Words Their Way

One reality of today s classrooms is the scarcity of materials available to teachers trying to support English learners literacy development. The educators and researchers who developed Words Their Way with English Learners, a phenomenon in word study, understand this challenge. The cornerstone of the Words Their Way approach to word study is the examination of the word knowledge students bring with them to instruction, building language and literacy competence naturally on that foundation. This approach is especially valuable for English learners, and this text is a companion piece of the series focusing on the specific needs of Spanish speakers. It provides you with the reproducible sorts and step-by-step directions you ll need to guide students through each sorting lesson. The week-by-week curriculum provided in this text will complement the use of any existing phonics, spelling, and reading curricula. Word study is a powerful instructional method for teachers and their English-learning students. Empower your students to grasp their new language at the word level, build skills to understand how English differs from Spanish, and develop the skills to explore word meaning through spelling. Who are Letter-Name Alphabetic learners? Kindergarteners to early third graders, as well as older newcomers to English who are at the beginning stage of reading How does word study help these learners develop English language proficiency? By building on students vocabularies in Spanish and the letter sounds that are common to both English and Spanish By starting with the most common and high-utility English words By teaching vocabulary through pictures and word-picture matching By providing opportunities to explicitly compare and work with sounds in English that may require extra help for Spanish speakers What does Words Their Way Letter Name-Alphabetic Sorts for Spanish-Speaking English Learners provide to guide students toward this proficiency? Notes for Teachers Standardized Weekly Routines Literature Connections Assessments Reproducible word cards and picture cards to get your students underwayHelman, Lori is the author of 'Words Their Way', published 2008 under ISBN 9780132421034 and ISBN 0132421038.