Mindful of Words: Spelling and Vocabulary Explorations 4-8

Providing a wealth of tools to enhance upper-level spelling and vocabulary instruction, this engaging book features more than 120 reproducible sorting activities and games. It offers specific suggestions for helping students build mastery of vowel patterns, syllable structure, syllable stress, consonant and vowel alternations, compound words, prefixes, suffixes, and word roots. Also featured are "Did You Know?" sections with absorbing stories about specific words; tips from teachers at different grade levels; discussions of idioms; literature recommendations; and lists of vocabulary related to social studies, science, and math.

See also Ganske's Word Journeys, Second Edition: Assessment-Guided Phonics, Spelling, and Vocabulary Instruction, which provides a comprehensive framework for assessing and building word knowledge, and Word Sorts and More, Second Edition: Sound, Pattern, and Meaning Explorations K-3, which presents word study activities for the primary grades.

Kathy Ganske, PhD, is Research Professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Vanderbilt University. She has been involved in researching, using, refining, and teaching about word study practices since the 1990s. Dr. Ganske’s work is grounded in extensive teaching experience in elementary classrooms. Her current research interests include vocabulary development during small-group word study instruction and literacy reform in challenging schools. Dr. Ganske is the author, coauthor, or editor of several books, including Word Journeys, Second Edition; Word Sorts and More, Second Edition; Mindful of Words; and Comprehension Across the Curriculum, as well as numerous articles and book chapters.