Chelsea's Reflection (Ch.9, On Solid Ground)

Chapter 9-Word Study Groups: Analyzing Words for Their Phonetic, Structural, and Morphemic Features was an interesting chapter for me. I've heard so much lately about teachers having a word wall in their classroom. It always sounded and looked like a great idea to help students in analyzing words, but I never really heard on how we are supposed to use it. This chapter clearly explains what a teacher can do with a word wall in their classroom. The word wall in Sharon's classroom is full of spelling patterns in which the kids can use to relate to other words. For example, if the spelling pattern is -ow, then the kids would list words they can think of that have the pattern -ow in it, such as cow or now. In the beginning of the day, right when the kids arrive in the classroom, Sharon pulls a few aside and has a word study group with them. She goes over spelling patterns with them that they might have ran into while reading a book or poem the days before. She wants them to get familiarized with the pattern so that they can learn how to spell words that are similar or be able to say when they are reading. I really like this idea because it doesn't take too much time and effort. I mean, it's a simple duty, that only will take a couple of minutes of a teacher's time in the morning while the rest of the kids are getting prepared for the day. I really like how she just pulls kids in groups. It's a great way to get to know her students better. I haven't seen a word wall posted in any classroom that I've observed it, but just reading about it makes me want to create a word wall of my own when I have my own classroom. It seems like the perfect idea in helping students learn how to spell or even read those specific words.