Phonics Practice for Your Structured Literacy Classroom with Words Their Way Classroom
- Multisensory phonology and morphology practice
- Hands-on sorts plus interactive digital activities
Teach Word Study with Words Their Way Classroom
Words Their Way Classroom provides personalized word study instruction and engaging, hands-on word sorting practice.
Personalized Instruction and Practice
The program personalizes word study instruction and practice based on the five developmental spelling stages, making it easy to meet students’ diverse learning needs and grow their literacy skills.
Engaging, Hands-on Word Study
Students actively explore, compare, and categorize word patterns and relationships through hands-on and interactive word sorts, helping them build true word knowledge (not rote memorization!).
Easy, Manageable Instructional Routine
Teachers only need 15 to 20 minutes per day to provide students with engaging, effective word study. Each lesson provides strategies to model the sort, practice it, and apply and assess learning.
Interactive Word Sorts and Digital Resources
Every lesson has an associated digital word sort where students can click-and-drag pictures, words, and/or spelling patterns. Printable games and other resources add extra practice options.
Strengthen Literacy Skills with Words Their Way Classroom Supplemental Literacy Program
-
How the Program Personalizes Word Study
-
Fun and Engaging Word Study for Students
-
Easy and Manageable Word Study for Teachers
-
The 5-Day Weekly Word Study Routine
-
The 5 Developmental Spelling Stages
How the Program Personalizes Word Study
-
Developmental Spelling StagesWords Their Way Classroom offers a complete set of ready-to-use resources — lessons, sorts, and activities — for each of the five research-based stages of spelling, so teachers have everything needed to personalize word study based on each student’s developmental spelling stage.
-
Small-Group InstructionStudents are grouped by developmental spelling stage so each student can get instruction and practice that matches their instructional needs. The program can also be used for whole-class and individual instruction.
-
Meeting Individual NeedsEach lesson includes ideas for providing extra support (or challenge) for students who may need it, as well as strategies for supporting multilingual learners. The Implementation Guide provides additional tips for differentiating instruction according to individual student needs.
Fun and Engaging Word Study for Students
-
Hands-on PracticeEach developmental spelling stage has an associated full-color, consumable Word Study Notebook (available in print or as a digital printable). These pages are designed so students can cut and paste words into sorting categories for hands-on practice.
-
Digital InteractivityKids love digital interactivity! These online word sorts allow students to click-and-drag pictures, words, and spelling patterns, plus instantly check their work. There’s an Interactive Sort associated with each lesson.
-
Big Book of RhymesDesigned for students in earlier developmental spelling stages, the Big Book of Rhymes provides vividly illustrated poems that teachers can use to introduce the sort and grow students’ vocabulary.
-
Games and MoreDigital resources include printable word study games, picture and word cards, and more to give students additional support and practice.
Easy and Manageable Word Study for Teachers
-
Everything Needed for Word StudyOne of the greatest challenges to implementing word study in the elementary classroom is developing all the materials needed for effective word sorts. Words Their Way Classroom provides everything teachers need to deliver effective, personalized word study for all students in their classroom!
-
Easy, Step-by-Step LessonsThe Teacher Resource Guide provides a simple and effective lesson plan for each sort. The guide includes objectives, routines, multilingual learner strategies, differentiated support, and assessment ideas.
-
Group StudentsThe Qualitative Spelling Inventory helps teachers place students in their correct developmental stage of word study. Students then work in small groups based on their developmental spelling stage.
-
Monitor ProgressPrebuilt spell checks can be used as a spelling pretest to assess prior knowledge, or as a posttest immediately following instruction.
-
Reinforce and Extend Core InstructionWords Their Way Classroom is an ideal complement to core ELA instruction! Use word study to give students additional practice with the phonics, vocabulary, and spelling skills learned in their core reading program.
-
Additional Teacher ResourcesThe Implementation Guide provides teachers with helpful background and information about the program, along with strategies for implementing and managing the program in an elementary classroom.
The 5-Day Weekly Word Study Routine
-
15-20 Minutes Per DayTeachers who use this 5-day routine only need about 15-20 minutes per day to provide students with engaging, effective word study.
-
Day 1: Introduce & ModelOn Day 1, teachers introduce vocabulary using a Big Book of Rhymes or a curated Word List, then model a picture, sound, or word sort for students.
-
Day 2: Practice the SortOn Day 2, students practice the sort and pattern using hands-on print and interactive digital sorts.
-
Day 3: Practice Writing SortsOn Day 3, teachers can use a writing sort to connect the pattern or skill to writing. Interactive digital writing sorts are also available!
-
Day 4: Word HuntsOn Day 4, students can hunt for words and patterns in reading. Each Words Their Way Classroom lesson provides a digital Classroom Library book for word hunts!
-
Day 5: Word Sorting GamesOn Day 5, students can play engaging word sorting games. Teachers will find a printable PDF with a fun game included in the Teacher Resource Guide for each sort.
The 5 Developmental Spelling Stages
-
Five Research-Based StagesWords Their Way Classroom uses a developmental model that recognizes the synchronous nature of reading, writing, and spelling. The program personalizes instruction based on which stage students are at along the literacy continuum.
