Word Study for Intermediate Readers and Writers: The Syllables and Affixes Stage Chapter 7

The stages of word knowledge through which most students will move during the intermediate and middle grade years are termed syllables and affixes. In this stage you will learn how teachers can establish a firm foundation in spelling and in vocabulary development as they facilitate students as they move into understanding the role of structure and meaning in the spelling system.

Literacy Development of Students The intermediate stage is a time of expanding reading interests and fine-tuning reading strategies. Major features of study: · How consonant and vowel patterns are represented in polysyllabic words · What occurs when syllables join together (syllable juncture) · How stress or lack of stress determines the clarity of the sounds in syllables · How simple affixes (prefixes and suffixes) change the usage, meaning, and spelling of words. ``So the focus shifts to two-syllable words and the conventions that govern spelling where syllables meet, or their syllable juncture.

One of your most important responsibilities for word study instruction at this stage is to engage students in examining how important word elements- prefixes, suffixes, and base words-combine; this structural analysis is a powerful tool for vocabulary development, spelling, and figuring out unfamiliar words during reading.

You can show students directly how to apply this knowledge by modeling the following strategy for analyzing unfamiliar words in their reading that they cannot identify. Examine the word for meaningful parts- base word, prefixes, or suffixes. - If there is a prefix, take it off first - If there is a suffix take it off second - Look at the base to see if you know it or if you can think of a related word - Reassemble the word thinking about the meaning contributed by the base the suffix and then the prefix. This should help you to figure out what the word is Try out the meaning in the sentence; check if it makes sense in the context of the sentence and the larger context of the text that is being read. If the word still does not make sense and is critical to the meaning of the overall passage look it up in a dictionary. Record the new word in your word study notebook

Orthographic Development ``Students will use larger chunks to decode, spell, and store words in memory. The word studies in this stage will help students learn where syllable and morphemic breaks come in words so that they can use the appropriate chunks to quickly and accurately read, spell, and determine the meaning of polysyllabic words. The range of reading skill within this stage makes it imperative to revisit many or the orthographic concepts underlying syllables and affixes in light of more complex reading vocabulary of the upper elementary and middle school years. Some of the areas that would need to be looked at again would be: · Compound words · Base words and inflectional endings/suffixes · Open/closed syllables and syllable patterns, such as CVC words and CV words · Vowel patterns (ambiguous vowels) · Accent or Stress words · Base words and derivational affixes · Further exploration of consonants

Word Study Instruction ``Word study at the intermediate level should demonstrate to students how their word knowledge can be applied to advance their spelling knowledge, their vocabulary, and their strategies for figuring out unknown words in reading. At the intermediate and middle grades, the following principles should guide instruction: · Students should be actively involved in the exploration of words · Students prior knowledge should be engaged · Students should have many exposures to words in meaningful contexts, both in and out of connected text. · Students needs systematic instruct of structural elements and how these elements combine. When exploring new vocabulary you should: · Activate background knowledge · Explain the concept and its relationship to other concepts · Use graphic organizers, charts, and diagrams as needed · Discuss examples and nonexamples. Sequence and pacing is also an important part of this stage. Sequence touches on the important patterns and features to consider, and is based on what students do developmentally.

Word Study for English Learners For English learners in the syllables and affixes stage it is especially important to make word study a language-learning event. Words that are featured due to spelling isses must also become vocabulary words, and should be used and analyzed in conversational speech and connected text as a part of every lesson. ``English learners will feel more at ease if you make oral discussions about words part of your daily routine. There will be many features in this stage that will present some difficulty for English learners. It is very important to use language arts along with the curriculum to help English learners with this stage.

Word Study Routines and Management ``Word study instruction takes place all day long in discussions, small groups, large groups, but most students will need in depth attention to the features in this stage. Word Study Lesson Plans should: 1. Begin with demonstrations in small groups and discussion of the generalizations revealed by the sort 2. Students sort their own words and check them 3. Oral and written reflections encourage students to clarify and summarizes their understanding 4. Extension activities through the week will reinforce understanding Word study Notebooks is an easy way to help students and teachers manage the routines and organization of a word study. You may want to also develop some additional word study activities that would go in the notebook that students could work on during any down time between lessons. Some can be new strategies while others can reinforce previous lessons.

Early Syllables and Affixes What Students Do Correctly  What students Use but Confuse What Is Absent CRALL for crawl SHOPING for shopping AMAZZING for amazing BOTEL for bottle KEPER or KEEPPER for keeper Blends, digraphs, short vowels Vowel patterns in one syllable words Complex consonant units in one-syllable words spell known sight words correctly Ambiguous vowels Consonant doubling and e-drop Syllable juncture: open and closed syllable patterns Few Things are completely missing Occasional deletion of reduced syllables: DIFFERENT for different Doubled consonant of absorbed prefixes Middle Syllables and Affixes   SELLER for cellar DAMIGE for damage PERAIDING for parading All of the above plus: Doubling and e-drop with inflected endings Syllable juncture: open and closed syllable patterns Vowel patterns in accented syllables Unaccented final syllables Doubled consonant of absorbed prefixes Late Syllables and Affixes parading cattle, cellar CONFEDENT for confident All of the above plus: Vowel patterns in accented syllables Unaccented final syllables Some suffixes and prefixes: ATTENSION for attention, PERTEND for pretend Reduced vowel in unaccented syllables