Transcript Word Study for Intermediate Readers and Writers: The

Word Study for Intermediate
Readers and Writers: The
Syllables and Affixes Stage
Chapter 7
The stages of word knowledge through which
most students will move during the intermediate
and middle grade years are termed syllables and
affixes.
In this stage you will learn how teachers can
establish a firm foundation in spelling and in
vocabulary development as they facilitate students
as they move into understanding the role of
structure and meaning in the spelling system.
Literacy Development of
Students
 The intermediate stage is a time of expanding reading
interests and fine-tuning reading strategies.
 Major features of study:
· How consonant and vowel patterns are represented in
polysyllabic words
· What occurs when syllables join together (syllable
juncture)
· How stress or lack of stress determines the clarity of the
sounds in syllables
· How simple affixes (prefixes and suffixes) change the
usage, meaning, and spelling of words.
``So the focus shifts to two-syllable words and the
conventions that govern spelling where syllables
meet, or their syllable juncture.
One of your most important responsibilities for word
study instruction at this stage is to engage students
in examining how important word elements- prefixes,
suffixes, and base words-combine; this structural
analysis is a powerful tool for vocabulary
development, spelling, and figuring out unfamiliar
words during reading.
You can show students directly how to apply this knowledge by modeling the
following strategy for analyzing unfamiliar words in their reading that they cannot
identify.
1.
Examine the word for meaningful parts- base word, prefixes, or suffixes.
- If there is a prefix, take it off first
- If there is a suffix take it off second
- Look at the base to see if you know it or if you can think of a related word
- Reassemble the word thinking about the meaning contributed by the base
the suffix and then the prefix. This should help you to figure out what the
word is
2.
Try out the meaning in the sentence; check if it makes sense in the context
of the sentence and the larger context of the text that is being read.
3.
If the word still does not make sense and is critical to the meaning of the
overall passage look it up in a dictionary.
4.
Record the new word in your word study notebook
Orthographic Development
``Students will use larger chunks to decode, spell, and store words in
memory.
The word studies in this stage will help students learn where syllable and
morphemic breaks come in words so that they can use the appropriate chunks to
quickly and accurately read, spell, and determine the meaning of polysyllabic
words.
The range of reading skill within this stage makes it imperative to revisit many or
the orthographic concepts underlying syllables and affixes in light of more complex
reading vocabulary of the upper elementary and middle school years.
Some of the areas that would need to be looked at again would be:
· Compound words
· Base words and inflectional endings/suffixes
· Open/closed syllables and syllable patterns, such as CVC words and CV words
· Vowel patterns (ambiguous vowels)
· Accent or Stress words
· Base words and derivational affixes
· Further exploration of consonants
Word Study Instruction
``Word study at the intermediate level should demonstrate to students how their word
knowledge can be applied to advance their spelling knowledge, their vocabulary, and
their strategies for figuring out unknown words in reading.
At the intermediate and middle grades, the following principles should guide instruction:
· Students should be actively involved in the exploration of words
· Students prior knowledge should be engaged
· Students should have many exposures to words in meaningful contexts, both in and out of
connected text.
· Students needs systematic instruct of structural elements and how these elements combine.
When exploring new vocabulary you should:
· Activate background knowledge
· Explain the concept and its relationship to other concepts
· Use graphic organizers, charts, and diagrams as needed
· Discuss examples and nonexamples.
Sequence and pacing is also an important part of this stage. Sequence touches on the important
patterns and features to consider, and is based on what students do developmentally.
Word Study for English Learners
For English learners in the syllables and affixes stage it is
especially important to make word study a language-learning
event. Words that are featured due to spelling isses must also
become vocabulary words, and should be used and analyzed in
conversational speech and connected text as a part of every
lesson.
``English learners will feel more at ease if you make
oral discussions about words part of your daily routine.
There will be many features in this stage that will present some
difficulty for English learners.
It is very important to use language arts along with the
curriculum to help English learners with this stage.
Word Study Routines and
Management
``Word study instruction takes place all day long in discussions,
small groups, large groups, but most students will need in depth
attention to the features in this stage.
Word Study Lesson Plans should:
1. Begin with demonstrations in small groups and discussion of the
generalizations revealed by the sort
2. Students sort their own words and check them
3. Oral and written reflections encourage students to clarify and summarizes
their understanding
4. Extension activities through the week will reinforce understanding
Word study Notebooks is an easy way to help students and teachers manage
the routines and organization of a word study. You may want to also develop
some additional word study activities that would go in the notebook that
students could work on during any down time between lessons. Some can be
new strategies while others can reinforce previous lessons.
Early Syllables and Affixes
What Students Do Correctly 
What students Use but Confuse
What Is Absent
CRALL for crawl
SHOPING for shopping
AMAZZING for amazing
BOTEL for bottle
KEPER or KEEPPER for keeper
Blends, digraphs, short vowels
Vowel patterns in one syllable
words
Complex consonant units in onesyllable words spell known sight
words correctly
Ambiguous vowels
Consonant doubling and e-drop
Syllable juncture: open and closed
syllable patterns
Few Things are completely missing
Occasional deletion of reduced
syllables: DIFFERENT for different
Doubled consonant of absorbed
prefixes
All of the above plus:
Doubling and e-drop with inflected
endings
Syllable juncture: open and closed
syllable patterns
Vowel patterns in accented
syllables
Unaccented final syllables
Doubled consonant of absorbed
prefixes
All of the above plus:
Vowel patterns in accented
syllables
Unaccented final syllables
Some suffixes and prefixes:
ATTENSION for attention,
PERTEND for pretend
Reduced vowel in unaccented
syllables
Doubled consonant of absorbed
prefixes
Middle Syllables and Affixes
SELLER for cellar
DAMIGE for damage
PERAIDING for parading
Late Syllables and Affixes
parading
cattle, cellar
CONFEDENT for confident