-
Emergent – Early Letter NameStudents at this stage have an incomplete knowledge of the alphabet and may not use any sound-symbol correspondence.
-
Letter NameStudents apply the alphabet literally or spell phonetically, representing most strong sounds and beginning consonants, but omitting silent letters and preconsonantal nasals.
-
Within Word PatternStudents correctly spell most single-syllable words with short vowels, and can recognize consonant digraphs and two-letter consonant blends.
-
Syllables and AffixesStudents correctly spell long-vowel and high-frequency words, but may make errors at syllable juncture points and in unaccented syllables.
-
Derivational RelationsAt this stage, students spell most words correctly. They are growing their knowledge of vocabulary and spelling patterns of low-frequency, multisyllabic words derived from Greek and Latin roots.
Try a Words Their Way Classroom Lesson
-
Emergent – Early Letter Name
-
Letter Name
-
Within Word Pattern
-
Syllables and Affixes
-
Derivational Relations
Sort 8, Beginning Sounds r, s
At this stage, the word study focus areas are: concept sorts, rhyming sorts, beginning sounds, letter recognition, ending sounds, and digraphs.
View Sample Lesson
Sort 9, Word Families -op, -ot, -og
At this stage, the word study focus areas are: beginning consonants, same vowel word families, digraphs and blends, mixed vowel word families, short vowels, preconsonantal nasals, r-influenced vowels, and contractions.
View Sample Lesson
Sort 31, Vowel Digraph oo
At this stage, the word study focus areas are: short and long vowels, other long vowel patterns, r- influenced vowels, diphthongs and other ambiguous vowels, complex consonant clusters, and homophones
View Sample Lesson
Sort 49, Suffixes -y, -ly, -ily
At this stage, the word study focus areas are: compound words, inflected endings, open and closed syllables, accented syllables, unaccented syllables, consonants, prefixes and suffixes, homophones, and homographs.
View Sample Lesson
Sort 30, Greek and Latin Elements cap, ped, corp
At this stage, the word study focus areas are: prefixes and suffixes, Greek and Latin roots, advanced spelling-meaning patterns, and prefix assimilation.
View Sample Lesson
Word Study: An Interactive Approach for Teaching Word Knowledge
-
What is Word Study?
-
How Do Word Sorts Work?
-
Words Their Way Classroom
-
Phonics, Spelling, and Vocabulary
-
Authors
Word Knowledge, Not Memorization
Word study teaches students how to organize, analyze, and compare words and their features — moving them beyond rote memorization and into true word knowledge. One of the most powerful word study techniques is the word sort, which has students explore, compare, and categorize word patterns and relationships.Word Sorts: Actively Engaging Students in Word Study
At the heart of every word sort is the same process: First, students identify the meaning and properties of each word, sound, or picture. Second, students sort the words (or sounds or pictures) into collections with similar features. Words may be sorted by meaning, sounds, spelling pattern, or other properties. Word sorts can be done as fun, hands-on activities using print resources or as interactive online practice using digital materials.How Words Their Way Classroom Teaches Word Study
At the heart of Words Their Way Classroom is the hands-on or interactive sort. The sort invites students to group words or pictures representing specific sounds into categories. Most sorts begin with teacher-directed instruction along with questions to guide student learning and generalizations.
How Word Study Grows Literacy Skills
Word study is an effective, engaging way to build students’ phonics, spelling, and vocabulary skills. Students are encouraged to think deeply about the sounds and letters that form each word, helping to strengthen their phonics and spelling skills. In addition, the word sort process links students’ prior knowledge to the new vocabulary they learn and use as they sort words, building their word knowledge.Developed by Literacy Experts
Words Their Way Classroom was developed by renowned authors Donald Bear, Marcia Invernizzi, Francine Johnston, Shane Templeton, and Lori Helman. The latest edition provides a complete, integrated print and digital experience.Word Study Resources for Educators
-
The Essential Elements of Word Study
-
Scope and Sequence
-
10 Ways to Word Sort
-
On-Demand Webinar
-
Word Meaning and Word Study
Dr. Donald Bear: Word Study to Teach Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling
Read the Whitepaper
Scope and Sequence for Grades K-5
View the Scope and Sequence
10 Effective Word Sort Techniques
Get the Guide
Strengthening Phonics and Vocabulary with Word Study
Watch the Webinar
Dr. Shane Templeton: The Critical Role of Word Meaning in Word Study
Read the Whitepaper
Enhance Word Study with Interactive Digital Resources
The digital components of Words Their Way Classroom are all hosted on the award-winning Savvas Realize® digital platform. Realize integrates with a wide variety of digital tools and systems, such as Google Classroom, Canvas, Schoology, OneDrive, and many more!
Digital components include drag-and-drop word sorts with audio support, an interactive Teacher Resource Guide, printable PDFs of word lists and word study games, interactive spell checks, and more!
School Stories
In these inspirational stories, you'll learn about what schools and districts from across the country are doing to help students succeed and shape the future of education.
Get Inspired