Did you know research-based word study is not just about spelling? Did you know word study is not just for primary grades? ​Are you prepared to use word study to transform your students' reading level growth and reading comprehension growth using daily spiral review? Word study can do that! In this post, I'm going to share with you the most current research-based word study word practices and strategies. You will see research evidence for: Word study impacts reading and writing. A simple 4-step process for teaching word knowledge. Word study is needed for older readers in middle school. How spiralwarmups.com can simplify word study instruction for you.

You will discover that students who participate in daily spiraling word study increase their reading levels faster than students who are exposed only to comprehension instruction. And there's research to support this...plenty of it.

What is Research-Base Word Study? The research on effective word study provides a solid basis for what to teach and how to teach it. While instruction in basic phonics (consonants, vowels, silent e) is important in primary grades, advanced phonics (i.e. cluster, patterns in multi-syllabic words) can also create fluent readers in upper grades (Blevins, 2011)

Word study promotes stronger writers in elementary and middle school (Rabideau, 2016).

The recent focus on test scores has created a neglect in teaching foundational literacy skills such as word study, and the problem compounds for struggling readers in secondary schools (Harris, 2007).

Can Small Group Instruction be Used for Word Study? Of course it can. In a recent research article (2016, Ganske), small group word study allowed teachers "to engage students in thinking, talking, advancing vocabulary knowledge, and make connections to reading and writing while furthering students' knowledge of orthographic features." Small group instruction is a great place for students to survey words, analyze, interpret, and link. These four research based strategies are easy to use: Survey - let students explore words, attempt to read challenging words

Analyze - students discover patterns and sort words based on those patterns

Interpret - students compare & contrast words in the sorted categories

Link - students apply word meanings and spelling skills in new contexts ​ Can Word Study Help Middle School Students? Bloodgood and Pacifici (2004) discovered middle school teachers hold fears and misconceptions about the impact and purpose of word study in upper elementary and middle school. They found the following best practices: Word Sorts - students categorize words based on patters in spelling, letter sounds, or word meanings.

Root Words - Many advanced word meanings come from a surprisingly small amount of root words from other languages (i.e. Greek, Latin).

Academic Vocabulary - specifically teaching and allowing time for students to develop understanding of fundamental academic words that are used throughout different courses of study. Integrating 3 Areas of Research-Based Word Study Daily integration​ of word sorts, root words (i.e. Greek & Latin), and academic vocabulary is crucial for many reasons...at least according to research. Two of these reasons are: background knowledge and language comprehension. Background knowledge is one of the biggest factors in a student's academic success. Word study is one simple way to boost prior knowledge of a range of concepts. Language comprehension is essential in upper elementary and middle school. Many students struggle because of gaps in their listening and speaking comprehension skills. This is true for native English speakers as well as L2 English learners.​ These three areas of word study hold an important place in the middle school literacy curriculum. And they are a solid foundation of research-based word study.

Summary of Research-Based Word Study If you've read this far, it might be good for me to give you a recap of the research. Word knowledge such as phonics is beneficial to readers in primary grades (Blevins, 2011).

Advanced word knowledge such as affixes, root words, and decoding multi-syllabic words​ builds fluency for older, transitional readers (Blevins, 2011).

Word knowledge should be taught directly and systematically (Park & Lombardino, 2013).

Spiral review of previously learned content builds vocabulary and fluency skills (Wasowicz, 2010).

Upper elementary and struggling middle school readers will benefit from explicit teaching of word parts and syllabication (Park & Lombardino, 2013).

Sorting is a valuable teaching activity that builds work knowledge and higher-level thinking skills (Radke, 2011).

Learning spelling patterns (as opposed to words) transfer into valuable writing and reading skills (Conniff, et al, 2006)

transfer into valuable writing and reading skills (Conniff, et al, 2006) Bloodgood and Pacific (2004) revealed misconceptions about word study in the middle school. They showed transitional readers benefit from:

categorizing words based on spelling patterns



categorizing words based on advanced letter sounds



categorizing words based on word meanings



understanding Greek and Latin roots



explicit teaching of academic vocabulary



variety of practice with academic vocabulary

In Ganske's (2016) recent article, word study positively impacts:

thinking skills



speaking skills



vocabulary knowledge



spelling knowledge



connections between reading and writing Word Study Instruction is Simple to Do With all the different pressures on your classroom and planning time, why not make it simple to teach word knowledge to your elementary and middle school students? Here are 4 ways to make word study instruction simple to teach: Use flipped videos for homework and interactive practice in class. Use a spiraling sequence for explicitly teaching word study. Use direct instruction blended with auditory practice, oral language practice, and written practice. Make it memorable with visuals and rhythms.​ I know that might seem like a lot of preparation to do all of these best practices. They are easy to do. But... ...it is a lot of work preparing for word study!​ That's why we have done the work for in our spiral warm-ups. You can view the details for a free membership here. Word Knowledge can be Simple to Learn Here are 4 ways to make research-based word study instruction simple for students to learn: Explicit instruction is precise and bite-sized, so it's easy for students to understand.​ Systematic instruction allows lesson to build on the previous cumulative skills. Consistent, daily instruction maximizes student's memory, so re-learning opportunities occur frequently. Spiraling review boosts student retention and recall of skills. Without the right resources, it can be difficult to have the time to plan for great word study instruction.

Transform Word Study with the Right Resources Explicit. Systematic. Consistent. Spiraling. If your teaching resources do these four things, ​ you can focus on teaching and learning! If not, word study is difficult to plan and teach. Let's make it easy. Get the Word Study Membership for Free! [thrive_link color=’blue’ link=’https://spiralwarmups.com/memberships’ target=’_self’ size=’medium’ align=’aligncenter’]Memberships[/thrive_link]

I hope I've shared research based practices that can help your instruction. I'd like to also share our word study warm-ups with you. You can learn more about it by signing up here or down below! Here are a few features of our word study warm-ups that will help you teach word study and help students develop word knowledge with less stress and difficulty: Short video each day

Oral practice with the video

Written practice including word sorts and timed fluency

Time reading and fluency practice for decoding

Explicit teaching of consonant blends, vowel sounds, multiple syllable words, academic vocabulary, and more.

A systematic sequence of instruction

Differentiated levels for early readers all the way through 8th grade advanced readers​

SIGN UP TODAY & INCREASE GROWTH IN STUDENT READING!

Why not have a warm-up each day that follows these research-based strategies?

Why not use a sequence that's already spiraled and systematic?

Why reinvent the wheel?

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