Words Their Way

Parent Guides Teaching Upstairs

Sort #30 Parent/Student Directions • This week, your child is reviewing r-influenced vowel patterns (ar, schwa + r, and

or) • Cut out the word category cards, these are the category headings and should be

placed at the top of each column. • All three homophone pairs (horse/hoarse, worn/warn, bore/boar) require

discussion to establish their meaning. • Notice how ar words are spelled quite regularly, but the other two are spelled in a

variety of ways • Ask your child to sort the words into categories. Ask “Why did you sort the word

cards the way you did?” • Have your child say the words aloud. If your child does not know the meanings of

certain words, please discuss the words. • Have your child mix-up the cards and sort them again as quickly as possible. • Place these materials in a plastic bag and put them in a safe place. These will be

needed for all spelling assignments this week. Spelling Word Work Through The Week (One should be done each night) • SORT the words into the same categories you did in school and record them in a

notebook or piece of paper.

• Do a BLIND SORT with your child. o First, write out the headings for the sort on a piece of paper. o Then, mix-up the words. Say the word without showing the card to your

child. o Have your child choose the right category by pointing to the heading that

shares the same vowel sound. o Ask your child “What characteristic do the two words share?”

--The word has an ar as in hard. --The word has a schwa plus r as in nerve. --The word has an or as in torn.

• WORD HUNT –using words or pictures found around the house record words that

have the same pattern as your word sort for the week in your notebook or on a piece of paper. (These words may be part of your spelling test).

• REVIEW THE WORDS with your child so they are ready for the test. The test will contain sort words and new words that follow the spelling patterns studied all week.

• SPELLING o Do a writing sort on the back of this assignment sheet. o Say your child’s words in a random order and have your child write them in

the correct category. o If your child misspells a word or places it in the wrong category, continue to

repeat it until it is spelled or placed correctly. o Bonus Words to practice: w + or = ur w + or = or w + ar = or w + ear =

air

Words Their Way

Parent Guides Teaching Upstairs

Extension Sort to Sort #30

Pull out all the words that begin with w form sort 27 and 28. Additional words to use are: worth, worse, swore, wear, swear, warm, dwarf, wart, swarm, and warp. Challenge students to sort them and see what kind of conclusions they can draw about these words. Students will find that the w seems to exert a special control on words as shown in the sort below. w + or = ur w + or = or w + ar = ar w + ear = air ___________________________________________________________________________ work wore war wear word worn warn swear worm swore warm world swarm worth wart worse warp dwarf ___________________________________________________________________________ Homophones are in bold print