Synopses & Reviews
DRAFT
Lori Helman, Donald R. Bear, Shane Templeton, Marcia Invernizzi, and Francine Johnston
Words Their Way with English Learners: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling, 2/e
Words Their Way with English Learners, 2e is the most complete resource available for teachers to use as they facilitate research-based word study in classrooms with students from varying language backgrounds. Included are a concise outline of a research-based model of literacy development that English learners follow toward understanding how words work in English, chapter by chapter examples of students’ work, hands-on sample learning activities, illustrative graphics and tables to support the text, a variety of word study activities, references to multilingual language-learning materials and websites, and more.
The book is modeled after the widely popular original book, Words Their Way, but is a stand-alone resource designed primarily to support teachers working with students from a wide range of home languages as they learn to read and write in English.
"This book is what teachers have been waiting for...it is a resource that you can access and use just by opening the book. This ELL gem belongs in every teacher's library."
- Daniel DeLaO, ESL Teacher, Albuquerque Public Schools, Albuquerque, New Mexico
"This is a sorely needed resource that should be in professional libraries in every classroom with English learners."
- Julie Coppola, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
"I highly recommend this book...it is practical, usable, and built on current research on English learners."
- Kristi McNeal, First Grade Teacher and Literacy Professor, California State University - Fresno, Fresno, California
Lori Helman is assistant professor in literacy education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Minnesota. Her research and writing have focused extensively on the reading and spelling development of students learning English as a new language, including other Words Their Way instructional materials for English learners.
Donald R. Bear is director of the E. L. Cord Foundation Center for Learning and Literacy in the College of Education at the University of Nevada, Reno. As a former preschool, third, and fourth grade teacher, Donald extends his experience working with children who experience difficulties learning to read and write both in the center and in numerous outreach programs. His recent research includes the study of literacy development in different languages and the influence of first language and literacy knowledge in learning to read in another language.
Shane Templeton is Foundation Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he is Program Coordinator for Literacy Studies. A former elementary and secondary teacher, his research focuses on the development of orthographic knowledge. He has written several books on the teaching and learning of reading and language arts and is a member of the Usage Panel of the American Heritage Dictionary.
Marcia Invernizzi is a professor of reading education at the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. Marcia is also the director of the McGuffey Reading Center, where she teaches the clinical practice in reading diagnosis and remedial reading. Formerly an English and reading teacher, she works with Book Buddies, Virginia's Early Intervention Reading Initiative (EIRI), and Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS).
Francine Johnston is a former first grade teacher and reading specialist who learned about word study during her graduate work at the University of Virginia. She is now an associate professor in the School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she teaches courses in reading, language arts, and children's literature. Francine frequently works with regional school systems as a consultant and researcher.
Review
"This is a user friendly [book] that is not bogged down in jargon or superfluous research."
"This book is user friendly and a teacher resource that is made to be used."
"This book is what teachers have been waiting for...it is a resource that you can access and use just by opening the book."
"This ELL gem belongs in every teacher's library."
- Daniel DeLaO, ESL Teacher, Albuquerque Public Schools, Albuquerque, New Mexico
"This is a sorely needed resource that should be in professional libraries in every classroom with English learners."
- Julie Coppola, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
"I highly recommend this book...it is practical, usable, and built on current research on English learners."
- Kristi McNeal, First Grade Teacher and Literacy Professor, California State University - Fresno, Fresno, California
Review
PRAISE FOR Words Their Way with English Learners
Many texts have suggestions for integrating word study into a language arts day but tend to ignore the focus on teaching students both vocabulary as well as phonetic knowledge. I like that this book explicitly targets second language learners.
Kristi McNeal, CSU Fresno
This book is certainly timely and needed in the field. It will be an asset to teachers who are familiar with the principles of word study but may not have a strong knowledge base for working with English learners. I look forward to seeing the completed book so I can include it as required reading in my literacy classes!
