Curriculum

What is word study?

Word study provides students with opportunities to investigate and understand the patterns in words. Knowledge of these patterns means that students needn't learn to spell one word at a time.

Take, for example, the difference between "hard c" (as in cat) and "soft c" (as in cell). After collecting many words containing the letter "c," students discover that "c" is usually hard when followed by consonants (as in clue and crayon) and the vowels "a," "o," and "u" (as in cat, cot, and cut). In contrast, "c" is usually soft when followed by "i", "e," and "y" (as in circus, celery, and cycle).

Of course, for every rule there are exceptions that threaten the rule. Students learn, though, that spelling patterns exist and that these patterns help to explain how to spell, read, and write words.

Word study is also designed to build word knowledge that can be applied to both reading and spelling (Henderson, 1992; Zutell, 1998). Because it is closely tied to reading instruction, it also develops students' abilities in phonics, word recognition, and vocabulary (Baker, 2000).

In word study, students compare and contrast features in words. One common method for doing so is by having students sort words. When sorting, students use their word knowledge to separate examples that go together from those that don't.

In addition to sorting, students may hunt for words in their reading and writing that fit the pattern being studied, may construct a word wall illustrating examples of the different patterns studied, may keep a word study notebook to record the known patterns and their new understandings about words, or may play games and activities to apply their word knowledge (Bear et al., 2000).

A cycle of instruction for word study might include the following:

introduce the spelling pattern by choosing words for students to sort
encourage students to discover the pattern in their reading and writing
use reinforcement activities to help students relate this pattern to previously acquired word knowledge

References

Baker, L. (2000). Building the word-level foundation for engaged reading. Engaging young readers: Promoting achievement and motivation. New York: Guilford Press.

Barnes, W. G. (1986). Word sorting: The cultivation of rules for spelling in English. Reading Psychology, 10, 293-307.

Bear, D. R., & Barone, D. (1989). Using children's spellings to group for word study and directed reading in the primary classroom. Reading Psychology, 10, 275-292.

Bear, D. R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. (2000). Words their way: Word study for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Henderson, E. H. (1992). The interface of lexical competence and knowledge of written words. In S. Templeton, & D. R. Bear (Eds.), Development of orthographic knowledge and foundations of literacy: A memorial festschrift for Edmund H. Henderson. (p. 1-30). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Henderson, E. H. (1981). Learning to read and spell: The child's knowledge of words. DeKalb, IL: Northern Illinois Press.

Templeton, S. (1991). Teaching and learning the English spelling system: Reconceptualizing method and purpose. Elementary School Journal, 92, 185-201.

Templeton, S., & Morris, D. (1999). Questions teachers ask about spelling. Reading Research Quarterly, 34, 102-112.

Zutell, J. (1998). Word sorting: A developmental spelling approach to word study for delayed readers. Reading & Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning Difficulties, 14, 219-238.

Zutell, J. (1992). An integrated view of word knowledge: Correlational studies of the relationships among spelling, reading, and conceptual development. In S. Templeton & D. Bear (Eds.), Development of orthographic knowledge and the foundations of literacy: A memorial festschrift for Edmund H. Henderson. (p. 213-230). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Adapted and excerpted from: Leipzig, D. H. (2000). The Knowledge Base for Word Study: What Teachers Need to Know.