As a teacher, I had colleagues often ask how I pulled out such good reading scores year after year, no matter the group of kids I had.

I’d like to say it’s because an amazing teacher for whom students always behave and strive to preform for. But if you’ve taught school you’ll know that’s a joke!

The real answer is that there is a science to teaching Reading.

There is a magic formula where you take a pinch of this, and add a dash of that and give it time to bake and grow.

The formula I use is also pretty one size fits all. In fact, many of the instructional strategies I use are frequently prescribed interventions for struggling students. Even my students that struggled, or my babies that started K super young, were able to get where they needed to be by the end of the year because of the secret sauce I sprinkled them with all year long.

There’s one big, often overlooked ingredient to this formula. It is in fact perhaps the magic ingredient that makes the whole thing work.

What is it?

Word Study instruction.

What is word study?

The actual act of word study has been around forever. In fact perhaps, since the emergence of language when we created new words with bases and roots. We examined words and their parts.

Word Study as seen in a classroom is categorizing words or pictures into groups based on either meaning, sound, or spelling pattern. It centers around word sorts, where students actually physically manipulate to represent certain patterns.

It’s birth as an instructional strategy came in the 70s when Harvard linguist Charles Read discovered that childrens’ spelling typically followed a very linear developmental pattern. That research led other academicians to then study his model of developmental word knowledge and separate it into five stages. These stages allowed them to develop an order in which word study should progress.

From that research many popular teacher resources were developed. Perhaps the most popular being one that came about in the mid 90s called Words their Way.

Words Their Way resulted in a several years of explicit word study in elementary classrooms, but after some school systems switched programs and resources in search of the nxt great thing. If you’re a teacher you know what I mean.

Word Study is not generally a staple in instruction in classrooms today, though I imagine other teachers continued to practice it once they realized the benefits.

I  continued to use it in the classroom and quickly found that I could modify any phonics program my county was asking me to use and incorporate the use of word sorts along.  This was one of the main ways I consistently produced strong readers.

Why does Word Study work?

Remember that research I was telling you about earlier?

Well clearly it worked.

And thing thing is, it didn’t just work with your average student, it worked with students of all types. From your high preforming student to your learning disabled student, they all showed growth!  It even was used as a method of teaching the deaf to spell!

Word sorts are the perfect instructional method because they are so flexible. You can use them in homeschooling, or one on one work with students at school. They work in small groups and even in a whole class level.

My favorite part of using word sorts is how I can create spelling groups and work students at their level and  tailor the instruction to them.

Say I have a group of kids  that are really struggling; I don’t have to move on and leave them in the dust. They can keep working on this language pattern until they get it!

And in case that enough for you, here’s my short list of additional reasons word study in essential in my instructional strategies.

Word Study is hands on and engages all learning styles.

If you’re in education you’re bound to have heard about learning styles. You may have even completed a learning styles inventory on your own class.

Traditionally the thought has been that there are 3 main types of learners: visual, auditory and kinesthetic/tactile. Another popular theory, the VARK model alleges there are four main types of learners: visual, auditory, reading/writing and kinesthetic.

However, no matter what theory you subscribe to, Word Study represents all types of readers.

It is hands on and perfect for those students who need to incorporate some time of movement in their learning. Kids who have an auditory learning style, will enjoy the verbal repetition of reading those patterns aloud. Visual and reading/writing? Yep got them covered! This method of teaching teaches ALL.THE.KIDS!

They are developmental and rely on a natural progression.

So if you’re working with your own child, Just the words developmental and natural progression should sell you on the value of Word Study. If you’re a teacher this may be where you start side eyeing me.  Unfortunately, developmental isn’t really a catch phrase in education any longer.

But it should be.

There’s this whole school of thought out there that kindergarten should be mostly play and social development. And let me tell you, I’m a subscriber.

But there’s idealism and then there’s reality.

And I can tell you all the lofty ideals and desires of my public school teacher heart, and then I can tell you how the Department of Instruction in our state squelched them. Education is becoming a pay for profit kind of game these days and the people making the rules are NOT educators. But that’s a blog post for another day.

Should kindergartners be focusing on developing social skills and learning their ABCs and colors?  Of course.