Maria J. Meyerson, National University, Nevada
These chapters are beautifully written. Each begins with teaching vignettes that provide a context for the chapters. The anticipatory structure with questions and clear step-by-step procedures is easy to follow. They are written with a strong "teaching voice" that’s user-friendly. The teaching described in the chapters is based on sound "best practice." Lots of resources are given. Great activities! But they’re well grounded in theory. I thoroughly enjoyed reading these chapters.
Patricia P. Kelly, Virginia Tech
Synopsis
Words Their Way with English Learners, 2e is the most complete resource available for teachers and college instructors to use as they facilitate research-based word study in classrooms with students from varying language backgrounds. Included are a concise outline of a research-based model of literacy development that English learners follow toward understanding how words work in English, chapter by chapter examples of students’ work, hands-on sample learning activities, illustrative graphics and tables to support the text, a variety of word study activities, references to multilingual language-learning materials and websites, and more.
Synopsis
Words Their Way with English Learners
One reality of today’s classrooms is the limited help available to teachers trying to support English learners’ literacy skills. The educators and researchers who developed Words Their Way understand this challenge. Their original text, a phenomenon in word study, provides the proven framework and application to allow students to develop literacy skills. And now they apply this approach to teaching English learners.
Based on the same solid research, Words Their Way with English Learners helps you determine what your students bring with them from their home languages, where their instruction in English orthography should begin, and how best to move these students through their development.
- Chapters 1 through 3 introduce you to the stages of spelling and reading development, the assessments to use, and the best ways to organize your classroom for word study.
- Each subsequent chapter focuses on a specific stage of spelling, outlining the most appropriate and effective word study instruction for this audience, from the Emergent learner through readers and writers in the Derivational Relations stage.
- Each of these chapters closes with a rich bank of classroom-proven word study activities that promise to engage your students, motivate them, and improve their oral and written abilities in English.
- The Appendix at the back of Words Their Way with English Learners contains all the assessment tools necessary to get word study underway and offers word lists in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Arabic; picture and word sorts; and game templates to advance word study instruction in diverse K—8 classrooms.
Word study can be a powerful instructional method for teachers and their English learning students. With this text, you can evaluate students’ langage needs. Empower your students to grasp this new language at the word level, building skills to understand how English differs from their primary language,and providing them with the skills to predict word meaning through spelling. Words Their Way with English Learners will help you build vocabulary, spelling, and word recognition skills in your English learners, giving them the foundation to master their new language.
Synopsis
Words Their Way with English Learners helps teachers determine what their students bring with them from their home languages, where their instruction in English orthography should begin, and how best to move these students through their literacy development.
Words Their Way with English Learners uses proven, research-based word study development as a foundation to help English learners develop literacy skills. Chapters 1 through 3 introduces teachers of English Learners to the stages of spelling and reading development, the assessments to use, and the best ways to organize your classroom for word study. This new book also includes samples of student writing in Chinese, Korean, Arabic, and Spanish throughout these early chapters to contextualize the assessment information.
FEATURES:
Unique! Connects students home language with their new language helping children improve their oral and written abilities much more quickly. Early Assessment coverage (Ch.2) and Assessment Tools available in the Appendix provide readers with a strong foundation in assessment and help them determine the developmental level of each child. Based on these assessments teachers can then group children with similar developmental abilities. Organized around 5 developmental levels (ch. 4-7) that outline the most appropriate and effective word study instruction for this audience, from the Emergent learner through readers and writers in the Derivational Relations stage. A rich bank of classroom-proven word study activities close each of the five developmental levels found in chapters 4-7 and promise to engage your students, motivate them, and improve their oral and written abilities in English. Unique! A robust Appendix at the back of Words Their Way with English Learners contains all the assessment tools necessary to get word study underway and offers word lists in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Arabic; picture and word sorts; and game templates to advance word study instruction in diverse K–8 classrooms. Based on the developmental approach of the word study book Words Their Way 3e and new research on working with English Language Learners. About the Author
Donald R. Bear is director of the E. L. Cord Foundation Center for Learning and Literacy in the College of Education at the University of Nevada, Reno. As a former preschool, third, and fourth grade teacher, Donald extends his experience working with children who experience difficulties learning to read and write both in the center and in numerous outreach programs. His recent research includes the study of literacy development in different languages and the influence of first language and literacy knowledge in learning to read in another language. He and his colleagues work with many schools and districts to conduct literacy instruction workshops.
