Research Plan 3

Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan Kelly Kingsley TEAC 991 Action Research Plan May 2009/Revised June 30, 2009

1

Rationale

For the past 21 years, I have tried many different methods and strategies to teach spelling, from spelling basal programs, worksheets, tests and word activities, and always in the back of mind has been the thought, “There has got to be a better way to teach spelling.” I know that spelling is not only important on the Friday spelling test, but that it is important in all areas of the curriculum, so I want to implement strategies and instruction into the spelling program in my classroom to help my students become spellers throughout everything they write, not just on a spelling worksheet or test. Spelling has always interested me. I have always wondered why a student who can get 100% on each weekly spelling test couldn’t transfer that learning to their writing. What was missing in my instruction that wasn’t allowing that connection to be made? Plus, using the basal spelling program was just downright boring and thus unmotivating to say the least. If I am bored with the program, then I am sure my students are. Why am I teaching spelling in the first place? Should spelling be taught as a separate curriculum component, or should it be integrated in the content areas? How can doing workbook pages help children learn to spell words? Past Efforts I have experimented with individualized spelling lists, but they still contained a huge portion of basal lists. Each student was to pick 3-5 words they wanted to learn to spell, but those words really had no relation to the patterns we were learning, or words the kids needed for

Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan independent writing. So how do I identify words that my students should be learning? What words should I teach and how? How will students get contextualized practice with multiple opportunities? I know I will have above average to below average spellers in my classroom, so how do I serve each one in the best possible way? How do I incorporate words for all learners to use and learn to spell? How do I keep my students actively involved in learning to spell without turning them off of spelling altogether? I have played around with a word wall in my classroom, using it to show content vocabulary or third grade list words, but I never used the wall as a teaching tool. So how do I incorporate the word wall words into my spelling program? Question for Fall Therefore, my question for fall 2009 will be: Will the integration of spelling in reading and writing increase the spelling abilities of my third grade students? Literature Learning Research has shown me that children learn to spell in the same manner they learned to speak. Children need to take risks when learning to spell (Gentry, 1987). They need to experience invented spelling and not have the pressure of spelling correctly when they are writing. Children need to experience being wrong when spelling words, so that they are not afraid of writing, but are learning from it (Gentry, 1987). Students need to do purposeful writing to experience words and the teacher can guide them with instruction to help them learn strategies to use when they don’t know how to spell a word (Graham, Harris, & Chorzempa, 2002). Research has shown that there is a close relationship between spelling, reading, and writing, so spelling needs to be instructed throughout the curriculum, and it shouldn’t be a

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Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan fragmented subject (Noell, Connell, & Duhon, 2006). The students need to be given instruction on spelling strategies and word study. Combining writing with spelling instruction will give students tools to use when needing to spell an unknown word (Henry, 1997). Spelling can be taught as a sensible and interesting task that strengthens the relationships between reading and writing, and helps build vocabulary knowledge. I would like to call attention to words and word features as students encounter them in functional context because words become meaningful and fully conceptualized when students use them in purposeful situations. I have also noted from the research that poor readers tend to be poor spellers and those students will need more opportunities to see and use words to make them their own. Strategies need to be in place to help strong and struggling spellers, just like what is done for reading instruction (Graham, Harris, & Chorzempa, 2002). The development of spelling skills isn’t random, but evolves in stages, described as developmental. Masterson and Crede mention Henderson’s 5 stages of spelling development: (1) preliterate-scribbles, drawing and some letter, (2) letter-name stage-children enjoy representing sounds with letters, (3) within-word patternsorthographic patterns are learned, (4) syllable juncture-use of doubling principle (5) derivational constancy-roots and derivations used consistently (Masterson, & Crede, 1999). Knowing the stages of spelling development will help the teacher to look for strategies for each stage her students are in. There are three main spelling perspectives that appear to parallel particular spelling practices: (a) traditional, (b) transitional, and (c) student-oriented (Heald-Taylor, 1998). A good spelling program will incorporate some of each practice. By themselves they are good practice, but combined they create a strong spelling focus.

