I was very fortunate to have Kathy Ganske when I was completing my masters about nine years ago. At that time, she had not yet authored Word Journeys and her curriculum was based on WTW as it was then written. It has since been published and I am not a huge fan of how many teachers interpret the new version. However, the program itself, as well as Kathy's text, are absolutely the best way to get kids interested in how words work, IMO. I just finished my mid-year assessment based on Kathy's version that I learned to use. Almost all of my second graders advanced. By the end of the year, after I do my final assessment, I expect to see even more growth. My class of 21 students is broken into four Word Study groups based on similarities from the assessment. I created a week-long format which the kids follow. The only time they need to work with me is on the initial lesson to introduce the sort (I do this through poetry) and the last session where I can check the progress of writing the words correctly.
There is a lot of initial prep involved. But, once it is done - it is done! If you have other grade-level members who are following the same format, just split up the requirements and have each person make the additional copies. I hope you find this program enjoyable for all. It's definitely curriculum that is 'out of the box'. Linda ----- Original Message ----- From: "cheryl Whitfield" <[email protected]> To: "Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group" <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, February 16, 2009 12:37:45 PM GMT -06:00 US/Canada Central Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] developmental word study Yes. Our system is using WTW at this time. This is our first year, and the realization of just how little our students really understand how words work has been eye-opening. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Kuenzl-Stenerson Kay Sent: Monday, February 16, 2009 12:13 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [MOSAIC] developmental word study Has anyone worked with Developmental Word Study using Word Journeys by Ganske or Words There Way as the "spelling" part of literacy? Kay Kuenzl-Stenerson Literacy Coach Merrill Middle School Are all our students exceeding at the highest level they can succeed at? If, not, we have work to do. _______________________________________________ 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. _______________________________________________ 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. _______________________________________________ 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.
