Word Study with Readers and Writers who Struggle: One size does NOT fit all

1. Word Study with Readers and Writers who Struggle: One size does NOT fit all Kevin Flanigan, PhD West Chester University kflanigan@wcupa.edu

2. Agenda • Word Study Assessment • Instructional Practices – “Toolkit” • Principles – “Instructional backbone”

3. Students who struggle to read: How many are out there? • What percentage of 4th and 8th graders do not read proficiently on grade level?

4. “One Size Fits All” Trap • There is no one “typical” profile of a struggling reader. They may struggle with: • Comprehension and content area learning • Vocabulary • Word Recognition/Spelling • Fluency • Engagement

5. Beginning Reader/Frustration Level Reading D C

6. Skilled Reader/Instructional Level Reading C D

7. Have you ever skied?Then you know about Development and ZPD!

8. Curriculum Casualties • The “one size fits all” curriculum marches inexorably forward, without regard to children who do not fit into it.

9. 2 Word Study Principles • Look for what students “use but confuse.” (ZPD – teach at instructional level) • A step back is a step forward.

10. Why Assess Spelling? • Spelling is our best “window” into a child’s knowledge about words (Henderson). • HOUSE • HORSE • HXXSE

11. Spelling tells us: • What the learner knows about words • Guides word study instruction (stage and feature) • About reading!

13. Grouping – Learners “On the Bubble” • 3 Manageable groups – start with “easy scores” • Look at other literacy information • Reading Level/Other assessments/Literacy folders • Is he/she applying spelling/decoding/vocabulary knowledge in reading/writing? • Look “beyond the numbers” at the actual spellings (COUTCH/couch) • How is the student emotionally/socially? In terms of work habits? Maturity? • RTI

14. Beginning Readers in the Letter-Name Spelling Stage 1-to-1 correspondence between letters and sounds LETTER NAME SPELLERS PHONICS BOP/bump Beginning support reader PEK/peak Word x word reading GRUM/drum Word x word writing

16. Transitional Readers in the Within Word Pattern Stage • Silent letters form patterns • More letters than sounds WITHIN WORD VOWEL PATTERNS PATTERN SPELLERS “Chunks” letter sequences SNAIK/snake Transitional reader DRANE/drain Phrasal reading fluency FEELD/field Phrasal writing fluency

17. “Chunking” patterns • Read C-A-T as a Beginning Reader/Letter-Name Speller • Read C-A-K-E as a Beginning Reader/Letter-Name Speller • Read C-AKE as a Transitional Reader/Within-Word Pattern Speller

19. Instruction

20. Balanced Literacy Diet(120 minutes) • Reading (Fluency and Comprehension)- 40% (48 minutes/day) • Guided Reading • Independent Reading (Self-selected Reading) • Literature Circles • Writing – 30% (36 minutes/day) • Word Study 10-20% (10 – 15 minutes/day) • Read Aloud 10-20% (15 - 25 minutes/day) * Another 40 minutes reading in content areas

21. Much time must be spend reading for meaning in appropriate and engaging texts and writing for genuine purposes • Reading volume, both in and out of school, is associated with higher reading achievement (Allington, 2001; NAEP, 1998) (Adopted from Anderson, Wilson, & Fielding, 1988)

22. Much time must be spend reading for meaning and writing for genuine purposes • Every 8 days, a child in the top 10% will read as much as a child in the bottom 10% reads all year! • Every two months, a child in the top 10% will read as much as a child in the bottom 10% has read his/her entire life!

23. A Reading/Spelling Quiz

24. Our mind is NOT a camera. • The mind looks for and remembers PATTERNS. • Skilled readers perceive frequently occurring letter patterns (Adams, 1990)

26. OPEN SORT

27. Continuum of Support “Struggling readers don’t always need more teaching, they do need more precise teaching.”

28. patch stitch catch notch pitching switching matched teach peach reach roach couch coached poaching 2-Step Sort

29. 2-Step Sort

30. Principles of Word Study Instruction(WTW p. 82 for all 10 principles) • TEACHING IS NOT TELLING • Compare words “that do” with words “that don’t” • Sort by sound and sight • Don’t hide exceptions (oddball column) • Avoid Rules • Work for automaticity • Return to meaningful texts

31. Blind Writing Sort • PATCH • TEACH?

33. Video • Developing a mindset for word study through • rich conversations • Lots of practice

34. Manipulating Words Mad Made Plane Plain Play

35. What’s Missing?(Richardson, 2009) • chain • ch__n • chain

36. What about transfer? • Transfer to reading? • Transfer to writing?

37. Silk, Silk, Silk

38. Seeing the Big Picture

40. Word Hunt

41. Touchdown for Tommyby Matt Christopher (pgs. 25 – 26) “He started out for home with the coin in his hand. He kept his hand in his pocket all the way.” “Tommy thought about the ice cream and candy and plastic stuff again. Boy, you could buy a lot for fifty cents. He felt thirsty, too.” “Betty was on the porch, bouncing a large, red-and-white rubber ball.”

42. “Word Hunts in Writing” • OR • “I Like Editing!”

44. It’s all Greek (and Latin) to me! • What percent of English vocabulary words are Latin or Greek derived? • What percent of upper-level English vocabulary words (middle and high school, science, law, medicine) are Latin or Greek derived?

45. Root Web/Tree with “Spec, spect” • Create a web with spec, spect at center • Generate as many words with spect as you can • Try to deduce meaning of root

46. SPEC, SPECT

47. Root Webs/Trees • Brainstorm known words that contain the root • Look for common meanings to find “the route back to the root.” • Confirm with “new words.” • *Sometimes, the route back to the root is not as straightforward (respect and circumspect)

48. Generative Vocabulary Instruction:“When you learn 1 word, you learn 10.” • How many words in English have spec, spect as a root?

49. Key word for spect?

50. Selected Sources Bear, D., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., Johnston, F. (2012). Words Their Way: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction. Boston: Pearson. Flanigan, K., Hayes, L., Templeton, S., Bear, D., Invernizzi, M., & Johnston, F. (2011). Words their way with struggling readers: Word study for reading, vocabulary, and spelling instruction, grades 4-12. Boston: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon. Hayes, L. & Flanigan, K. (2014). Developing word recognition. New York: TheGuilford Press.