summer blog party: word study tips

Good morning! I have kinda fallen off the map because my niece is visiting me in Chicago for the week, but she's still sleeping so I am taking a few moments to write up a post about Words Their Way for our focus today: Phonics and Phonemic Awareness. Seemed appropriate since my most popular post is about the five day plan for word study - check that one out here!

Today I'm going to share some tips and tricks for a flawless Word Study implementation. So off we go!

Assessment and Grouping: First things first, you'll need to figure out how to group your kiddos. You'll need to give the spelling test in the back of the Words Their Way book, and use the feature guide to determine the level each child will start at. Word study is great because it's not a right or wrong situation. The feature guide will help you see which phonics principles the children have mastered and not. My friend Carla has a great You Tube video on her blog that will touch on this assessment. See what it looks like by clicking here. 

As far as grouping - I recommend no more than three different groups within your classroom. As their teacher, you'll need to provide each group with instruction and materials to enhance their knowledge of phonetic principles, so if you create more than three groups, it's going to make your life really complicated. Keep it simple: Three groups or less!

Forget days of the week: Because you're going to be guiding three groups of kids through the word sorts, you're going to have to stagger the days that you meet with them so you're able to introduce the words to the kids when they begin their new sorts. (This, and many weeks have holidays which will throw everything off!) Perhaps the following chart might be what your plans would look like:

Remember, kids sort their words first thing every day (to build automaticity) and then go on to their other task. So if you notice June 22nd - the teacher is responsible for giving group 1 and introduction to their new words and possibly giving an assessment to group 2. Teacher would begin with group one and then meet with group 2.

Also: It would be a good idea to post some kind of chart with each day and the description of activities. Then, groups numbers can be on a clothespin (or something similar) and kids have a visual of what they will do for the day. I've been looking online for a picture and just can't seem to find one!

Teach routines: Kids have to be taught the routines and procedures for each of the days. So, give your whole class the same sort for a few cycles and focus on teaching kids what the routines look like. Teach them what each day in the cycle is all about - how you meet with the teacher on day 1, how to do the vocabulary activities on day 2 and the word hunting in their Just Right books on day 3. Once you do the routines two or three times, then you'll be ready to complicate things further (for the teacher!) with three different word sorts going on!

Don't assume: As the sorts and the rules become more difficult, your students will most certainly need instruction to understand the phonetic principles, highest group included. You want to make sure all kids in the group can say each word correctly for sorting purposes. It's imperative that the teacher meets with each group on Day 1 - in addition to word pronunciation, you also need to talk about word meanings. This doesn't have to be any big deal - the kids can attempt to sort first if you need to see another group first, and then when you meet with them, they can tell you what they have trouble with. But please, see each group when they are on Day 1 of the cycle!

Connect to your guided reading: It's pretty likely that your word study groups will be different than your guided reading groups, but that doesn't mean that you can't do a little word study investigation within your guided reading. If you know anything about Jan Richardson's plans, part of it includes about 4 minutes of word study. This is a great time to dictate words or sentences (using words from their word sort lists) to do a little assessment of what kids are mastering (or not!). This will give you information about how you can better support the kiddos during your word study time when you meet with groups, too!

I hope this was helpful! If you have ideas how I can enhance something here, I'd love to hear them! Also, feel free to leave a question if something is confusing. Just because it makes sense in my head doesn't mean it does in everyone else's!

I'm also discounting my Word Study Implementation Guide by 50%! Check that out here!

Do you have some great tips and tricks for phonemic awareness or phonics? Be sure to link up with us and share them!

thoughts on transfer

I've been working with my Tier 3 kiddo for over a year. I see him for 30 minutes a day for a Tier 2 intervention (either 1:1 or in a group of three depending on his schedule) and then for an additional 15 minutes 1:1. In our small group, he gets Leveled Literacy Intervention - reading fluency, comprehension, and word study. During his Tier 3 intervention, he gets Intensive Phonics.

In our Intensive Phonics, we've finally gotten to sight words. I've been teaching those explicitly in conjunction with guided writing. This week, transfer was highlighed to perfectly clear to me!

