Teaching children to read is perhaps the single most important job we have as elementary school teachers. Reading is the foundation for everything! There have been a lot of theories and much debate about the best strategies for teaching reading. I’ve spent a lot of time studying literacy—enough to know that how I used to teach reading wasn’t great. I emphasized memorization way too much and didn’t spend enough time giving students phonics strategies they could apply to unfamiliar words.
Research into the science of reading has given us a lot of insights into how the brain works when learning how to read. We now know that most children need explicit instruction in phonics and phonemic awareness to make connections between how a word looks and how it sounds.
Knowing about the science of reading is the first step for teachers to become better at teaching literacy. The next step is knowing how to make it fun and enticing for kids! In my classroom, we talk a lot about “playing with words.” Word study time isn’t about rote memorization, it’s about exploring words with curiosity.
I personally love the Orton Gillingham approach. It was developed specifically to help students with learning challenges such as dyslexia, but it also works well with any young learner. It’s a multisensory approach to reading, using visual, auditory, and kinesthetic strategies. The idea is to give students multiple ways to interact with (and play!) with words. It’s an evidence and science-based way to teach reading that really works!
Here are my favorite strategies for making word study fun, using concepts based on the science of reading and the Orton Gillingham approach:
Word Sorts of All Shapes & Sizes
There are so many ways you can use word sort activities when teaching students how to read. Word sorts push students to use higher-order thinking skills as they look for similarities and differences in the features of each word.
There are so many ways you can use word sort activities when teaching students how to read. Word sorts push students to use higher-order thinking skills as they look for similarities and differences in the features of each word.
The best part about word sorts is that you can easily tweak the activities to suit your particular students’ needs and interests.
- For your visual learners, add color-coding or highlighting to the word sort activity.
- Are your students competitive? Race against a partner or see if they can beat their own time by completing a timed word sort.
- Even more motivating? Have them beat the teacher by finding mistakes that you’ve purposefully made. Kids love pointing out their teacher’s mistakes!
- Get kids up and moving by doing a word sort gallery walk. Tape up words around the room and have students travel with their notebooks, recording the words in their correct categories.
- Integrate technology with digital word sort activities.
Try several different styles of word sorts to see what works best with your students.
Trash It! Which Word is Nonsense?
My students always love this fun twist to phonics. Present your students with a word list that includes a handful of words with specific spelling patterns. Three of the words follow the spelling pattern you’re currently studying, and one does not! Students have to use higher-order thinking skills to identify the one word that doesn’t belong. The digital version I created has students actually dragging the mismatched word into trash cans. Check out the Digital Word Work for Grades 1-5 here.
Word Riddles
I include word riddles with each of my Digital Word Work bundles. This requires more advanced proficiency in phonemic awareness. Students read the riddle and then choose which word from the given list solves the puzzle. My clues focus on various phonemes, patterns, and syllabication. Here’s an example of a slide from third grade:
Word Work Dice Games
There are tons of different games you can play with dice during word study time. Some ideas include:
- Rainbow roll & write: students write their words based on the color they roll
- Roll & spell: students roll the dice to choose beginning, medial, and ending letters/sounds. After they have the full word written out, they have to decide if they wrote a real or a nonsense word.
Hands-On Word Play
I love changing things up by introducing activities using hands-on materials. Some ideas include:
- Molding words out of play-doh
- Tracing words in a sand tray or sensory bin
- Forming letters with wikki stix
- Stamping letters
- Forming words with alphabet magnets, cookie cutters, or blocks
- Build words using clothespins labeled with each letter
These types of activities certainly help your kinesthetic learners, but they can also be a lot of fun! Most importantly, it slows students down and allows them to analyze words letter-by-letter, sound-by-sound.
If you don’t have the supplies needed to try those suggestions, I also have Hands-On Word Work bundles for grades 1-3, which involve cutting, pasting, and sorting.
