Words Their Way: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction

by Donald R. Bear, Marcia A. Invernizzi, Houghton Mifflin Company

Words Their Way: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction, Third Edition, a phenomenon in word study, provides a practical way to study words with students. Based on the research on invented and developmental spelling, the framework of this text is keyed to the five stages of spelling or orthographic development. Ordered in this developmental format, Words Their Way complements the use of any existing phonics, spelling, and vocabulary curricula.

Genres: Education, Teaching, Professional Development, Nonfiction, Textbooks, School, Language

415 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Debbie W.]

I began using this program during my last year of teaching before retiring and wished I had more time with it! This multi-grade program provides step-by-step instructions for initial testing of common spelling patterns, assessing individual spelling abilities, to the use of various strategies in order to help students learn spelling rules of common English words. I could set up a successful word study/spelling program to meet each student's individual needs!
Highly recommend!

[Heather]

I've used this every year for at least 12 years now. I learned about it in my graduate courses and haven't looked back. Donald Bear is one of my go-to authors.

[Jess Standiford]

I read this book for a literacy class in college. My professor told me, if there was any book I wasn't going to sell back or throw away, it should be this one. She was right. This book has everything you need to know about word study and the resources to help you teach it. This book not only tells you the reasoning and logic behind teaching word study, it tells you what to teach and how to teach it. All of the word sorts I use in my classroom come from this book and other Words Their Way resources. I gave the book a 4 out of 5 because it isn't the most entertaining or interesting read, but it is an essential tool for an early childhood classroom. I am definitely glad I kept it.

[J.R. Fitzgerald]

Anyone studying to be an elementary teacher, this book can help you target your the audience (the children).

I read this book in college as I was studying and learning how to help children better read in schools across America. I praise all teachers for what they do everyday.

I still study at the University level; overall, great book for future teachers in specific or any parent that homeschools their child and wants to teach them the fundamentals of phonics. . . .

I hope this helps. . . .

J.R. Fitzgerald

[Adam Geisler]

The Words Their Way system itself is acceptable, but this book is not very practical for ease-of-use. As I understand it, the other books in the series that are broken down by the different levels are a bit more pragmatic. It's also worth noting that access to the website is limited after the first year of activation. I have basically made my own binder of word sets and activities over the years, that follow the program, but did require a lot of legwork.

[Alyssa]

For a teaching textbook, it really is pretty good. I am quite an opinionated teacher, and even I agreed with most of what was said.

I would recommend this read to anyone who teaches. Too bad it is published by Pearson, the devil company.

[Sarah]

Changed my view of spelling and how to actually teach it! I had 6th grade students cheering that they were getting 100% on spelling tests for the first time ever! Love the theory behind this. Goes well with the Science of Reading.

[Michelle Flores]

This was a book required for a class, but again, I was able to find useful strategies and activities that could be adapted for my students at the high school level.

[Nicole]

A bit overwhelming at first, but once you wrap your head around the program as a whole...it's pretty much awesome.

[Gabie (OwlEyesReviews)]

I definitely want to implement something like this in my classroom in the future.

[Shanna Mae]

This is the first book I suggest to families starting to homeschool, no matter what ages

[Loraine Lawson]

Great resource - if I ever have time to make all the lessons, I'll use it.

[Kellen Blankenship]

I've just cracked open the book, so my rating is subject to change, but I do really enjoy it. It's a wealth of information and full of resources that I will no doubt be using as a teacher. It gives helpful information such as key terms, what research shows works, and extremely detailed walk throughs on how to carry out assessments or programs. I really liked how it treats the subject realistically - for example - when talking about introducing spelling groups, it knows that teachers might be hesitant to start the big undertaking. It gives a great timeline and walkthrough of how it could easily be implemented so that it is manageable by the teacher and the students. It's detailed, easy to read, and extremely helpful. Chock full of resources as well. So far I can't complain about the book.

[Elizabeth Beyersdorfer]

Words Their Way has helped me to understand the importance of word study and why it needs to be done in the classroom. However, what I love about this book is it not only tells you why you need to do it but also how. It explaining how to find the students instructional level but then what is specifically needed for that child. I will use this book to do a spelling inventory with my students then to find activities that fit my students needs during center time and small group. This can also be a great resource to help find activities children can do at home for more practice with parents and by themselves. I really like these activities because they are interactive and mostly really fun games for students to play.

[J-Lynn Van Pelt]

This is a fantastic resource and I recommend that all teachers read it. The book discusses literacy instruction and how to specifically implement a phonics and spelling "program" for readers at all levels.

