One of my favorite things about using Word Study in the classroom is how well it lends itself to a schedule.
I love schedules for so many reasons, but as a teacher, they are a Life-Saver. Having a schedule cuts planning time in half and gives students structure and predictability, which so many of them need!
I’ve created many different variations of word sort schedules in my time as a classroom teacher but my most recent is my favorite. It works perfectly at home with my 6 year old. It would also be great in a classroom as a small group block of time and perfect for tutoring.
If you haven’t had a chance, please take some time to check out my previous post Word Study instruction for Beginning Readers about why word sorts are so essential to an effective reading program. They are literally the secret ingredient in my special recipe for strong beginning readers!
If you’ve already read it, then I’m assuming you’re ready to dive right in. Lucky for you, I’ve made the process super simple!
I’ve been working to recreate my entire Word Study Curriculum that was successful in my classroom year after year. To kick it off, I’m releasing my Weekly Word Study Schedule for free! I’ve also dedicated this entire blog post to walking you through the schedule step by step.
For your convenience, this post contains affiliate links. If you purchase from these links I may make a small commission at no cost to you.
How to use My Weekly Word Study Schedule
While I currently use this schedule at home with my 6 year old, it can also easily work in a classroom.
If you’re in a classroom, you know the advantage of small flexible groups. I also try to utilize these in Reading, Math, and Word Study. During word study I create small groups based on their needs in Word Study.
Following this schedule at home with my daughter these activities take about 15-20 minutes a day. As a teacher would allow for 30 minutes for these activities as my Phonic/Word Work block. I would allow 15 minutes for both the Daily Timed Repeated Reading and the Sorting Fun activity. I’d work with a group during that 15 minutes and switch.
In a K-1 setting, I’ve always been fortunate to have an assistant and she ran the groups with me so we could do two groups at once. Without an assistant, I worked with two groups a day. I tried to limit it to 4-6 groups maximum and if a student needed their own group we would work on it during intervention/enrichment time, or with the school tutor.
No matter where you’re working with it, this schedule will produce results! If you didn’t grab it in my previous post be sure to grab it here or by clicking on the link below:
There’s a lot of info jammed into one page, and I’m not going to leave you hanging. I’ve designed this post to walk you step by step through my schedule. I’m going to break it down for you from top to bottom.
Starting with….
Daily Timed Repeated Readings.
My daily work with the timed repeated reading is different from other instructional practices you may have seen with word work. However, I believe it plays a very important role.
The ultimate reason for introducing word sorts is so students become familiar with language patterns and explore the similarities and differences of words.
Also, one of the hallmarks of a good reader is being a fluent reader, right?
Word sorts provide an amazing opportunity to build fluency and simultaneously become familiar with common language patterns.
We do daily timed repeated readings to increase fluency. Once a student has committed a language pattern to memory, it becomes that much easier to recognize that pattern while they read. We use the previous week’s words for practice each week.
With my daughter, this is a super quick activity. She uses the list in her spelling notebook from the previous week’s sort and reads it. I let her practice a couple of times before I time her and record the results on a sheet.
Classroom Adaptation: As I mentioned before, as a classroom teacher I would be working in small flexible groups. While I was working with another group, students in other spelling groups would practice reading, timing, and charting their results. I always keep several timing gadgets in my classroom including hourglasses and hand held timers. I linked a few below for ideas.
I would check in with students once-twice a week Tuesday – Friday and do a timed sort with them. When I met with individual students I record their results to look at in planning their next week’s spelling assignment.
These groups are very flexible and change frequently to allow for students who either need more challenge, or on the opposite end of the spectrum, find themselves too challenged.
Daily Sort
This is more of the teacher lead section of our day. The Daily Sort is done in a teacher lead group whereas Timed Sort and Sorting Fun activities are done as more of station where the groups worked independently while the teacher(s) worked in small groups.
Obviously in a homeschool setting this is done one on one with the student as are the other activities. This provides the unique advantage of being able to witness growth constantly!
The Daily Sort section includes the following types of sorts.
Guided
This is a teacher led activity where the patterns being discussed this week are introduced. During a guided lesson the mini lesson and activities that introduce the sort are done first and then the teacher demonstrates how to sort them. As the sort progresses students are invited to participate with help.
Notebook
Each student has a Word Study notebook. Each week they create a new page. They begin by writing the column headers at the top of the page. We make it fun by allowing them to write them however they like (silly letters, rainbow letters, etc). I then have them sort the words orally and write them neatly in the correct column. The number of words assigned each week varies by grade. I start with 3-4 in each category in K and progress up to 10 in 2nd.
Closed
A closed sort is where the categories are defined, meaning you tell them what the column headers are (ex:-at, -ap, -ad) This is basically what we’ve done the last two days. However, to mix it up, I call out the words and they have to write them in the correct category. This is great practice for the spelling test!
Open
An open sort is when the categories are not defined for them. They use this day to explore. They look for other patters with the words (ie: beginning sounds, digraphs, blends, etc). In an open sort students create their own sort. I also have them sort them in ABC order.
Assessment
At the beginning of the week I send a spelling list home with the students. I always assign a Choice Menu of fun activities for them to do at home to practice their spelling words at least 3 times through the week. This is our Spelling Bingo sheet, that is included in my Word Study Planning Pack.
After students have reviewed all week at school and home, they should be ready for their weekly assessment on Day 5. Day 5 consists of just a simple spelling test to monitor their progress. I’ve included some free spelling test blanks below. You can also find these in my Word Study Planning Pack.
Sorting Fun
Word sorts by themselves certainly aren’t the most exciting thing in the world. However, I learned early in my teaching career that if you tun anything into a game students think it’s fun.
These games activities are a fun way to mix up what would otherwise be a pretty boring activity!
