Spelling: Repeated Review of Spelling Words with Shared Rime

DESCRIPTION: The student practices the reading and spelling of words from word families that have similar pronunciation and shared spelling patterns (rimes) (adapted from Conrad, 2008).

 NOTE: In a single-syllable word, the onset consists of the consonant(s) appearing at the front of the word, while the rime is the part of the word made up of its vowel and any consonants that follow the vowel. For example, in the word black, the onset is bl- and the rime is –ack.

GROUP SIZE: Small group, individual student

TIME:  About 15 minutes per session

MATERIALS:

• Flash-cards of spelling words (20 per session) in groupings of five words each from word-families with different rimes 
• Student Sheet: Spelling Words with Shared Rime (attached) 
• Recording Sheet: Repeated Review of Spelling Words with Shared Rime (attached)

 PREPARATION: In advance of each session of this reading/spelling intervention, the teacher:

• selects four single-syllable word families with shared rime. NOTE: A list of word families appropriate for this intervention appears on the attached Recording Sheet: Repeated Review of Spelling Words with Shared Rime. While the list is extensive, the teacher may want to choose only high-frequency word families for use in this intervention.
• generates a list of up to five words from each of the four selected word-families to review with the student (e.g., -ack: pack, black, rack, tack, sack / -ill: pill, sill, mill, till, bill), resulting in a total word-list of 20 items for the day's session. NOTE: Educators can access a free wordlist generator to create wordlists with shared rime at: http://www.wordlistgenerator.net [2].  Also, the attached Recording Sheet: Repeated Review of Spelling Words with Shared Rime is a convenient form that the teacher can use to keep an ongoing record of the words being used in the intervention.
• makes 4 in. x 6 in. flash-cards of the selected spelling words.  One word is written on each flash-card, with the onset (initial consonant(s)) of the word) written in black ink and the rime of the word written in red ink.

INTERVENTION STEPS: The Repeated Review of Spelling Words with Shared Rime intervention has both a reading and spelling component:

1. Have the Student Read the Words Aloud. During the reading component of the intervention session, the teacher ensures that the flash-cards of the same word-family (shared rime) are grouped together. The teacher shows the student each flash-card for 5 seconds and asks the student to read it aloud. If the student reads the word correctly, the teacher acknowledges the response (e.g., 'Good' or 'Right') and moves to the next card. If the student misreads the card or hesitates for 5 seconds or longer, the teacher says the correct word and has the student say the correct word, then moves to the next card. The teacher continues until the student has attempted all flash-cards once.
2. Have the Student Spell the Words. During the writing component of the intervention session, the teacher again ensures that the flash-cards of the same word-family (shared rime) are grouped together.   For each word, the teacher reads the word from the flash-card but does not show the card to the student. The student is directed to write the word. Then the teacher immediately shows the student the correct model on the flash-card and asks the student to state whether he or she spelled the word correctly. If the student's spelling is correct, the teacher moves to the next spelling word.

   However, if the student's spelling is incorrect, the student is directed to cross out the incorrect spelling and copy the correct word from the flash-card into the appropriate 'Self-Correction' blank. The teacher then moves to the next spelling word.  The process continues until the student has attempted all 20 spelling words. NOTE: The attached Student Sheet: Spelling Words with Shared Rime is conveniently formatted for this spelling-review activity.

3. Record Correct Student Responses. While conducting this intervention, the teacher records each word that the student reads and spells correctly and notes the date of that correct response. NOTE: The teacher can use the attached Recording Sheet: Repeated Review of Spelling Words with Shared Rime to record correct responses.
4. Continue With the Current List Until Mastery. The teacher continues using the current wordlist in successive sessions until the student can respond without error on both the reading and spelling task for all 20 words on the list. The teacher then selects new word families and generates a new wordlist.