Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan

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Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan

Kelly KingsleyTEAC 991Action Research PlanMay 2009/Revised June 30, 2009

Rationale

For the past 21 years, I have tried many different methods and strategies to teach spelling,

from spelling basal programs, worksheets, tests and word activities, and always in the back of

mind has been the thought, “There has got to be a better way to teach spelling.” I know that

spelling is not only important on the Friday spelling test, but that it is important in all areas of the

curriculum, so I want to implement strategies and instruction into the spelling program in my

classroom to help my students become spellers throughout everything they write, not just on a

spelling worksheet or test.

Spelling has always interested me. I have always wondered why a student who can get

100% on each weekly spelling test couldn’t transfer that learning to their writing. What was

missing in my instruction that wasn’t allowing that connection to be made? Plus, using the basal

spelling program was just downright boring and thus unmotivating to say the least. If I am bored

with the program, then I am sure my students are. Why am I teaching spelling in the first place?

Should spelling be taught as a separate curriculum component, or should it be integrated in the

content areas? How can doing workbook pages help children learn to spell words?

Past Efforts

I have experimented with individualized spelling lists, but they still contained a huge

portion of basal lists. Each student was to pick 3-5 words they wanted to learn to spell, but those

words really had no relation to the patterns we were learning, or words the kids needed for

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independent writing. So how do I identify words that my students should be learning? What

words should I teach and how? How will students get contextualized practice with multiple

opportunities? I know I will have above average to below average spellers in my classroom, so

how do I serve each one in the best possible way? How do I incorporate words for all learners to

use and learn to spell? How do I keep my students actively involved in learning to spell without

turning them off of spelling altogether?

I have played around with a word wall in my classroom, using it to show content

vocabulary or third grade list words, but I never used the wall as a teaching tool. So how do I

incorporate the word wall words into my spelling program?

Question for Fall

Therefore, my question for fall 2009 will be: Will the integration of spelling in reading

and writing increase the spelling abilities of my third grade students?

Literature Learning

Research has shown me that children learn to spell in the same manner they learned to

speak. Children need to take risks when learning to spell (Gentry, 1987). They need to

experience invented spelling and not have the pressure of spelling correctly when they are

writing. Children need to experience being wrong when spelling words, so that they are not

afraid of writing, but are learning from it (Gentry, 1987). Students need to do purposeful

writing to experience words and the teacher can guide them with instruction to help them learn

strategies to use when they don’t know how to spell a word (Graham, Harris, & Chorzempa,

2002). Research has shown that there is a close relationship between spelling, reading, and

writing, so spelling needs to be instructed throughout the curriculum, and it shouldn’t be a

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fragmented subject (Noell, Connell, & Duhon, 2006). The students need to be given instruction

on spelling strategies and word study. Combining writing with spelling instruction will give

students tools to use when needing to spell an unknown word (Henry, 1997). Spelling can be

taught as a sensible and interesting task that strengthens the relationships between reading and

writing, and helps build vocabulary knowledge. I would like to call attention to words and word

features as students encounter them in functional context because words become meaningful and

fully conceptualized when students use them in purposeful situations.

I have also noted from the research that poor readers tend to be poor spellers and those

students will need more opportunities to see and use words to make them their own. Strategies

need to be in place to help strong and struggling spellers, just like what is done for reading

instruction (Graham, Harris, & Chorzempa, 2002). The development of spelling skills isn’t

random, but evolves in stages, described as developmental. Masterson and Crede mention

Henderson’s 5 stages of spelling development: (1) preliterate-scribbles, drawing and some letter,

(2) letter-name stage-children enjoy representing sounds with letters, (3) within-word patterns-

orthographic patterns are learned, (4) syllable juncture-use of doubling principle (5) derivational

constancy-roots and derivations used consistently (Masterson, & Crede, 1999). Knowing the

stages of spelling development will help the teacher to look for strategies for each stage her

students are in.

There are three main spelling perspectives that appear to parallel particular spelling

practices: (a) traditional, (b) transitional, and (c) student-oriented (Heald-Taylor, 1998). A good

spelling program will incorporate some of each practice. By themselves they are good practice,

but combined they create a strong spelling focus.

