Two Tips for Best Results in Spelling 1
If you’re ready to begin using the spelling spiral warm-ups, there are two things to do first. If you skip these two steps, your students might miss out on learning the spelling patterns in Spelling 1.
- Ensure your students are proficient the decoding patterns from Fluency 1.
- Demonstrate how to do the word sorts before Spelling 1, Day 3.
Take these small steps to build consistency in your spelling instruction! #elachat #wordstudyClick To Tweet
Proficiency in the 1st Word Fluency Unit
The consonant blends in Fluency 1 are perfect for tier 1 instruction in grades 2-3 and as an intervention in grades 3-5. You might think they are a little too easy for your students but watch closely as they attempt to do the challenging tasks in Fluency 1 days 10-20. It’s harder than you might think.
Your students will need to be able to complete the activities in Fluency 1 with a sufficient degree of proficiency. Use Fluency 1 days 1-10 to scaffold into the harder tasks [read more about the systematic scaffolding of difficulty here].
The Fluency 1 activities focus on building reading accuracy and speed with consonant blends. Students learn about phonemes, blending, and build speed.
Your students’ decoding speed is important before beginning Spelling 1. Students will become familiar and comfortable with timed tasks that require multiple types of word knowledge.
In Spelling 1, students move from decoding to encoding. Mastering the decoding will help as students do the following complex word study activities:
- Taps and Claps
- Phoneme-Grapheme Mapping
- Speed Speller
- Timed Word Sorts
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Demonstrating a Word Sort
On day 3 of Spelling 1, students will do a timed word sort. Prior to starting this spiral warm-up, you can help your students by showing them how to draw a small t-chart.
Simply show them how tall to draw it. It should be four lines tall. It only needs to be 1-2 inches wide. The largest sort in Spelling 1 only has 6 words.
Setting this up first is important because the sort is only 60 seconds long. You don’t want students setting up their table when they also have to focus on completing this open sort.
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