Word Work Tic-Tac-Toe
Students are always more motivated when they are given autonomy to make choices about their learning. With a tic-tac-toe board, students can choose any three Word Work activities they want, as long as they can get three in a row. Some options may include:
- Sort words by what they have in common, and let them find the commonality on their own (same medial sound, same digraph, etc.)
- Change one sound in a word to make a new word
- Write three rhyming words each
- Write a complete sentence for each word
I think the key to making word study fun is to offer your students a variety of options that appeal to all learning types.
Ready to try some new word study activities without spending hours creating your own materials? Check out my Digital Word Work Bundles, customized for each grade level:
First Grade
Second Grade
Third Grade
Fourth Grade
Fifth Grade
Do you have any favorite word study activities that haven’t been mentioned yet? Let me know in the comments!
Before I get into sharing some simple word study ideas, let me tell you something: sometimes things are just ironic. I’ve been working with my first grade son on word study patterns that complement his weekly focus in class. For example, last week they did long i using “magic e” so I created some games for him to expose him to all of the ways to make the long i sound. He’s loving it and I’m loving that he’s sorting and reading the patterns. The irony comes from the fact that I have randomly been receiving a notable number of emails asking me about word study and what I do and use. Read below to get some helpful word study ideas for elementary teachers you can use in your classroom.
3 Word Study Ideas for Elementary Teachers
Below are 3 word study ideas for elementary teachers.
1. Use Anchor Charts
The first word study idea on the list is to use anchor charts. Anchor charts are a great tool for teaching word study. They are creating for modeling and serving as a reference tool as students work independently or with partners. Let me share an example of how I use them in my classroom!
Below you can see an anchor chart I used to model how to play the game scattergories.
This activity was perfect when we were also studying data and graphing in math. Ultimately, my students will need to sort data into categories, pose a question, and create a visual to represent their findings. It’s a lot for their little 8-year-old brains to grasp. I always find the “forming categories” to be the most challenging part. We had a breakthrough moment today when I related the concept to sections of the grocery store (produce, canned goods, meats, freezer). Wish I thought of that one sooner!
Anyway, we played Scattergories as a fun word study activity. It was so much fun! The goal was to include words that nobody else had listed. After the time period ended, I manned the chart paper and began taking words from volunteers. A child would say a word. I would write it on the chart and ask, “Does anyone else have that word on their list?”.
If other students had also written the word down on the chart paper, they would give the silent “me too” signal in response. This is a great classroom management strategy!
If the word is on more than one student’s paper, then they would draw a line through it. If a child was the only one to think of the word he would circle it and I added a star on the chart next to the word.
I was so impressed with the words they came up with and we had a great time building our lists!
I recommend you try this word study idea in your classroom!
2. Incorporate Fun Hands On Learning and Games
The second word study idea on the list is to incorporate fun hands on learning experiences.
As elementary teachers, we know how important it is to incorporate hands on learning opportunities and fun games in our classroom. It engages students in their learning and results in better learning outcomes. Of course we should incorporate it into our word study instruction as well.
I’m really focusing on word study as opposed to just “spelling” this year and have been designing some games and activities to go with it. I wanted to come up with some materials that could be used week after week by simply changing out the word patterns. My hope was that they would become familiar with the directions which would make the activities more efficient and beneficial to them.
A word study center that is open-ended, highly engaging, student-driven, reusable, and easily prepped… Does this exist and where can I find it?! Good news: it does! You can find it right here. It is an interactive word study display called BOGGLE. It’s one of my favorite word study games!
This word study activity invites students to explore letters to create words. It is based on the game BOGGLE, which you may have played when you were younger. It serves as a great whole group game, small group activity, and reusable center.
Are you looking for a word study center that is engaging, reusable, and open-ended for differentiation purposes? This BOGGLE center is exactly what you need! Learn all about my Boggle Word Study Game resource! It’s one of my favorite word study ideas for elementary teachers.
Scoop up this Boggle Word Study Game Board!
3. Offer Daily Practice
This word study idea may seem obvious, but it’s important to note. Students need to be working on word study skills regularly. One way to offer daily practice is by incorporating a word study center in your literacy centers.
