Anyone have experience with Words Their Way?

[3Blessings]

My son spent this school year at a private school (we live outside the U.S.). His class worked with a program for spelling called Words Their Way. It worked like this: He brought home a list of words, he sorted them by whatever rule was given (example: long a and short a). Then he would write them in a notebook. Tuesday he wrote sentences with the word in it, Wednesday he would do a blind sort with 10 words (I would give him the word and he would put it in the correct list), and then Thursday sort again. Friday was the test.

 

Anyone seen this before? I like the idea and I wonder if I could make it work at home for us. Anyone know this program or use it?

[Hunter]

I've been doing a lot of study of this curriculum this week. Spellcity has the 2nd edition workbook page lists already typed up.

 

http://www.spellingcity.com/rnorman/

 

There are pdfs or the 1st edition workbooks hanging around online.

 

The word sort idea looks good and could be adapted to many other curriculums.

[peacefully]

Ds loves Words Their Way. I don't implement the full WTW program, because I love AAS, but I have adapted WTW activities with ds since he was 5 and doing beginning phonics. It is an excellent set of activities to reinforce phonics and spelling instruction.

[Hunter]

http://yung.wikispaces.com/Words+Their+Way

 

http://www.jiyiyou.com/gb/word%20their%20way.html

[eight_gregorys]

I'm using Words Their Way with All About Spelling and it is really helping my son who has difficulties in spelling. I have the main book and the companion books as well. The companion books make it much easier to implement.

[3Blessings]

What are the companion books? I know they have notebooks- is that the same thing?

[peacefully]

.

[NotSoObvious]

I taught it in first grade for 5 years and, because my girls went to school with me, they had it for three years.

If you reallllly do the whole program, it CAN work really well. But, just like any spelling program, it's not for all kids. It worked really well for my daughter who is a visual learner. It did not work AT ALL for my other daughter who needs lots of word building and writing practice.

 

If you are using it as a supplement to a rule based program like AAS, I think it would be fine. Perhaps unnecessary, depending on the kid, but fine. If nothing else, it will improve their reading skills.

 

FYI when it gets into the third and fourth book, it begins to include a lot of words the kids don't know and can end up being very confusing. I know the 5th grade teachers at our school hated it because the kids who did well in the program were learning to spell words they didn't understand and would rarely ever use. Also, there is something funky with the sorting when it gets that high, but I can't remember what. They just hated it.

[Murmer]

I LOVE Word Their Way...I have already purchased the first book for my PreK dd. I think the ideas in it are great...that said I feel it is more of a phonics/spelling program and needs to be used in conjunction with phonics reading instruction and spelling instruction. I think it really helps kids visual words within the rules and start to see how the rules work outside of reading.