Word Study and Spelling

Meagan Eberstein - Kelly Olson - Lauren Eudene

What is your experience teaching

word study?

How were you taught word

study?

What have you seen in the schools you have

worked in?

What It Is

• An alternative to traditional spelling instruction

• Based on learning word patterns, rather than memorizing unrelated words

• Teaches word knowledge, not just words

How It’s Used• A variety of hands-on activities• Used explicitly in Daily 5 instruction

and 4- Block Literacy Model• Frequently used in small groups• Holistic Model – during reading block

instruction• Skills Model – skills-intensive focus

solely on phonics and spelling

“Expanded vocabulary and correct spelling allow for more fluent reading

and writing thus speeding up the ability to comprehend what is read and

get thinking down on the paper.”– Gail Boushey and Joan Mosher, Daily 5

Letter Stamps

Scrabble Tiles

Rainbow Words

Wikki Stix

Play - Doh Words

Magnetic Letters

Other

Big Names

Patricia Cunningham

Donald R. Bear, Marcia Invernizzi, Shane Templeton, Francine Johnston

“By using students’ spellings as a guide, teachers can efficiently

differentiate effective instruction in phonics, spelling, and

vocabulary.”– Words Their Way (2012) , p.3

Ruth Scott“In addition to basic word recognition and spelling, however, students need to have a deep understanding of word meaning. Rather than simply knowing

the literal meaning of a new concept, it is important that students explore the multiple meanings of words, and how

similar words differ from one another.”

What is your experience teaching spelling?

What have you seen in the schools you have worked

in?

How were you taught spelling?

Approaches• Basal reading programs• Scripted spelling programs• Authentic word lists• Phonics based

Forms of Assessment• Weekly spelling test• Words their Way• Teacher-made materials• Writing analysis• 6+1 Traits of Writing -

Conventions

Interactive Word Wall• Word wall: systematically

organized collection of words• Interactive Word Wall: a word

wall in which students manipulate the words

Interactive Word Wall Videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCv0uiExGSY

Interactive Word Wall Websitehttp://

myweb.stedwards.edu/mikekb/ReadStrong/wordwall.html

Groups

• Coral – phonics and vowels

• Starfish – spelling

• Seahorse – making words

• Sharks – multimodality station

Wrap-Up• There are many ways to teach

spelling (we just touched on some aspects)

• It is a broad subject area that can be incorporated in many content areas

• Does not need to be taught separately

• Questions???