Word work is something they learn in primary grades… but is it?
Word work is a skill that everyone uses even as adults we are continually learning new words. There are many components to word work it is not just being able to decode words as we read. Word work looks different in higher grades but it should still be taught. Learning about root words, prefixes, suffixes and vocabulary is important to teach in the higher grades.
-How do we support students who did not master “breaking the code”?
For students that have not mastered "breaking the code" we need to assess where that learning breaks down so that we can use strategies to help them. The chart on the inside cover helps to determine where a student has struggles. I like figure 10.1 that helps to determine what students know about words and then the vocabulary scaffolds that are included in this section.
-What did you learn in this chapter and how will you apply it to your instruction?
In these chapters I liked how Beers said that we as a school need to have the same academic vocabulary across classrooms, I think that this would be beneficial to the students when trying to learn the vocabulary. I liked the template Words Across Contexts in appendix S.
-Small group instruction is most useful for remediation. Do you incorporate these into your teaching? How could you?
Since I teach AIS reading all of my instruction is done in small groups, this makes it ideal to work with the students where they are at.
-Name & Summarize (a few sentences) about the “other” chapter you read.
I wanted to learn as much as I could so I read all of the Word Work section. I have a lot of students that are in the higher grades but cannot decode so I liked figure 15.6 that gave the scaffolds for teaching phonics to those students.The chapter on Spelling was also beneficial to me because of the students I work with. Spelling is still important and just using spell check is not the answer. This chapter explained the stages of development: Emergent, Letter Name, Within- Word, Syllable Juncture and Derivational Constancy. I use Word Their Way with my students and I find it beneficial.