Here is where you will find resources for teaching students about spelling, word features, vocabulary, and grammar.

Best Practices in Spelling Heather Rader In my work with teachers, I've heard everything from "I do the Monday pre-test and the Friday spelling test. It worked for me and it's what kids today need," to "I don't teach spelling at all because I don't want it to inhibit children's ideas." Yet both groups of teachers will lament, "Their spelling in writing is atrocious!" Why would such a difference in instructional approaches yield the same results? And, more importantly, what does work? . . . more Linking Morning Message, Poetry, and Word Learning (VIDEO) Linda Karamatic links the morning message with poetry and word learning in her second-grade classroom. . . . more Goldilocks and the 3 Writers: Targeting Common Spelling Needs (VIDEO) Katie DiCesare In this video of a first-grade guided writing group, Katie DiCesare works with three girls on spelling issues that have emerged in their writing. By grouping the students together, she is able to use her time well in addressing common needs among students. . . . more Spelling Rules -- Or Does It? Heather Rader I am a spelling nerd. How nerdy? When I hear a word I don't know, I ask someone, "Can you spell that for me?" Then I air-write it or copy it down in the notebook I keep in my purse. Yep, even at parti . . . more 6th Grade Word Sort In this six-minute video, Pam Pogson leads an open word sort with her sixth-grade students. As you watch the video, you can see how experienced students are with word sorts, as well as recording their findings in their word study notebooks. . . . more Building Vocabulary in the Intermediate Grades (CLUSTER) This cluster is designed to help teachers integrate more vocabulary building activities into the intermediate grades. . . . more Using Picture Books to Spice Up Vocabulary Instruction (BOOKLIST) Franki Sibberson Vocabulary instruction has always been a challenge for me. I believe strongly that students need to learn vocabulary in context, but I have realized recently that there are concepts related to vocabulary learning that are bigger than meanings of individual words. This awareness of word concepts is crucial for building the skills necessary for students to learn words when they are reading independently. . . . more Community Language Board: Building Vocabulary All Year Long (VIDEO) The Sisters (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) The Community Language Board is where the class shares interesting new words from read alouds, sight words, and alternatives to common words in writing. In this video tour, "The Sisters" (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) talk about how the board changes and evolves over the year, building a sense of community and shared literacy. . . . more 6th Grade Lesson - Editing for Conventions (VIDEO) In this lesson with her sixth graders, Pam Pogson talks about a goal many students have mentioned during writing conferences - editing for conventions. This brief lesson gives everyone a chance to brainstorm common errors and fixes. . . . more Noticing Interesting Words: Small-Group Vocabulary Lesson (VIDEO) The Sisters (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) In this five-minute video, Gail Boushey (of "The Sisters") leads a short small-group lesson on vocabulary. In the debrief following the lesson, Gail talks with Joan Moser about vocabulary instruction, and the importance of fostering independence in students when it comes to noticing and learning new words. . . . more Free Rice: Tools for Web-Based Vocabulary Learning Mary Lee Hahn This is not a trick question: When is a multiple choice vocabulary test fun and motivating? The answer: A multiple choice vocabulary test is fun when it is a game on the computer that gives you harder words when you get one right and easier words when you miss one. It is a game that donates rice to the world's hungry every time you get a definition right. It's called Free Rice, and if you haven't played yet, go now and give it a try. We'll talk about classroom applications when you get back. . . . more Getting Started with Sentence Observations Karen Terlecky If you watched the recent video clip posted on Choice Literacy of a sentence observation in my classroom, you may have noted the sophisticated language and discussion strategies of the students. My students did not start the year with nearly that level of complexity in their language and attention to detail Getting to that point has been a year-long work in progress. In this article, I'll chronicle how we reached the point by mid-winter where students are comfortable and adept at analyzing the structure, vocabulary, and writer's craft in model sentences. . . . more 6th Grade Word Sort In this six-minute video, Pam Pogson leads an open word sort with her sixth-grade students. As you watch the video, you can see how experienced students are with word sorts, and recording their findings in their word study notebooks. . . . more Assessing Spelling in Writing Workshops Part 1: Thinking through the Assessment Katie DiCesare My mind has been circling the issue of spelling and word study this year. Specifically, I wonder how I can look at my students' writing to help me further their learning of words? How can I assess what high frequency words they are spelling correctly? How can I monitor where to go next with looking at word parts and sounds in words? After lugging home 22 bright red and overflowing writing workshop folders with two months' worth of student writing in them over holiday break, the folders just sat in a pile. Instead of diving in their stories, I knew I needed to have some organizational tool that could help me record and look back at individual spelling successes and