Welcome to Words Their Way Week!
One thing that has bothered me about gluing down the sorts (after numerous sorts) was that they basically got recycled once the paper got home. Sure, we all love a good cut & paste, but the students have seen these sorts many times and it's certainly not a "culmination" activity that shows their learning. This year, I'm trying something different.... Working With Words Books!
Instead of gluing the completed sorts to paper, we are keeping them all in one book. This will serve as another support tool for their writing, just like one of those little paper dictionaries that I've seen in stores (My Favorite Words, etc.).
I LOVE composition books. I don't know why, exactly, but it's probably the durability and cute marbled covers.
After all of the different sorting activities, I have the students create columns in their books. Groups may or may not need the same amount. This week I had 3 out of the 4 groups needing three columns. I just try to pay attention so I can remind them. Once they have the columns, they add on the spelling/ sort "rule" headers.
From there, the students continue adding the pictures/ words to the columns, properly sorted.
Tips:
- Take time to show students how much room to leave for the columns.
- One thing you may notice from the photos today is that the students have their pieces safely in their bags. This was COMPLETELY intentional. When they are working at tables (opposed to the floor for sorting), they run the risk of infringing on another person's work area... mixing up the sort pieces.
- Use glue sticks- it dries faster. You will also want to remind them not to put the glue on the notebook, but rather the small piece. Nothing is worse than a long line of glue with 3 pieces attached.
- If the pages are too glue-y, leave it open for an extra 5 minutes before putting the books away.
- put composition books on wish lists or on back to school supply lists. I have also bought them at Target when they are trying to clear out the fall selection and are on sale.
Come back tomorrow for more tips and tricks for words study!