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Traditional practices are based on traditional attitudes and an implicit learning theory .

Instruction, drill, memorization, imitation, rote learning, and an emphasis on correctness are

focused on. Traditional practices are taught formally as a separate subject. Teachers are the

main givers of information, and there is a test at the end of the week.

Transitional practices focus on the integration of numerous spelling strategies and the

significance of reading in learning to spell. Students are given direct instruction in phonetics,

spelling rules, study procedures, and weekly testing takes place. Spelling is mainly learned in

conjunction with various types of word study, like word sorts and spelling games. Teachers

integrate both direct and interactive instruction. Direct teaching is used for introducing words,

patterns, and spelling rules. Interactive strategies are employed when students use word sorts

and spelling games. Students are involved in their own learning. Evaluation is both formal and

informal. Formal evaluation comes from weekly and unit tests. Informal evaluation comes from

monitoring spelling competence in word sorting. Concerns regarding the transitional approach

are many of the activities are conducted separately from contextual reading and are conducted

without regard for students’ developmental stages. Another concern is the lack of specific

instructional strategies to show teachers how they could assist students in improving their

spelling abilities through writing.

Student-oriented practice focuses on learning to spell as a developmental process,

reading provides a context for learning to spell, and spelling is a functional component of

writing. The teacher’s role changes dramatically from predominantly giving information to

facilitating learning based on developmental levels and individual student needs. Students are

expected to engage actively in their own learning as they figure out much of their spelling for

themselves. Strategies are developmental, word study is done through literature, themed units

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and collaborative groups are employed. The teacher uses metacognitive conferences and mini-

lessons for instruction. Spelling is evaluated over time as students integrate numerous spelling

strategies into their repertoire and spelling effort moves toward conventionality. Individual

spelling profiles and conference logs are used to monitor authentic progress.

According to Scott, 2000, spelling integrated in authentic reading and writing allows the child to

begin with the task of producing a text for an authentic purpose. The teacher conferences and

circulates as children are writing, pointing out words spelled correctly, searching for underlying

principles in what isn’t spelled correctly and discusses these with the child. The key is to

capitalize on a teachable moment for spelling. The child should have an opportunity to apply

principle in another text-level writing experience. Students are taught to proof-read and self

correct spelling errors. Peer editing is also used to strengthen skills used in spelling. Poor

spellers need more opportunities to write. They need to find ways to bridge the gap between

explicit word-level spelling work and on-line reading and writing. There must be some text-

level spelling activities in each instructional session. Spelling instruction for a child would be

integrated within a plan that addresses the child’s profile of language abilities.

Literature Review of Instruments

The Qualitative Inventory of Word Knowledge has been used by others in the field to

learn about students’ capabilities as spellers. Several commercial assessments were also

mentioned, such as the Diagnostic Spelling Test (Kottmeyer, 1970) and The Spellmaster

Assessment and Teaching System (Greenbaum, 1987). These assessments are used to measure

the spelling of phonetically regular words and structural spelling elements, as well as,

nonphonetic or irregular words. Another study used the Spelling subtest from the Wechsler

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Individual Achievement Test (Wechsler, 1992). I found that most of the studies used a word list

and performed a spelling pre-test and post-test format.

Initial Plan

My plan is to create a research supported integrated spelling program that will actively

involve my students in learning to spell words that they are reading and using in their writing.

My goal is to nurture children who will become readers, writers, thinkers, and who are not afraid

to spell.

Methodology

Will the integration of spelling in reading and writing increase the spelling abilities of my

third grade students? My construct is focusing in on spelling growth through the instruction of

reading and writing.

Sample

Wake Robin Elementary School is located in Northeastern section of the city of Bellevue,

Nebraska. My third grade classroom usually consists of 20-22 third grade students, with about a

50/50 ratio of boys to girls. I commonly have a range of low to high achieving students in my

classroom each year. Most years I will have a very small sampling of special education students,

as well as, a low English language learner population.

