Elizabeth Brito Dr.

Sullivan Word Study Minilesson Response 10/15/13 Materials - Derivational Suffixes Sort 5 (-y, -ly, -ily - Wooden sticks with one root word written on each stick (one set per two people) - Wooden sticks with one suffix written on each stick (one set per two people) - Paper Cup (two per set of words created) Response: The first step I had to take in order to plan this lesson was to discuss with my cooperating teacher when would be a good time to implement a word study lesson since it is not taught in the classroom (students complete assignments about their words at home and take a quick test in school). We agreed that Monday during immersion week would be the best day for me to teach since it is when students receive their new word lists for the week. My cooperating teacher and I decided that I would introduce students to the derivational suffixes sort on y, -ly, and ily. The students and I worked at a small table in the back of the classroom. We discussed that a suffix is a letter or group of letters that you add to the end of a root word (a word that stands on its own). After the students had a grasp on what a suffix is, we discussed when different suffixes are used. I had the students recall what nouns, adjectives, and adverbs are. Then, we talked about how a y is attached to a noun, turning it into an adjective; and, -ly and ily are attached to adjectives and turn them into adverbs. After looking over their word sort, students had one pressing question: Why does it say merrily? I thought the word is merry. I quickly discussed how some root words can be attached to a few different suffixes. In order to help understand the difference between merry and merrily, I gave them a more common synonym to work with: happy. The

Elizabeth Brito Dr. Sullivan Word Study Minilesson Response 10/15/13 students and I had a brief discussion about when you would use the word happy and when you would use happily, then applied that information to merry and merrily and discussed how other root words could have a similar situation. They looked at their word sorts and concluded that ready and readily work the same way. After having a basic understanding of the suffixes used in their sort this week, students were introduced to a small activity. Students were given a partner and a set of root words and suffixes from their word sort written on wooden sticks and placed in cups. Student 1 would select a root word and a suffix, if the root word and the suffix matched; the student got to keep the root word. If the pair did not match, the student had to return them to their respective cups. Student 2 would then do the same. The student with the most correct matches would be the winner when there are no words left. Students were very excited to be doing a word study activity that was different from the usual sort the words, write the words five times, and the three they choose to do from the list of five options. One student was on a roll and exclaimed, Wow! This is fun! and another pumped his fist and said, I got all the lys. Many of the students were also creating their own version of the game that could work for larger groups or as an activity for an individual. Next time I would allow more time for the lesson so students could explore their word sort words in more depth. The students were fascinated by the ability for certain root words to attach to various suffixes. I would have liked for them to be able to explore that more and not be rushed along. Additionally, I would provide students with a set of the game to play with at home in order to provide reinforcement.

Elizabeth Brito Dr. Sullivan Word Study Minilesson Response 10/15/13 In order to plan for word study in my classroom, I first need to assess my students in order to gauge their level. Depending on the program that the school I am in uses, I would consider using the assessment program provided by Words Their Way. This manner allows students to be assessed by the program they will be utilizing throughout the school year, helping with consistency. Based on these assessments, I would like to try and keep my class to four groups if possible. Not only does this make word study easier to manage, it allows the students to participate in a wider variety of activities with a larger group of their peers. At the conclusion of the study of each word sort I would need to assess students on the spelling of the word and the feature stressed that week. One method of assessing this is to give students a paper with their word study categories and have them write the word in the proper category. The student would receive points for proper spelling and for placing the word in the proper category, I would try to schedule at least twenty minutes of word study per day (more time if writers workshop is included) in my classroom. Depending on the day and the stage of the student, this time would be spend doing read alouds, having the students read a book of their choosing, collecting dictations, writing (modeling, labeling, writers workshop, etc.), and completing appropriate word study activities in their notebook (such as sorting). Materials for this block of time would include, but are not limited to, the appropriate word sort words, glue and scissors, word study/writers workshop notebook, reading book, and various games (and any materials that specific games require). Overall, the minilesson went well. It fit within the allotted time and the students had fun while learning their new sort. The only changes that I would make to the lesson are

Elizabeth Brito Dr. Sullivan Word Study Minilesson Response 10/15/13 minor and allow for students to further their exploration of suffixes. Since this activity can be modified to work with prefixes or other suffixes, it is a great way to change-up the word study routine when students are working with prefixes or suffixes.