Lori Helman is associate professor in literacy education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Minnesota. Her research and writing have focused extensively on the reading and spelling development of students learning English as a new language, including other Words Their Way instructional materials for English learners. She has also edited a text for teachers, Literacy Development with English Learners.
Marcia Invernizzi is a professor of reading education at the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. Marcia is also the director of the McGuffey Reading Center, where she teaches the clinical practica in reading diagnosis and remedial reading. Formerly an English and reading teacher, she works with Book Buddies, Virginia's Early Intervention Reading Initiative (EIRI), and Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS).
Shane Templeton is Foundation Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he is Program Coordinator for Literacy Studies. A former elementary and secondary teacher, his research focuses on the development of orthographic knowledge. He has written several books on the teaching and learning of reading and language arts and is a member of the Usage Panel of the American Heritage Dictionary. He is author of the "Spelling Logics" column in Voices from the Middle, the middle school journal of the National Council of Teachers of English.
Francine Johnston is a former first grade teacher and reading specialist who learned about word study during her graduate work at the University of Virginia. She is now an associate professor in the School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she teaches courses in reading, language arts, and children's literature. Francine frequently works with regional school systems as a consultant and researcher. Her research interests include current spelling practices and materials as well as the relationship between spelling and reading achievement.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Word Study with English Learners and the Development of Orthographic Knowledge
Understanding Word Study with English Learners
The Students The Students We Teach
STUDENTS’ KNOWLEDGE OF ORTHOGRAPHY AND THE THREE LAYERS OF ENGLISH SPELLING
Understanding the Three Layers of English Spelling
Stages of Literacy Development in English
What Students Bring to Learning to Read in English
Build on Students’ Language and Literacy Experiences
WORD STUDY INSTRUCTION
The Three Layers of Spelling and Stages of Development in Other Written Languages
A STAGE-BY-STAGE GUIDE TO WORD STUDY READING, AND WRITING ACTIVITIES
Word Study is Integrated into Literacy Instruction
A Summary of the Developmental Stages and Accompanying Literacy Activities
Chapter 2
Getting Started: The Assessment of Orthographic Development
Assessing Spelling Developmentally
Qualitative Spelling Inventories
Choosing a Spelling Inventory
How to Administer Spelling Inventories to English Learners
Determine a Determine a Stage with Power Scores
Feature Guides to Analyze Spelling Development and Features to Study
Establish an Instructional Level: What Students “Use But Confuse”
Six Types of Spelling Errors Made by English Learners
Grouping and Choosing Features and Activities for Word Study
Assessment at Each Spelling Stage
Assessments with English Learners in the Emergent Stage
Assessments with English Learners in the Letter Name—Alphabetic Stage
Assessments with English Learners in the Within-Word Pattern Stage
Assessments with English Learners in the Syllables and Affixes and Derivational Relations Stages
Dialects, Creoles, and Learning to Read and Spell
ASSESSMENT OF SPELLING IN STUDENTS’ PRIMARY LANGUAGES
Using Spelling Assessments and Sorts with Students Learning Foreign Languages
Using Spelling Assessment and Sorts with Students Learning Foreign Languages
Inventories and Spelling Development in Spanish, Chinese, and Korean
ORAL LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT AND VOCABULARY LEARNING
Learning About Students’ Oral Language Development
Critical Questions About Students’ Languages and Learning
