Samantha Boyd

October 15, 2014

Word Study Minilesson
To be taught on October 22, 2014
List the procedures:
-As a whole group we will discuss what homophones are and the students will give
some examples, which I will write on the board.
-Students will be broken up into groups of 4 for Homophone Rummy.
-I will pass out a deck of cards to each group and will explain the rules to the class.
They will also have a directions sheet handed out to them.
-Once students have finished playing one round, I will have them pick two pairs of
homophones to draw pictures of. For example, they could choose pray and prey and
ant and aunt to illustrate.
-I will hand out the paper that they are to draw their homophones on.
-Once finished, I will have some students share their illustrations with the class.
Materials needed:
-5 sets of Homophone Rummy cards
-5 sets of Homophone Rummy directions
-Illustration sheets (2 for each student)
-Pencils
-Markers or crayons
How will you introduce the idea of sorting? The features?
My students will not sort during this lesson because Morgan and I are both doing
lessons on homophones. Her lesson will be taught before mine, so mine is an
extension of that sort.
How will you use words or pictures?
-The Homophone Rummy game will have words on the cards.
-The illustration sheet provides an opportunity for students to illustrate two sets of
homophones using pictures.
Did you follow the checklist given in class?
Since I am not doing a sort, I did not use the checklist.

Word Study Minilesson Response Paper

When we did homophone rummy in class, I knew thats what I wanted to do
with my students in practicum. I was worried it would be too difficult for them
though, so I changed the words and the format of the game to fit the needs of my
students. I also added on the task of illustrating some of the homophone pairs as a
follow up activity to the game. Because my lesson was an extension lesson, I did not
do a word sort. I knew that the words I included in my game were appropriate for
their levels because they were their spelling words for the week. There are also
many other words in the game that are not on their list. I chose words that I thought
they were using, but confusing and could use a little instruction on.
My students responded remarkably to my lesson. I was amazed with how
much they liked it. There were of course a few students who were not into it, but
that is to be expected with any lesson. They really enjoyed the game more than
anything else. It was competitive and enjoyable. They struggled through creating
some sentences, but they struggled at an appropriate level. I walked around and
assisted students if they really couldnt get it. I also let them call on a friend if they
were having too much trouble thinking of one. I had a lower level reading student
come up to me at the end of class asking if he could keep the cards because of how
much he enjoyed it. I told him I would print him out some of his own to take home
and cut out. It made me feel accomplished to know that he was so entertained by
learning.
I was lucky enough to get to teach this lesson to two different sets of students
because of the switch class routine they have in place in third grade. The second

time I taught it went much smoother. I was able to explain the directions better
based off what the students in the previous class had questions about. I asked
questions to see if they understood, questions like, How do you win? and When it
is your turn what steps do you take? This seemed to be helpful. I was much more
aware of the time the second time around and we stayed on track much better.
Finally, because we did have a little extra time in the second class I was able to adapt
mid-lesson to stretch it out a little more. I told them to add a sentence to their
illustrations and to underline the word they used in the sentence that was a
homophone. It was interesting to see which kids this challenged more than others.
If I were to teach this lesson again, I would make sure to set a time limit for each
piece of the lesson. The first class only got time to draw one set of homophones
because I wasnt paying close attention to the time. Putting up a timer for the game
portion or giving them countdowns (5 minutes left, 2 minutes left, etc.) would be
helpful. Finally, offering lines for them to write a sentence beneath their
illustrations would be a nice addition.
In planning for word study instruction in my own classroom there are many
things to consider. In order to see where students are in their word knowledge,
assessments like the DSPA are crucial. I love the class record we did in class. It
would be easier to see where a student lies in relation to the rest of the class using
this format. Once I score the assessments, I would group my students according to
their levels, keeping the students at the same level together. I really think
scheduling is key to a successful classroom. Having a routine keeps the students on
task without too many surprises. My classroom word study will have a sort of

routine to it. The following is a schedule tweaked from the packet we received in
class.
Monday
Introduce
new sort,
word sorts

Tuesday
Word sorts,
writing
sorts, and
speed sorts

Wednesday
Blind sorts,
group word
hunts, write a
word

Thursday
Friday
Word hunts,
Assessment
speed sorts
against teacher,
word study games

There are quite a few options in a few of the days. This is because I believe that we
should differentiate based on the level of the group. Tuesday for example has three
options. The lower-level students can start with word sorts, while the higher-level
students can work on speed sorts. It all just depends on the needs of the students.
Last, every teacher needs an abundance of resources to make this happen. We do
need the words the students will be working on. Finding sets of words to use or
creating your own are important. Word study games are fun instructional activities,
so I would love to have a wealth of those in my classroom. Sharing ideas between
other teachers will help me obtain those and is something I look forward to as a
future teacher.

board

bored

heel

heal

pray

prey

ant

aunt

passed

past

male

mail

sell

cell

tied

tide

role

roll

chili

chilly

guest

guessed

eight

ate

dear

deer

sent

scent

to

two

eye

one

won

hare

hair

be

bee

blew

blue

choose

chews

right

write

no

know

clothes

close

piece

peace

sea

see

flew

flu