We have a list of spelling words that accompany our reading curriculum (Treasures). I use that as a guide, but differentiate my lists to meet the needs of my learners. This meant I needed to create activities that were open-ended in the sense that the students could be doing the same activity, but with their own personal word lists.
I use these printable spelling activities with spelling lists, word study lists, vocabulary, and content area words. I also use them as homework pages. They are also great to leave when you have a sub. Oh, and if you are a Daily 5er, then these rock for Word Work.
Download these printable spelling activities now!
In closing, I hope you found these word study ideas for elementary teachers helpful! If you did, then you may also be interested in these posts and resources:
- The Best Back to School Read Alouds for Elementary Teachers
- How to Read a Picture Book Every Day to Your 1st-3rd Grade Students
- Must-Have First Day of School Picture Books for Elementary Teachers
- How to Use Spelling Activities in Your Elementary Classroom
- How to Use Printable Boggle Board for Elementary Teachers
One of the most challenging things to teach students is how to read and speak. In fact, learning the various sounds of the English language is one of the most essential skills that anybody can have. Without this ability, we would not be able to communicate with others.
For this reason, teachers have a major task on their hands when trying to instill this information into young brains. However, researchers have recently discovered a new approach that makes this process much more manageable.
In this article, we will be discussing word study instruction and what it entails. We will mention a few tips that educators can use to be as successful as possible when incorporating this approach into their lessons.
What Is Word Study Instruction?
In the past, most teachers relied on the ability of students to memorize words. However, even though this has worked, it is not the most effective way of learning. This is especially true for students who struggle with learning disabilities, such as dyslexia.
Word study is an approach that teaches children how to read and speak through patterns and understanding the different layers of English orthography. Various activities can be used to promote this type of learning. For example, students may be taught to match single letters to different sounds. In this way, they learn about the relationship between the alphabet and sounds.
Ensure That You Assess The Knowledge Of Students
The first thing that teachers should do when beginning to teach their students how to read is assess their knowledge. In other words, they will need to determine how much their students already know. This information will help them plan their future lessons and avoid reteaching certain sections.
Teach Word Knowledge
When applying the word study approach, educators must teach students about word knowledge. This includes understanding precisely what the words mean, how they can be used, and where they come from. This will make it much easier for students to remember what they are taught, as they have a deeper understanding of their work.
Concluding Thoughts
Instead of relying on students’ ability to memorize words, teachers have begun using the word study approach when teaching their students how to read and speak. This approach teaches children how to read and speak through patterns and understanding the different layers of English orthography.
To apply this approach as successfully as possible, educators should assess the students’ knowledge beforehand. More so, they should teach word knowledge instead of simply providing the definitions of words.
Today I’m sharing additional tips and recommendations that I’ve found helpful:
Note: Links to the Words Their Way books are affiliate links. This means that I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Read my full disclosure here.
Getting Started
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After you pre-assess your students, it’s important to know that I (and most other Words their Way teachers) recommend that you only try to juggle 4-5 different word study groups in your classroom, otherwise, you may just go nuts! This also keeps your group sizes small—I find that my lowest groups need to be fairly small (3-4 students) in order for them to get the attention they need. My higher groups are manageable with around 6 students.
While I highly recommended a staggered word study activities routine in my last post, at the beginning of the year it is important to introduce, model, and complete each activity as a whole-group so that students are able to independently complete the daily activities once regular word study begins.
I just choose a word list for the whole class and model the routines in one or two cycles of word study until students understand the expectations. (You could choose a lesson from your lowest word study group that you know you are going to skip OR focus on a big spelling rule that you noticed many of your students missed on their word study pre-assessment like «drop the y, add -ies».)
Share Students with a Colleague
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Do you have a colleague that can do word study activities at the same time as your class? One year I was able to partner with a colleague for a word study block and it was AWESOME! This may be a way for you and other teachers on your grade level to serve more student groups.