Levels of Proficiency and Formal Tests of Oral Language
Intermediate and Secondary Vocabulary Assessments
Talking with Families
Chapter 3
Organizing for Word Study in Multilingual Classrooms: Principles and Practices
THE ROLE OF WORD STUDY AND SORTING
TYPES OF SORTS
Sound Sorts
Pattern Sorts
Meaning/Concept Sorts
Variations of Sorts
SUPPORTING VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT DURING SORTING
Word Study Instruction in Multilingual Classroom Settings
Strategies to Support English Learners
Organization of Word Study Instruction
Preparing Your Word Sorts
The Big Picture: Scheduling Word Study
The Word Study Lesson Plan Format
Structuring Interactions
Making Sorts Harder or Easier
Teaching Vocabulary
Integrating Word Study into the Language Arts Curriculum
Involving English-Learning Parents in Word Study
Ten Principles of Word Study Instruction with English Learners
WORDS THEIR WAY WORD STUDY RESOURCES
Chapter 4
Word Study with English Learners in the Emergent Stage
From Speech to Print With English Learners
Characteristics of the Emergent Stage of Reading and Spelling
Components of Early Literacy Learning
Read To
Read With
Write With
Word Study
Talk With
Activities for english learners in the emergent stage
Concept Books and Sorts
Games Using Concept Picture Sorts
Talk With and Read With Activities
Alphabet and Letter-Sound Knowledge
Chapter 5
Word Study with English Learners in the Letter Name—Alphabetic Stage
Literacy Instruction for English Learners in the Letter Name—Alphabetic Stage of Word Study
Characteristics of Orthographic Development for English Learners in the Letter Name—Alphabetic Stage
The Letter Name Strategy, Reliance on Articulation, and the Alphabetic Principle
Consonants and the English Learner
Vowels and the English Learner
The Sequence of Word Study Instruction with English Learners
Components of Literacy Instruction at the Letter Name—Alphabetic Stage
Talk With
Read To
Read With
Write With
Word Study
Word Study Lesson Plan Format
Activities for english learners in the letter name—alphabetic stage
Picture Concept Sorts
Multi-Use Word Study Activities
Working With Words and Sounds
Personal Reader Activities
Picture and Word Sorts and Related Games
Chapter 6
Word Study with Transitional English Learners in the Within-Word Pattern Stage
Literacy Instruction for English Learners at the Transitional/Within-Word Pattern Stage
Be Pattern Puzzlers
Include Vocabulary Instruction
Wide Reading Supports Oral and Written Language Development
Sounds Play a Role at the Within-Word Pattern Stage
Characteristics of Orthograpic Development for English Learners at the Within-Word Pattern Stage
Sequence of Word Study for the Within-Word Pattern Stage
Studying High-Frequency Words with English Learners
Components of Literacy Instruction at the Transitional Stage
Talk With
Read To
Read With
Write With
Word Study
Activities for english learners in the Within—word pattern stage
Teaching New Words
Word Study Activities at the Early Within-Word Pattern Stage
Word Study Activities at the Middle Within-Word Pattern Stage
Word Study Activities at the Late Within-Word Pattern Stage
Chapter 7
Word Study with English Learners in the Syllables and Affixes and Derivational Relations Stages
Literacy Instruction for English Learners in the Syllables and Affixes Stage
Characteristics of Orthographic Development for English Learners in the Syllables and Affixes Stage
Syllable Juncture and Inflectional Endings
Explore Explore Meaning
Instructional Implications
Components of Literacy Instruction at the Syllables and Affixes Stage
Talk With
Read To
Read With
Write With
Word Study
Activities for english learners in the syllables and affixes stage
Word Study Activities at the Early Syllables and Affixes Stage
Word Study Activities at the Middle Syllables and Affixes Stage
Word Study Activities at the Late Syllables and Affixes Stage
Appendix
Assessment Materials for Chapter 2
Sound Boards and Alphabets
Pictures for Sorts and games
Sample Picture and Word Sorts
Word Lists of Pictures in Book with Translations
Templates for Sorts and Games
Game Boards
References
Index