Spelling

Dear Families,

I am using the Words Their Way spelling program to teach spelling. After giving students a diagnostic spelling test (of which they did not study for), I determined each child’s spelling level. After looking at what students know about spelling and noticing what their next step is, I have put them into spelling groups. I will be teaching them right at their developmental spelling level!

You should expect to see spelling sorts come home most Monday evenings. Please help your child practice their sort, and their spelling of each word. Testing will be the last day of the week. They will get credit in both sorting and spelling their words correctly.

Monday: Remind your child to sort the words into categories like the ones we did in school. Your child should read each word aloud during this activity. Ask your child to explain to you why the words are sorted in a particular way-what does the sort reveal about spelling in general? Ask your child to sort them a second time as fast as possible. You may want to time them.

Tuesday: Do a “no-peeking” sort with your child. Use the categories from this week’s sort. Then mix the sort cards and call out a word without showing it to your child. Have your child point or say the category the word should go in. Lay it down and let your child move it if he or she is wrong. Repeat if your child makes more than one error.

Wednesday: Go on a word hunt with your child. Read aloud from newspaper, magazines, or books. Have your child point out words that are examples of the word pattern of the week.

Thursday: Do a writing sort to prepare for the Friday test. As you call out words in random order your child should write them in categories. Call out any words your child misspells a second or third time.

Thank you for your support. Together we can help you child make valuable progress.

Sincerely,
Ms. Doolittle