Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan

Kelly Kingsley
TEAC 991 1
Action Research Plan
May 2009/Revised June 30, 2009

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
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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

 Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan

fragmented subject (Noell, Connell, & Duhon, 2006). The students need to be given instruction
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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 patterns-

orthographic 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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Traditional practices are based on traditional attitudes and an implicit learning theory .
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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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and collaborative groups are employed. The teacher uses metacognitive conferences and mini-
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lessons 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 text-

level 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
 Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan

Individual Achievement Test (Wechsler, 1992). I found that most of the studies used a word list
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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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Measurements
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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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tests will use the spelling textbook words, the integrated format will use words from the Words
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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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teacher insight into the spelling process that helped them to identify the child’s strengths and
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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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practical and meaningful way. They will be using words that they are familiar with and words
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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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might be confusing. I will use the checklist to monitor the student’s progress through the
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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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 Read research incorporating spelling instruction into guided reading groups and in
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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 post-

tests, 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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 Collect data from all students in my classroom, which will be grouped in three levels of
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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 post-

tests, 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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Bibliography
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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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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. fan I could use a fan on a hot day. fan

2. pet I have a pet cat who likes to play. pet
3. dig He will dig a hole in the sand. dig
4. rob A raccoon will rob a bird’s nest for eggs. rob
5. hope I hope you will do well on this test. hope
6. wait You will need to wait for the letter. wait
7. gum I stepped on some bubble gum. gum
8. sled The dog sled was pulled by huskies. sled
9. stick I used a stick to poke in the hole. stick
10. shine He rubbed the coin to make it shine. shine
11. dream I had a funny dream last night. dream
12. blade The blade of the knife was very sharp. blade
13. coach The coach called the team off the field. coach
14. fright She was a fright in her Halloween costume. fright
15. chewed The dog chewed on the bone until it was gone. chewed
16. crawl You will get dirty if you crawl under the bed. crawl
17. wishes In fairy tales wishes often come true. wishes
18. thorn The thorn from the rosebush stuck me. thorn
19. shouted They shouted at the barking dog. shouted
20. spoil The food will spoil if it sits out too long. spoil
21. growl The dog will growl if you bother him. growl
22. third I was the third person in line. third
23. camped We camped down by the river last weekend. camped
24. tries He tries hard every day to finish his work. tries
25. clapping The audience was clapping after the program. clapping
26. riding They are riding their bikes to the park today. 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______________
16
Words Spelled Correctly: ____ / 26 Feature Points: ____ / 56 Total_______/ 82 Spelling Stage _________________________________

Stages and Emergent Letter Name - Within Word Pattern Syllables

gradations Alphabetic & Affixes
→ Early Middle Late
Late Early Middle Late Words
Feature Spelled
Features → Beginnin Final Short Digraphs Blends Long Other Inflected Points Correctl
g Vowels Vowel y
↓Words Consona Vowels Endings
Consona nts Patterns
nts

f n a
1. fan

p t e
2. pet

d g i
3. dig

r b o
4. rob

h p o-e
5. hope

w t ai
6. wait

g m u
7. gum

e sl
8. sled

i st
9. stick

sh i-e
10. shine
 Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan

dr ea
11. dream
17
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
18. thorn

sh ou -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

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Totals /7 /7 /7 /7 /7 /7 /7 /7 /56 /26

18
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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. bed I hopped out of bed this morning. bed

2. ship The ship sailed around the island. ship
3. when When will you come back? when
4. lump He had a lump on his head after he fell. lump
5. float I can float on the water with my new raft. float
6. train I rode the train to the next town. train
7. place I found a new place to put my books. place
8. drive I learned to drive a car. drive
9. bright The light is very bright. bright
10. shopping She went shopping for new shoes. shopping
11. spoil The food will spoil if it is not kept cool. spoil
12. serving The restaurant is serving dinner tonight. serving
13. chewed The dog chewed up my favorite sweater yesterday. chewed
14. carries She carries apples in her basket. carries
15. marched We marched in the parade. marched
16. shower The shower in the bathroom was very hot. shower
17. bottle The bottle broke into pieces on the tile floor. bottle
18. favor He did his brother a favor by taking out the trash. favor
19. ripen The fruit will ripen over the next few days. ripen
20. cellar I went down to the cellar for the can of paint. cellar
21. pleasure It was a pleasure to listen to the choir sing. pleasure
22. fortunate It was fortunate that the driver had snow tires. fortunate
23. confident I am confident that we can win the game. confident
24. civilize They wanted to civilize the forest people. civilize
25. opposition The coach said the opposition would be tough. 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______________
20
Words Spelled Correctly: ____ / 25 Feature Points: ____ / 62 Total_______/ 87 Spelling Stage _________________________________

Stages Emergent Letter Within Word Pattern Syllables and Affixes Derivational
and Name Relations
Early Middle Early Middle Feat
gradation Word
Late Early Middle Late Late Early ure
s → s
Late Middle Poin
Spelle
ts
Consonan Sho Digra Blen Long Other Inflec Sylla Unacce Harder Base d
Features
Corre
→ ts rt phs ds ted ble nted Suffixes s or
Vow Vowels Vowe Final Root ctly
↓Words Begin. els ls Endin Junct Syllabl s
Final gs ures es

1. bed b d e

2. ship p i sh

3. when e wh

4. lump l u mp

5. float t fl oa

6. train n tr ai

7. place pl a-e

8. drive v dr i-e

9. bright br igh

10. o sh ppin
shopping g

11. spoil sp oi

12. er ving
serving

13. ch ew ed
 Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan

chewed
21
14. ar ies rr
carries

15. ch ar ed
marched

16. sh ow er
shower

17. bottle tt le

18. favor v or

19. ripen p en

20. cellar ll ar

21. ure ple

pleasure as

22. or ate fort

fortunate un

23. ent con

confident fid

24. ize civil

civilize

25. tion pos

oppositio
n

Totals /7 /5 /6 /7 /5 /7 /5 /5 /5 /5 /5 /62 /25

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Appendix C
22
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 Within Word Pattern Syllables and Affixes Derivational

gradations Relations
→
Early Middle Late Early Middle Late Early Middle Words
Late Featur Spelled
e Correct
Greek Points ly
Reduced
Features Compl Inflected Unaccen and
Vowels in Assimil
→ Digrap ex Endings & -ted Unaccent Latin
a-ted
hs & Vowe Conso Syllable Final Affixe ed Elemen Prefixe
↓Words Blends ls -nants Juncture Syllables s Syllables ts s

1. switch sw i tch

2. smudge sm u dge

3. trapped tr pp

4. scrape a-e scr

5. knotted o kn tt

6. shaving sh e-drop

7. squirt ir squ

8. pounce ou ce

9. scratches a tch es

10. crater cr t er

11. sailor ai or

12. village ll age

13. disloyal oy al dis

14. tunnel nn el

15. humor m or
 Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan

16. confidence con fid

24
17. fortunate ate fortun

18. visible ible vis

19. circu
circumference ence m

20. civilization liz civil

21. monarchy arch

22.
dominance ance min

23.
correspond res rr

24. illiterate ate ll

56. emphasize size pha

26. opposition pos pp

27. chlorine ine chlor

28.
commotion tion mm

29. medicinal al medic

30.
irresponsible ible res rr

31.
succession sion cc

Totals
/5 /9 /7 /8 /9 /10 /7 /7 /6 /68 / 31
 Kelly Kingsley Action Research Plan

Appendix D
25