Words Their Way: Within Word Pattern Sorts for Spanish-Speaking English Learners - Couverture souple

One reality of today’s classrooms is the limited supply of lesson-ready materials available to teachers trying to support English learners’ literacy development. The educators and researchers who developed Words Their Way® with English Learners, a phenomenon in word study, understand this challenge. The cornerstone of the Words Their Way® approach to word study is the examination of students’ word knowledge so that teachers can build language and literacy competence on that foundation.

This approach is especially valuable for English learners. This text focuses on the specific needs of Spanish speakers who are improving in their use of English. It provides you with the reproducible sorts and step-by-step directions you’ll need to guide students through each sorting lesson. The week-by-week curriculum provided in this text will complement the use of any phonics, spelling, and reading curricula.

Word study is a dynamic instructional approach for teachers and their English-learning students. Your students will feel empowered as they grasp new words in English, build skills to understand the commonalities and differences between Spanish and English, and make connections between oral and written words.

Who are within word pattern learners?

• May range from first graders through middle fourth graders
• Newcomers to English at later grades who are at the transitional stage of reading

How does word study help these learners develop English language proficiency?

• By building on students’ background knowledge in Spanish and the sounds in oral language that are common to both English and Spanish
• By starting with the most common and high-utility English words
• By teaching vocabulary through pictures and word-picture matching
• By providing opportunities to compare explicitly and work with sounds and patterns in English that may require extra help for Spanish speakers

• Notes for Teachers
• Standardized weekly routines
• Literature Connections
• Assessments
• Reproducible word cards and picture cards to get your students categorizing

What does the field have to say?

Great strengths are the comparisons and contrasts between Spanish and English, the literature extensions, and the interim assessments…. I would adopt this book, and would recommend it to inservice teachers even if they are not in my courses. I think it fills a gap in material currently available to teachers.

–Karen Banks, George Mason University

Words Their Way®: Within Word Pattern Sorts for Spanish Speaking English Learners provides teachers with a practical, research-based, classroom-proven way to study words with students, and a complete curriculum for within word pattern spellers from Spanish-speaking backgrounds. The approach focuses on vocabulary development and linguistic commonalities and contrasts to help support students as they grow in English. Included are prepared reproducible sorts and step-by-step directions on how to guide students through the sorting lesson, make literature connections, and follow-up activities to extend the lesson through weekly routines.

Although this book is designed to supplement the text Words Their Way® with English Learners: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling the pace and scope of the book is helpful for English learners from non-Spanish speaking backgrounds as well.