Now that you have your Word Study routines in place it is now time to consider how you will assess your students and evaluate their growth. I have some simple solutions for you!
Assessing Each Sort
At the end of each sort/unit I administer a simple spelling test. I always choose words from their sort. Words Their Way also provides assessments that are simple to administer but are not available for each sort. Our school district also purchased the Journeys anthology that contains a variety of Phonics tests that I copied and filed away to match my own filing system. I do not follow the scope and sequence of Journeys but their resources are a great supplement to Words Their Way.
This is a sampling of my Words Their Way gradebook for spelling:
And there you have it! Words Their Way–OUR way!
But WAIT! I have one more idea for you! Why not take your Word Work one step further? I have disguised Read to Self as a bit more… Word Work… and my firsties don’t seem to mind. Yours won’t either. It’s a Win-Win! To learn more visit:
Words Their Way, OUR Way Part 7: Read to Self as Word Study
If you would like to download the EDITABLE grade book and record keeping documents along with the related resources mentioned in this article you can find them at my TpT store:
This is a seven-part blog series.
Click below to jump right to what you need to know:
If you’re like me, you consider teaching a form of art. Having taught for 20 years, I have created many teaching resources, and here at The K Files, I would like to share them with you.
As a mother of three boys and a “school mom” for my students, it is my belief that the classroom is a “home away from home”.
From my home away from home….
…to yours.
I love this series! As I follow it through I see so much value in your resources and how awesome they are in truly helping teachers and students. I love all your ideas…the grade book, labels, forms, bookmarks and hello, a 17 page manual!!! It can't get any better than this. I love a structured guide that shows me smart ways to teach. This is a great resource for teachers, but more importantly how it will affect students in their growth and progress. Can't wait to read part 7!!!
Working smarter, not harder. This is a great series for teachers. I love this inside look to how it all works together.
Thanks, Carmen! It has taken me a few years to get this system down. WTW really is a great resource to help you differentiate your Spelling and Word Work programs and if you get creative you can truly make it your own! I am happy to share my tips and tricks to make planning for WTW easier. It can be a lot of work.
Thank you very much for your feedback. It means a lot!
Thank you, Lacy! Planning for WTW can be quite a chore, but once you have a good system in place, it can be a breeze! I'm happy to share what I have learned along the way. Thank you for taking the time to comment! :)