Words Their Way is our differentiated, hands-on approach to word study.  Throughout the week, students engage in different kinds of word sorts and games to understand and practice spelling patterns.  The benefit to this approach is that students are learning patterns instead of memorizing isolated words. I wanted to share how some of these activities work in our class because they are also super simple to implement at home.

• Regular Word Sort –  After cutting out all the words, they sort the word according to the spelling pattern categories.

• Speed Sort-  Using a stopwatch projected on the board, students try to sort their words based on their spelling pattern as fast as they can.  They try to beat their time when they sort their words again.

Blind Sort- With a partner, students write the spelling pattern categories at the top of a white board.  Without the partner seeing the words, one person reads one of the spelling word cards. The partner tries to write the word in the correct category. It is similar to a practice test, except students are writing them into spelling pattern categories.

• Matching Game- Their spelling cards can become a matching game.  A match is made if two words have the same spelling pattern.
• ​Scavenger Hunt- A word scavenger hunt is when students look for words in books that have the same spelling patterns as the ones on their spelling list.