confusions. . . . more Writers' Words, Drops by Dottle: An Excerpt from Spunk and Bite Arthur Plotnik Many a writer has resolved to master the dictionary A to Z, or bulk up the brain with vocabulary-building tomes. But such enterprises tend to fizzle, which for readers may not be a bad thing; an inundation of new words can create a garden of monstrous locutions. Eyedropper enrichment--say, at the rate of about seven new words a week--allows one to savor and test each word, to integrate it into one's style before sounding like Buckley-meets-Pynchon on Miracle-Gro. . . . more "Grammar is a Tool That Evolves in Our Hands": An Interview with Arthur Plotnik My bookshelves groan with texts on the writing process, and many of them gather dust for years. Arthur Plotnik's guides are among the handful I reach for repeatedly for their insight, good humor, and inspiration. They wear so well over time. . . . more Reflecting on the First Six Weeks of Word Study Franki Sibberson Going into word study with a different plan is always a little scary. With the first six weeks of school finished, it feels like it is time to see where we've been and what I've learned. This year, I am working hard to make sure that my word study work makes a difference. Rather than going through the motions of studying patterns, sorting words, etc. I am making sure that every lesson connects in some way to students' reading and writing. And I want them to know that too. . . . more Rethinking Word Study: The Sentence Study Routine Franki Sibberson As I continue to think about expanding my word study program to include a broader perspective of how we use words--beyond just spelling--I've realized I've never taken it a step further to think about how authors craft sentences or phrases. We have looked at some things closely---ways that metaphors help us understand what the author is trying to convey, or how strong verbs help us visualize what is happening. But, we have not really dug in to see how authors craft these amazing sentences as a daily part of our work as writers. . . . more August 18, 2007 Grammar Without Wincing I have a confession - many of the books written about grammar and mechanics make me feel like a dope. I've read most of them, but I can never tell if I am laughing with the authors, or I'm being laughed at by them. There is a superior tone in too many of these books, a sense that people who misplace their possessive pronouns are not only ignorant, but stupid. . . . more Teaching About Words, Grammar, and Mechanics Through Children's Literature (BOOKLIST) Franki Sibberson When I think about my students as word learners, I want them to be more than just good spellers. I think that this year, many of my daily word study lessons will focus on grammar and mechanics. The challenge for me is fitting grammar and mechanics into my fifteen minute word study block. What better way to do this than to look at how authors put words together in their writing? After all, grammar and mechanics are all about how words work together. . . . more Word Study is More Than Spelling Franki Sibberson For so many years, I have struggled with word study in my classroom. The vision I have had for how kids think about words has never matched what actually happens in the classroom. I know that embedded word learning can't really happen without a solid Reading and Writing Workshop in place. For children to see the power of words, it is critical that they have time each day to read and write. So, this workshop time is one of the most important structures that supports word learning. Lots of books and tools for writing are critical if kids are to use words in authentic ways. But, a Reading and Writing Workshop without a plan for embedded word study is not enough. . . . more Community Language Board: Building Vocabulary All Year Long (VIDEO) The Sisters (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) The Community Language Board is where the class shares interesting new words from read alouds, sight words, and alternatives to common words in writing. In this video tour, "The Sisters" (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) talk about how the board changes and evolves over the year, building a sense of community and shared literacy. . . . more Noticing Interesting Words: Small-Group Vocabulary Lesson (VIDEO) The Sisters (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) In this five-minute video, Gail Boushey (of "The Sisters") leads a short small-group lesson on vocabulary. In the debrief following the lesson, Gail talks with Joan Moser about vocabulary instruction, and the importance of fostering independence in students when it comes to noticing and learning new words. . . . more Whole-Class Vocabulary Lesson, Grades K-2 (VIDEO) In this five-minute video, Joan Moser of "The Sisters" teaches a whole-class vocabulary lesson. The focus is on helping students notice interesting words, and make connections between daily read-alouds and word learning. After the lesson, Joan and Gail talk about the place of vocabulary instruction in their literacy workshops. . . . more March 31, 2007 In Praise of Words In the most famous vocabulary lesson of all time, Helen Keller learned that water could be symbolized by letters gestured into her hand. She wrote of the experience in her autobiography. . . . more Noticing Words to Expand Vocabulary: Conferring with Mariah (VIDEO) The Sisters (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) In this conference with six-year-old Mariah, Joan Moser of "The Sisters" has chosen to focus on expanding vocabulary. Joan uses the charts in the classroom linked to read-alouds to anchor Mariah's learning to shared reading experiences. After the conference Joan talks with Gail Boushey about strategies for vocabulary instruction with young children. . . . more