I will use a convenience sample using my third grade students. I will group my students

into average, below average, and above average groups. By using my whole class as my sample,

I will be able to stratify the data into gender groups, ability level groups, and by race if I so

desire.

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Measurements

I will administer the Words Their Way Elementary Spelling Inventory (Appendices A-C) in the

fall. The inventory surveys a range of features and I will be able to use the measurement to

identify students’ developmental stages. This inventory is a published measurement tool, so it is

valid and reliable. The spelling inventory was also used in Developmental-Spelling Research: A

Systematic Imperative (Invernissi, Reading Research Quarterly, 2004) and Using Children's

Spellings to Group for Word Study and Directed Reading in the Primary Classroom (Bear,

Reading Psychology 1989). “Spelling inventories not only offer information about students’

spelling stages and their knowledge of orthographic features, but also offer information about

their reading. Studies show that scores on these inventories are consistently related and predict

reading achievement at all age levels from kindergartners through adult learners” (Bear, 2008).

The Qualitative Spelling Inventory measurement will allow me to track growth over

time. The words on the list present a reliable scale of developmental word knowledge. Once the

developmental stage is determined, I will use the student profiles to group for instruction. I plan

to assess the students’ growth several times throughout the school year using the spelling

inventory. My plan is to use the inventory 4 times; the beginning and end of each semester. This

will give me four scores to help verify each child’s growth and developmental stage.

Unfortunately, using the same inventory this many times will familiarize my students with the

word list enough to inflate the results. This maybe something I will need to take a look at and

discuss during my independent study.

Students will also be given a weekly spelling dictation tests in both formats (traditional

and integrated in their respected groups). I will use the pre-test/post-test format, the traditional

http://www.informaworld.com/index/746980476.pdf

http://www.informaworld.com/index/746980476.pdf

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tests will use the spelling textbook words, the integrated format will use words from the Words

Their Way book and also irregular words from the Word Wall.

I will also be using the Words Their Way Qualitative Spelling Checklist (Appendix D) to

monitor students’ spelling in their writing. The checklist allows for identification of orthographic

features that my students have mastered, are using, or are still confused about. I’ll ask a

colleague to help with double scoring to increase the reliability of scores and to check that the

instrument is measuring what it should be measuring.

By using multiple measurements, I will be insuring that my students are identified to the

best of my ability for instruction and for reporting growth throughout the school year. Since

growth is what I am going to measure, I will need to be able to report it in a sound way.

Students’ independent writing samples will guide my instruction and will inform the

results for my research. Reflecting on my lessons in a journal format, will help to keep track of

strategies that were implemented, and which strategies were successful for each group.

Design

From the research I have read, I have learned that the teacher plays an important role in

increasing students’ interest in words and influencing their attitudes toward spelling (O’Sullivan,

2000). I will need to consider O’Sullivan’s characteristics of effective teachers of spelling: (1)

the teachers enthusiasm and excitement about words is crucial, (2) spelling skills are taught

through a combination of the writing process and explicit teaching approaches, (3) the teacher

helped children develop a variety of spelling strategies, (4) there was a greater focus on syntactic

and semantic features of words, (5) responses and interventions in writing reflected the teacher’s

ability to further support the child’s progress, (6) the analysis of the child’s spelling gave the

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teacher insight into the spelling process that helped them to identify the child’s strengths and

weaknesses the teacher could support and provide help, (7) the teacher collected a wide range of

spelling resources, (8) the teacher involved the children in contributing and discussing resources.

The individual teacher plays a significant role when identifying the needs of individual children

and they need to be able to translate these needs into class, group, and individual approaches.

I plan to implement an ABAB design, or alternating treatments design this fall. For the

first two weeks of school, I will use the Words Their Way Qualitative Spelling Inventories for

baseline measurement. I will then group my students according to the results of the Qualitative

Spelling Inventory. The next four weeks will be spent teaching spelling in a traditional format

using the Harcourt Trophies Third Grade Spelling series. I will pre-test the list words on

Monday and introduce the words to students. The list words will be taught through spelling

workbook pages and lessons from the teacher’s manual. On Friday, the post-test will be

administered. I will record both the pre-test and post-test scores.

