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A Writing Conference: Teaching a Student to Write for Audience (3-5)

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What are the components of a Balanced Literacy Framework? 

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What are the components of a Balanced Literacy Framework? 

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Have you ever heard the term balanced literacy? It's been around for many years. What exactly is it? And does it still apply to teaching, even after all these years?

Find links to the posts in this series at the END of this post.

*This post contains affiliate links.

What is Balanced Literacy?

Balanced literacy came along in response to the more extreme teachings of whole language and heavy phonics-based instruction. In the whole language approach, literacy skills were mostly taught IN the context of real reading and writing. Phonics-based instruction swung the opposite direction to teach literacy skills mostly OUT of the context of real reading and writing.

When balanced literacy came along in the 1990's, the purpose was to find a better balance (hence the name "balanced") by mixing the two extremes. But as the years have passed, it has come to mean MUCH more than just finding a good blend between whole language and phonics-based instruction.
Balanced literacy includes balancing these 3 important components when teaching reading and writing: 1- Teacher MODELS (I do)
2- Teacher SUPPORTS learners as they practice it (we do)
3- Learners WORK INDEPENDENTLY (you do)
Below, I'm going to break down these three components for reading and writing so you can see how it all fits into a balanced classroom setting. By the way, this framework works well for classroom teachers, homeschoolers, and tutors.

*Be sure to download the handy 1-page printable freebie towards the end of this post that has all this info in it!

Balanced Literacy in Reading

In the next few weeks, The Measured Mom and I will be unpacking many of the reading practices, so be sure to stay tuned!

1- Teacher MODELS READING (I do)

Read Alouds - Read alouds typically happen whole group. During a read aloud, you take on most of the responsibility as you model things like comprehension strategies, fix up strategies, fluency, and much more! Of course, we can make our read alouds interactive by asking for feedback from our learners, but the teacher is heavily involved.

Some of my absolute favorite read alouds are included in my 50+ Books to Model Comprehension.

Teachers can model these strategies during a simple read aloud (I usually read aloud while my learners are eating snack) or as a mini-lesson, where you plan ahead a certain skill or strategy that you want to focus on. Often, I'll use strategically pick a section of text that I've already read aloud to use during a mini-lesson.

2. Teacher SUPPORTS READERS (we do)

Shared Reading - During shared reading, the teacher selects a text that all learners in the class can see. It is a text that is ON GRADE LEVEL. This means that it will not be a "just right" text for all your readers. And that's okay, because 1- you're there to offer tons of support and 2- learners will have plenty of other times to read on their level.

The poems from my poetry packs are one of the ways we do shared reading.

Guided Reading - Guided reading is focused instruction that happens in a small group environment (6 or less students). The text you read with the students is typically something they can read, but only with support. Each student has a copy of the text as you read it together. If texts are short enough, it is read more than once over a 2 or 3 day period. There's no way two or three sentences can explain all there is to know about guided reading.

Of course, we'll be exploring guided reading further in our e-course. If you want to get a head start, my two favorite resources for guided reading are The Next Step Forward in Guided Reading by Jan Richardson, Making the Most out of Small Groups by Debbie Diller, and Teaching Reading in Small Groups by Jennifer Serravallo.

Strategy Lessons - Strategy lessons group students based on strategies they need instead of by their reading level (guided reading). So, if you have a group of readers who struggle with inferring, you would group them for lessons on inferring. Instead of all using the same text, they use a book on their own reading level to practice inferring.

Conferring One-on-One with Learners - As learners read during guided reading lessons, strategy or during an independent reading time (see the next section), you can listen as they read and offer feedback and support where needed.

3. Learners READ INDEPENDENTLY (you do)

Within your school day, learners need time to read independently. They need time to apply the skills they've seen you model and that they've practiced with you. This typically happens during literacy center time, during a self-selected reading time, or during a readers' workshop.

This is true for ANY reader, but often doesn't happen enough for struggling readers.

Balanced Literacy with Writing

The e-course we are working hard on right now will only include reading, but balanced literacy also includes writing, so I want to make sure I touch on it as well. There are certainly other ways to teach writing (interactive writing, shared writing, etc.), one of the best ways to capture all three components of balanced writing is to do it through the Writer's Workshop approach.

1- Teacher MODELS WRITING (I do)

During a Writer's Workshop approach, you start with a mini-lesson, where you model writing and writing strategies to your learners.

You can find lots of great ideas for things to model to learners in both our writing series: Pre-K/Kindergarten Writing Lessons & Writing Lessons for Primary Grades {with freebies, too!}. If you're looking for a full-blown Writer's Workshop curriculum, I recommend WriteShop.

2. Teacher SUPPORTS WRITERS (we do)

During independent writing time of Writer's Workshop (after the mini-lesson), I often met with small writing groups for strategy instruction. I loved having time to meet one-on-one with learners during this time, too. Sometimes, I'd pull my "lowest" writers and we'd do some interactive writing together.

The sharing time of writing workshop (after independent writing time) is another great time to offer support and feedback to writers. This was often one of my favorite times of Writer's Workshop.

3. Learners WRITE INDEPENDENTLY (you do)

Once the mini-lesson is over, the teacher turns writing over to learners. During independent writing time, writers are encouraged to apply what they know to their own writing.

Balanced Literacy with Spelling/Word Study

Though not talked about thoroughly in this post, word study and spelling are also an important part of balanced literacy.

Phonics and spelling can be taught in a whole group time (I do) and through small groups (we do). For example, I had word study small groups integrated into the "warm up" time of guided reading groups. Learners can then take those skills and apply them in their reading, writing, and center time (you do).

My two favorite spelling programs are Words their Way and All About Spelling (great especially for your struggling spellers). You can read even more about them in my article, Do I Really Have to teach Spelling?

Grab the Balanced Literacy Freebie!

*By signing up for this freebie with your email, you'll be added to our VIP list so you're the first to know more about our e-course!

See all the posts in this Balanced Literacy Series

Enjoy!
~Becky

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What is Balanced Literacy? - This Reading Mama

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Have you ever heard the term balanced literacy? It's been around for many years. What exactly is it? And does it still apply to teaching, even after all these years? Find links to the posts in this series at the END of this post. *This post contains affiliate links.

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Video #1 ( Yes, that's me! )

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Video #1: Setting up your Independent Reading Class 

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Video #1: Setting up your Independent Reading Class 

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Focus on Section II & III
Pages 147-152

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Article #1: The First 20 Days Of Independent Reading 

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Article #1: The First 20 Days Of Independent Reading 

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Article #3: What is Independent Reading? 

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What is independent reading? It's an essential part of your school day! Learn more in today's post.

This summer, This Reading Mama and I have shared six posts about balanced literacy. We've given you essential information about each element of balanced literacy - with printable charts and lists to make your teaching easier.

We've talked about

And now... we're finishing the series with a look at independent reading.

What is independent reading?

Independent reading is a time in the school day when students read text with little or no assistance from the teacher. They are typically at their seats or in comfortable places around the classroom.

Maybe you remember SSR, sustained silent reading, from your elementary school days. In the traditional SSR model, students were allowed to choose any book at all (as long as it had pages) and read on their own (as long as they were silent). The teacher read alongside the children, as a model (unless (s)he had papers to grade or a desk to tidy).

Giving each child daily time to read was a good start, but the independent reading model has changed.

Essentials of independent reading

Students choose books with teacher support and keep them in a bag or bin. They read from these books each day until it's time to choose new books.

Most of students' independent reading books are "just right" - books they can read with at least 95% accuracy.

Students have 15+ minutes of independent reading time every school day. (The ideal is 20-30 minutes.)

During this time, teachers are conducting independent reading conferences.

The basics of independent reading conferences

Reading conferences are the key to making independent reading time a successful part of your school day. During a reading conference, the teacher sits down with a student and talks to him about his reading.

Here's the structure of a conference:

The teacher asks how things are going.

The teacher listens to the child read and/or talks to him what he read.

The teacher makes a teaching point.

The teacher sets a goal for next time.

The teacher may help the student choose new books for his reading bag.

Independent reading conferences are one of the very best things you can do as a reading teacher. There is nothing that will help you know your readers more, and they will love having your devoted attention. We advise having a reading conference at least once a week with your struggling readers and every 1 1/2 -2 weeks for the rest of your students.

If you're wondering how on earth you'll squeeze these in, remember this: reading conferences are short. Think 3-7 minutes. If you have at least 20 minutes of independent reading time every day (the recommended minimum!) you can meet with 25 students in less than two weeks.

The key to successful reading conferences

First, the good news. Even if you're new to reading conferences, and you feel like you're bumbling your way through them, it's okay. This focused attention that you're giving your readers is huge. Just consider how much more you're learning about your readers than if the only time you heard them read was in whole class, or even small group lessons. When you know more about your readers, you're better able to give focused teaching at other points in your school day.

So the very fact that you're attempting reading conferences = awesomeness.

That said, t he key to truly successful conferences is knowing what to teach, and when. How, in the space of a few minutes, can you assess your student's current need and choose the right teaching point?

We're here to help! Download the file below. You'll get a list of helpful teaching points for your K-2 reading conferences. Plus, you'll join our VIP list to receive special tips and tricks for teaching young readers. It's free!

Check out the rest of our balanced literacy series!
*Stock images via iStock.

© 2017, Anna G. All rights reserved.

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What is independent reading? - The Measured Mom

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What is independent reading? It's an essential part of your school day! Learn more in today's post. This summer, This Reading Mama and I have shared six posts about balanced literacy. We've given you essential information about each element of balanced literacy - with printable charts and lists to make your teaching easier.

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Article #3 Guided Reading: The Romance and the Reality 

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Video #2

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Readers Workshop Mini Lesson: Lens of Structure

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In this 3rd grade classroom, students are close reading the text, "I Like the Way You Are," by Eve Bunting. This whole group mini lesson demonstrates how to teach students that authors use SCENES to STRUCTURE the story.

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Article #5: The Connection Between Reading and Writing 

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We've arrived at word work in our balanced literacy series.

What exactly is word work? What are some ideas and activities? And how do you fit it into a balanced literacy framework? I'm so glad you asked. That's exactly what we're exploring in this post!

*This post contains affiliate links.

What is Word Work?

Word work is a hands-on time to explore the spellings and/or meanings of words (vocabulary). Making time for word work is vital because it helps patterns and words move into long-term memory. Word work can help our learners become better readers, spellers, and writers.

Depending on our learners' developmental stages, they might use this time to focus on letters and their sounds, read and spell words, or work on word meanings. At the same time, learners have time to explore sight words.

Word Work Activities

There are TONS of word work activities to choose from. So how do you choose?

The idea is to give choices, but not too many at one time. Introduce activities slowly and change them out gradually. We want learners to be self-sufficient in getting their supplies, completing the task, and returning supplies to their proper home.

When we change activities too much and too fast, it can be hard for our learners {and us} to manage.

One of the spelling boards I've used with my own learners at home is our Tic-Tac-Do Spelling Board. We've used it for 2 years now and it's still going strong. The free choice in the middle is where I often will introduce something new, like Wikki Stix, for a short time.

*The free version {seen above} isn't editable, but I do have an editable copy in my Printable Spelling Activities ebook.

We also have used this Word Study Activity Page to extend word sorts during word work time.

Spelling apps are a great way to practice phonics/spelling and sight words for word work. You can check out all the learning apps I have so see if any of them fits your needs!

Be sure to grab the freebie at the end of this post for more SIMPLE word work ideas you can use with your learners!

How does Word Work Fit into a Balanced Literacy Framework?

Now that we know what word work is and some activities for it, let's explore how it fits into a balanced literacy framework.

I was saddened to read a Facebook page comment about balanced literacy not too long ago. The teacher posted that balanced literacy seemed to be an excuse to cut out phonics and spelling instruction. But balanced literacy does not exclude phonics or spelling instruction.

How exactly does it fit then? Well, that's a tough one...because it isn't a one size fits all kind of thing.

Let me just mention 6 ideas for fitting word work into your day. Of course, you'll need to decide for yourself what fits your schedule and your learners best.

1. Before a Small Group Reading Lesson - Before I started my small group reading lessons, I integrated a quick "warm up" time, based on my learners' word work needs. The key to these is that they should be quick and easy, like my Roll and Read Games.

2. After a Small Group Reading Lesson - The same "warm up" ideas can be used as a "cool down" after the reading lesson is over. Again, quick and simple is best.

3. As the Focus of a Small Group Lesson - Sometimes, we'll have strategy lessons just to focus on a particular phonics or spelling strategy, especially if we notice several learners struggling with the same thing.

4. Whole Group Instruction - I recommend a simple phonics lesson for all learners in the classroom each day. This isn't a long lesson (10-15 at most) and covers phonics material that is on grade level.

Also look for opportunities to integrate spelling and phonics right into your routine. Great opportunities could be your morning message, during your morning meeting, during shared reading, during your writing instruction, or even on the playground with sidewalk chalk!

As a classroom teacher, we were required to post an essential question for all whole-group lessons. I always wrote the question on the board right in front of my students, sounding through words and quickly pointing out phonics patterns at times. I was amazed at what my learners picked up just from this one act!

5. Separate Spelling Time - Some teachers like the idea of having a separate spelling time, teaching to the developmental needs of learners with the word study approach. I love the routines of word study, which makes running it throughout the year a little easier to manage.

6. Center/Word Station Time - Literacy stations and centers are a great place for learners to really explore spelling, phonics, and sight words. Just be sure that what you prepare for learners isn't too difficult for them to do independently. {We'll give you lots of tips for this in our ecourse, Teaching Every Reader!}

Would you like to grab this FREE printable, sharing 20 SIMPLE word work activities?
Just enter your email below!

*When you enter your email address, you'll be included on our Teaching Every Reader VIP list!

See all the posts in this Balanced Literacy Series

Enjoy!
~Becky

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We've arrived at word work in our balanced literacy series. What exactly is word work? What are some ideas and activities? And how do you fit it into a balanced literacy framework? I'm so glad you asked. That's exactly what we're exploring in this post! *This post contains affiliate links.

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Engaging Readers In Thinking and Talking About Texts.... Read Aloud 

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Engaging Readers In Thinking and Talking About Texts.... Read Aloud 

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Excerpt From : Guiding Reades and Writers By: Fountas and Pinnell

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A brief description of word study instruction

Word study is an approach to spelling instruction that moves away from a focus on memorization. The approach reflects what researchers have discovered about the alphabetic, pattern, and meaning layers of English orthography.

Teachers use a variety of hands-on activities, often called word work, to help students actively explore these layers of information.

When studying the alphabetic layer, students examine the relationship between letters and sounds. They learn to match single letters and pairs of letters (e.g., ch) to specific sounds and, in doing so, to create words.

When students study the pattern layer, they look beyond single or paired letter-sounds to search for larger patterns that guide the grouping of letters (e.g., CVC e).

Studying the meaning layer helps students to understand how the English spelling system can directly reflect the semantic relationships across related words. For example, students come to understand that the second vowel in composition is spelled with an o because it is related to compose.

Examining each layer of the orthography helps students to see the regularities, patterns, and derivations in English words - how words work in our writing system. Word study also teaches students how to use this word knowledge strategically to support their spelling attempts during writing activities and to help them decode unfamiliar words while reading (Bear & Templeton, 1998).

The primary goal of word study is to support students' development of a working knowledge of the orthography - knowledge that students can apply as they are reading and writing. Here are nine tips for implementing word study.

Tip 1: Assess students' word knowledge using multiple assessment tools

Before you can craft a systematic word study program, you must determine what your students know about the alphabetic, pattern, and meaning layers of the orthography. It doesn't make sense to teach students the r-controlled vowel pattern if they don't understand the alphabetic principle. Assessment informs you of what your students already know and don't yet know, which guides your instruction. We found that two kinds of assessments proved most informative: informal spelling inventories and analyses of students' independent writing.

We used the Primary Spelling Inventory or the Elementary Spelling Inventory (Bear et al., 2000) to assess students' word knowledge at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year. Not only did these assessments help us to determine what each child knew about the orthography, but also the results were particularly useful in grouping (and re-grouping) children homogeneously for small-group instruction.

Students needing to study the alphabetic layer were grouped as either emergent or letter-name alphabetic learners. Students who were ready to explore the pattern layer were grouped as either within word pattern or syllable and affixes learners. At the end of the academic year, a few second graders studied the meaning layer of the orthography; these children were grouped as derivational relations learners (see Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, & Johnston, 2008).

But periodic assessment isn't sufficient. With high-quality instruction and lots of reading and writing, students' word knowledge is continually progressing, and so we used students' independent writing as an ongoing assessment tool. We knew that students' invented spellings would show us what they knew about English orthography. Each week, we reviewed the students' journal writing or writing workshop pieces to document the orthographic features they were spelling correctly or misspelling. Bear et al. (2008) suggest that what students "use but confuse" in their writing should be a target of word study (p. 9).

Interestingly, using these assessments in tandem sometimes created a thorny challenge. In our second-grade project, for example, some students in the letter-name alphabetic group frequently used but misspelled CVC e-patterned words (e.g., mad for made). According to the scope and sequence outlined in Bear et al. (2008), this common long-vowel pattern should be taught at the next developmental level-within word pattern.

Similarly, a few students in the within word pattern group frequently failed to double the final consonant when adding -ed to a short-vowel word (e.g., stoped for stopped). Consonant doubling is usually taught at the syllables and affixes level.

So what were we to do - follow the scope and sequence or let our assessment of students' writing inform our instruction? We don't embrace a "readiness" model of learning, nor do we believe that learners move rigidly through developmental spelling stages (Brown & Ellis, 1994; Goswami & Bryant, 1990; Treiman & Cassar, 1997). So, given how frequently the students were using but confusing these orthographic patterns, we decided to teach them. Despite this challenge, we found that using more than one assessment tool helped to inform our grouping of students and the instruction Colleen prepared for each homogenous group.

Tip 2: Use a homogeneous small-group approach to instruction

In our kindergarten project, Krissy tried to save time by using a whole-group approach to word study, but, as we mentioned, it didn't meet the students' instructional needs. A primary finding of that project was that homogeneous small-group instruction is essential.

There are two approaches to homogenous word study instruction. One approach is to teach word study within the context of guided reading groups (Fountas & Pinnell, 1996; Joseph, 2000; Schulman & Payne, 2000; Snowball & Bolton, 1999). Another approach is separate word study lessons for each developmental spelling level (Bear et al., 2008). We tried both approaches, and we found that integrating word study into guided reading worked well in Title I and first grade but not in second grade. The books that were used for guided reading in second grade did not necessarily include examples of words that reflected the orthographic features and principles Colleen was targeting. Moreover, we found that some of the students' reading and spelling levels were not closely linked.

In several cases, spelling achievement lagged considerably behind reading achievement, which made it difficult to form small groups that were appropriate to both areas of instruction. For example, our assessments indicated that several students needed word study on short-vowel patterns. A majority of these students were in the lowest guided reading group, but a few of them were in the middle group. For a while, we tried flexible grouping (see Invernizzi & Hayes, 2004), but constantly rearranging the students at the end of each guided reading lesson to form the appropriate word study groups was cumbersome and time-consuming.

After several months, we separated word study from guided reading and created three homogeneous word study groups. Doing so allowed Colleen to target specific orthographic features and principles these students needed to learn. This experience leads us to recommend separate developmental groups for word study in second grade.

Both Pinnell and Fountas (1998) and Bear et al. (2008) recommend an introductory teacher-directed lesson (15-20 minutes) with subsequent word study activities (10 minutes) throughout the week for each small group. To organize and manage three groups, Bear et al. (2008) propose a "circle-seat-center" routine (p. 70). While Group 1 is receiving a teacher-directed word study lesson in the circle, Group 2 engages in literacy activities in centers, and Group 3 participates in word work games and activities at their seats. After 10-15 minutes, the groups rotate. Group 2 joins the teacher, Group 3 moves to centers, and Group 1 returns to their seats. All three groups can rotate through each instructional context in about an hour, including transition time.

To organize and manage four small groups, a classroom volunteer can be helpful. Staff developers at a professional development workshop that Krissy attended at Teacher's College, Columbia University, recommended that teachers prepare word work activities that volunteers can use with small groups of children. Krissy has found that asking a volunteer to work through word sorts or play a word study game with small groups of children prepares students to do these activities independently or with a partner when Krissy places the game or activity in the literacy center.

Tip 3: Carve out time to prepare for word study instruction

Whether you combine word study with guided reading or teach word study to separate developmental groups, you'll need to carve out sufficient time to prepare your lessons and word work activities. If you have three groups, you'll be crafting three separate word study lessons, and you could easily need to prepare six to nine different word work activities. But don't reinvent the wheel! We found the instructional materials currently available to be invaluable in supporting this process.

You'll also want to carve out time to study the concepts you'll be teaching. Our work together reminded us of the importance of teachers knowing the generalizations that students will be exploring. We documented several missed opportunities in our data for teachers to talk with students about specific generalizations that can prove useful. For example, teachers can explain that the ck spelling pattern only comes at the end of short-vowel words, or that the oa pattern almost always signals the long o sound, or that words spelled with ee usually have the long e sound.

The bottom line is this: For a word study program to be successful, the teacher has to invest sufficient time preparing for daily instruction and word work. Carving out preparation time may be one of the biggest challenges you face in implementing a word study program.

Tip 4: Teach word knowledge, not just words

In a traditional spelling program, students learn to spell words that are deemed appropriate to their grade level. In a word study program, however, students learn about words. The instruction is unique in that it focuses students' attention on consistencies within our spelling system. Students learn word knowledge that they can apply generally to a wide range of reading and writing activities.

Of course, students learn to spell a great many words through word study lessons and daily word work activities, but the instruction is far more conceptual than that of traditional spelling programs. This is important because what students remember about specific words is related to what they know about English spelling in general (Ehri, 1992). Focus your word study lessons on the way English words work, so that students will form useful generalizations they can apply to words they want to read or spell.

Our experiences also lead us to advocate some instruction on sight words, particularly in kindergarten and first grade (see Fountas & Pinnell, 1996). The words you choose should be highly useful to your students-words they will encounter frequently in their reading as well as words that appear often in students' own writing (e.g., because, are, again, said, friend, were).

You may want to display some of these high-frequency words on the word wall. Because these sight words don't follow the spelling patterns and generalizations that students will be exploring, help students to learn these words by focusing on how the word looks and how it sounds, and avoid simple memorization (Clay, 2001). Bear et al. (2008) recommend using some high-frequency words as examples of exceptions to the generalizations you are exploring in your word study lessons.

Tip 5: Demonstrate how word study can be used during reading and writing

Word study undoubtedly supports students' spelling achievement. It has the potential to support students' reading and writing development as well-if students understand and exploit the relationship between these literate processes. Our research helped us to see that some students don't necessarily make this link.

As mentioned above, several students in our second-grade project didn't appear to recognize the ways in which word study is related to writing. This was true for both low-ability as well as high-ability students. While we were trying to make sense of this finding, we realized that in our second-grade project we did not have a guided practice component to our word study program. That is, we did not demonstrate for these students how they could use word study to support extended reading and writing activities. We assumed that students would transfer word study to other literacy events, but we were wrong.

In all of our other projects, we used interactive writing (McCarrier, Fountas, & Pinnell, 2000) as a context for guided practice in applying word study to authentic writing events. As students "shared the pen" to solve the spelling of words in the messages they were writing, myriad opportunities emerged for them to apply the orthographic features and principles they'd been taught during word study instruction. And, if they needed help, their teacher could easily scaffold their attempts.

In our kindergarten study, for example, the students were trying to write the word thank (as in thank you) during an interactive writing lesson. The child at the chart wasn't sure how to begin, so Krissy reminded the class of an important orthographic principle she had taught earlier in the year: "Sometimes the sounds in words are represented by more than one letter." Then she said, "The word thank is like that. The first sound in thank has two letters. What two letters can stand for /th/?" The child writing on the chart easily spelled the first phoneme in the word.

These kinds of minilessons in the midst of interactive writing events clearly demonstrated for students how they could use word study to support extended writing. And the demonstrations paid off: We observed many kindergartners and first-grade students using word study to support their independent writing endeavors-including the children who struggled with literacy learning.

But interactive writing is best used as a transition tool to support children's growth from emergent to conventional writing. Most second graders understand what it means to write and how to go about it, so interactive writing isn't necessary or appropriate for the majority of second graders, except for those who struggle. Yet, our research helped us to see that guided practice in using word study during writing activities is essential, so we are now searching the professional and research literatures for examples of what a guided practice component might look like in second grade.

Tip 6: Teach strategies that support students' use of word study instruction

In addition to guided practice, our research also highlighted the need for explicit strategy instruction. If we want students to use word study independently and strategically when they are reading and writing, then we must teach them how to do so (Dudley-Marling, 1997). Along with the orthographic features and principles you teach, we recommend that you integrate strategy instruction into your word study lessons.

We think of strategies as tools that help students actively use what they've learned. Sometimes the tools are physical, like dictionaries or the word wall. Other times, the tools are cognitive - in the mind - like listening for sounds or thinking of a word that rhymes with the word you're trying to spell. We encourage you to teach both kinds of tools to help students learn to use word study strategically.

The text box below lists the 10 strategies we taught most often across our projects. Diane and Ruth are Reading Recovery trained teachers, and we culled most of these strategies from their training. A key focus of Reading Recovery instruction is the development of cognitive and strategic processing systems that integrate meaning, visual, and sound cues (Clay, 2001).

Throughout our work, we observed students using the strategies that had been taught. Interestingly, in two of our projects, we found that strategy instruction was more salient for struggling students than other aspects of word study instruction. When we analyzed these students' independent writing, we saw little evidence of the orthographic features that had been taught, but when we observed the students during writing time, we saw and heard them using specific strategies they had learned.

We also recommend that teachers model the use of these strategies during interactive writing activities. This was best illustrated in our first-grade Title I project, where Ruth introduced the strategies and gave children opportunities to practice using them during daily word study lessons. Then, during interactive writing events, she continually prompted the students to use the strategies she had taught.

For example, during an interactive writing lesson in mid-November, Ben was trying to write the word dog in the story the class was composing. Ruth prompted him to "say the word slowly and listen for the sounds" he could hear. He did so and spelled the word correctly.

In late April, Andrew was trying to write the word street. He said the word slowly, demonstrating that he had appropriated the use of this important strategy. Then he wrote stret in the story. Ruth praised him for using a spelling strategy, and then she prompted, "The /e/ in street is spelled like the word wall word see." Andrew knew immediately what he needed to do. Ruth covered the et with correction tape and Andrew wrote eet in its place. Ruth's prompting was essential to Andrew's success.

There were numerous examples like these across our research projects. The teacher's prompting targeted the child's zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1978), which allowed the child to be successful as he or she wrote at the chart.

It is clear to us now that applying orthographic features and principles while composing extended text is far more cognitively demanding for students than using word knowledge to spell sample words during word study lessons and word work activities. Our research has helped us to see that if word study is to move beyond spelling instruction and become an approach to supporting young children's writing development, then most students will need explicit demonstrations on how they can use word study strategically during authentic writing activities. They will also need frequent opportunities to practice doing so in the context of their teacher's scaffolding and guidance.

Tip 7: Make your word wall work

A word wall is a special section of a classroom wall designated for the exploration and study of words (see Cunningham, 1995). If you have a word wall in your classroom, be sure it is more than a simple display of words-make it work for you and your students. The word wall should be clearly visible and accessible.

Use the word wall frequently as a teaching tool and help students learn to use it as a resource for their writing. We recommend placing words on the word wall that not only illustrate the orthographic feature or principle you are teaching but also can be used in generative ways to spell other words. For example, the high-frequency word see can be used to teach students the double ee spelling of the long e vowel, and it is generative in the sense that students can use it to help spell a host of words with -ee, -eed, -eek, -eel, -eem, -een, -eep, -eet, and -eeze endings (e.g., tree, feed, week, wheel, seem, green, sheep, beet, sneeze).

Discuss the orthographic feature(s) you are teaching before placing the exemplar word on the word wall. Then show students how they can use these exemplar words to spell other words. The word wall should be a dynamic tool-change it often. Remove words that students know how to spell and replace them with exemplar words for new concepts you are teaching.

In our research, we found mixed results with regard to students' use of the word wall. Some students used the word wall frequently while they were writing; other students rarely used it-and this was the case regardless of grade level or academic ability. Interestingly, students were more likely to use the word wall as a resource for their writing when their teacher used it as a teaching tool and also encouraged her students to use it strategically to support their independent writing endeavors.

Tip 8: "Word work" should work, too!

Once you've introduced a specific orthographic feature or principle, students will need ample opportunities to explore it through hands-on games and activities. Word work can be scheduled throughout the day during independent work time or center time.

As we mentioned above, each small group will need several activities every week to provide repeated opportunities for examining the concepts you are teaching and to promote inquiry and discovery about the way English words work. These activities should be crafted in such a way that students can engage in them independently or with a partner. We have found that making and breaking words with magnetic letters, word searches, and word study notebooks are particularly beneficial.

Above all, we recommend word sorting, an activity that requires students to sort words into categories. Word sorting actively engages students in exploration and analysis as they search for similarities and recognize differences between and among words, compare and contrast word features, and form generalizations that they can apply to new words. For example, a word sort of match, reach, switch, coach, hutch, and teach can help students learn that the tch pattern typically follows a short vowel and the ch pattern typically follows a long vowel. Including the words rich and much in the word sort can help students learn to study words flexibly - to look for exceptions to the generalizations they form (see Bear et al., 2008).

We recommend pairing students with a buddy for at least some of the weekly word work activities (see Pinnell & Fountas, 1998). Buddies can challenge each other's thinking and check each other's work. Assign buddies based on results from the first informal spelling inventory and then change them after subsequent administrations. You will also want to change buddies if students aren't working well together or if one student makes significant growth that the buddy hasn't made.

Tip 9: Engage students in extensive "real" reading and writing

Finally, we recommend daily extended, authentic reading and writing activities where children are encouraged to read and to compose texts on topics of their choosing. In each of our studies, the teacher engaged students in extensive, "real" reading and writing events.

For example, one morning when Diane's first graders were excitedly talking about the Bengals "finally winning a football game," Diane encouraged her students to write about the winning touchdown in their journals. We watched as the children used the strategies they had learned to spell the football players' names. When Derek announced that he was going to "sound out Houshmandzadeh," Emily said, "No way!" and began to look for the name in print around the room. Brad suggested that "a newspaper would have it!" and Diane agreed that students could read the paper that evening with their parents or look online.

The writing activities provided us a context for examining students' use of word study instruction, but that was not our primary goal. We wanted to give students plenty of opportunities to use what they had learned. We also knew that meaningful, sustained reading and writing experiences support spelling development (Hughes & Searle, 1997) and that, in turn, spelling knowledge supports reading and writing development (Richgels, 1995). Children draw on their orthographic knowledge to accomplish all three aspects of literacy (Templeton, 2003).

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Word Study Instruction in the K-2 Classroom

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Word study is an approach to spelling instruction that moves away from a focus on memorization. The approach reflects what researchers have discovered about the alphabetic, pattern, and meaning layers of English orthography. This article describes nine tips for implementing a word study program in your classroom.

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Interactive Read Aloud / Reading Workshop

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