Yes, I believe we push our children to the limits developmentally.  I don’ t necessarily know that they’s the best thing, but I do know they’ll surprise you in their capabilities.

They can do it all. They can develop the social skills through role play while exploring the arts through craft projects while doing all the cute and fun kindergarten things. AND, they can also do it while following this word study program and learn how to read.

And they can do it at their pace.

Developmental and natural. Just sayin’

They can be fun and efficient.

The weekly spelling hum-drum of memorizing spelling words (nly to forget them the next week) is a thing of the past.

In this approach no rote memorization is required. In fact, students are actually internalizing these language patterns as they are exposed to them each day therefore learning to spell many other words that aren’t even featured on their weekly spelling list.

Additionally, there are all kinds of fun games that can be played with Word Sorts.

Homework can actually be fun. Spelling can be something they look forward to. Spelling can finally not be a chore, and become a fun and engaging activity that students will enjoy!

They also have the added benefit of building vocabulary.

Often when working with language patterns we encounter a word with which students aren’t familiar. This becomes the perfect opportunity for vocabulary instruction.

Little Sally doesn’t know what a cot is when she’s doing her short o word sort? Well, there’s a perfect little teachable moment all tucked in nicely to your Spelling instruction!

Working with vocabulary is so important because it is crucial to Reading Comprehension. Children can not understand what they are reading without actually knowing what those words mean.

How do you use Word Study during instruction?

To begin Word Study instruction you need to first look at the order in which you want to introduce words. I’ve recommended an order to introduce them and created a schedule which you can grab for free here. I also wrote a post that explains the reasoning behind this schedule and why I introduce spelling patterns in the order in which I do.

You start with a schedule and then create some word lists and then compose your sorts.

From there you just plan your week around sorting activities. There are all kinds of options as I’ll explain below.

In my classroom we had a weekly word sort schedule. I’ve since modified the schedule to use at home with my own daughter. However, it still would work perfectly in a classroom setting.

I’ve attached a free copy of my schedule below. You can grab it here, or by clicking on the image.

There’s a LOT that goes into this schedule. So much that I had to create a separate post explaining it! Be sure to check out that post to see all the fun games and activities I do along with word sorts and grab some awesome freebies!

Truth be told you don’t have to follow a schedule like mine. I’ve seen teachers with a very strict weekly schedule of basic sorting activities.

When I started doing this I was one of those teachers. However, I felt like my kiddos were checking out and not truly focusing because they were bored. So,  I took some games I learned about in graduate school and started also started creating my own also. The end result? A Word Study program that was fun and effective!

How do I know where to start?

In the ten years I spent teaching elementary school, there is one thing I learned to be true of all students.

They all learn at their own rate.

This is why I believe that flexible spelling  groups in a classroom environment are just as advantageous as Reading groups, or Math groups.

If you’re a homeschooling Mama, you may have the pleasure of only having one student. Or maybe similarly aged children working at different levels.

No matter what your situation is, Spelling Inventories will tell you where to start.

Spelling Inventories are assessments consisting of different lists that represent different features of a language. The further down the list you go, the more difficult the words become. Administering a spelling inventory allows you to identify the appropriate instructional level for an individual child.

The ability to work at their own pace is a powerful feeling for children. Being pushed at a pace too fast is incredibly frustrating. Finding that perfect balance propels a child forward and helps them grow as a reader and writer.

Determining an Individual Students Spelling Needs

As I mentioned in my post on the order in which I teach spelling rules, I typically start my kindergarten students at the same place. Occasionally you’ll have a kindergartner come in knowing how to read and they may start spelling lists and groups a bit sooner than the others. Where they start can be determined by a Spelling Inventory.

But in First and Second Grade, spelling abilities can vary greatly. Therefore it’s necessary to do a spelling inventory in the first few days of school to determine where to start groups. These are also required by some counties as benchmark assessments.

In a tutoring or small group setting, I always administer a Spelling Inventory unless I’m aware the student is a non-reader.

I’ve seen lots of spelling inventories come and go and not all aligned with the needs of my students. So, I created my own.