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Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan Traditional practices are based on traditional attitudes and an implicit learning theory . Instruction, drill, memorization, imitation, rote learning, and an emphasis on correctness are focused on. Traditional practices are taught formally as a separate subject. Teachers are the main givers of information, and there is a test at the end of the week. Transitional practices focus on the integration of numerous spelling strategies and the significance of reading in learning to spell. Students are given direct instruction in phonetics, spelling rules, study procedures, and weekly testing takes place. Spelling is mainly learned in conjunction with various types of word study, like word sorts and spelling games. Teachers integrate both direct and interactive instruction. Direct teaching is used for introducing words, patterns, and spelling rules. Interactive strategies are employed when students use word sorts and spelling games. Students are involved in their own learning. Evaluation is both formal and informal. Formal evaluation comes from weekly and unit tests. Informal evaluation comes from monitoring spelling competence in word sorting. Concerns regarding the transitional approach are many of the activities are conducted separately from contextual reading and are conducted without regard for students’ developmental stages. Another concern is the lack of specific instructional strategies to show teachers how they could assist students in improving their spelling abilities through writing. Student-oriented practice focuses on learning to spell as a developmental process, reading provides a context for learning to spell, and spelling is a functional component of writing. The teacher’s role changes dramatically from predominantly giving information to facilitating learning based on developmental levels and individual student needs. Students are expected to engage actively in their own learning as they figure out much of their spelling for themselves. Strategies are developmental, word study is done through literature, themed units

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Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan and collaborative groups are employed. The teacher uses metacognitive conferences and minilessons for instruction. Spelling is evaluated over time as students integrate numerous spelling strategies into their repertoire and spelling effort moves toward conventionality. Individual spelling profiles and conference logs are used to monitor authentic progress. According to Scott, 2000, spelling integrated in authentic reading and writing allows the child to begin with the task of producing a text for an authentic purpose. The teacher conferences and circulates as children are writing, pointing out words spelled correctly, searching for underlying principles in what isn’t spelled correctly and discusses these with the child. The key is to capitalize on a teachable moment for spelling. The child should have an opportunity to apply principle in another text-level writing experience. Students are taught to proof-read and self correct spelling errors. Peer editing is also used to strengthen skills used in spelling. Poor spellers need more opportunities to write. They need to find ways to bridge the gap between explicit word-level spelling work and on-line reading and writing. There must be some textlevel spelling activities in each instructional session. Spelling instruction for a child would be integrated within a plan that addresses the child’s profile of language abilities. Literature Review of Instruments The Qualitative Inventory of Word Knowledge has been used by others in the field to learn about students’ capabilities as spellers. Several commercial assessments were also mentioned, such as the Diagnostic Spelling Test (Kottmeyer, 1970) and The Spellmaster Assessment and Teaching System (Greenbaum, 1987). These assessments are used to measure the spelling of phonetically regular words and structural spelling elements, as well as, nonphonetic or irregular words. Another study used the Spelling subtest from the Wechsler

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Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan Individual Achievement Test (Wechsler, 1992). I found that most of the studies used a word list and performed a spelling pre-test and post-test format. Initial Plan My plan is to create a research supported integrated spelling program that will actively involve my students in learning to spell words that they are reading and using in their writing. My goal is to nurture children who will become readers, writers, thinkers, and who are not afraid to spell. Methodology Will the integration of spelling in reading and writing increase the spelling abilities of my third grade students? My construct is focusing in on spelling growth through the instruction of reading and writing. Sample Wake Robin Elementary School is located in Northeastern section of the city of Bellevue, Nebraska. My third grade classroom usually consists of 20-22 third grade students, with about a 50/50 ratio of boys to girls. I commonly have a range of low to high achieving students in my classroom each year. Most years I will have a very small sampling of special education students, as well as, a low English language learner population. I will use a convenience sample using my third grade students. I will group my students into average, below average, and above average groups. By using my whole class as my sample, I will be able to stratify the data into gender groups, ability level groups, and by race if I so desire.