The following four weeks will be spent instructing spelling by integrating the instruction

through reading and writing. I will administer the Words Their Way Qualitative Spelling

Inventory once again to help with modifying my instructional groups. Each group will be

working on word lists that were identified by their spelling inventory results. I will continue with

the pre-test on Monday format, but I will be using small group time to work with students on

specific orthographic patterns that are occurring in their writing, from the spelling inventory, or

that may be used in their reading texts. A post-test will be administered on Friday. Again, both

the pre-and post-test scores will be recorded. I intend to devote more time to students actually

writing in a purposeful manner. This is a great way for students to learn spelling in a very

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practical and meaningful way. They will be using words that they are familiar with and words

they want to include in their writing.

After the integrated intervention sessions, I will go back to the traditional method

for another four weeks, then follow with another four weeks of the integrated intervention.

I will analyze the design results at the end of the semester to check how the

measurement is working and to see if the intervention was successful. I will also look at the

results to see if there is data to support an answer to my question. If there is enough data to show

that the integrated method is a beneficial way of instructing spelling, then I will continue with

that form of instruction for the second semester. If I am not confident with the results, I will

continue with the ABAB design the second semester.

I plan to administer the Qualitative Spelling Inventory again in January to help modify

my groups. The inventory will then be given in late April. I will use the data from all four

Spelling Inventories to show growth to parents and administrators and also quantify the

information to include in my research plan.

I intend to teach my students proofreading skills to use when they are writing, and I will

also teach them how to learn words and how to check spelling of words they have attempted.

Students will also be taught a range of strategies in order to internalize them and use them

interactively to produce correct spelling (Scott, 2000).

I will also score my student’s writing two times in each four week period. I will use the

Words Their Way Qualitative Spelling Checklist (Appendix D) to verify what types of

orthographic features the students have mastered and what types of features they are using, but

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might be confusing. I will use the checklist to monitor the student’s progress through the

stages.

Procedure

I will get IRB approval for my research project this summer. I have already spoken to the

head of Elementary Education for Bellevue Public Schools, so I will email her a summary of my

research plan for approval. I will write a letter to parents regarding my plan for the fall semester

regarding spelling instruction and send it home with students the first week of school. The first

two weeks of school will be spent collecting baseline data. I will begin my plan the third week

of school. I will analyze my data at the end of first semester and will make decisions at that time

as to whether to continue with the ABAB format or to go with the integrated format for second

semester.

Timeline

Summer 2009

Continue reading current spelling related research

Summer independent study

Research using word walls

Find strategies to build vocabulary knowledge

Look at ways to support weaker spellers and to challenge stronger spellers

Investigate information on invented spelling

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Read research incorporating spelling instruction into guided reading groups and in

writing mini-lessons

Identify word study activities

2009-2010 School Year:

August 11, 2009 Write letter to parents regarding spelling research plan

August 12, 2009 Send letter to parents home with students

August 12-21, 2009 Collect baseline data by administering the Qualitative Spelling

Inventories

August 24-December 18, 2009 Implement ABAB design

August 24-September 18, 2009 Teach Spelling in a traditional format using the Harcourt

Trophies Third Grade Spelling Program

Collect data from all students in my classroom which will include spelling pre- and post-

tests, student writing, error analysis results, and samples of student work

September 21, 2009 Administer the second round of Qualitative Spelling Inventories

September 21, 2009 Group students according to Inventory results

September 22-October 16, 2009 Teach Spelling through the integration of reading and

writing using selected word lists and word wall words (irregular words)

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Collect data from all students in my classroom, which will be grouped in three levels of

academic ability-above average, average, and below average. Data collected will include:

pretests/posttests, student writing, error analysis results, and samples of student work.

