10-Day Word Pattern Cycle Notes and Tips!

Hi there! I wanted to stop by and give some snapshots of the activities that we've been doing in our Word Study Workshop! If you haven't heard of this workshop, PLEASE check it out from the beginning  HERE! The full blown launching unit can be found here and Unit 2 was just posted here.

So, here is the 10-Day Overview...I'll touch on a few of the activities to give some tips and show how it went with my spellers! Full instructions and notes are available in the Launching Unit, but I wanted to give some specifics and tips! :) 

DAY 1

So, the first day is a Guess'N'Sort. This one takes a lot, a LOT of practice because it is supposed to be independent (except for your emergent spellers- coach them heavily!). The students are excited for new lists! Make sure you teach, model, and remind students to: 

*Look at your new list carefully

*CAREFULLY copy their words onto the word cards. You might even tell them to scribble the entire back page with a crayon so that if one gets lost, they can turn them over to see if the crayon color matches the cards they have! 

*Cut their words out and SORT by similarities. I allow them to do this in partners or trios. That is up to you! 

*Then, I have them record the way they sorted their words and write down the word patterns they think they've found. 

*I do have to coach them in the actual name of the list. Most kids won't come up with the fact that the list should be called "Blends" for example. 

DAY 2

Mix-It Fix-It 

You'll just want to make sure they understand the pattern of this activity- which is to make the word with letters (tactile learning) and then mix it up to make it again. The goal is to be able to spell it with the tiles WITHOUT looking! 

Day 3

 Word Hunting. The most important tip I can give here is to remind your students that word hunting isn't word SEARCHING. Unlike a word-search, word hunting should involve real reading. I try to model this as much as possible! 

Day 4
Today is the day that the students will select 6 words to explore the meaning of.  Below, there are samples from an emergent and within word speller. Remember that on this day, the definitions are GUESSES. It's OK for them to be a little off. 

Day 5 

Interesting day. Be prepared to be flexible. The students are partnering up and talking about the sheets above. If they agree, the can check a box that says "yes." If they disagree, then their job is to come up with a new sentence together. The new sentence should have a different meaning. As you are conferring and working with small groups, check in heavily with the meanings of the words. Try to use them throughout the week. We are a "Word Nerds" school- so this is where I actually pull our vocabulary words for lanyards. 

Day 6 

LOTTO! This day is always a class-favorite. 

My tips are: 

*Select ONE student per group to use their word cards every time you play this game. Pick your "little Miss or Mr. Perfect" that is super organized. They will always have their cards ready and this will cut down on arguing, not having supplies ready, etc...

*Use small cups to put words and chips for marking their spaces. 

*Have students write their words in any order on their board BEFORE letting them go to groups. 

*Remind them to take the word OUT of the cup before passing the cup to the next friend. 

Day 7

ABC Order

The only tip I have is to model using the CARDS first and recording second. They get really burnt out when they have to erase an entire list because they forgot one! Oh! One more tip- I have them partner up with one member of their spelling club to compare lists! 

Days 8-10 are assessment days and you'd be pulling each group over to play take a quiz using the alternate pattern words and recording sheet- which are all included in the unit! There is a full post on assessment here! 

Hope that helps! 

Happy Spelling!