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Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan Measurements I will administer the Words Their Way Elementary Spelling Inventory (Appendices A-C) in the fall. The inventory surveys a range of features and I will be able to use the measurement to identify students’ developmental stages. This inventory is a published measurement tool, so it is valid and reliable. The spelling inventory was also used in Developmental-Spelling Research: A Systematic Imperative (Invernissi, Reading Research Quarterly, 2004) and Using Children's Spellings to Group for Word Study and Directed Reading in the Primary Classroom (Bear, Reading Psychology 1989). “Spelling inventories not only offer information about students’ spelling stages and their knowledge of orthographic features, but also offer information about their reading. Studies show that scores on these inventories are consistently related and predict reading achievement at all age levels from kindergartners through adult learners” (Bear, 2008). The Qualitative Spelling Inventory measurement will allow me to track growth over time. The words on the list present a reliable scale of developmental word knowledge. Once the developmental stage is determined, I will use the student profiles to group for instruction. I plan to assess the students’ growth several times throughout the school year using the spelling inventory. My plan is to use the inventory 4 times; the beginning and end of each semester. This will give me four scores to help verify each child’s growth and developmental stage. Unfortunately, using the same inventory this many times will familiarize my students with the word list enough to inflate the results. This maybe something I will need to take a look at and discuss during my independent study. Students will also be given a weekly spelling dictation tests in both formats (traditional and integrated in their respected groups). I will use the pre-test/post-test format, the traditional

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Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan tests will use the spelling textbook words, the integrated format will use words from the Words Their Way book and also irregular words from the Word Wall. I will also be using the Words Their Way Qualitative Spelling Checklist (Appendix D) to monitor students’ spelling in their writing. The checklist allows for identification of orthographic features that my students have mastered, are using, or are still confused about. I’ll ask a colleague to help with double scoring to increase the reliability of scores and to check that the instrument is measuring what it should be measuring. By using multiple measurements, I will be insuring that my students are identified to the best of my ability for instruction and for reporting growth throughout the school year. Since growth is what I am going to measure, I will need to be able to report it in a sound way. Students’ independent writing samples will guide my instruction and will inform the results for my research. Reflecting on my lessons in a journal format, will help to keep track of strategies that were implemented, and which strategies were successful for each group. Design From the research I have read, I have learned that the teacher plays an important role in increasing students’ interest in words and influencing their attitudes toward spelling (O’Sullivan, 2000). I will need to consider O’Sullivan’s characteristics of effective teachers of spelling: (1) the teachers enthusiasm and excitement about words is crucial, (2) spelling skills are taught through a combination of the writing process and explicit teaching approaches, (3) the teacher helped children develop a variety of spelling strategies, (4) there was a greater focus on syntactic and semantic features of words, (5) responses and interventions in writing reflected the teacher’s ability to further support the child’s progress, (6) the analysis of the child’s spelling gave the

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Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan teacher insight into the spelling process that helped them to identify the child’s strengths and weaknesses the teacher could support and provide help, (7) the teacher collected a wide range of spelling resources, (8) the teacher involved the children in contributing and discussing resources. The individual teacher plays a significant role when identifying the needs of individual children and they need to be able to translate these needs into class, group, and individual approaches. I plan to implement an ABAB design, or alternating treatments design this fall. For the first two weeks of school, I will use the Words Their Way Qualitative Spelling Inventories for baseline measurement. I will then group my students according to the results of the Qualitative Spelling Inventory. The next four weeks will be spent teaching spelling in a traditional format using the Harcourt Trophies Third Grade Spelling series. I will pre-test the list words on Monday and introduce the words to students. The list words will be taught through spelling workbook pages and lessons from the teacher’s manual. On Friday, the post-test will be administered. I will record both the pre-test and post-test scores. The following four weeks will be spent instructing spelling by integrating the instruction through reading and writing. I will administer the Words Their Way Qualitative Spelling Inventory once again to help with modifying my instructional groups. Each group will be working on word lists that were identified by their spelling inventory results. I will continue with the pre-test on Monday format, but I will be using small group time to work with students on specific orthographic patterns that are occurring in their writing, from the spelling inventory, or that may be used in their reading texts. A post-test will be administered on Friday. Again, both the pre-and post-test scores will be recorded. I intend to devote more time to students actually writing in a purposeful manner. This is a great way for students to learn spelling in a very

