Words Their Way

**Word Sorts will begin in October.**

"Word study involves "doing" things with words - examining, manipulating, comparing and categorizing - and offers students the opportunity to make their own discoveries about how words work.  Words Their Way is a developmental approach to phonics, vocabular"Word study involves "doing" things with words - examining, manipulating, comparing and categorizing - and offers students the opportunity to make their own discoveries about how words work.  Words Their Way is a developmental approach to phonics, vocabulary, and spelling instruction. Using a systematic approach, guided by an informed interpretation of spelling errors and other literacy behaviours, Words Their Way offers a teacher-directed, child-centered plan for the study of words." 

Words Their Way

Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton & Johnston

Words Their Way engages students in hands on, active learning that builds on what they already know.  This program utilizes word sorts to help students organize what they know about words and to form generalizations that they can then apply to new words they encounter in their reading.

Students completed a spelling inventory, which provided information about what student know about words.  They were then are placed in groups based on what they already know and what they are ready to study.  

Your child will be bringing home a word sort each week that has been introduced in class.  This sort is based on specific spelling patterns, that will be your child's focus for the week. 

A variety of activities have been modeled and practiced in the classroom so your child can teach you how to do them.  You are encouraged to utilize these activities at home to help reinforce and master the spelling pattern of your child’s sort.

Monday	Sort the words Read the words aloud as they sort Have your child explain why the words are sorted this way.
Tuesday	Blind Sort – lay down a word from each category as a header and then read the rest of the words aloud.  Your child must indicate where the word goes without seeing it and lay it down.
Wednesday	Speed Sort – set up the headers and then shuffle the rest of the words. Time how long it takes to complete their sort.  Record their time.  Repeat immediately trying to beat their own time.
Thursday	Writing Sort (to prepare for Friday’s assessment*) – as you call out the words in random order, your child should write them in categories. Can be done on paper, white board, chalk board, etc.

As your child finishes his/her sorts, go through each column and make sure he/she can pronounce each word and confirm that the word “fits” under the header.  This is the time to help them correct any mistakes.



FAQs:

1. How are the sort groups created?

Students are assessed three times through out the school year using the Spelling Inventory, and the results are carefully analyzed. Specific attention is paid to patterns students are "using and confusing".  Students are then assigned to a developmentally appropriate group.


2. How are students assessed?

Students are assessed in two ways: through the Spelling inventory (3 times per year) and through weekly sort assessments as described below.

Weekly sort assessment will take place on Friday (or Thursday in the case of a short week).  Students will be assessed on 10 random words from their sort and also 2 additional words that are new to them, but that follow the spelling rules they have been focusing on that week.  

- Students with words in their sort will complete a computerized spelling assessment. 

- Students who have BOTH words & pictures will be assessed on the written words from their sort using a computerized spelling assessment. 

- Students with pictures only will be assessed by completing the sort and orally providing the sounds made by each of the headers.  

3. What computer program is used to assess students?
Students use Spelling City for the weekly computerized sort assessment.  Students also have access to this program throughout the week as a means of practicing their words. 

4. Why are the words so easy?

Have you encountered the frustration of a child studying words for the test, memorizing them letter by letter and scoring 100% only to misspell the very same word the following week?  Many students fail to recognize patterns in words. Somehow, the phonics didn't stick. Your child is given words that help him/her understand the pattern we are studying. Students can read many of the words they spell incorrectly. The goal is for them to spell correctly the words they use regularly. (Check their writing to see the words they are misspelling). On the other hand, there is research to support a connection between spelling ability and reading ability.  Improving knowledge of patterns in words helps many students become more fluent readers.




5. What do the letters on the headers stand for?

    - CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant - i.e.: cat)

    - CVCe (consonant, vowel, consonant, e - i.e.: fame or crate)

    - CVVC (consonant, vowel, vowel, consonant - i.e.: fair or feet)

6. What is a digraph? 

A digraph is a combination of two letters which represent one sound. i.e.: th or sh

7. What are short/long vowels?
Short vowels say their sound, whereas long vowels say their name.

8. What do the different sorts look like?

Picture Sort (initial digraphs)

Picture and Word Match (short vowels)

Word Sort (long and short vowels)

Compiled/Adapted from: Words They Way and https://sites.google.com/a/stjoa.com/wordstheirway/literacy