Word work is something they learn in primary grades… but is it?
I think that word work is something not just learned in the primary grades, but throughout all school years and into adulthood, just without it being explicitly called "word work". As learners, vocabulary is something that is built upon constantly, with us adding new words or different meanings to a word we already knew.
-How do we support students who did not master “breaking the code”?
I think that we can support students who did not master "breaking the code" by small group instruction. In small group instruction groups, teachers can "zone in" on areas their group is struggling with and meet their needs in order to help them grow and build their literacy skills.
-What did you learn in this chapter and how will you apply it to your instruction?
I liked figure 10.3- Tier Words Triangle. I can picture myself keeping a copy of this diagram for my reference to use with small groups and what direction they should take in terms of learning new vocabulary words.
-Small group instruction is most useful for remediation. Do you incorporate these into your teaching? How could you?
Small group instruction is a vital part of our day! This year, my goal is to focus more on vocabulary and spelling stages in my small groups to help build skills and knowledge.
-Name & Summarize (a few sentences) about the “other” chapter you read.
The chapter I decided to read was Chapter 14, “Spelling”. After reading this chapter and also attending a Words Their Way training I have allowed myself to challenge the "traditional" way of spelling where we just give our kids lists and spelling assignments and make them memorize them. Why do we do this? Why do they need to memorize those exact words when we know all of our students are not at that exact level and we spend every day telling our students that it's okay to learn at your own pace? Just because that's what we've always done. I love the idea of taking the students in groups of similar spelling stage and helping them to grow at their own rate and am excited to try that in my classroom this year!