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Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan practical and meaningful way. They will be using words that they are familiar with and words they want to include in their writing. After the integrated intervention sessions, I will go back to the traditional method for another four weeks, then follow with another four weeks of the integrated intervention. I will analyze the design results at the end of the semester to check how the measurement is working and to see if the intervention was successful. I will also look at the results to see if there is data to support an answer to my question. If there is enough data to show that the integrated method is a beneficial way of instructing spelling, then I will continue with that form of instruction for the second semester. If I am not confident with the results, I will continue with the ABAB design the second semester. I plan to administer the Qualitative Spelling Inventory again in January to help modify my groups. The inventory will then be given in late April. I will use the data from all four Spelling Inventories to show growth to parents and administrators and also quantify the information to include in my research plan. I intend to teach my students proofreading skills to use when they are writing, and I will also teach them how to learn words and how to check spelling of words they have attempted. Students will also be taught a range of strategies in order to internalize them and use them interactively to produce correct spelling (Scott, 2000). I will also score my student’s writing two times in each four week period. I will use the Words Their Way Qualitative Spelling Checklist (Appendix D) to verify what types of orthographic features the students have mastered and what types of features they are using, but

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Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan might be confusing.

I will use the checklist to monitor the student’s progress through the

stages. Procedure I will get IRB approval for my research project this summer. I have already spoken to the head of Elementary Education for Bellevue Public Schools, so I will email her a summary of my research plan for approval. I will write a letter to parents regarding my plan for the fall semester regarding spelling instruction and send it home with students the first week of school. The first two weeks of school will be spent collecting baseline data. I will begin my plan the third week of school. I will analyze my data at the end of first semester and will make decisions at that time as to whether to continue with the ABAB format or to go with the integrated format for second semester. Timeline Summer 2009 

Continue reading current spelling related research



Summer independent study



Research using word walls



Find strategies to build vocabulary knowledge



Look at ways to support weaker spellers and to challenge stronger spellers



Investigate information on invented spelling

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Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan 

Read research incorporating spelling instruction into guided reading groups and in writing mini-lessons



Identify word study activities 2009-2010 School Year:



August 11, 2009 Write letter to parents regarding spelling research plan



August 12, 2009 Send letter to parents home with students



August 12-21, 2009 Collect baseline data by administering the Qualitative Spelling Inventories



August 24-December 18, 2009 Implement ABAB design



August 24-September 18, 2009 Teach Spelling in a traditional format using the Harcourt Trophies Third Grade Spelling Program



Collect data from all students in my classroom which will include spelling pre- and posttests, student writing, error analysis results, and samples of student work



September 21, 2009 Administer the second round of Qualitative Spelling Inventories



September 21, 2009 Group students according to Inventory results



September 22-October 16, 2009 Teach Spelling through the integration of reading and writing using selected word lists and word wall words (irregular words)

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Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan 

Collect data from all students in my classroom, which will be grouped in three levels of academic ability-above average, average, and below average. Data collected will include: pretests/posttests, student writing, error analysis results, and samples of student work.



October 19-November 13, 2009 Teach Spelling in a traditional format using the Harcourt Trophies Third Grade Spelling Program



Collect data from all students in my classroom which will include spelling pre- and posttests, student writing, error analysis results, and samples of student work



November 16-December 11, 2009 Teach Spelling through the integration of reading and writing using selected word lists and word wall words (irregular words)



Collect data from all students in my classroom, which will be grouped in three levels of academic ability-above average, average, and below average. Data collected will include: pretests/posttests, student writing, error analysis results, and samples of student work.



