Word Sorts

Kathleen Childress

Second Grade

Yadkinville Elementary

Background Information

Last year my fourth graders were not successful using the grade level spelling book. Many of these students (16 out of 20) were also reading below grade level. A colleague introduced me to something she defined as “leveled spelling.” I began using this with my students and scores in spelling improved; however, I was not effective as the facilitator. I feel I was not effective because I lacked the understanding of how the “leveled spelling” actually worked. I had no idea how much more this could impact my students until this summer.

This summer I began my graduate studies with RE5100, Teaching Beginning Readers and Writers. It was during this course I was introduced to the concept of word sorts. This class gave me a deeper understanding of the stages of development students go through as they develop into readers and spellers. It also made me feel that I had failed my fourth graders for not providing them with the instructional support they needed.

Word sorts are used to help students develop into better spellers and readers. Through the study of words students are not memorizing and forgetting spelling words. I have had much experience with this myself as a student. There have been many times I have memorized test material in order to pass the test but after taking the test I would not be able to recall the information. Students are identifying and sorting words by both sound and patterns in their words.

As I started this school year with my second grade class I was determined to break away from the traditional spelling method. Many teachers have compiled their list of spelling words from units studied in the classroom. While students may be able to read the words associated with the unit many times they are unable to remember the spelling of the words on a test. When students are forced to learn how to spell one word at a time it reduces the effectiveness of word study (Bear, D. & Templeton, S. 1998). Students should explore and investigate words at their instructional level. It is my hope through this exploration they will recognize the spelling and sound patterns they have studied in words they have not studied.

The research I have read and studied supports the use of word sorts. Dr. Darrell Morris encourages the use of word sorts because it allows the child to induce the defining characteristic for sorting words into various categories. Students manipulate words by trial and error gradually internalizing aspects of English orthography rather than memorization (Morris, 2005). The research conducted by Laurice Joseph and Andrea Orlins also supports word sorts as a way to increase success in spelling as well as reading. The case studies determined that using word sorts maybe used to teach spelling and word recognition to students who have difficulty in these areas (Joseph, L. & Orlins, A. 2005).

Research Question

How will the use of word sorts impact student spelling and word recognition of unknown words with similar spelling and sound patterns?

Participants

Word Study was used with all twenty of the second graders in my classroom however; my focus was on six of my students. These six are the lowest readers in my classroom. There are three girls; Ellen, Kathy and Mary and three boys; Caleb, Andy and Mark. All six students spend forty minutes per day in small group instruction with the reading teacher in the Literacy Lab. Andy, Mark and Ellen spend forty minutes twice a week with the speech pathologist in her classroom. Caleb, Andy and Mary are Hispanic; however, they are not served by the ELL teacher.

Word Study sessions were conducted in my second grade classroom. Each session was approximately 30 minutes Monday through Thursday. Since I had four word study groups and I could only give one assessment at a time the students sorted words each Friday as they waited to take their assessment.

Procedures

Students took the Primary Spelling Inventory suggested in the Words Their Way textbook. There were twenty-six words on this spelling inventory. I then used the scoring features guide from the text to assist me in scoring and determining the developmental spelling level for each student.

Once each individual student was scored their scores were then ranked on a classroom composite chart. This resulted into four separate word study groups. I have a group at the late alphabetic stage, one at the early within word stage, one at the middle within word stage and one at early syllables and affixes. Once the students were placed in groups they decided on a group name. I have the Snow Tigers, Bunny Hops, Vultures and the Puppies. The students I used for my action research are in the late alphabetic stage, Caleb and Andy (Snow Tigers) and the early within word stage, Mark, Mary, Ellen and Kathy (Bunny Hops).

Each student maintains a word study notebook. They use this notebook to record their word study words for the week, make a word sort chart using these words. They also make a chart for words found during a word hunt and to record a blind word sort done at home. The word study notebook is kept in a large Ziploc bag along with a smaller bag that contains their word cards for the week. This keeps everything together and makes it easier to transport to and from school.

