Finally digging in to Words Their Way…

It’s official.  I need to start.  We did a practice sort last week, and I know I need to tackle this thing head on so here we go!

After I did our initial assessment, I found that my students ended up in 10 different groups.  TEN. Let’s be reasonable.  I am NOT doing ten groups.  I spent some time really looking at the students’ writing and consolidated them into 3 groups–and my “top of the top group” will have some additional word work challenge and my “lowest of the low group” will have an additional intervention of word work tailored just to them.  They also get additional word work with their reading intervention, so I feel pretty good about teaching a little higher than their assessed level.

I ordered the “sorts” for these three groups for the first 3 weeks and I will dig in on Wednesday. While the groups are waiting for their turn with me, they will be doing choice writing and working on their realistic fiction planning.  Watch for an update on how this goes!  I plan on doing “New Word Wednesday” and “Tests on Tuesdays”  . . . it gives flexibility for families by giving a few extra days for home sorting practice.  I haven’t exactly decided on my requirements for home word work, so I did create this freebie in case anyone would like it–it’s just a menu of practice options.

I’m looking forward to hearing from all you experts as I navigate through my year on this new challenge.  Stay tuned for updates and improvement on my system!

Meg