I divided it into 2 separate inventories because I feel like the inventories I used before didn’t place enough emphasis on the foundations. Children need to have a clear understanding of beginning and ending sounds. The ability to identify these sounds is essential to  learning how to blend and segment words. I’ve got an entire post  about Blending and Segmenting sounds where you can snag lots of freebies here.

They also need to be able to differentiate between medial vowel sounds which can be a difficult task for some young learners. I expanded my Beginning Spelling Inventory so I could get a clear picture of where their needs lie and make sure they have a firm grasp on those short vowel sounds before moving on. My first inventory gives me the whole picture of my beginning readers strengths and weaknesses.

The Intermediate Spelling Inventory has more complex word patterns on it, but less data. For example, the vowel team and other vowel pattern section do not have all different patterns and teams included, but I’ve included some of the more common ones. I rarely had students preform strongly in this area until 2nd grade, and even more rarely were they able to identify all of them. Even then, much of mastering these patterns comes with time and lots of practice!

You can check out a copy of my Intermediate Spelling Inventory for free! Click on the image below or here to grab it!

Administering the Inventory

Who you are working with will determine which spelling inventory to give

Keep in mind, if you have a student who doesn’t even know all letters and sounds, there is little point in administering this inventory. They need to have this skill mastered first.

Looking for help with letters and sounds? Be sure to check out my 26 weeks of free Letter of the Week lesson plans!

If you’re homeschooling your child and following along with our Reading Series doing the spelling inventory is not necessary initially. It is a fun way to have a way to note where they began. It also serves as a great benchmark assessment to give periodically to monitor your child’s growth.

As a Kindergarten teacher I usually administer a spelling inventory shortly after ending our Blending and Segmenting Unit . Very rarely, I’d have kids come to me writing already. If the were, I usually went ahead and administered a spelling inventory early on and started them on their own Word Study program before their classmates. I also gave the Spelling Inventory every quarter to demonstrate growth.

As a First Grade teacher, I give the Beginning Spelling Inventory in the first few weeks of school (I always start with a super quick Letter & Blending and Segmenting review because of the summer slide) . Occasionally I will have a student do so well on it that I do the Intermediate with them as well. I do also give the inventory a couple of times throughout the year to measure progress, and also from time to time to reassess spelling groups.

As a Second Grader teacher I begin with the Beginning Spelling Inventory and also the Intermediate Spelling Inventory. I often have students that aren’t ready for the Intermediate Inventory yet but it serves as a great way to document growth through the year. I also give this assessment throughout the year in 2nd grade.

I’ve only ever taught 5th grade besides grades K-2, but I did actually use Spelling Inventories with my struggling readers who could still benefit from Word Study.  I also use them before starting any of my tutoring groups!

Actually administering the inventory is the easy part.  All you have to do is call each word aloud, preferably also supplying it in a sentence,  and have the student write it on their spelling sheet.

Where to go From There

You’ll notice on both the bottom and side columns there are places to tally up the scores. They are broken down by category. For example, on the Beginning Spelling Inventory you’ll find columns for beginning, middle and ending sounds and digraphs.

After the assessment the first step is to tally up all those totals.

Once you’ve done this you need to settle down and take a good at the results.

If your student struggled to spell any words correctly, and consistently missed ending, middle and even beginning sounds? You may need to start with the Blending and Segmenting Unit. And also administer a Letter & Sound Assessment to make sure they have the basics down first.

Do you have a student scoring high in beginning and ending sounds, but struggling with short vowels? You need to start with a short vowel review.

Is your student good with basic CVC words, but struggling with digraphs? There’s your answer. Start with digraphs.

Spelling Inventories are a truly amazing diagnostic tool that will help you quickly discover where to begin your Word Study instruction.

From there it’s simple. I’ve already created an easy to follow schedule with tons of fun games and activities. Be sure to check it out in my Word Study Planning post where I explain the schedule, and all of the activities in great detail and share a few more freebies!  It’s all the essential tools you need to create an effective Word Study curriculum!

Also be sure to check out my other resources for teaching Beginning Readers! And don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest, where I’ve found tons of great resources for young learners!

Don’t Forget to Pin this for Later!