Words Their Way

Words Their Way

Donald R. Bear, Marcia Invernizzi, Shane Templeton, Francine Johnston

 

Emergent (Preliterate):  Includes the writing skills of children who are not already reading conventionally and for the most part have not been taught any type of formal reading skills.  The children in this stage range from age 0 to 5 typically speaking; however anyone who is not yet reading conventionally also belong in this stage.  Children at this stage will scribble, usually in a circular pattern, and often tell a story while they are drawing.  Children begin to learn letters, especially those in their own name and they also begin to pay more attention to word sounds.  When children reach the end of this stage they will start to memorize some words and write them repeatedly.  Examples include words such as cat, love, Mom, and Dad.

Letter Name-Alphabetic (Early Letter Name and Letter Name):  This is the period of time in which students are formally taught to read.  Students are typically in kindergarten and first grade when this stage occurs, however it can extend into the middle of second grade.  For the most part letter name-alphabetic spellers are between the ages of 5 and 8.  Students tend to experience rapid growth during this stage, for that reason it is broken down into three parts, early, middle, and late.  During the early period students will use the alphabetic principle as it applies to consonants and vowels are usually left out during this period.  During the middle period students will often be able to spell high frequency words correctly and consistently use vowels in their spelling. During the late period students are able to represent short vowel sounds, diagraphs, and consonant blends.

Within Word Pattern (Within Word):  At this stage most students are able to read and spell most words correctly, this is due to their knowledge of letter sounds and short vowel patterns.  Students at this stage also begin to transition into independent reading.  The age range for students at this stage is 7 to 10 years of age, however there are some instances in which adults who are low skilled readers also fall into this stage.  Students focus more on vowel pattern within single syllable words.  Lastly students at this stage contemplate the meaning layer in order to spell and use homophones.

Syllables & Affixes (Syllable Juncture):  This stage pertains to students in the upper elementary and middle school grades.  Most errors that occur during this stage are found in two syllable words and tend to occur where syllables and affixes meet.  Towards the end of this stage students tend to struggle with affixes that change the meaning of words. 

Derivational Relations (Derivational Constancies):  Students at this stage are often in middle school, high school, and college and this stage will continue throughout adulthood as well. The study of words in this stage begin to build and expand on the knowledge of vocabulary often times of Greek and Latin origin.  Some common errors at this stage occur when students begin to change the last consonant of a prefix to the first consonant of the root word.