October 19-November 13, 2009 Teach Spelling in a traditional format using the Harcourt

Trophies Third Grade Spelling Program

Collect data from all students in my classroom which will include spelling pre- and post-

tests, student writing, error analysis results, and samples of student work

November 16-December 11, 2009 Teach Spelling through the integration of reading and

writing using selected word lists and word wall words (irregular words)

Collect data from all students in my classroom, which will be grouped in three levels of

academic ability-above average, average, and below average. Data collected will

include: pretests/posttests, student writing, error analysis results, and samples of student

work.

December 14-18, 2009 Analyze data collected

December 18, 2009 Decide to continue ABAB design second semester or to use

integrated instruction format

August 12-December 18, 2009 Keep a personal journal or blog to record teacher

reflections, strategies used,

August 12-December 18, 2009 Continue reading current spelling related research

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Bibliography

Bear, D. R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. (2008). Words Their Way; Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

Gentry, J. R. (1987). Spel...Is a Four-Letter Word. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann.

Graham, S., Harris, K., & Chorzempa, B. (2002). Contribution of Spelling Instruction to the Spelling, Writing, and Reading of Poor Spellers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94, 669-686.

Heald-Taylor, B.G. (1998). Three Paradigms of Spelling Instruction in Grades 3 to 6.

The Reading Teacher, 51, 404-413.

Henry, M. K. (1997). The Decoding/Spelling Curriculum: Integrated Decoding and Spelling Instruction from Pre-School to Early Secondary School. Dsylexia, 3, 178-189.

Masterson, J., & Crede, L. (1999). Learning to Spell: Implications for Assessment and Intervention. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 30, 243-254.

McMurray, S. (2006). Learning to Spell: Raising Standards in Spelling and Independent

Writing. Support for Learning, 21, 100-107.

Noell, G., Connell, J., & Duhon, G. (2006). Spontaneous Response Generalization During Whole Word Instruction: Reading to Spell and Spelling to Read. Springer Science and Business Media, Inc., 15, 121-130.

O’Sullivan, O. (2000). Understanding Spelling. Reading, April, 9-16.

Scott, C. (2000). Principles and Methods of Spelling Instruction: Applications for Poor Spellers. Topics in Language Disorders, 20, 66-82.

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Appendix A

Primary Spelling Inventory

The 26 words are ordered by difficulty to sample features of the letter name-alphabetic to within words pattern stages. Call out enough words so that you have at least five or six misspelled words to analyze. If students spell more than 20 words correctly, you may want to use the Elementary Spelling Inventory.

1. fan I could use a fan on a hot day. fan2. pet I have a pet cat who likes to play. pet3. dig He will dig a hole in the sand. dig4. rob A raccoon will rob a bird’s nest for eggs. rob5. hope I hope you will do well on this test. hope6. wait You will need to wait for the letter. wait7. gum I stepped on some bubble gum. gum8. sled The dog sled was pulled by huskies. sled9. stick I used a stick to poke in the hole. stick10. shine He rubbed the coin to make it shine. shine11. dream I had a funny dream last night. dream12. blade The blade of the knife was very sharp. blade13. coach The coach called the team off the field. coach14. fright She was a fright in her Halloween costume. fright15. chewed The dog chewed on the bone until it was gone. chewed16. crawl You will get dirty if you crawl under the bed. crawl17. wishes In fairy tales wishes often come true. wishes18. thorn The thorn from the rosebush stuck me. thorn19. shouted They shouted at the barking dog. shouted20. spoil The food will spoil if it sits out too long. spoil21. growl The dog will growl if you bother him. growl22. third I was the third person in line. third23. camped We camped down by the river last weekend. camped24. tries He tries hard every day to finish his work. tries25. clapping The audience was clapping after the program. clapping26. riding They are riding their bikes to the park today. riding

Words Their Way: word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction ©2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.

