Word sorts were something I didn't think I would be doing much of as a 5th grade teacher. However, after completing the spelling inventory with my class it became obvious that most, if not all, of my students would benefit from words sorts of varying skills. I decided to ask a kindergarten teacher friend of mine for her advice when it came to sorting and how to best introduce this to my students. Of course, small group sorts work the best. It allows the students to concentrate more and receive more guided redirection and specific instruction. I did introduce word sorts to the class as a whole and we did complete some basic sorts with magnetic word cards on my white board. however, when it came time for explicit instruction on certain skills I found it easier and more beneficial to work with fewer students.
Thanks to the Common Core mentality, I immediately began to think about how I could introduce vocabulary into the word sorts based on patterns and that is an idea that I plan to continue to explore. 5th graders use a lot of higher vocab with complex word structure so I'm determined to make it happen. :)
All in all, I found words sorts to be a surprisingly beneficial tool.
Concept sorts work well for reinforcing content vocabulary. They can be used after the lesson and then repeated at home or the next day to reinforce learning. There is a good example of a concept sort dealing with honey bees on page 37. This can also be used to scaffold learning for insects. I can see it starting a base for where our food comes from and why bees are important to agriculture.
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