Word Sort Instructions

Dear Parents,

Your child will be bringing home a collection of spelling words weekly that have been introduced in class.  Each night of the week your child is expected to do a different activity to ensure that these words and the spelling principles they represent are mastered.  These activities have been modeled and practiced in school so your child can teach you how to do them.

Monday – Remind your child to sort the words into categories like the ones we did in school.  Your child should read the word aloud during this activity.  Ask your child to explain to you why the words are sorted in a particular way. — What does the sort reveal about spelling in general?  Ask your child to sort them a second time as fast as possible.

Tuesday – Do a blind sort with your child.  Lay down a word from each category as a header and then read the rest of the words aloud.  Your child must indicate where the word goes without seeing it.  Lay it down and let your child move it if he or she is wrong.  Repeat if your child makes more than one error.

Wednesday – Assist your child in doing a word hunt, looking for words in a book they have already read that have the same pattern, sound, or both.  Try to find two or three for each category.  Have your child write them in his or her word study notebook.

Thursday – Do a writing sort to prepare for the Friday test.  As you call out the words in a random order, you child should write them in categories.  Call out any words your child misspells a second or even a third time.

Thank you for your support.  Together we can help your child make valuable progress!