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Words Their Way Primary Spelling Inventory Feature Guide Student ________________________________ Teacher ____________________________ Grade____________ Date______________

Words Spelled Correctly: ____ / 26 Feature Points: ____ / 56 Total_______/ 82 Spelling Stage _________________________________

Stages and gradations →

Emergent Letter Name - Alphabetic

Late Early Middle Late

Within Word Pattern

Early Middle Late

Syllables & Affixes

Feature Points

Words Spelled Correctl

yFeatures →

↓Words

Beginning

Consonants

Final

Consonants

Short Vowels

Digraphs

Blends Long Vowel

Patterns

Other

Vowels

Inflected

Endings

1. fanf n a

2. petp t e

3. digd g i

4. robr b o

5. hopeh p o-e

6. waitw t ai

7. gumg m u

8. slede sl

9. sticki st

10. shinesh i-e

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11. dreamdr ea

12. bladebl a-e

13. coach-ch oa

14. frightfr igh

15. chewedch ew -ed

16. crawlcr aw

17. wishes-sh -es

18. thornth or

19. shoutedsh ou -ed

20. spoiloi

21. growlow

22. thirdth ir

23. camped-ed

24. tries tr -ies

25. clapping -pping

26. riding -ding

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Totals /7 /7 /7 /7 / 7 / 7 / 7 /7 /56 /26

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Appendix B

Elementary Spelling Inventory (ESI)

The 25 words are ordered by difficulty to sample features of the letter name-alphabetic to derivational relations stages. Call out enough words so that you have at least five or six misspelled words to analyze. If students spell more than 20 words correctly, use the Upper Level Spelling Inventory.

1. bed I hopped out of bed this morning. bed2. ship The ship sailed around the island. ship3. when When will you come back? when4. lump He had a lump on his head after he fell. lump5. float I can float on the water with my new raft. float6. train I rode the train to the next town. train7. place I found a new place to put my books. place8. drive I learned to drive a car. drive9. bright The light is very bright. bright10. shopping She went shopping for new shoes. shopping11. spoil The food will spoil if it is not kept cool. spoil12. serving The restaurant is serving dinner tonight. serving13. chewed The dog chewed up my favorite sweater yesterday. chewed14. carries She carries apples in her basket. carries15. marched We marched in the parade. marched16. shower The shower in the bathroom was very hot. shower17. bottle The bottle broke into pieces on the tile floor. bottle18. favor He did his brother a favor by taking out the trash. favor19. ripen The fruit will ripen over the next few days. ripen20. cellar I went down to the cellar for the can of paint. cellar21. pleasure It was a pleasure to listen to the choir sing. pleasure22. fortunate It was fortunate that the driver had snow tires. fortunate23. confident I am confident that we can win the game. confident24. civilize They wanted to civilize the forest people. civilize25. opposition The coach said the opposition would be tough. opposition

Words Their Way: word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction ©2008 by Pearson Education, Inc

20


Words Their Way Elementary Spelling Inventory Feature GuideStudent ________________________________ Teacher ____________________________ Grade____________ Date______________

Words Spelled Correctly: ____ / 25 Feature Points: ____ / 62 Total_______/ 87 Spelling Stage _________________________________


Emergent Letter Name

Late Early Middle Late

Within Word Pattern

Early Middle Late

Syllables and Affixes

Early Middle Late

Derivational Relations

Early Middle

Feature

Points

Words

Spelled

Correctly

Features →

↓Words

Consonants

Begin. Final

Short

Vowels

Digraphs

Blends

Long

Vowels

Other

Vowels

Inflected

Endings

Syllable

Junctures

Unaccented Final

Syllables

Harder Suffixes

Bases or Root

s

1. bed b d e

2. ship p i sh

3. when e wh

4. lump l u mp

5. float t fl oa

6. train n tr ai

7. place pl a-e

8. drive v dr i-e

9. bright br igh

10. shopping

o sh pping

11. spoil sp oi

12. serving

er ving

13. chewed

ch ew ed

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14. carries

ar ies rr

15. marched

ch ar ed

16. shower

sh ow er

17. bottle tt le

18. favor v or

19. ripen p en

20. cellar ll ar

21. pleasure

ure pleas

22. fortunate

or ate fortun

23. confident

ent confid

24. civilize

ize civil

25. opposition

tion pos

Totals /7 /5 /6 /7 /5 /7 /5 /5 /5 /5 /5 /62 /25

Appendix C

Upper-Level Spelling Inventory (USI)

