Word Study

As you may have read in the January 8 newsletter, we will now have 3 spelling groups in our classroom--yellow, green, and blue. These groups were created based on first trimester word study achievements, classroom observation, and a spelling screener given after the winter break. As I spoke with kids about practicing their words at home, may mentioned that parents have a difficult time helping them sort words into categories. To help, I send a Word doc to all parents on my distribution list to help with each word sort. As you help your child with word study, here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Word Study is NOT an isolated “spelling” grade on the report card.
• Word Study (RT 4) IS:
• being able to identify long and short vowels when reading or writing 2nd grade words
• reading and spelling words that contain common vowel team spellings
• reading two-syllable words with long vowels
• reading words with grade level prefixes and suffixes
• reading words with common spelling patterns that don’t follow the normal rule
• reading and writing grade level words that do not follow a regular spelling pattern

The Words Their Way program that I use in my classroom helps support the skills identified above. I've done my best to place your child in a word study group where they will be challenged, but not beyond their academic abilities. If your child seems to be having a really difficult time with their word sorts at home, please let me know. Additionally, if you feel that the word sorts are far too easy for your child, let me know.


Please keep in mind that the word study homework is now a part of the homework packet that comes home on Mondays. Students should cut out their words to sort them. This can be done over the weekend, as word study words come home on Fridays. The physical movement of the words on the paper helps to reinforce the spelling patterns we're learning.


Here are some video clips (click on text) that show two types of word sorts:


Lay-and-Say Sort


Blind Sort