Word Study
Word Study
Phonics instruction can be delivered in many formats: demonstration, direct instruction, inquiry, whole class, small group, or one-on-one, and should include an extensive range of activities that provide students with independent practice.
In reading, phonics focuses on both decoding and deriving meaning from a text. In writing, phonics fosters the development of spelling skills, encoding, and the study of grammar and punctuation. Assessment is a key component of phonics; it allows the teacher a glimpse into each student’s skill set and allows for differentiation.
Students learn the regularities, patterns, and conventions of English orthography needed to read and spell. They learn how to examine words through active exploration using a hands-on, manipulative approach. Students also discover generalizations about spelling, instead of just spelling rules. Primary students gain phonological awareness skills to hear and identify rhyme, syllables, as well as beginning and ending sounds. In addition, primary students develop phonemic awareness to hear and manipulate phonemes. Word study increases students’ specific knowledge of words; relating to the spelling and meaning of individual words. Students’ reading and writing should be frequently studied to inform instruction and identify trends.
Word study in primary grades lays the foundation of word formation; cultivating an understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes). Word study is integrated into the reading and writing workshop. This phonological awareness, ability to hear and manipulate sounds, and the understanding of the letter-sound relationship, fosters a student's ability to read and write. Through the continued study of words, students develop their understanding of spoken language, letter knowledge, spelling patterns, word structures, deriving word meaning, and enables students to decode and comprehend. In word study, students learn how to recognize, isolate, and pronounce individual sounds, and build upon this skill by manipulating phonemes to create new words (verbally and in print). Students participate in dictation as well as sound manipulation through songs, chants, and transitional games.
In the upper grades, word study builds off the foundation set in the primary grades and is woven throughout the reading and writing workshop. Though word study begins with the development of phonetic awareness, it continues through learning the structural analysis of words. It builds on the foundation of phonics instruction (phonemic awareness, sound-symbol correspondence, segmenting, blending, and syllabication) and guides students to engage in inquiry: examining words to discover the regularities, patterns and conventions of English orthography and morphology, which are needed to read and spell. In order for word study to be meaningful, instruction allows for transference so that students comprehend and internalize linguistic concepts. This enables students to flexibly access their understanding of language when they encounter a new word. The better students understand how words are created, the better they will be at decoding, spelling, and inferring meaning.
Word Study Materials
