spelling it correctly.

GREAT might be worth 3 points. 1 for the

g

r blend, 1 for

ea

and one for spelling it correctly.

QUITTING might be worth 2 points. 1 for

tting

, and 1for spelling it correctly.

The points are added up and the points for spelling the particular features being evaluated in the word are counted.

If a student consistently misses the spelling of common long vowels, the student will most likely be placed in within word pattern spelling.

There are exceptions. A student who spells all long vowel patterns and ambiguous vowels correctly with the exception of

ai

,

may

be given additional side instruction or homework to learn this vowel team and be placed in a different stage or subset of the stage (late instead of middle)

What can I do at home to help?

Be aware of what your child is doing at school.Is your child manipulating the words like you have today?Is your child sorting and writing the words sorted?Is your child concentrating on the task at hand?

Be involved in what your child is doing at home.

Is your child manipulating the words like you have today?

Is your child making observations and connections?

Is your child seeing the patterns?

Is your child engaged in learning to spell the words?

Engaging your child with games.

There are many games you can play at home with your child.

Speed sort

Speed spell

Dry erase spell

Magnet spell

Flip book spell

Board game spell

Flip book instructions.

2 and 3 letter words

Put instructions here

4 letter words (not just for little kids)

Put instructions here

Image of flip book

“A” board game.

It doesn’t get any easier to make than this.This game is nothing more than the letter A divided into squares. As you and your child spell the words from our long a short a sort correctly you get to move around the game board.Next time you play, identify if the word is spelled ai, a silent e or a. Don’t worry about the other letters.It’s that easy to engage your child in word study at home.

Make at home board games

This board game was made in less than five minutes using the add “

ing

” sort we used earlier in this workshop.

The rules are simple. Roll the die.

Correctly add

ing

to the word in the space and you get to stay.

Does your opponent think you have it wrong? Check in your word study book. If you have it wrong you go back. If you were right go again. If you land on a space that says spell one (or more) from the pile, your opponent picks up the correct number or words and reads them to you one at a time and you spell them. Get them right, stay on your space. Get them wrong, go back.

General board game instructions

In your bucket you will find laminated construction paper, dry erase markers, wrapped candy and dice.

On the back of each laminated construction piece is instructions on how to create a board game.

Go for it!

We will be here to help.

You will find that after a while you will be able to make these games up without any type of instructions.

You will see those little cards come home and you will have a game done in no time flat.

You may find yourself wiling away the hours playing a just created word study game.

Picture of kids playing word study game in

drs

office.

Quick wrap up/summary

Word study is researched based.

If you have questions about your child’s progress, ask the teacher.

Thank you.

Please take a brochure with the stages described, student placement and additional resources.

You are welcome to take home your board, instructions, word cards and game pieces.

Please leave the dry erase markers in the bucket