The Art of Studying Words

Making, decoding, and understanding words are very complex tasks, but they can also be a fun process. I believe the readings for this week describe helpful activities for a range of ages and ability levels. The article about the activity involving identifying ten important words in a selection seems to be an activity more for older children (Yopp & Yopp). It does however seem very helpful in further understanding and using more of a variety of words. The article about the Making Words activity (also described in the Classrooms that Work book) thoroughly details how to conduct the activity. It also gives sample letter/word sets and describes how to use the activity with younger and older children. I really think this activity, coupled with invented spelling practice, will be a useful activity to break up the monotony of typical letter and word study in the classroom. Children as young as Kindergarten age (and even some younger) can improve their phonemic awareness as well as begin making the connection between letter sounds and the spelling of words. I have seen an activity very similar to this one done in a Kindergarten classroom and not only did the students greatly enjoy the activity, but they improved their skills tremendously as well. I have also seen teachers plan and allow time for invented spelling practice, which also helps the children. This can initially be frustrating for children who are conscious of the fact that they cannot spell words exactly correct, but once they understand that it is okay to just spell what they hear they are not so frustrated. Here is and example of some invented spelling.

A question I encourage you to consider are when is it important to teach conventional spelling if children have not already began doing so? Also, how do you encourage children who refuse to practice invented spelling?

Supporting the Development of Phonics and Phonemic Awareness

Learning to decode words and increase the automaticity of word recognition is a very complex and difficult process. Children cannot learn phonics and phonemic awareness with the flip of a switch; it takes hard work and appropriate assistance from people such as teachers. There are many ways to teach phonics and coach children's development of phonemic awareness, many of which can be challenging and fun as well. It's important to understand where your students are in their development of these skills, and choose activities and support on their level. Activities that I like for young children include rhyming games and word play in order to get them thinking about the different sounds different words make. More complex and sophisticated activities, such as Guess the covered word and Making words (Cunningham & Allington, 2011), can be used for children who are a little older and further along in their process of learning to decode words. Games like Hangman and story of the day activities can also help children with their phonemic awareness and phonics. Questions I encourage you to consider are how can you figure out where your students are in this developmental process? and What are some specific ways you can coach or teach their continued development?