We all hope to teach our students strategies and skills that will transfer to their independent work. For example, when I was teaching middle school, I taught the reading strategies, hoping my students would begin to use them always when they read independently to better understand whatever they were reading. But transfer doesn't just happen because you teach something.

Case in point:

The way I've been doing sight words is by beginning with a review. I have my kiddo write the ones I've explicitly taught each day when we begin - kinda like a spelling test. Then, I'd instruct one or two more (by asking my kiddo, "What phonics rules does the word follow? What rules does it break?" and then using Jan Richardson's strategies for sight words.) Finally, we would end our 15 minutes with guided writing, where I'd have him write dictated sentences composed of sight words he has learned.

One day last week, he wrote his words and then we moved on to sentences. I dictated, "Did your friend come home with you?"

He wrote, "Did yor frend cum home yif you?"
(Sidenote: He hasn't learned your as a sight word or the vowel combo in friend.)

Now, this was after he came back from missing a week of school, so when I said, "Buddy, how come you missed that word, come?" He got all mad telling me, "Ms. Brezek, I was sick all those days and didn't practice!" I said, "But look back at the sight words you wrote - you spelled it right five minutes ago!" He was kinda shocked!

This is what I'm saying about transfer: My kiddo had the word in the way I was assessing - like a spelling test, but he did not have it when it was applied in another context. I can't assume that because I teach him how to spell a sight word that he will use it correctly in Writer's Workshop or as he writes for other purposes.

Now, if I'm a specialist meeting 1:1 with a kiddo and am reminded of transfer, what does this mean for the other interventions I've given, or for that matter, all the ways I have taught in the past?

I'm constantly reminded of these lessons and know that I will never know everything. I'm glad this happened this week, because I am no longer doing the long spelling-list type assessment. Now, he's writing many more dictated sentences and I'm going to assess his knowledge of sight words that way. And, I want to see his Writer's Notebook!

Did you learn something new this week? Leave a comment and join the conversation!

sight words

I've been doing a Tier 3 intervention with a kiddo for months....we worked together last year for about two months, and now this whole school year. I've been using Intensive Phonics with him, so he's learned tons of phonics rules! 42 sounds, silent e, adjacent vowels, R-controlled vowels, Pig-Pen sounds (oi/oy, au/aw, etc) and more that are slipping my mind right now.

We finally got to sight words and I've learned something new that I thought I should share with you!

But before I get to that... how do you all keep anecdotals on sight words? I gave him a quick spelling test today, keeping track of what he spelled correctly and noting his errors - that way I will know what I need to teach. Then tomorrow, I'm going to quiz him on the words he learned today, and then just keep track on a chart. Here's what mine looks like so far (I've only kept info on it for two days...)

Okay so back to what I learned today:

This program teaches kids to look for what is *right* about the sight words. Take for example, the word come...

There are three sounds in this word: /c/ /o/ /m/.

The initial consonant follows the rule - it's a hard c, like usual.
The silent e on the end is following the silent e rule - well, part of it (it doesn't make the o long...).
Which means the ending sound, /m/, is also correct.

So then, the reason we have to teach this as a sight word is because the o says short u, when it should say long o.

Today, my kiddo and I looked carefully at two words: do and has. We talked about what is right about them (do=initial sound; has= initial sound, short vowel). Then I taught them that there are irregularities with these words, which is why we have to memorize them and learn them by sight.

We then used Jan Richardson's four routines for sight words:

1. What's missing
2. Mix and Fix
3. Table Writing
4. Notebook Writing

Finally, I began a bag of word cards for him to take and practice.

I'm hoping all of this helps! He's gotten so much better about writing words he doesn't think he knows, and it's in large part to Intensive Phonics. This is a great Tier 3 Intervention...and I think you can see more about it here. (One of my former principals shared it with me...I'm pretty sure this is the same!)

What tricks do you have for sight words? I'd love to enhance my instruction even more, so leave a comment and let me know!

Five for Friday!

What's up everyone? Did you have an amazing week? I did....and the weather was beautiful today here in Chicago!

