Use Word Study to Teach Reading

I have a confession to make – I’m a total word nerd. I just love digging into the intricacies of language.

Now, when I say I love spelling generalizations, I don’t mean those strict “rules” that we all know can be broken in English. I’m talking about understanding why certain letters tend to show up in certain places. You see, even though spelling rules can be flexible, teaching them can really benefit students and help them excel in spelling.

Let me give you an example:

When you see “tch” at the end of a word, it usually comes after a short vowel sound.

This helps explain words like:

CATCH (end of word, after 1 short vowel)

TEACH (end of word, after 2 short vowels)

When students grasp these basic spelling generalizations, they’re much more likely to succeed in spelling. And here’s a cool fact: about 80% of English words actually follow these spelling rules!

But it’s not just spelling that gets better with a strong foundation – reading skills improve too.

How? Well, when students can decode words automatically, they spend less time struggling over the text. And less time processing words means better comprehension skills.

This week, my second-grade students have been diving into the sounds of soft C and hard C, as well as soft G and hard G. They love being able to explain the “Soft C or G” sound when they see the letters E, I, or Y next to it. It makes sense to them, and it’s easy to remember.

Here’s a peek at the word sort we used this week:

Have FUN with word study and phonics! Kids will learn so much more if it is fun… and they won’t even realize they are learning. That is one of my goals EVERY DAY.

If you are looking for technology resources, be sure to check out my digital resources (Google Slides) for Google Drive and Google Classroom.

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