December 14-18, 2009 Analyze data collected



December 18, 2009 Decide to continue ABAB design second semester or to use integrated instruction format



August 12-December 18, 2009 Keep a personal journal or blog to record teacher reflections, strategies used,



August 12-December 18, 2009 Continue reading current spelling related research

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Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan Bibliography Bear, D. R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. (2008). Words Their Way; Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. Gentry, J. R. (1987). Spel...Is a Four-Letter Word. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann. Graham, S., Harris, K., & Chorzempa, B. (2002). Contribution of Spelling Instruction to the Spelling, Writing, and Reading of Poor Spellers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94, 669-686. Heald-Taylor, B.G. (1998). Three Paradigms of Spelling Instruction in Grades 3 to 6. The Reading Teacher, 51, 404-413. Henry, M. K. (1997). The Decoding/Spelling Curriculum: Integrated Decoding and Spelling Instruction from Pre-School to Early Secondary School. Dsylexia, 3, 178-189. Masterson, J., & Crede, L. (1999). Learning to Spell: Implications for Assessment and Intervention. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 30, 243-254. McMurray, S. (2006). Learning to Spell: Raising Standards in Spelling and Independent Writing. Support for Learning, 21, 100-107. Noell, G., Connell, J., & Duhon, G. (2006). Spontaneous Response Generalization During Whole Word Instruction: Reading to Spell and Spelling to Read. Springer Science and Business Media, Inc., 15, 121-130. O’Sullivan, O. (2000). Understanding Spelling. Reading, April, 9-16. Scott, C. (2000). Principles and Methods of Spelling Instruction: Applications for Poor Spellers. Topics in Language Disorders, 20, 66-82.

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Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan Appendix A

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Primary Spelling Inventory The 26 words are ordered by difficulty to sample features of the letter name-alphabetic to within words pattern stages. Call out enough words so that you have at least five or six misspelled words to analyze. If students spell more than 20 words correctly, you may want to use the Elementary Spelling Inventory.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26.

fan pet dig rob hope wait gum sled stick shine dream blade coach fright chewed crawl wishes thorn shouted spoil growl third camped tries clapping riding

I could use a fan on a hot day. I have a pet cat who likes to play. He will dig a hole in the sand. A raccoon will rob a bird’s nest for eggs. I hope you will do well on this test. You will need to wait for the letter. I stepped on some bubble gum. The dog sled was pulled by huskies. I used a stick to poke in the hole. He rubbed the coin to make it shine. I had a funny dream last night. The blade of the knife was very sharp. The coach called the team off the field. She was a fright in her Halloween costume. The dog chewed on the bone until it was gone. You will get dirty if you crawl under the bed. In fairy tales wishes often come true. The thorn from the rosebush stuck me. They shouted at the barking dog. The food will spoil if it sits out too long. The dog will growl if you bother him. I was the third person in line. We camped down by the river last weekend. He tries hard every day to finish his work. The audience was clapping after the program. They are riding their bikes to the park today.

fan pet dig rob hope wait gum sled stick shine dream blade coach fright chewed crawl wishes thorn shouted spoil growl third camped tries clapping riding

Words Their Way: word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction ©2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan Words Their Way Primary Spelling Inventory Feature Guide Student ________________________________ Teacher ____________________________ Grade____________ Date______________ Words Spelled Correctly: ____ / 26 Feature Points: ____ / 56 Total_______/ 82 Spelling Stage _________________________________

Stages and gradations →

Emergent Alphabetic

Letter Name Early

Late Features

→

Within Word Pattern

Early

Beginnin g

↓Words Consona nts

Middle

Final

Short Vowels

Middle

Late

Late Digraphs

Blends

Consona nts

Long Vowel Patterns

f

n

a

p

t

e

d

g

i

r

b

o

h

p

o-e

w

t

ai

g

m

1. fan

2. pet

3. dig

4. rob

5. hope

6. wait

u

7. gum

e

sl

i

st

8. sled

9. stick

sh 10. shine

Syllables & Affixes

i-e

Other

Inflected

Vowels

Endings

Feature Points

Words Spelled Correctl y

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Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan dr

ea

17

11. dream

bl

a-e

12. blade

-ch

oa

13. coach

fr

igh

14. fright

ch

ew

-ed

15. chewed

cr

aw

16. crawl

-sh

-es

17. wishes

th

or

sh

ou

18. thorn

-ed

19. shouted

oi 20. spoil

ow 21. growl

th

ir

22. third

-ed 23. camped

24. tries

tr

-ies

25. clapping

-pping

26. riding

-ding

Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan Totals

/7

/7

/7

/7

/7

/7

/7

/7

/56

/26

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Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan Appendix B