Matching
Played much like a traditional matching game, the first thing you need to do is spread 3-4 categories face down in random order. The goal of the game is to find as many matching pairs as possible. Each player takes turns until all cards are found. At the end of the game, the player with the most matching cards is the winner.
Word-o
This game is played similar to Bingo except players draw cards to attempt to get Word-o. Cards should be shuffled well and use 4-6 different categories as well as 5 Wild Cards. Players draw three cards each first to determine the categories for their board. If duplicate categories are drawn they must place the duplicate at the bottom of the deck and draw again to get a different category. Players may choose which column is assigned to which category.
Players then alternate turns drawing cards. If they draw a card in their sort they may place it in the appropriate column in their sort. If they do not have that category, the card must return to the deck (which needs to be re-shuffled every few turns). If they draw a Wild Card they may place it in any empty spot on their board. The player which first fills up a column and calls Word-o wins after reading the completed column.
Wordland
This game is played similarly to most board games. Players alternate turns rolling a dice and seeing how far they can go. In order to advance on the board, they must sort and read a word card drawing from a stack correctly. The winner is whoever gets to the end of the board first.
You can play this using pretty much any board game in your house or you can grab my free printable Wordland game by clicking on the image below!
Wild Words
Similar to the other games in this game you draw cards and sort. Every time you sort your card correctly and then correctly read the whole row you get a chip (can be any small token – we have used paperclips). However, in this game “Wild Cards” are bad and if you draw one you lose all your chips! The game is over when all the cards have been sorted. The winner of the game is whoever holds the most chips at the end of the game.
Go Fish
Each player gets 10 cards (including at least 3 separate sort categories). The objective is to get a set of 4 of a similar category. For example, in a the short vowel CVC patterns, the player would ask, “Do you have any words that rhyme with fin?
When playing with vowel patterns you would identify the vowel pattern when asking for cards. I..e.: Do you have any words with the vowel team ‘ea’ in them?”
Each set of four words is two points. If there are additional words that apply to that set the other player can lay them down with the set for an additional 1 point.
The winner is the person at the end of the game with the most points. The game is over when all sets and additional matches have been laid down.
Roll & Sort
Begin by laying the sort cards in random order, face up, in front you. You want all players to be able to see them but not in a sorted order. You then assign each number on the dice a category leaving one as free roll. For example: 1 -at words, 2 – am, 3- an, 4-ack, 5-ap, 6 FREE Roll. The students roll a number and then have to find one card matching that number, read it, and sort it correctly. If a student lands on a free number they can pick any card from the table.
The first person to get 5 in any sort columns wins.
Timed Sort
Not to be comfused with a timed repeated reading, a timed sort is where students actually sort the words just as they would with any other sort. They then record their time and track their progress as they repeat the activity several times.
You can grab my free printable Timed Sort recording sheet by clicking on the image below.
Word Hunt
Choose 3 patterns you’d like for the student to work with. Have the student write those patterns in the top boxes on the word sort recording sheet. They are then to look through books and around any writing available in the room for a certain period of time recording the patterns they are looking for on their sheet. I usually start with 5 minutes and then gradually allow more time as they become better at this activity. We make it a game by declaring the student with the most written down at the end of the timer the winner .
A Little Effort for a Lot of Results
I know I’ve just thrown a lot of information at you in the last two posts. Hopefully I’ve made you understand why Word Sorts are such an essential part of a strong Reading curriculum. There is a little bit of setup involved but the end results are so worth it!
Plus I’ve given you tons of ideas to start!
And I’m not done yet either! I’m still have several posts coming soon that are going to look at different units of spelling patterns in word study and offer even more freebies. If you want to see some of my word lists, or grab a few sort, be sure to check back in soon!
I’m also working to package up all my resources for you, literally doing the work for you. Unfortunately, as a stay at home Mom working to provide for her own family, I can’t give all my resources away, but I can promise to keep them ultra affordable and give away as many freebies as I can!
In the coming weeks you’ll see I’m offering my entire Word Study series offered in my store in different ultra affordable options.
Check out what I’ve got in mind:
Option 1 The DIYer:
This includes all the resources pictures in this post (and more!). It is everything you need to follow my schedule, you will just have to create your own weekly Spelling lists, word sorts and other resources. Chances are, if you choose Option 1, you are a girl after my own heart and enjoy creating your own resources! This is available right now for just $4 in my Word Study Planning Pack if you want to get started! You can find it here or by clicking on the picture below.
Option 2 The Dabbler:
Maybe you’re a kindergarten teacher and only need the first couple of units. They will be available in smaller combined packages! Additionally each of my Spelling & Word Study Units also includes my Word Study Planning Pack. Each of my units will be priced super cheap! So if you want to check out my units first and then maybe try it on your own, or supplement the weeks you don’t have time, this option is for you! Stay tuned. I’ll be sharing my first unit in just a few days!
Option 3 The Do It For Me’r:
Bundle big & save big! This is for the Mama’s and teachers who want to save time and money. I’m working on a HUGE bundle of my word study resources. It includes 47 weeks of Spelling Words, Word Sorts, 100’s of practice sheets, mini lessons, working with words resources, my entire Word Study Planning pack and more! I’m telling you it’s massive! This option is still a couple of weeks out, but if you stick with me it’ll be worth your wait.
I’m not done giving away freebies either! Like I mentioned I’ve got another post coming in the next few days sharing my first unit – short vowels. It’ll explain a little more about how I introduce the unit and give you an even closer peak at the resources I use in my Word Study program. So stay tuned!
Until then, don’t forget to check out all my other free resources here! I’ve got an a great series on Sight Words and Beginning Reading Strategies you should check out. Also be sure to follow me on Pinterest where I”m pinning great ideas for young learners and lots of super cute crafts!
Don’t forget to pin this for later!
