WORDS THEIR WAY

Getting Started

2010-2011

GENERAL INFO TO HELP GET STARTED Blog: http://wtwtruman.wordpress.com Other teachers at Truman who have

been used WTW before

THE FIRST FEW WEEKS Focus on establishing your routines and

procedures Assessment What foundation do you want your

students to have for the rest of the year?

WAYS TO ESTABLISH ROUTINES Suggested first 15 days in Words Their

Way, pgs. 77-78 Chapter 3 of Words Their Way:

“Organizing for Word Study: Principles and Practices”

MY FIRST DAYS The First Week:

Day 1: Introduce working with words and name assignment (see primary Homeside Activity “The Story of My Name” or for upper grades do “Name Star”)

Day 2: Give Words Their Way Assessment Day 3: Introduce how to start a sort

Give cards with student names Cut out Store in board

Day 4: Review procedures, do first sort Go over getting out/putting away cards Do a concept sort—boys/girls; kids you know from

before/new friends

MY FIRST DAYS (CONTINUED) The Second Week

Day 5: Anchor Chart of Ways to Sort Words, Independent Sort (a different way)

Day 6: Set up notebooks, sort a different way and write

Day 7: Start sharing name assignment, sort a different way and write

Day 8: Finish sharing name assignment, teach and do guided blind sort

Day 9: Go over all procedures for a “unit” of word study (i.e. independent work, schedule, groups, etc.)

Prepare to start instruction the third week of school

HOW DO I KNOW WHAT TO TEACH? After the assessment . . .

Score the tests (Remember: You may need to assess some kids higher or lower during some of the more independent times of teaching the routines!)

Divide your class into the number of groups you want to have (3 is recommended in WTW, 4 is good for 2 groups/day that meet every other day)

Look at the overall needs of each group

EXAMPLE GROUP 4 students all tested at “Within Word

Pattern: Middle” Highlighted all Within Word errors and

found common areas of mistakes:Long a—ai (2/4)Long e—ea (2/4)Long o—oa (3/4)Long I--igh (3/4)

Looked at yellow Within Word Pattern book—placed students in Unit III, Common Long Vowel Patterns

QUESTIONS/PLC TIME Please work with your PLC for the next

half hour to get ready to kick off the year in word study!