The five stages of spelling development--emergent level, letter-name, within-word pattern, syllables and affixes, and derivational relations--follow learners from pre-kindergarten to college. Words their Way advocates instruction at the students' reading level with a hands-on, active approach that involves higher level thinking and plenty of games.

Plus, this new version comes with an interactive DVD!

[Heather]

Before coming to the conclusion that I am not wired for working with large groups of small children, I briefly entertained the idea that I might want to become a special ed teacher. I entered a graduate program that offered a dual MS in Literacy and Special Ed, and of the hundreds of dollars I spent on books, this was by far the most useful. Although I sold most of my textbooks after my stealthy departure from the program, I did keep this one: I find it very useful when tutoring adult students who are learning to read.

[Dawn]

Loved the pedagogy in this text and I'm excitedly beginning to implement the program in my classroom this year. The inventory assessment was enlightening and I used the resources on the DVD to score it and begin getting materials ready for my groups. I am also using the spin-off books with the word sorts ready for the two stages I'm working with (within word spellers & suffixes/affixes) with my kiddos.

[Mr. Southmayd]

I love the strategies given throughout this book, but the text drags on and on and contains a lot of information that could have been left out. It is assumed that the reader already has basic experience and knowledge of the classroom structure so be prepared to feel unprepared at times while reading. Overall this book is extremely helpful but I would only recommend purchasing if you can find it at a discounted price.

[NICOLE]

Words Their Way is an excellent resource for teachers. It allows teachers to use a word list assessment to plan for instruction for students. The online PDtoolkit gives resources to help create and plan word study instruction and games. There are also online tutorials to help any teacher get started! This text tells you what to teach and how to teach it depending on the students individual level. What a great resource to individualize instruction for all students.

[Sierra Charlesworth]

see more here: http://www.sierrasview.com/2016/04/bo...

I am thinking of changing my spelling for my sixth graders and this is something that I am debating on doing with my students. After reading this book, I may be convinced. It is so much work, but it is the perfect differentiation for students of all levels. And since I have so many levels (from 3rd to 10th grade reading) in sixth grade, this may be exactly what I need to do.

[Hillary]

This books has the Bear Spelling Inventoy which is a useful diagnostic tool. It also has fun activities. I currently have been using the 'Jeep In a Sheep' book and game to teach within word vowel patterns (it could be adapted to include more than 'ee' and 'ea'). My student loves to play this. And I love watching my student have fun while learning phonics.

[Stacey]

I wish someone would have taught me to spell using this method. I think I've personally become a better speller just because I've started teaching my students with this method. This book has so many great reasources for creating inviting and useful spelling activities to enhance the word study proccess.

[Renee]

Raise your hand if you learned spelling like this Day 1 the whole class gets a pretest of 24 unrelated words Day 3 hand in homework of writing 24 sentences Day 5 test on the words. This was boring and not useful - Words their Way is Word Study and looks at the relationships between consonant/vowel chunks. More useful and fun!

[Cordellya Smith]

This is an excellent book for teachers who work to plan and implement instruction on reading and writing. It helps you learn to identify the areas a specific reader needs to improve on and actually create lessons that build those skills while engaging the student. This is the best book I have read for teachers of reading and writing.

[Ann Yanchura]

This resource might be considered very helpful if you DON'T own the original Words Their Way book. If you do, most of this one is redundant. That's not to denigrate the program in any way - it's a lifesaver for many struggling readers and writers. However, this edition is not needed if you have the original.

[Stacy]

This is an excellent spelling and reading program. I used it my first year teaching and we sort of struggled our way through it. After reading it again I definitely have a clearer view of the program and the procedures.

[Shannon]

This is a great resource book for teachers of all grade levels. It demonstrates how to conduct "word study" lessons, rather than spellng lessons, at developmentally appropriate levels. It has given me many many great ideas for the upcoming schoolyear!

[Michelle]

If you are a teacher you have this book or have heard of this book. It is worth the read or to purchase just for reference. It has great ideas. The Bear Inventory is a useful tool and can give you an idea of where your children need to start with phonics instruction.

[Jess]

This book focuses on word study for phonics, vocab and spelling. It's a very specific book, so if you need help doing ELA stuff, this will give you some ideas how to incorporate word study to help your students.

[Meg]

This book is great resource for assessing spelling (and consequently reading) and figuring out what is the next step for your students. The book includes a multitude of strategies to help your students progress to the next developmental level.