I LOVED sharing a few students with him and vice-versa because
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We were able to give the lowest group (made up of a few students from both of our classrooms) TWO meet with the teacher days-one with me, and one with him.
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Having a shared word study activities schedule made us both ACCOUNTABLE to word study because we had each other to consult with.
How do you make sharing students for word study work? We created one master schedule with all of our students on it. We ended up with 6 student groups in all. Then, we decided which groups would meet with which teacher. You could change this each quarter so that you get to work with your students. I chose to give him my «knuckle-head» group so that maybe they would listen more and get more out of word study.
Our daily word study schedules were exactly the same since we made it with our students combined, so each day at lunch we confirmed which day we were on. If one of us needed to cancel word study, we had choices: do another writer’s notebook day, give more time for word searching, or continue a Greek/Latin word-parts or vocabulary study lesson.
Getting Organized
How do I get organized for word study activities? Well, I use the Words Their Way Word Sort Books and my Words Their Way Word Searches that were created for and aligned to the levels in each of the word sort books.
After I have pre-assessed students, created my groups, and decided which sorts each group will begin with, I spend an afternoon at the copier making copies of the Word Searches and Word Sort Sheets. I get at least 5 sorts ahead for each group (which means I’m copied/planned for 10 weeks since my routine is a 7 day cycle).
As I’m printing the copies, I paper clip the sets together and organize them into folders that match the color of each leveled word sort book. I’ve seen some teachers copy each word sort onto colored paper to match each level. I think this is a fabulous idea for keeping the different word sort sheets organized!
Before we start our first 7-day cycle, I spend a word study block helping students organize their word study notebooks. Students glue their word searches on the left side of the page so that they can record the words they find to the right of the word search. I have them skip 2-3 pages between each word search for word work activities and for «Meet with the Teacher.» If you are using the word searches, remind students to keep the word searches in order as they glue them in!
My Derivational Relations Group (the blue group/highest group) also have Word Study notebook activities that are part of their routine. So, they must place the activity sheets for each word sort after their word search and «found words» list.
You may find that it’s easier to pull students into small groups to help them glue their pages into their notebooks, or some years, I’ve just printed all of the Word Study Notebook sheets off into a separate booklet for them. (I do have to admit that this was MUCH less stressful than the years I had them glue the pages into a notebook).
Additional Tweaks You Can Make to Your Routines
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On writer’s notebook day, you could have students keep up with the misspelled words they find in their writer’s notebook on a list that is kept in their Word Study or Writer’s Notebook. This is especially beneficial if you have time to analyze common patterns students are missing or want data on how the transfer of «word study» to actual spelling is going.
I personally find that my students make a lot of progress out of having to focus on going back through their entries in their writer’s notebook to find misspelled words without me requiring them to create this list, but recording misspelled words on a chart like this is an option to keep in mind and perhaps a modification for your lower spelling group.
You can grab the «Misspelled Words Chart» and a Personal Words Chart from my google docs for free.
If you use my Words Their Way Word Searches
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Be sure to teach students that they will almost never have a three-letter word in their word list (except for the Red Group). Students really have fun finding words, but I have found that stopping them from highlighting three-letter words keeps their word searches clean and they are better able to see the empty spots where another word may be hiding.
Y’all you might have realized it already, but I could just keep on talking about word study activities! I’m going to take a break from this 3-part series, but I’m sure I’ll be back in the future with more tips and tricks for your word study routine.
I don’t believe I’ve confessed this up until this point, but I used to HATE word study (and planning for it) with a passion!!!!
I spent countless hours combing through spelling books and trying to find the right systems that would work for ALL of my students’ needs (my high-flying spellers and my kiddos with spelling disabilities and low word-attack skills). I would beat myself up again and again because I didn’t really have any direction for how best to instruct my students in spelling and learning word patterns.
It wasn’t until the Word Sorts books came along that I truly FELL IN LOVE with WORD STUDY because instantly, I had the resources and word lists I needed.
The books come in 5 Different levels and each one is broken down into units. I could start my word study groups at the beginning, middle, or end of one of the sort books depending on where they fell in the pre-assessment.
