Word Work...figuring out more than the meaning

Two blog posts ago, I started talking about different aspects of our language arts curriculum. In that first blog post, I focused on writing. In the final installment, I will be looking at our approach to literature circles. This blog post is dedicated to WORD WORK. What is word work, you might ask? Well, in a nutshell, just as it sounds - work that is focused around the study of words. We are guided by a curriculum called, Words their way. LGA students have been doing a lot of work focused on figuring out patterns of words, looking at their meanings, spelling these words, and truly understanding vowel-consonant constructions.

Weekly, LGA students starting in grade 1, are given odd sheets like the example above. During language arts times throughout each week, students are grouped to work together on all of the tasks that I listed in the last paragraph. When I walk through the hallway during a language arts block, I often see students playing games with these words, quizzing each other on meaning and spelling, and trying to put these words into sentences. Students become word sleuths. They look for patterns that emerge. This year, we are asking students to think deeper about words.

Why is word work so important? Vocabulary building, spelling, understanding how words develop is essential when creating a robust language arts curriculum. Some reasons that schools use word work are to create ways for students to connect with the English language and to build an arsenal of tools that will assist them as they graduate from grade to grade.

This year, I have seen a consistency of practice that I haven't seen before at LGA. Faculty members report that there is rhythm to the work and many students appreciate the regularity of the pace. Next time, you are with an LGA student, ask them about the games they play with their words. Many times you'll see them get excited to explain it to you.

As we prepare to have our students take standardized tests, we will be evaluating if we see any early results from the work that we have done. Stay tuned to find out more...

At LGA, we assess our students constantly when they are doing word work. It is individualized. It is independent. It is working with small groups or in a pair. It is asking students to think differently about words. It is not a spelling program.