Steps in planning a Making Words lesson
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Decide what the final word in the lesson will be. In
choosing this word, consider its number of vowels, child interest, curriculum
tie-ins you can make, and letter-sound patterns you can draw childrenĖs
attention to through the word sorting at the end.
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Make a list of shorter words that can be made from
the letters of the final word.
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From all the words you listed, pick 12-15 words that
include: (a) words that you can sort for the pattern(s) you want to emphasize;
(b) little words and big words to make a multilevel lesson; (c) words that
can be made with the same letters in different places (e.g., barn, bran)
so children are reminded that when spelling words, the order of the letters
is crucial; (d) a proper name or two to remind them where we use capital
letters; and (e) words that most of the students have in their listening
vocabularies.
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Write all the words on index cards and order them from
shortest to longest.
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Once you have the two-letter, three-letter, etc., words
together , order them further so that you can emphasize letter patterns
and how changing the position of the letter or changing or adding just
one letter results in a different word.
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Store the cards in an envelope. Write on the envelope
the words in order and the patterns you will sort for at the end.
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Steps in teaching a Making Words Lesson
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Place the large letter cards in a pocket chart or along
the chalk ledger.
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Have designated children give one letter to each child.
(Let the passer keep the reclosable bag) containing that letter and have
the same child collect that letter when the lesson is over.)
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Hold up and name the letters on the large letter cards,
and have the children hold up their matching small letter cards.
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Write the numeral 2 (or 3, if there are no two-letter
words in the lesson) on the board.
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Say take two letters and make a word. Use the word
in a sentence after you say it.
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Have a child who has the first word made correctly
make the same word with the large letter cards. Encourage anyone who did
not make the word correctly at first to fix the word when they see it made
correctly.
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Continue having them make words, erasing and changing
the number on the board to indicate the number of letters needed. Use the
words in simple sentences to make sure the children understand them. Cue
them as to whether they are just changing one letter, changing letters
around, or taking all their letters out to make a word from scratch. Cue
them when the word you want them to make is a proper name, and send a child
who has started that name with a capital letter to make the word with the
big letters.
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Before telling them the last word, ask "Has anyone
figured out what word we can make with all our letters?" If so, congratulate
them and have them and have one of them make it with the big letters. If
not, say something like, "I love it when I can stump you. Use all your
letters and make_________."
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Once all the words have been made, take the index cards
on which you have written the words, and place them one at a time (in the
same order children made them) along the chalk ledge or in the pocket chart.
Have children say and spell the words with you as you do this. Use these
words for sorting and pointing out patterns. Pick a word and point out
a particular spelling pattern, and ask children to find the others with
that same pattern. Line these words up so that the pattern is visible.
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To get maximum transfer to reading and writing, have
the children use the patterns they have sorted to spell a few new words
that you say.
Note: Some teachers choose to do steps 1-7 on one day
and steps 8 and 9 the next day. |