Oakland Terrace Spelling 3rd Grade

Spelling ~ Grade 3

Hunts & Sorts
The Spelling Program at Oakland Terrace relies on students hunting for words in texts or anywhere they find print. They then sort the words they have collected in order to make generalizations about spelling patterns. Because English is such a difficult language to spell, students must learn many different ways to spell one sound (such as a long e sound). Students then can use the generalizations they have discovered to spell dozens if not hundreds of words, as opposed to simply the ten or fifteen on their spelling list. Look below to see some of the patterns studied in Grade 3.

Hunting for Long E

This student in Ms. Gale's class hunted anywhere he found words for the long e sound. When students hunt for words in a text that is appropriate for them (such as a guided reading text they have been using), the activity is automatically differentiated. This activity would be completed when the word study for the long e sound is first beginning. Often, the teacher has just modeled for the students hunting for the sound in a book shared with the class. Hunting for words demonstrates to students that the long e sound can be found in any text and at the beginnings, in the middles and at the ends of words

Ms. Kim's class sorted the long e words into patterns. They discovered 7 different spelling patterns for the long e sound. Once the patterns have been discovered, the students continue to search for words in their texts, adding them directly to the sorting sheet. This student ran out of room on the front, and continued her list of words on the back. It is clear that by the end of the study of long e words, the students have found and categorized dozens and dozens of words, as opposed to just the words on their spelling list.

Sorting Long E Patterns
Long E

Hunting for Long U In Ms. Gale's Class	Sorting Long U and Long I Patterns In Ms. Kim's Class

Hunting for Plurals

This student in Ms. Kim's class hunted for plurals and recorded them on Post It notes. She then sorted the plurals into patterns by moving the Post It notes around.

Sorting Plurals

Ms. Gale's class sorted plurals into patterns.

Students keep their sorts in their spelling journals to refer to throughout the year. Ms. Fields also posts all of the sorts in her classroom so that students can refer to the patterns. In a few months' time, hundreds and hundreds of words have been studied.

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Spelling Activities and Homework

Below are examples of Spelling activities that may also be used for homework. Some of the activities encourage students to break down words into component parts and to focus on how the word is constructed. Some activities use multi-sensory imagery to help students master their spelling words. This is just a small number of examples of the activities that are use
Word Pyramids
Grade 3 Spelling Activities

Spiral Words
Spelling Spiral Words

Staircases	Framing Words
Word Shapes	Word Magic