Miss M.’s Spelling Homework Guide Please keep in a safe place for reference! ABOUT WORDS THEIR WAY Words Their Way is a new approach to teaching spelling that allows students to learn words at their individual level of instruction and teaches them how words work. Your child has taken a diagnostic spelling assessment (for which they did not study for) to determine their spelling level. After looking at what students know about spelling, I have put them into spelling groups at their developmental levels. Each group will have a different spelling word sort. By studying these word sorts, students will learn to sort, compare and contrast word features in each category, make discoveries, become more fluent readers, and increase their vocabulary through word meanings. Students move through weekly word study patterns by doing in class activities, homework and ending the week with a word sort test on Fridays. WHAT IS A WORD STUDY? Word study is a study of words features. Students lists will be on a word study PATTERN (example – the study of the long “u” sound in “u_e”, “ew”, or “ue” or how adding the suffix “-ful” or “-less” changes a word’s meaning). The quiz on Fridays will be on the pattern from that week using some of their words from each student’s sort and some additional words that were not on their sort, but fit the pattern they were studying. WHY A "WORD STUDY" INSTEAD OF A "TRADITIONAL" SPELLING PROGRAM? Research studies indicate that memorization of lists of "spelling words" does not promote the development of spelling skills. In the past when we’ve used this traditional approach, many students who received a 100% on their spelling test could not spell most of the words in their writing! Memorizing a list of words and getting 100% on weekly tests does not necessarily mean a child is a good speller. It may just mean they are good at memorizing words for a test. Using the Words Their Way word study program also allows us to work at each student’s individual level rather than using a “one size fits all” spelling list. Your child will be bringing home a collection of spelling words on every Monday. They also have a copy of the same words that they use in class. Each night of the week your child is expected to do a different activity to ensure that these words and the spelling principles they represent are mastered. These activities have been modeled and practiced in school. On Friday your child will be tested on 10 words in the collection and 5 new words that follow the same principles. By using new words in the test I can see if you child understands the phonetic concept being taught and can apply the principles to words they have not practiced. Please save this letter and refer to it during the year for spelling ideas. Thank you for your support. Together we can help your child make valuable progress in spelling. -Miss M. Monday Cut out the words. Ask your child to sort the words into the ‘star’ categories, like we did at school. Your child should read each word aloud during this activity. Ask your child to explain to you why the words are sorted in a particular way – what does the sort reveal about spelling in general? Ask your child to sort them a second time as fast as possible. Tuesday Do a “buddy sort” with your child. 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. Lay it down and let your child move it if he or she is wrong. Repeat if your child makes more than one error. Wednesday Assist your child in doing a word hunt, looking for words in a familiar book that have the same sound, pattern, or both. Try to find two or three words for each sort category. Thursday Do a writing sort to prepare for the Thursday test. As you call out the words in a random order your child should write them down in categories. Call out any words your child misspells a second or even third time. Other Spelling Ideas: ABC Order Yellow Vowels Boxed Sentence Bubble Letters Capitals vs Lowercase Chart Those Vowels Circle Words Choose 8 of your spelling words and write them in ABC order. If you finish early, write all the spelling words in ABC order backwards. Write each of your spelling words. Trace over the vowels in yellow highlighter. Print a sentence for 6 of your spelling words. Draw a box around each word. Use a different colour for each box. Write 6 of your spelling words in bubble letters. If time, colour them. Write each of your words twice. The first time, write them normally. The second time, use capital letter for vowels and lowercase letters for consonants. Example: open OpEn closed clOsEd Make a chart like below. Fill in the chart by writing each spelling word under the correct heading. Example: One Vowel Two Vowels Three Vowels Four Vowels draw below raise opposite Write each of your spelling words two or three times around to form circles of each spelling word. Double Doodle Hidden Words Letter Box Words Making Connections Write each spelling word one time normally and then one time in “double doodle” by holding two pencils or a pen and pencil together while writing. Example: Draw a picture. Hide your spelling words inside your picture. If you have time, colour the picture. Write each of your spelling words once normally, then again in letter boxes. 1. Choose 4 of your spelling words. For each word, make a connection to four NEW words (that are NOT your spelling words) based on sound, spelling pattern, etc. 2. The connection can be about beginning sounds, ending sounds, how many syllables, short vowels, long vowels, or words that rhyme with your spelling word. See the next sheet in this packet for examples of good connections you can make with spelling patterns Pyramid write 9 of your spelling words. Be neat! Example: home: Pyramid Writing h ho hom home Rearranged letters Write your spelling words once. Write other words that you can make with some or all of the letters in that word. Example: wagon – ago star – rats Rhyming Write each spelling word. Write a rhyming word next to the spelling word. Spelling Rainbows Write 8 of your spelling words in pencil. Then trace over each word three times. Each time you trace, you must use a DIFFERENT colour. Spelling Scramble Spots V/C Challenge Vowel Circle Write your letter scrambled up. Then write them again unscrambled. Write each spelling word two times normally and one time in spots. Example: fish fish Write your words twice. The first time, circle the vowels. The second time, underline the consonants. Write all of your spelling words, then go back and circle all of the vowels in the words. Making Connections: Spelling Patterns to Look for Example in Words Short a Example Spelling Patterns a Short e e bed, then, check Short i i bit, film, listen Short o o hop, lost, moth Short u u nut, lump, brush Long a a, ai, ay cake, nail, stay Long e ee, ea sheep, sneak, bleed Long i i, igh, y lime, right, sky Long o o, oe, oa hope, toe, coach Long u u, ue, ew tune, knew, blue Vowel Digraph two vowels that make ONE sound together oa, ee, ea, ai boat, feet, clean, rail r-Influenced Vowel A vowel sound that is influenced when followed by “r” in a syllable ar, air, er, ear, ire, ier, or, oar, ur, ure hurt, card, cheer, tire, shore Diphthong Two vowels that “glide” together oi, oy, aw, ou boil, toy, law, out Silent “e” the final “e” in a spelling pattern that usually makes a long vowel sound in the word; the silent “e” does not represent a sound itself e tile, came, rope Schwa The sound of the middle vowel in an unstressed syllable; the vowel is NOT long or short a, e, i, o, u, y about, done, pencil Double consonants Two of the same consonant ll, nn, bb, dd tall, cannon, bubble, paddle Pattern Definition Short Vowels Long Vowels cat, glass, stand together Consonant Blend Two or more consonants that br, dr, thr, squ, bl, brag, drive, throat, land slide together to make a sound tr, nd Consonant Digraph Two consonants that make ONE new sound together wh, ch, th, sh, ck white, child, tooth, shell, rock Silent Beginning Consonant A consonant that does not make its own sound kn, gn, wr knock, gnat, wrap Soft c “c” that makes the /s/ sound c nice, circle, ceiling Soft g “g” that makes the /j/ sound g huge, giant, gentle Word Families Group of words with a common pattern; MUST start with a vowel -and sand/band/hand/land -ook look/book/crook/shook Syllables The smallest unit of sound; always has a vowel sound included 2 syllables bookcase, iron (book-case, ir-on) CVC Pattern Consonant-vowel-consonant CVC hat, can, tap CVCe Pattern Consonant-vowel-consonantsilent “e” CVCe hate, cane, tape CVVC Pattern Consonant-vowel-vowelconsonant CVVC feel, rain, read Prefix A part added to the beginning of a base/root word to change its meaning pre-, dis-, mis- preview, disagree, misspell Suffix A part added to the end of a base/root word to change its meaning -ful, -less, -er hopeful, careless, player