Reader’s Workshop MiniSeries: Episode Six: Word Study *Freebie!

It’s Episode 6 of my Reader’s Workshop miniseries! Word study is an essential and often neglected component of our reading program.

Word study can be integrated into your daily reading program, but I find that having a special time for word study ensures that I will explicitly teach the kinds of things that need to be taught explicitly. I set up a notebook and try to teach word study skills in context. I usually use poems. Some poems I’ve written myself in order to address specific skills. Others came from these sources:

On Monday, kids glue the poem into their notebooks. We identify the pattern in the words used in the poem (for example, scr blend, /ou/ vowel team, re- prefix). Students mark up the poem to notate the word pattern. Throughout the week, we work with the words, creating lists using the pattern, manipulate the words, or work with other word patterns we find in the poem. On Friday, we write our own version using the poem as a model. Very fun.

Later, I put the poem on an easel, and students can mark it up with dry erase markers.

 These are the kinds of things I teach during a third or fourth grade word study. 

Everything that I had on the wall, the students had a tiny version glued into their notebooks. As we learned a new component of decoding, the kids colored their little version, and I colored the big one on the wall. I stuck them on the wall behind my guided reading table so students could reference them during guided reading.

You can get the blends chart from Carl’s Corner.