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Elementary Spelling Inventory (ESI) The 25 words are ordered by difficulty to sample features of the letter name-alphabetic to derivational relations stages. Call out enough words so that you have at least five or six misspelled words to analyze. If students spell more than 20 words correctly, use the Upper Level Spelling Inventory. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.

bed ship when lump float train place drive bright shopping spoil serving chewed carries marched shower bottle favor ripen cellar pleasure fortunate confident civilize opposition

I hopped out of bed this morning. The ship sailed around the island. When will you come back? He had a lump on his head after he fell. I can float on the water with my new raft. I rode the train to the next town. I found a new place to put my books. I learned to drive a car. The light is very bright. She went shopping for new shoes. The food will spoil if it is not kept cool. The restaurant is serving dinner tonight. The dog chewed up my favorite sweater yesterday. She carries apples in her basket. We marched in the parade. The shower in the bathroom was very hot. The bottle broke into pieces on the tile floor. He did his brother a favor by taking out the trash. The fruit will ripen over the next few days. I went down to the cellar for the can of paint. It was a pleasure to listen to the choir sing. It was fortunate that the driver had snow tires. I am confident that we can win the game. They wanted to civilize the forest people. The coach said the opposition would be tough.

bed ship when lump float train place drive bright shopping spoil serving chewed carries marched shower bottle favor ripen cellar pleasure fortunate confident civilize opposition

Words Their Way: word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction ©2008 by Pearson Education, Inc

Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan Words Their Way Elementary Spelling Inventory Feature Guide Student ________________________________ Teacher ____________________________ Grade____________ Date______________ Words Spelled Correctly: ____ / 25 Feature Points: ____ / 62 Total_______/ 87 Spelling Stage _________________________________

Stages and gradation s →

Emergent Name

Features →

Consonan ts

Late Late

↓Words

Begin. Final

1. bed

b

2. ship

Early

Sho rt Vow els

Digra phs

e

p

i

sh

e

wh

l

Within Word Pattern Early Late

Middle

d

3. when 4. lump

Letter

u

Blen ds

Middle

Long

Other

Vowels

Vowe ls

t

fl

oa

6. train

n

tr

ai

pl

a-e

dr

i-e

br

igh

7. place v

9. bright 10. shopping

o

sp

12. serving

Endin gs

Junct ures

ch

er

ving

ew

ed

Feat ure Poin ts

Early Middle Sylla ble

oi

Derivational Relations

Middle

Inflec ted

ppin g

sh

11. spoil

13.

