Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Spelling

I'm wondering if there are any 4th grade teachers who group their students into different spelling lists?  I just completed an elementary upper level spelling inventory and out of 25 words...22 was the most spelled correctly and least was 5.  Quite a wide gap.  If you do group...what words do you use?

5 comments:

  1. I use words their way to group my kids and do three or four spelling groups this year. I teach new words and give tests on Thursdays. I am going to try to work with the daily 5 in the mix of that as well.
    hope this helps... let me know if you have more questions.

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  2. I use Words Their Way too. I always have a wide range of abilities too. I found 4-5 groups is the most I can handle and will often choose to put a kid in a lower group if they are on the fence. It can't hurt them to revisit some ideas, but moving up too fast can be troubling and they quickly fall behind. Good luck! ~ Amanda @ The Teaching Thief

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  3. I just started this week using a leveled spelling lists. You can view the lists by grade level here http://activities.macmillanmh.com/reading/treasures/html/teacher_spelling.html I gave the on level list as a pre-assessment and then gave the students a sticker representing what level they would have based on their color. Blue for approaching, Green for On-Level and Yellow for beyond. They work on these words during Word Work and their final test will be held Thursday. My plan on Friday is to give them back their original test turn it over and do their final test on the back.

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  4. I also use Words their Way and end up having 3-4 groups based on ability and needs. I give them names and meet with them several times a week. Students receive lists on Fridays when I go over their spelling words and rules. They receive a packet that has activities that need to be completed by the following Friday. Most are done at home with parent signing each activity to show they checked it. Students work during Daily 5 time each day on Word work (spelling). Testing can be tricky, but students get used to being pulled during Daily 5 time to take their test with their spelling group. It can be confusing for substitutes, but once the kids get used to it, they can help. We also do MLPP assessments 3 times a year to see if students are progressing or still need help with the "rules" of spelling. Works for me :-)

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  5. THANKS! I'm going to look into Words Their Way. My administrator wants us to use the basal for reading but hasn't said much about spelling (it's included). Pat

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