Words Their Way

1. Words Their Way Presented by: Bethany Orr Connia Sasso Kelly Kotowski Melonie Gregory

2. Introduction Words Their Way is a differentiated spelling program that identifies, groups and then meets students at their developmentally appropriate spelling stage.

3. 5 Spelling Stages • Emergent • Letter Name Alphabetic • Word Within Word Pattern • Syllables and Affixes • Derivational Relations * Each stage divided into early, middle & late (Program has a collection of lists/word sorts for each stage)

4. Assessments • In the main WTW book • Administered in Sept., Jan. and May • In 4th grade we begin with the Elementary Spelling Inventory. • Assessment can be hand scored or entered into computer. • If students correctly spell 20 or more words Upper-Level Spelling Inventory can be administered.

5. Assessments (Cont.) • Words on inventories contain features such as short/long vowels, digraphs, blends etc… • Students are credited with spelling whole word correctly and also earn “feature points” if they misspell a word, but include a feature such as the correct short vowel sound or digraph. For example, in a word like “marched” students get credit for including “ch”, “ar” and “ed” even if they don’t spell the rest of the word correctly.

6. Forming Spelling Groups • If assessment is scored with CD, program will automatically identify spelling stage. • Otherwise stage can be identified by looking at the last feature point that student missed on feature guide. • Usually 4-5 spelling groups per class depending on grade level and abilities of students.

7. Scheduling & Organization • Once groups have been formed and stages have been identified pacing guide at beginning of each book tells which sort to introduce first.

8. Scheduling & Organization • Teacher needs to decide how to incorporate WTW into daily schedule. • Some prefer to introduce/test on same day while others prefer staggered approach. • Sort can be used for a week or two weeks depending on needs of students.

9. Small Group Lessons • Teacher meets with groups of 4-5 students. • Introduce sort by placing boldface headers and sample words. • Then divide up remaining words among students for them to sort. • When they finish sorting review with them and correct any misplaced words. • Check to make sure they know meaning of words. • Distribute paper copy of sort for them to work with at home/school.

10. Classwork • Incorporated into ELA in Daily 5 Menu • Bingo Notebook • Word Study Packet

11. Homework • Spelling City https://www.spellingcity.com/ • WTW Notebook with different activity for each night. • Regardless of how homework is done, words should be sorted each night in order to fully understand and then apply spelling pattern. • Alternate ways to sort words- speed sort, blind sort or other sort that is different from one done with teacher.

12. Pros • WTW is definitely a differentiated program. • Helpful as intervention, especially for students with phonics gaps identified on CORE Assessment.

13. Things to Consider • Initial set up is time consuming . • How are you going to fit WTW into your day? (It takes about a ½ hour between tests and word sort introductions.) • Will you spend 1 or 2 weeks on a sort? • If children do not pass tests will you carry on or repeat word sort? • Will you administer tests or use Spelling City?

14. Things to Consider (cont.) • If you do not have a phonics background it is a good idea to preview sort before introducing it to each group. • Requires several copies, especially when you first set up sorts for small group instruction.

15. Closing Thoughts • This is the first year using WTW for most of our team. • We are still learning about program and what we do is a compilation of what other colleagues have used. • Would have been beneficial to have brief explanation of program to see how it looks in classroom. • There are many resources online for WTW management and activities.

16. Thank you for attending our session! • Information available on Innovation Showcase Wiki • Feel free to contact us at Lake Norman Elementary if you have further questions or would like copies of resources.