Words Their Way Word Sorts for Syllables and Affixes Spellers (2e)

We believe that the hands-on word sorting approach to word study is invaluable to you and your students. These stage-specific companion volumes to Words Their Way: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction provide a complete curriculum of reproducible sorts and detailed directions for the teacher working with students in each stage of spelling development, from emergent through derivational relations.

This collection of word sorting activities is for students who are in the syllables and affixes stage of spelling development, typically intermediate or advanced readers and writers (Grades 3 to 8). These students are ready to study multi-syllabic words—beginning with consonant doubling, plural endings and moving through the study of basic prefixes and suffixes. The sorts in this collection present 24 words each week, selected according to their frequency of occurrence in reading materials and allowing students to discover spelling generalizations or to compare syllable juncture features and patterns.

• Overview
• SORTS 1—9
• Plurals and Other Inflected Endings 5
• SORTS 10—11
• Compound Words 29
• SORTS 12—16
• Syllable Juncture 35
• SORTS 17—28
• Vowel Patterns in Accented Syllables 47
• SORTS 29—35
• Unaccented Syllables 69
• SORTS 36—45
• Exploring Consonants 83
• SORTS 46—52
• Affixes 97
• SORTS 53—56
• Miscellaneous Sorts 111
• Appendix 119

• Literature Connections making links between features being studies and valuable children’s literature
• Targeted Learners sections that clarify which students will benefit most from the instruction
• Spell Checks and other Assessments available more frequently throughout
• High Frequency Words receive special attention 

Francine Johnston is Associate Professor in the School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she teaches reading, language arts, and children’s literature.  A former first-grade teacher and reading specialist.

Marcia Invernizzi is Director of the McGuffey Reading Center at the University of Virginia exploring developmental universals in non-English orthographies.  A former English and reading teacher, Marcia works with children experiencing difficulties learning to read and write in intervention programs such as Virginia’s Early Intervention Reading Initiative and Book Buddies

Donald Bear is director of the E. L. Cord Foundation Center for Learning and Literacy where he and preservice, Master’s and doctoral students teach and assess children who struggle to learn to read and write. Donald is a professor in the Department of Educational Specialties in the College of Education at the University of Nevada, Reno. Donald has been a classroom teacher and he researches and writes about literacy development and instruction. He is an author of numerous articles, book chapters, and books, including Words Their Way, Words Their Way with English Learners, and Vocabulary Their Way.

Shane Templetonis Foundation Professor of Literacy Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno.  A former classroom teacher at the primary and secondary levels, he researches the development of orthographic and vocabulary knowledge