Today I'm linking up again with Doodle Bugs for their weekly Five for Friday. Here are the top five things that made my week!

Active Engagement Cards

When I had my own classroom, I had the colored post-its with the numbers taped to the kiddo's desks. That way I could instruct them in what order to take turns (orange first, then yellow, blue...etc) and also call on students randomly by drawing numbered sticks. I could also group them by color - all pinks meet together at table 1, oranges at table 2...etc. Now that I don't have my own classroom, I finally figured out that I could just make cards to pass out to the classes I coteach in for the same purpose.

On the back of the card are stickers - this is just another random grouping configuration. The colored numbers work at tables, but the stickers are used when kids need to get up, walk around a little, and form groups of three. So I'll say, "look at the sticker on the back of your card and find your partners to discuss ___."

Just a way to force equalized participation and I'm so glad I have my engagement cards back in my life!

Hands up - Stand up - Pair up & Heads Together

I taught close reading in fifth grade all week - here are two pairs of kiddos meeting together to share their summaries of our article. To find their pair, students stand up, walk around the room with their hands up, (do a high-five when they find their partners) and pair up. Then, the boys shared their summaries, and decided if they included all important information.

We also talked about where our eyes should be - on the card, and it would probably be good to have heads together - that would show we're all thinking about what is being read.

We have to have students engaged for student achievement to increase - two ways here to get that done and get kids up and moving around!

Why is phonics so...fun?

During our RtI group this week, we did some word study around syllables and whether or make the vowels long or short. I find this so interesting, and even better when the kids are like, "Ms. Brezek, I just don't get it!" But then, after we do a few more, it clicks and then they do get it. And...then they can explain it to one another. Kinda nerdy, but I heart phonics rules!

Pranks

This boy is a third grader in the class across the hall from me. He's such a great kiddo, and at the end of last week, as a joke after school when he was running laps in fitness club, he wiped his hand on me saying he was all sweaty (in reality, he put his hand in the water fountain!) He laughed and laughed, and I told him, "Don't you worry, K, I'm going to get you back!"

Maybe two days after that, he jumped out from behind a corner and scared me. So that was that. I had to get him back!

This morning, I asked his teachers if I could empty his locker into a box and keep it in my room. They laughed and said, "Yeah, maybe then he can clean it out!" So I did, but when he came to school, it was so anti-climactic! He didn't even notice - just put his coat, and backpack, and gym shoes away and went to class. I stopped by and asked his teacher if he said anything, and they said no. So she asked him to go get his science book. He came back in and said, "Ms. B - It's not in there. I don't have a science book!" Still...he had no idea.

A few hours later, I stopped by his locker and moved his stuff around - hung one of his shoes from the hook, put his He-Man in the other shoe, moved his backpack. Then...the next time he went to his locker, he (finally) noticed. "Ms. B! Something's wrong with my locker! My stuff is all moved around!"

She replied, and I can hear this conversation unfolding as I am sitting in my office working on an anchor chart, "K, do you think someone is messing with you?"

And I can just see it: he face lights up with recognition, as if a lightbulb is lighting up above his head. "Ms. Brezek," and a smile washes over his face.

He comes over to my office and asks me and I act like I know nothing at first, but then, in a sing-song voice say, "Yep, I got'chu K! I win! I told you I'd prank you back!"

Only problem now is that his teacher told me he has his heart set on getting me back again....so I'll get back to you about what happens next! But....so fun with this kid!

Taking a shot at University teaching!

My former principal teaches at Dominican University. Last spring, she had me, along with a few other teachers come present their content areas to her TFA cohort. When she asked again for this spring, I said, "L, do you think I'm qualified to teach my own section? I'd really like to try and teach at the University!"

Within two weeks of that conversation, I had met with the Dean and a lead teacher and next fall I'm going to teach an elementary Language Arts methods class, all of my own, to a new cohort of TFA teachers and I'm so, so excited! It's a job that I'm so excited to do, and I get paid a little bit to do it. All that money? Vacation fund!



Well, that's all for me here. How was your week? You should write a top five and link up!

Have a good weekend!