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The 31 words are ordered by difficulty to sample features of the within word pattern to derivational relations to spelling stages. You may want to stop when students misspell more than eight words and are experiencing noticeable frustration. If students misspell five of the first eight words, use the ESI to more accurately identify within word pattern features that need instruction.1. switch We can switch television channels with a remote control. switch2. smudge There was a smudge on the mirror from her fingertips. smudge3. trapped He was trapped in the elevator when the electricity went off. trapped4. scrape The fall caused her to scrape her knee. scrape5. knotted The knotted rope would not come undone. knotted6. shaving He didn’t start shaving with a razor until 11th grade. shaving7. squirt Don’t let the ketchup squirt out of the bottle too fast. squirt8. pounce My cat likes to pounce on her toy mouse. pounce9. scratches We had to paint over the scratches on the car. scratches10. crater The crater of the volcano was filled with bubbling lava. crater11. sailor When he was young, he wanted to go to sea as a sailor. sailor12. village My Grandad lived in a small seaside village. village13. disloyal Traitors are disloyal to their country. disloyal14. tunnel The rockslide closed the tunnel through the mountain. tunnel15. humor You need a sense of humor to understand his jokes. humor16. confidence With each winning game, the team’s confidence grew. confidence17. fortunate The driver was fortunate to have snow tires on that winter day. fortunate18. visible The singer on the stage was visible to everyone. visible19. circumference The length of the equator is equal to the circumference of the earth.

circumference20. civilization We studied the ancient Mayan civilization last year. civilization21. monarchy A monarchy is headed by a king or queen. monarchy22. dominance The dominance of the Yankee’s baseball team lasted for several years.

dominance23. correspond Many students correspond through e-mail. correspond24. illiterate It is hard to get a job if you are illiterate. illiterate25. emphasize I want to emphasize the importance of trying your best. emphasize26. opposition The coach said the opposition would give us a tough game. opposition27. chlorine My eyes were burning from the chlorine in the swimming pool. chlorine28. commotion The audience heard the commotion backstage. commotion29. medicinal Cough drops are to be taken for medicinal purposes only. medicinal30. irresponsible It is irresponsible not to wear seat belt. irresponsible31. succession The firecrackers went off in rapid succession. succession

Words Their Way: word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction ©2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Words Their Way Upper Spelling Inventory Feature Guide

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Student _____________________ Teacher __________________ Grade _______ Date _________________

Words Spelled Correctly: ___ / 31 Feature Points: ___ / 68 Total____/ 99 Spelling Stage ____________________


Within Word Pattern Syllables and Affixes Derivational Relations

Early Middle Late Early Middle Late Early Middle Late Featur

e Points

Words Spelled Correct

lyFeatures

→

↓Words

Digraphs &

BlendsVowe

ls

Complex

Conso-nants

Inflected Endings &

Syllable Juncture

Unaccen-ted Final

Syllables Affixes

Reduced Vowels in Unaccent

ed Syllables

Greek and

Latin Elemen

ts

Assimila-ted

Prefixes

1. switch sw i tch

2. smudge sm u dge

3. trapped tr pp

4. scrape a-e scr

5. knotted o kn tt

6. shaving sh e-drop

7. squirt ir squ

8. pounce ou ce

9. scratches a tch es

10. crater cr t er

11. sailor ai or

12. village ll age

13. disloyal oy al dis

14. tunnel nn el

15. humor m or

16. confidence con fid

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17. fortunate ate fortun

18. visible ible vis

19. circumference ence

circum

20. civilization liz civil

21. monarchy arch

22. dominance ance min

23. correspond res rr

24. illiterate ate ll

56. emphasize size pha

26. opposition pos pp

27. chlorine ine chlor

28. commotion tion mm

29. medicinal al medic

30. irresponsible ible res rr

31. succession sion cc

Totals/5 /9 /7 /8 /9 /10 /7 /7 /6

/68 / 31

Appendix D

25


Documents

Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan