Hey book study buddies! I'm Dana from 3rd Grade Gridiron and I'm co-hosting Ch. 6 with Molly from Lessons in Laughter.
Molly is discussing Working on Writing (click HERE to go there!).
I'll be discussing another critical component of Daily 5: Word Work.
I'll be discussing another critical component of Daily 5: Word Work.
Word work consists of spelling, vocabulary, and sight words. It works hand in hand with reading and writing. If the students are able to decode words to spell them and understand their meanings while reading, they will be able to use them in the correct context while writing.
The biggest thing I love about the Sister's approach are the routines and procedures. Making your I-charts and other anchor charts, discussing the expectations, and lots of modeling are crucial to the success of independent work in your classroom.
Some of the word work ideas I've used (and the Sisters recommended) are:
* whiteboards *
My kids LOVE to write on the whiteboards! The practice for them is stress-free because if they make a mistake, one of their friends can tactfully point it out, help them correct it, and they're on their way!
* magnetic letters *
I don't care how old you are, you're never too old for magnetic letters! They are fabulous manipulatives to use to help the students spell words, chunk them into syllables, and find spelling patterns. You can use them on the classroom dry erase board, the side of a metal bookshelf or filing cabinet, or even a cookie sheet! Just as in math, the kids need to be able to manipulate these letters, syllables, and rimes. This will help them better understand what they mean and how it can help them in reading and writing.
* colored markers *
Colored markers (or pencils) can be a fun and colorful way to practice spelling! My kids like to use different colors to show syllables. They also use the markers to write rhyming words and to "Rainbow Write" their words.
Here is another word work idea my kids love!
Here are two word work freebies I made for my kids:
What other word work ideas do you use? Please share/comment below!
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48 comments:
Thanks for the free word work pages!
Jessica
Teach on a Limb
Jessica, you're very welcome! Enjoy!
Thanks for the freebies! My students play Words with Friends during Word Work Center. They love this game. My version is a dice game containing letters and each die has a given amount of points. They roll the dice, create a word and add up their points. The first person to get to 50 wins! They love the challenge. They are also allowed to use a Thesaurus or dictionary for help in creating new words or looking up words they create and are unsure of. This year I am going to have students use iMovie on the iPad to create vocabulary videos using words from the weekley story or words from their choice book.
Mrs. Shepherd, the Words with Friends idea is fabulous!!!
I was reading this chapter and I'm uncomfortable with waiting 19 days into the school year before beginning word work. I teach fourth grade and I'm concerned about it being the second week of September before we do any word work. Anyone else having this concern? Also curious as to how others work in homework with word work. Last year all my students had Spelling folders to do work work at home. This year I want to change it up but not sure how. Suggestions? Thanks
Our school still has to have grades for all of the ELA subjects so we still assign spelling homework. Our twist is that we give our kids a list of 20+ ideas they can choose from to practice their words. They have to choose 3 and return by the due date (normally 1 1/2 weeks to complete since they go along with our novel). I am looking for a new way too!!
Word Work is the one component of Daily 5 that is causing me some concern. I'm wondering if teachers are doing word work in addition to a more traditional spelling program or ...? I've posted a very lengthy musing on Word Work and spelling programs on my blog Classroom Capers Please drop by to have a read.
Ms. Turnage,
This past year I decided to lighten the homework load by allowing the students to work on their daily word study choices as morning work when they arrived at school. Whatever they didn't finish was then homework. The exception was on Thursdays when the parent or someone at home was supposed to give a practice test/sort. I use words their way so have a few groups in my classes.
Word Work has always been a favorite of my students. I noticed on the Sister's site that they stick to about 6-8 centers for the whole year. While I have done what you have mentioned ,I am in the process of collecting shells for Shell Spell, Wikki Stix and Pipe Cleaners, Play Dough...although most likely I will switch to making it in the future, letter templates, letter stamps and ink. Most likely I will include what I have done in the past..I am afraid my Middle Schoolers may get board if I only stick to the ones the Sisters mention.. I do Ransom Words..taking old newspapers and having the class cut out the letters and glue them on construction paper, draw the words on each others backs...there are so many ideas out on the internet and on Pinterest
Thanks again for sharing.
My kids love this! We use our weekly spelling words, affixes we need to know for assessments as well as LA/grammar games that fit into folders.
I also let my kiddos write their words with:
*watercolors
*dry erase markers on their desks (WIPES RIGHT OFF!!!)
*Markers on the windows (again-- easy to clean!)
*Play D'oh (form letters or write by making tiny holes with the tip of a pencil on d'oh that it flat)
*magnetic letters
*big & little stamps
*chalk on black construction paper
*white crayon on white paper then use watercolors on top
My mother in law found a couple digital frames for me and so I will create jpegs with the list for the week. The frame will cycle through the words throughout the day. They can quiz a partner or just use that to study on their own.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot! Through Donors Choose I am going to receive 3 tablets. One is set aside for word work. The kids will have the option to play on spelling city.
Last year was my first year with D5 and also in 4th grade. I noticed an increase in scores of those students that used their D5 time to work on their spelling words.
I can't wait 19 school days to start word work. I will start spelling the first day as I usually do. I need to teach them how spelling works, how we do homework, etc. This takes most of the first week anyway. Then the spelling book becomes independent work as part of homework. Plus, I can start making words and spelling games as whole class activities. These will eventually be part of word work so I want to make sure they are learning correctly. I do scrabble spelling which also includes addition and can lead to multiplication later in the year. My kids are very competitive so i let them total their scrabble spelling lists and try to outdo each other--friendly competition only--i don't keep track myself.
This is definitely the chapter I have been looking forward to the most! I am so excited to implement word work in my classroom and LITERALLY will have to hold myself back until I do so!
Ms G In Grade 3
Word work was the hardest for me to implement and I am still struggling! Thanks for the ideas here! I am at a new school and they use Wordly Wise and a spelling component based on commonly misspelled words.
They give the students lists of ways to practice, but do not require students to turn in spelling homework assignments unless they are not being successful on their spelling tests. I love this idea!
I am thinking of using some of those center ideas so they can choose ways to pracice their spelling words and also to work on their wordly wise.
Does anyone else use Wordly Wise? I've never seen it before.
Thanks for sharing your ideas Dana!! We use Words Their Way. Other than the usual spelling tic-tac-toe ideas, and spelling city, I have NO idea what to do for word work.
Mrs. Shepard, I love the iMovie idea on the iPad. I am looking for more ways to include technology and this seems perfect. My Word Work is going to be more vocabulary based since spelling doesn't garner as much emphasis in our district for primary grades. I don't agree with that, but last year it was a big deal. I also have Scrabble games I can use and may try to set up a Words With Friends. Mrs. Shepard, will you share your letter/ point assignment with us? Thanks.
We have a spelling text book that we have to use. One of my goals this year is to try to be more meaningful and explicit of teaching the spelling concept or rule for the lesson. I think that I will make Word Work a time available to work on the required pages (though kids always have a MILLION questions - might make it hard to be independent!) and time to do choice practice activities or challenge activities with those words. Still thinking it all through.
Wow, you guys! I leave for the afternoon and you guys are having the most awesome discussion!!!
There were so many good ideas posted today! I will be planning with two other ELA teachers on my hall so we are already thinking ahead and looking forward to sharing.
There are word games on the Smart Exchange...I plan to use these for prefixes, syllables, guess a word, etc...on my Smartboard.
I found a game called "Bang" on Pinterest that would be very easy to make. Here's the pin.
"The game is simple. You take turns drawing cards out of a container. If you can read the sight word you keep the card. If not, the card goes back in. Whoever collects the most cards wins the game. Beware of the BANG cards though. If you draw one, you have to put back all of the cards you have collected." concept could be used for anything-- ss questions, math, etc..
I also like "Making Words" using letter tiles. You could have them add up the value of the words created to see who can "make" them all and be "high scorer".
Loved the idea of using their desktops as wipeboards:)
I think colored pencils would be great for showing word parts...dividing words into syllables...etc.
I really like the notion of creating 6 or 8 ways to work with words and do these throughout the year. That way, students won't have to learn a new game AND new words.
I will look forward to reading other posts about this topic. Thanks for all the great ideas!
After I read this chapter I started making a file of word work I found on the computer. I have not used word work a lot like this before. I would appreciate ideas. I put my list on my blog. I hope you can use these. http://myfirstgradespot.blogspot.com/
Hi, I teach grade 6 in Ontario and I was thinking that I would want to do grammar in addition to the spelling. I was wondering if there are any 5/6 teachers out there who have any experience using grammar during word work. Thanks.
Since I have read ahead and finished the CAFE book too, I have been pondering incorporating the state standards for Expanding vocabulary into the working with words choices. I feel that those standards, using synonyms/antonyms/homophones,greek/latin roots, prefixes/suffixes, all fall under working with words. Not sure exactly how I will do this, but since it's on the CAFE menu...anyone with ideas please share. I already have a different time for word study (spelling).
Great ideas here! I found some perfect work work games when I cleaned out a box in a cabinet! I also found a plethora of snap cubes - more than I possibly need for math manipulatives...so, I am thinking of writing letters on them and using these for word work.
We use Wordly Wise in our 5th grade classrooms and love the program. We do not use it as a spelling lesson...only for upgrading the kids' vocabulary. The students love Wordly Wise. We introduce the words, then break into groups of three. Each group then makes an "I Have, Who Has" game with the 15 words. This is time consuming at first, but well worth it. Making this game in groups gets the students thinking, planning, implementing, and cooperating!
I am following this blog to discover more about Daily 5, as I have been wanting to utilize the program in my classroom...maybe this is the year!
Thanks for all the great ideas.
Thanks Sue! The I have, Who has game is a great idea! I think that the wordly wise is separate from spelling at my new school too. They use the 100 most commony misspelled words list for their spelling component.
In years past, I have used Word Work as a time to remediate sight words, and enrich with latin roots and bases. I felt like it was becoming busy work though because I never got to a good system where I felt like I was able to give meaningful feedback. Maybe they could use word work time to create those I have, Who has games? I really am going to have to try that out!
A couple of you have mentioned word games. That is what I want to use, but I am worried about the groups getting to large and noisy. I guess I would just teach and model this like everything else. Has any one implemented games for word work successfully?
I don't wait 19 days either. I like to introduce Word Work as the second component of D5. We use Words Their Way for spelling, and McRel Elements of Reading for vocabulary.
Because the words change week-to-week (and often child to child), I think it's important to keep the activity choices simple. For spelling, I've used Word Sorts, No-Peeking Sorts, Finger Spell (with trays of grits), and whiteboards.
I have a couple of board games (Scrabble, Apples to Apples Jr., Syllables). I use them as positive reinforcement. I give out a "Game Eligible" coupon to kids who get a 100 on the previous week's spelling test. They can redeem it during one Word Work session the following week.
For vocabulary, the kids complete assigned pages from the vocabulary program. . .but I love the idea of the I Have, Who Has game! I also love the spelling center freebie. I'm thinking about laminating a set to save on paper. Thanks Dana!
You're welcome! I agree with you guys about not waiting 19 days. It's all about doing what works best for you and your students. These ideas are flexible and you know what works and what doesn't! :) Keep up the awesome discussion!!!
I teach third grade and think Daily 5 and CAFE are the way to go! I implemented them both three years ago, but finally figured out how I wanted word work to "look" last year. I am fortunate not to have a prescribed spelling program, but use Words Their Way for guidance. I have my kids use a composition notebook for all of their word work and they keep a current record of our word wall in the back. With Words Their Way we do lots of word sorts and word hunts. I like the idea of revisiting center activities I used to use, such as Rainbow Writing and stamping. My kids this past year really enjoyed the game BOGGLE. I got my idea from mrsrojasteaches.blogspot.com but because I have really strange wall space in my classroom, I use the cabinet doors. The great thing was that it worked great for several weeks before I needed to change it!
Thanks for all the great ideas and rejuvenating me! I am SO glad I found this book study by accident while blog stalking as I am the only one in my district to use Daily 5/CAFE. Thank you!
2 word work ideas my students love:
Word search: provide blank templates if the grid with lines at the bottom for the word banks. Students create word searches with a word bank and Then solve each others puzzles. It's a lot of fun!
Hangman: provide blank templates and students play hangman with each other.
Jill, nothing like some good blog stalking! So glad you found us!!!
Vi, those are awesome ideas! I used blank word searches as a fun end-of-the-year activity, but never thought to use it for word work! Sweet!!!
Creating word ladders could work as a station too!
Would anyone share how they grade word work. How often do you take grades?
Alicia, Grades is always such a tough question! It depends on how I structure my word work. One year we used word work as a time for the students to work independently on their Word Build workbook activites. Every 2 weeks or so I would take those up and give them a grade for those. Another year, we used that time to work on their latin roots and base work. This year, I am thinking of giving the students more choice in ways to practice their spelling words and also use our Wordly Wise (if that fits in). I don't think that there will be as many opportunities for grades. One of the things I have loved about Daily 5 is that it reduces the amount of busy work activities that have to be graded. The majority of our grades come from guided reading, and weekly assessments (comprehension, spelling, vocabulary).
I'm new at this blogging, but love the Daily 5 book and will be Co Teaching with 2 classroom teachers in the fall and we want to use this in at least one of the classes, so I'm excited about the support I'll get from this blogging.
Great spelling/vocab activity ideas from everyone for Word Work. THANKS!!
Mrs Sheperd, I'd also love the letter/point assignment that you've given for your "Words w/ Friends" game.
I'm a SPED teacher and have worked with Project Read a lot and thought their "memory box" activity (sand in bottom of rubbermaid, or "some" container)could be used for spelling words during Word Work. A great tactile activity!
I LOVE this website!!! TONS & TONS of FREE resources:)
http://mnwelementary-daily5andcafe.wikispaces.com/Daily+5+Resources
For those interested in using vocabulary on your world week. The site quizlet.com is great for vocabulary cards/games on variety of subjects, plus you can make your own. I found it late last year, but students found it very motivating.
Love all the ideas. Thanks.
Thank you everyone! This continues to be a fantastic book study!
Hi everyone! I have loved this conversation on Daily 5! I can't wait to see the rest of the book, and the conversation for CAFE. I have wanted to hear more about people actually implementing it.
Also, I have only recently joined the blog world. I am very excited about it though, I started blogging about a week ago. and today decded to share it with others. Please come check it out!
"Confessions of a Fourth Grade Teacher"
fourthgradefeedingfrenzy.com
Thanks!!
Sara
What about being "Word Detectives": students read the books that go with the core curriculum and find the rule we are working on--homophones, long e words, multiple meaning words, etc. We HAVE to use the text and materials for most of our practice, but I think this works.
PS Sorry I am a primary teacher-2nd grade, but along for the ride with you. :) Thanks!
These are such great ideas. I have a question though, does each student have their own list of words based on the words they underlined during writing or does the class have the same list of words? I was kind of confused when reading he chapter. Thanks.
I am so happy to be part of this book study! Thank you, Pinterest! Does anyone use SRA Spelling Mastery? We have that series. I'm wondering if there will be a way to do the whole group part of the lesson as one of the focus lesson and have students do the rest during Word Work. I suppose that would be limiting their choice for Word Work, but if they really wanted to do something else during that session they could complete the workbook as homework, right?
Oh, and thanks for the freebies. Was I the only person who had trouble downloading the second one? It is blurry. Did I do something wrong?
Make sure you have the latest version of Adobe. And it won't open correctly in "Preview."
So many awesome ideas! I think I will have everyone have the same spelling list and the words individual students struggle with will go on their own word ring to keep at their desks. I find the idea of different lists or "testing out" of the weekly spelling test very overwhelming at this point. Maybe next year!
Bee
beeteaches4.blogspot.com
My thoughts:
Thoughts:
If you do the Daily 5 and and Writer’s Workshop, when is there time for everything else? I have no idea how you would fit in both.
To see my summary, go to http://classroomcollective.tumblr.com/post/27328622107/daily5-chapter6
I am wondering if any of you have good vocabulary activities that focus more on students learning and applying the definitions. Our assessment program focuses more on knowing how the meaning rather than on spelling the letters. Any help would be great!
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