If you have not purchased the Words Their Way Word Sorts books, I highly recommend checking them out. You can check out the 3rd Edition Word Sort books, released in 2018 here:
Letter and Picture Sorts for Emergent Spellers
Word Sorts for Letter-Name Alphabetic Spellers
Word Sorts for Within Word Pattern Spellers
Word Sorts for Syllables and Affixes Spellers
Word Sorts for Derivational Relations Spellers
Until next time, have a blessed and glorious teaching time!
OTHER HELPFUL RESOURCES FOR UPPER ELEMENTARY WORD STUDY
Before I made the transition into my current role as an instructional coach, I was one of our school’s reading specialists. I always knew that my career would be as an educator, but I also knew I needed it to have a literacy focus. As a reading specialist, I found myself drawn to the phonics interventions. I loved teaching our struggling readers the different spelling patterns and rules. Seeing them finally be able to decode a multisyllabic word was so exciting! I was really able to see just how important word study is for our students. Now that I’ve transitioned into my coaching role, I find myself doing a lot of reading and learning about the different aspects of word study. I want to make sure that I am supporting our teachers and students as best as I can with implementing a strong word study!
All students not only need to acquire these phonics and word understandings, but they also need to apply these understandings daily in authentic reading and writing. It is so essential that readers and writers have a wide-range of word-solving strategies that they can rely on, rapidly and flexibly, as they move their way through a piece of text. When readers can draw on their wide-range of strategies for solving words quickly, their attention is freed up for comprehension.
Engaged guided reading group with @JklukasKlukas this afternoon! #sd113a #rvican pic.twitter.com/GNcZYBW7Oz
— Liz Janusz (@mrs_janusz) October 15, 2018
There are nine areas of learning that students will work through, from PreK-8th grade, as they work to develop and apply their word-solving strategies:
- Early Literacy Concepts
- Phonological Awareness
- Letter Knowledge
- Letter-Sound Relationships
- Spelling Patterns
- High-Frequency Words
- Word Meaning and Vocabulary
- Word Structure
It’s crucial for us to know that not all students at a certain grade level will all be in the same stage of learning. Word study is something that progresses individually with each student as they strengthen their phonics skills. Assessing students’ word knowledge multiple times is crucial. We know that students all progress at their own pace and we want to be as intentional as we can with where in their learning journey we are instructing them.
Thanks #owbears 1st grade teachers for letting us visit and observe your amazing writing lessons!! #sd113a pic.twitter.com/3YXWSp18JJ
— Liz Janusz (@mrs_janusz) February 20, 2019
In a school day that’s already jam-packed with writing, math, reading, science, and social studies curriculum, how are teachers fitting in time for word study? Ideally, word study would get a dedicated time every day of the week, but we know that just isn’t possible. I believe, that at minimum, word study should be an hour throughout the week. It could be three 20 minute lessons or four 15 minute sessions, that depends on your own personal school, district and schedule. Using a small-group approach works best; you are able to meet with one group while the rest of your students are working on differentiated word work activities, maximizing the short amount of time that you have.
A few of my favorite activities/strategies for word study include:
- Sorting words based on certain spelling patterns (something we do with the Words Their Way program). Students are able to use the same words and re-sort them in a variety of columns based on what they notice in the words.
- Embed word study instruction in a guided reading lesson or in the explicit instruction portion of your day. It’s so important for students to see the connection between their word study and how it relates when given an authentic piece of text.
- Utilize a word wall! Nothing is more powerful than having a list of common words up year-round that you can use an interactive teaching tool.
- Have students use their independent reading books to “hunt” for their patterns. Again, the more exposure and cross-over we can offer our students between word study and “authentic reading” will only deepen their understanding!
Got to catch the last part of @msgallico introducing a new sort to a #wordstheirway group. Love how everyone was so engaged! @PearsonPreK12 #sd113a #rvican pic.twitter.com/bxIU4R2HcP
— Liz Janusz (@mrs_janusz) February 5, 2019