Carolyn Morin

Word Sorts

Outline

Definition of Word Sorts

Introduction

Types of word sorts

Summary

Reference

Definition of Word Sorts:

Word sorts have multiples uses. Word sorts can be useful for helping children spell words, helping children recognize words, make word analogies, becoming aware of the phonemic structure of words, learning about morphemic structures of words, and gaining meaning of words (vocabulary) (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, & Johnston, 1996). Word sorts are designed to help children examine, discriminate and categorize words according to spelling and sound patterns (Barnes, 1989). Word sorting will enable students to form hypotheses, concepts, and generalizations about the properties of written words, and it will help them link new words to the familiar ones they can already spell. When students are sorting words, they are engaged in the active process of searching, comparing, contrasting and analyzing. Word sorts help students organize what they know about words and to form generalization that they can then apply new words they encounter in their reading (Gillet & Kita, 1978).

Introduction:

Word sorting is such a powerful way to help students make sense of words. According to Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton & Johnston, emergent and beginning readers learn to pay attention to sounds at the beginning of words by sorting pictures. By the time they are transitional readers, students can benefit from sorting written words by vowel pattern. Later in middle school, students enhance their vocabulary by sorting words by syllables and affixes. In high school, students sort words by Greek and Latin stems and roots that share common meanings.

Word sorts are important at all levels, but it is critical to talk about the words as they sort them because the dialogue promotes understanding and the internalization of principles. Pinnell and Fountas state some basic guidelines for sorting words: words can be sorted by how they sound, how they look, and by connections between meaning units.

Types of word sorts:

There are varieties of word sorts to help teachers meet the needs of their students.

Sound Sorts

Picture Sorts

Pattern Sorts

No Peeking Sorts

Closed Sorts

Open Sorts

Summary:

Word sorting offers the best of both constructivists learning and teacher directed instruction. In the process of sorting, students have an opportunity to make their own discoveries and form their own generalizations about how the English spelling system works (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, & Johnston, 1996). The goal of word sorts is for the students to learn how to spell words, and to improve their word recognition speed. In order to accomplish this goal, we teach our students how to examine words to learn the regularities that exist in the spelling system. Sorts are designed to help students learn how and where to look at words.

Reference:

Barnes, G.W. (1989). Word sorting: The cultivation of rules for spelling in English. Reading Psychology,10, 293 – 307.

Bear, D.R., Invernizzi, M.A., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. (1996). Words they way: Word study for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Gillet, J.W., & Kita, M.J. (1979). Words, kids, and categories. The Reading Teacher, 32, 538-542.

Pinnell, G.S. & Fountas, I.C. (1998). Word matters: Teaching phonics and spelling in the Reading/Writing Classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann

External Links

word sort practice

multiple uses of a word study technique

Commentary by Kelly Murphy

You have given a lot of quality information on word sorts. However, I feel that it may benefit the reader to give a simple example of what a word sort is. It could go something like this. THE TEACHER PROVIDES THE STUDENTS WITH A SORTING MAT DIVIDED INTO SECTIONS. THESE SECTIONS INCLUDE HEADINGS SUCH AS -AN, -UN, AND -IN. THE STUDENT IS EXPECTED TO SORT WORDS (THAT ARE ON SLIPS OF PAPER) UNDER THE HEADING WHERE THE WORD BELONGS. As an experienced teacher and a grad student I have a full understanding of what a word sort is, but I'm not sure if an inexperience teacher or an undergrad student would get as much out of your paper as I did.

Last semester Dr. Barnes stressed that students should only sort words that they know how to read. This helps ensure that word sorting is an independent activity. It also helps the student learn spelling pattern.

I also wanted to share a webpage called Sort City.

I love that you included "Words Their Way" as part of your research. This is a greaet resource for word sorts and other spelling strategies.

Commentary by Paul Stewart

Carolyn, You have done a great job and I have a couple of suggestions to make your page better. I think you should add Tompkins. G.E. (2003) Literacy for the 21st century: teaching reading and writing in pre-kindergarten through grade 4. Upper Saddle River, NJ, Person Education, Inc., STUDENTS USE WORD SORTS TO EXPLORE, COMPARE, AND CONTRAST WORD FEATURES AS THEY SORT A PACK OF WORD CARDS. TEACHERS PREPARE WORD CARDS FOR STUDENTS TO SORT INTO TWO OR MORE CATEGORIES ACCORDING TO THEIR SPELLING PATTERN OR OTHER CRITERIA (BEAR ET AL., 2000). SOMETIMES TEACHERS TELL CHILDREN WHAT CATEGORIES TO USE; THIS IS A CLOSED SORT. AT OTHER TIMES, STUDENTS DETERMINE THE CATEGORIES THEMSELVES; THIS IS AN OPEN SORT. CHILDREN CAN SORT WORD CARDS ONTO A SHEET OF PAPER. Also, you could add CHILDREN EXAMINE WORDS AND THEIR MEANING, SOUND-SYMBOL CORRESPONDENCES, OR SPELLING PATTERNS BY USING WORD SORTS (MORRIS, 1982; SCHLAGAL & SCHLAGAL, 1992). CHILDREN SORT A GROUP OF WORDS (OR OBJECTS OR PICTURES) ACCORDING TO ONE OF THESE CHARACTERISTICS.

 CONCEPTUAL RELATIONSHIPS, SUCH AS WORDS RELATED TO ONE OF SEVERAL CHARACTERS IN A STORY OR WORDS RELATED TO INNER OR OUTER PLANETS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

 RHYMING WORDS, SUCH AS WORDS THAT RHYME WITH BALL, HIT, OR FLAKE.

 CONSONANT SOUNDS, SUCH AS PICTURES AND OBJECTS OF WORDS BEGINNING WITH R OR L.

 NUMBER OF SYLLABLES, SUCH AS PIG, HAPPY, AFTERNOON, AND TELEVSION.

 SYLLABLE DIVISION RULES, USING WORDS SUCH AS MAG-NET, CAN-DLE, TI-GER, STOR-Y, AND PO-ET.

Bear, D.R., Invernizzi, M.A., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. (2000). Words they way: Word study for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Morris, D. (1982). “Word sort”: A categorization strategy for improving word recognition. Reading Psychology, 3, 247-259.

Schlagal, R C., &Schlagal, J. H. (1992). The integral character of spelling: Teaching strategies for multiple purposes. Language Arts, 69, 418-424.

Commentary by Raiza

Carolyn you did a great job with this wiki. I especially like the way you emphasized that word sorts could be used at all grade levels for all of the spelling stages. The only thing I think you could add is some examples of word sorts. You could add an example of a word sort for each of the stages of spelling.