Day One : The word study for the week begins by distributing word study words to each group. There are twenty-one words assigned to each student. The word study words come from the supplemental resources of Words Their Way. The first activity they do is record their words in their word study notebook. This list is used as a backup list in case word cards are lost or left at home. After this is completed students cut apart their word list. During this time I am meeting with one of the groups. When I am with a group I have their attention, they are not writing or cutting during this time. I then ask the students to look at their words. The word sort for the student is a cloze sort. They look at the top of their paper and the sort is in bold text, as well as, bold text words that follow the visual and sound pattern of the sort. These words are used as a comparison while students are sorting. They are looking at the spelling pattern and saying the guide word to hear the sound pattern. This comparison of each word helps them decide the appropriate column. Usually there will be words that do not fit into any of the sorts. These words are called oddballs. Students love to find the oddball words. We talk about what they see; for example the CVCe, pattern the vowel is assigned as ā. At this point I am confirming they understand the C represents a consonant and the V represents a vowel and the ā printed the way it is indicates this will be a long a sound. We read each of their words. I usually read the word and they follow along repeating each word. I stop at words I think they may not know and ask them if they have heard of the word. Sometimes they will ask about a word and we will talk about it. Once we have read every word, they continue cutting and begin sorting and I go on to the next group and repeat the same procedure. When I finish with the next group I return to the group before them and check their progress. If they have begun to sort words I ask them to read the words to me and prove to me that the word does indeed belong where they have it placed. This is a lot of fun because most of the time if they have a word placed incorrectly they will correct themselves as they are reading the words to me. I continue to circulate to the groups checking their sorts. Once they have sorted all their words they make a word sort chart in their word study notebook. The homework for the first night is to sort words, read them to someone and explain why they sorted their words they way they did. If they did not complete the word sort chart in their notebook it is also done for homework.

Day Two: The second day students are sorting their words and checking their partner. During this time I am circulating around the room to make sure sorts are being done correctly. I am looking at word sort charts from the previous day and I stop and ask questions: “Why is this word here?”, “Read these words” etc. I want to be sure students understand they are sorting by visual pattern and sound. They know from experience I am always asking why and they need to be able to give me an explanation. They will sort these words again for homework, similar to the homework on the first day except no word sort chart.

Day Three: The first activity is to sort words and then students will work with a partner to do a blind word sort. One person makes a word sort chart with the appropriate headers at the top. The other person calls out the words and the other writes the word in the appropriate column. When we first began blind word sorts some students thought they were supposed to keep their eyes closed. The blind part of the word sort is only the person reading the words is the one who sees the words. I am circulating around the room. I continue to ask students why they have words where they are and to read their words to me. Students practice a blind word sort at home for homework.

Day Four: This is the most challenging day in our word study week. Students begin word study by sorting their words. After they have sorted their words and read them to a partner or to me they will be on a word hunt. Students use books we have read together or they have read on their own to find words that fit their word sort patterns. They record these words on a word sort chart in their word study notebook. This is very challenging because they expect the words to jump out at them and say here I am. We have discussed hunting for anything takes time and patience. It is also very exciting to watch them write words on their chart. Once again I am walking around making observations and asking questions. If I see a word in the inappropriate column I will continue to ask questions, I want the student to figure out the correct answer without me telling them. Students continue the word hunt at home.

The research by Shane Templeton and Donald Bear support the use of word hunts as a way for students to apply what they have observed by doing their daily word sorts. After studying a pattern, students return to text they are reading to find words that go with a specific pattern; for example, students may be asked to hunt for words that sound like cake with the CVCe , long a pattern. The words are then recorded in word study notebooks (Bear, D. & Templeton, S. 1998).

Day Five: Students have the opportunity to sort one last time as they wait for their group to take their spelling assessment. This assessment consists of ten of the twenty-one words they have studied. They also are challenged to spell five words they have not studied but follow the same visual and sound patterns as the words they have studied.

Data Collection

I collected the following information over a five week period.

·  Primary Spelling Inventory

·  Word hunts from word study notebook

·  Weekly spelling assessments

·  Anecdotal notes

·  Student interviews

Data Analysis

The first piece of data I analyzed was the Primary Spelling Inventory from the Words Their Way text. A primary spelling feature guide was created for each student. Each spelling word was scored. After each word was scored the checks were tallied in each column. The guidelines recommended in Words Their Way was to look for areas in which students made two or more errors. In the example you can see this student did not correctly use middle within word vowel patterns, therefore, I placed him in the early within word stage. As recommended in the scoring guide of Words Their Way when planning it is better to step back to a level students will recognize and therefore it will be easier to introduce sorting routines.

The information from each individual student was then combined into a class composite chart. The class composite chart allowed me to then place student into instructional level spelling groups.

The next piece of data I analyzed were the word hunt charts from the student’s word study notebook. Word hunts were done every week. I found some students had more success at finding words to fit their sort than others. I am quite confident they knew what to do because this was started in class and then finished as homework. Andy works very slow, he loses focus easily.