Word sorts and more

Review

«If you’re a K-3 teacher or teacher educator, you’ll want this book by well-known literacy teacher and scholar Kathy Ganske! As the book quickly reveals, Ganske understands children, teachers, classrooms, and literacy teaching and scholarship. A central feature of this book is an emphasis on teachers as professional problem solvers in their work with children. Myriad concrete examples of classroom interactions between teachers and children illustrate how, when, and why teachers might enact the many word study activities presented in this text.»—Cynthia H. Brock, PhD, University of Nevada, Reno

«

Word Sorts and More is a useful resource for busy primary-grade literacy teachers who want to engage their students in hands-on word study. This practical book offers descriptions and materials for over 200 word sort activities at a variety of developmental levels, and includes lists of suggested children’s books to connect the activities to authentic text. Teachers can easily integrate these research-based tasks into an existing curriculum to help their students develop a better understanding of how words work.»—Nancy Logan, MA, Littlewood Elementary School, Gainesville, Florida

«This book provides a variety of ideas and strategies to aid the classroom teacher. The read-aloud literature links at each step are helpful components. With all the games and hands-on activities, who knew reading instruction could be this fun! This book is concise and easy to follow, and would be great for use in tandem with any reading curriculum.»—Kelly Fairfield, MA, Peoria Public Schools, Illinois

«Many primary-grade classroom teachers have been waiting for a book like this one. The activities presented here help teachers make greater use of the power of sorting or categorizing words to help children internalize the phonological, orthographic, and morphological structure of words. I expect this book will become one of the nation’s most widely used primary-grade classroom resources!»—D. Ray Reutzel, PhD, Utah State University

«

Word Sorts and More is a valuable addition to the reading teacher’s professional library. It provides fresh new insights into the teaching and learning processes involved in word learning. Kudos and thanks to Kathy Ganske!»—Robert B. Cooter, Jr., EdD, University of Memphis

«Ganske offers an excellent tool filled with fun, meaningful hands-on activities. Busy primary teachers will especially appreciate the numerous research-based, reproducible sorts (word, picture, and letter), templates, and games included in this title.» ―

Curriculum Connections Published On: 2006-05-27

About the Author

Kathy Ganske, PhD, is Professor of the Practice of Literacy and Director of Graduate Elementary Education at Vanderbilt University. She has been involved in using, refining, and teaching about word study practices for over 25 years. Her work is grounded in extensive teaching experience in elementary classrooms. Dr. Ganske’s current research interests include discussion during small-group word study instruction and literacy teacher preparation. She is the author or coauthor of several books, including  Word Journeys, Word Sorts and More and Mindful of Words, as well as numerous articles and book chapters.