September 30, 2013 Dear Parents,

I am excited to inform you that the First Grade Team has chosen a new phonics, spelling and vocabulary program called Words Their Way. The main benefit of Words Their Way is that it differentiates instruction allowing each child to work at their appropriate instruction level. Students have been given an initial spelling inventory in order to place each student into a group based upon the spelling stage that he/she is currently in.

New words will be introduced ever other Monday in class with a guided teacher sort. Word work in our classroom will include sorting our words into categories, and noticing similarities and differences between words that sound alike.

Each Friday students will have a Show What You Know, where they will be asked to spell half of the words from their sort. The following week, I will test the other half of the words.

Words Their Way focuses less on memorization and more on allowing students to work with the words during word sorts to give them the chance to learn spelling patterns. Word work at home and school will reflect this philosophy. A letter explaining spelling homework for Words Their Way is on the back of this letter and will also be posted as a PDF on our class website.

I am excited about the opportunity to work with your child using Words Their Way. If you have any questions about Words Their Way, please feel free to contact me. Best, Miss Tamkin

http://misstamkinsfirstgrade.weebly.com

Students will bring home a word sort that looks like the one pictured above. They will cut out each word and sort them into categories under the headers. Ask your child to explain to you why the words are sorted in a particular way. What does the sort reveal about the spelling pattern in general?

Found on the following pages is a list of activities that will be used throughout the school year in class as well as at home for homework. Activities will not be assigned as homework until they are first practiced in the classroom.

Word sorts will be sent home every other Monday. It is generally a good idea to store the word sort in a zip lock baggy, so your child can use it through out the two weeks. St the bottom of each sort the number and title of categories will be written for the given sort. The headers for each category will be underlined. Odballs are words that do not fit in any of the categories and will be indicated with a star drawn under the word.