Making Words
If I had to pick one multi-level strategy that builds my students’ decoding and spelling fluency activity to do weekly, I’d pick “Making Words” the Pat Cunningham strategy. I first started using this strategy with my 1st and 2nd graders in 1994. I have adapted Cunningham’s versions just a tad to include explicit practice in phonemic awareness. This strategy is a great cumulative review of the systematic sequence of learning letter sounds and patterns. It really helps struggling students, especially those who may be at risk for dyslexia, to see the impact of the vowel placement within a syllable or a word. The tactile nature and higher order thinking that is required helps the decoding and spelling knowledge to stick.
Here are the steps for my version of Making Words:
- Give the students the letters for the mystery word.
- Start with 2 or 3 letter words to make.
- Say the target word.
- Have the students repeat the word.
- Have the students tell you the sounds they hear in the word. Use your fingers or other manipulative to count the sounds as you say them. For example, the word “at” has two sounds: /a/ /t/.
- Have the students use the letters (letter tiles) to make the target word.
- Write the word on the recording sheet.
- Repeat steps above until 7-12 words are made. You will build up to the “mystery” word.
- After all words are made and recorded, have the students cut out the word cards from the making words form.
- Students will then do an open sort of all the words made. Students can put words into any category that they can explain.
- If students did not sort by patterns, direct students to do a closed sort. In this sort, they need to sort words based on a common feature or pattern.
- After words are sorted, have students transfer the feature or pattern knowledge to other words that contain these features or patterns. For example, if you have a group of words with the pattern “at” you can have them add additional words that have the “at” pattern. The idea is that if you know the words at, cat, rat, then you will know chat, that, flat.
This activity requires students to apply knowledge, analyze patterns or features in words, and synthesize the pattern to new words.
Happy teaching,
Kelly Harmon