---I have used words their way in a fifth grade room for three years now. No prior grades use the word sorting (yet--some are starting). What I find is it focuses my students on really examining the words instead of mindlessly filling out blanks in a spelling book or repeatedly memorizing words on a list without thinking about why are these words together and what can these words teach me about spelling in general? I love the conversations the sorts cause to happen, like hey, words they end in ible are not complete base words, but able endings have whole base words, is that always the case? (never had that kind of talk with a spell book).
I like to do 2-3 sorts with them--an open sort, an assigned spell sort, and then a meaning or sound sort. We also do the assigned sort together using Inspiration on the smartboard. (3 different spell groups--one works with an aide). I assign word hunts for homework and spell sentences that examine the grammar ideas that we are working with in caughtya sentences. Then I do an old fashioned sentence dictation quiz (should I be embarrassed?) that involves both grammar and the spell pattern studied (some words not on the list that follow the pattern). This feels like a comfortable base that I can manage in my room. My hope is to add in games and fun next year--although the children find the sorts fun and interesting on their own. :)Bonita _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
