Word Study

In the past couple of weeks, the sixth graders have begun Word Study during their skills time.  During Word Study, I take a handful of students at a time to the Middle School resource room where we study the sound, spelling, and meaning of words.  We begin with a study of the 70 phonograms of English.  These are the ways that certain sounds are spelled in the English language, for instance "b as in boy" or "ew as in few".  The students will eventually memorize all the 70 phonograms and be able to write, read, and say them. 

The next portion of Word Study is a program called "Words Their Way".  Words Their Way helps students find patterns in spelling and associate the way words sound with the way they are spelled.  Both Words They Way and 70 Phonograms are particularly helpful for ELL students because it helps them focus on particular sounds and improve their spelling and reading.