Words, Words, Words
This year our spelling program focuses on different patterns that will be important for second
graders and will support them in their reading and writing. Every two weeks they
will study a word pattern and be required to sort these words and brainstorm
other words that apply to the pattern. Students will be practicing these sounds
and patterns using words that are at their developmental stage of
spelling. They will be learning how these patterns help them as readers
and how these patterns apply to bigger words. These are words that we hope your
child will remember when writing. Remember the focus is on the pattern, and not
just memorizing the words.
Every two weeks your child will bring a list home of 15 words that fit the pattern. You can help
your child practice these words by sorting them at home and implementing some of the following activities below.
Another part of the spelling program that we will focus on is high frequency
words. These are commonly used words in second grade reading and writing that
occur frequently. Some of them are sight words (you can only know them by
memorizing them) and others are decodable words (which can be sounded out).
Along with the 15 pattern words your child will be responsible for learning five
high frequency words every two weeks. Learning how to spell these will again
support their growth in reading and writing. Activities to practice high
frequency words at home are listed below.
This year our spelling program focuses on different patterns that will be important for second
graders and will support them in their reading and writing. Every two weeks they
will study a word pattern and be required to sort these words and brainstorm
other words that apply to the pattern. Students will be practicing these sounds
and patterns using words that are at their developmental stage of
spelling. They will be learning how these patterns help them as readers
and how these patterns apply to bigger words. These are words that we hope your
child will remember when writing. Remember the focus is on the pattern, and not
just memorizing the words.
Every two weeks your child will bring a list home of 15 words that fit the pattern. You can help
your child practice these words by sorting them at home and implementing some of the following activities below.
- Sort, Check, and Reflect- Ask your child to sort the words. To check, have your child read down each column to check for mistakes. Ask your child to reflect on how the words were categorized and tell you what is the same about each group. Lastly, you can brainstorm other words that fit the pattern.
- Word Hunt- Look for this word pattern in books. Write down the words
you find, underlining the pattern part. - Speed Sort- Use a time to see how fast your child can sort the words
correctly. Record the time and then have your child sort again to see if he or
she can beat his or her own time. - Memory- Turn all the cards face down. Ask your child to turn over two
cards and read the words. If the two cards have the same feature, it’s a match!
Take turn looking for matches.
Another part of the spelling program that we will focus on is high frequency
words. These are commonly used words in second grade reading and writing that
occur frequently. Some of them are sight words (you can only know them by
memorizing them) and others are decodable words (which can be sounded out).
Along with the 15 pattern words your child will be responsible for learning five
high frequency words every two weeks. Learning how to spell these will again
support their growth in reading and writing. Activities to practice high
frequency words at home are listed below.
- Word Hunt- Look for this word in books. Then write these words down
so they have practice learning the words. - Memory- Write the high frequency words twice each on small cards.
Turn all the cards facedown. Ask your child to turn over two cards and read the
words. If the two cards have the same word, it’s a match! Take turns looking for
matches. - Repeated Writing- Have your child practice writing the word 5 times
each so that they can see how the word looks when spelled correctly and feel it
when it is written. Your child can also trace the words with their finger on
smooth surfaces.