Early Late

mp

5. float

8. drive

Syllables and Affixes

Unacce nted Final Syllabl es

Harder Suffixes

Base s or Root s

Word s Spelle d Corre ctly

20

Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan chewed

21

14. carries

ar

ies

ed

15. marched

ch

ar

16. shower

sh

ow

rr

er

17. bottle

tt

le

18. favor

v

or

19. ripen

p

en

20. cellar

ll

ar

21. pleasure

ure

ple as

ate

fort un

23. confident

ent

con fid

24. civilize

ize

civil

25. oppositio n

tion

pos

22. fortunate

Totals

or

/7

/5

/6

/7

/5

/7

/5

/5

/5

/5

/5 /62 /25

Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan Appendix C

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Upper-Level Spelling Inventory (USI) The 31 words are ordered by difficulty to sample features of the within word pattern to derivational relations to spelling stages. You may want to stop when students misspell more than eight words and are experiencing noticeable frustration. If students misspell five of the first eight words, use the ESI to more accurately identify within word pattern features that need instruction. 1. switch We can switch television channels with a remote control. switch 2. smudge There was a smudge on the mirror from her fingertips. smudge 3. trapped He was trapped in the elevator when the electricity went off. trapped 4. scrape The fall caused her to scrape her knee. scrape 5. knotted The knotted rope would not come undone. knotted th 6. shaving He didn’t start shaving with a razor until 11 grade. shaving 7. squirt Don’t let the ketchup squirt out of the bottle too fast. squirt 8. pounce My cat likes to pounce on her toy mouse. pounce 9. scratches We had to paint over the scratches on the car. scratches 10. crater The crater of the volcano was filled with bubbling lava. crater 11. sailor When he was young, he wanted to go to sea as a sailor. sailor 12. village My Grandad lived in a small seaside village. village 13. disloyal Traitors are disloyal to their country. disloyal 14. tunnel The rockslide closed the tunnel through the mountain. tunnel 15. humor You need a sense of humor to understand his jokes. humor 16. confidence With each winning game, the team’s confidence grew. confidence 17. fortunate The driver was fortunate to have snow tires on that winter day. fortunate 18. visible The singer on the stage was visible to everyone. visible 19. circumference The length of the equator is equal to the circumference of the earth. circumference 20. civilization We studied the ancient Mayan civilization last year. civilization 21. monarchy A monarchy is headed by a king or queen. monarchy 22. dominance The dominance of the Yankee’s baseball team lasted for several years. dominance 23. correspond Many students correspond through e-mail. correspond 24. illiterate It is hard to get a job if you are illiterate. illiterate 25. emphasize I want to emphasize the importance of trying your best. emphasize 26. opposition The coach said the opposition would give us a tough game. opposition 27. chlorine My eyes were burning from the chlorine in the swimming pool. chlorine 28. commotion The audience heard the commotion backstage. commotion 29. medicinal Cough drops are to be taken for medicinal purposes only. medicinal 30. irresponsible It is irresponsible not to wear seat belt. irresponsible 31. succession The firecrackers went off in rapid succession. succession Words Their Way: word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction ©2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan 23

Words Their Way Upper Spelling Inventory Feature Guide Student _____________________ Teacher __________________ Grade _______ Date _________________ Words Spelled Correctly: ___ / 31 Feature Points: ___ / 68 Total____/ 99 Spelling Stage ____________________

Stages and gradations →

Within Word Pattern Relations Early Late

Features →

Middle

Late

Digrap hs & Blends

Vowe ls

Compl ex Conso -nants

1. switch

sw

i

tch

2. smudge

sm

u

dge

3. trapped

tr

↓Words

a-e

scr

5. knotted

o

kn

sh ir

squ

8. pounce

ou

ce

9. scratches

a

tch

11. sailor

cr

Unaccen -ted Final Syllables

Affixe s

tt

es t

ai

12. village 13. disloyal

Inflected Endings & Syllable Juncture

Middle

e-drop

7. squirt

10. crater

Early

pp

4. scrape

6. shaving

Syllables and Affixes

er or

ll oy

age al

14. tunnel

nn

el

15. humor

m

or

dis

Derivational

Late

Early

Reduced Vowels in Unaccent ed Syllables

Middle

Greek and Latin Elemen ts

Featur e Points Assimil a-ted Prefixe s

Words Spelled Correct ly

Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan 16. confidence

con

17. fortunate

fid

24

ate

fortun

18. visible 19. circumference

ible

vis

ence

circu m

20. civilization

liz

civil

21. monarchy

arch

22. dominance

ance

23. correspond

min

res

24. illiterate

rr

ate

ll

56. emphasize

size

26. opposition

pha pos

27. chlorine

ine

28. commotion

tion

29. medicinal

pp chlor

mm

al

medic

30. irresponsible

ible

31. succession

sion

res

rr

cc

Totals /5

/9

/7

/8

/9

/10

/7

/7

/6

/68

/ 31

Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan Appendix D

25