Editors' Note: When this article was posted in Reading Online in February 1999, readers were invited to comment on it through a bulletin board feature that was discontinued when the journal was redesigned in July 2000. Following are the comments posted to that bulletin board.

Readers who would like the opportunity to comment on this or other articles in the journal are invited to contact the author directly (an e-mail address is available on the opening page) or to post messages through Online Communities.

Post 1

Author: Krista Schwarz _Schwarz
Date: 07-08-1999 12:31

This method of exposing students to phonics, spelling, and new words sounds really good. I have been doing some research to find methods of phonics instruction that are unique and fun for the students, as opposed to having them complete workbook pages that do not transfer into their daily reading and writing. I like how this is very hands-on for the children. They are engaged in the lesson, instead of listening to the teacher lecture. This sounds very practical as a classroom activity, and I plan on trying it in my classroom next year!

Reply 1a

Author: Francine_Johnston8
Date: 09-08-1999 16:59

I like making words and I like some of the ideas in this variation but I do have some concerns. Making words is not very well researched. The only real comparative research was done by Hall, Cunningham, & Cunningham in a report published in the 44th NRC yearbook and it found that word sorting was more effective than making words in a test of 4 spelling treatments. Word sorting as developed by Ed Henderson and his students at UVA (see a 1998 RT article by Bear and Templeton for a summary of this work) focuses upon 2 or 3 vowel sounds and/or patterns in a great deal of depth over several days. Making words seems to cover a lot of sounds and patterns but nothing in any depth. On the suceeding day new sounds and features are covered. This may be all that is needed for some learners, but I feel sure that it is not thorough enough for the children who need systematic word study the most.

Reply 1b

Author: Timothy_Rasinski
Date: 09-13-1999 13:54

Francine: thanks for your response. I agree that Word Sorts are an excellent way to help students learn a lot about words and how they work. Word Sorts are absolutely a part of any intervention we do with students.

I do feel compared, however, to add to your comments regarding the article that found that Word Sorts were superior to the Making Words activity. In the study students receiving the Making Words treatment made significant progress also in their word learning. Moreover, the thir grade students in the Making Words group were significantly below the Word Sort group at the beginning of the study, suggesting that the MW students had made significantly less progress in spelling over their first two years of school than the WS group. Thus, although the MW students made less progress than the WS group, put in the context of the progress made in previous years, the MW students' gains were also impressive.

I also need to point out that in the study that you reported on no teacher was satisfied that the method they were assigned to teach (making words, word sorts, etc) met their needs or the needs of their students. As it turned out, it was an instructional routine that combined the Making words, word sorts, and other activities, that had the greatest impact on student achievement and offered the greatest degree of satisfaction for teachers.

I think Gerry Duffy and Jim Hoffman say it well in this last issue of The Reading Teacher where they argue that it is not the instructional method that makes the difference but the teacher -- the way the teacher molds an instructional strategy to meet the needs of his or her own students. They also recommend that we get away from simple comparisons of one teaching method against another, and move on to more complex descriptions and studies of instruction that works for kids. I have found that an instructional routine that employs Making and Writing Words along with Word Sorts, contextual reading, word pattern instruction, cloze activities, and other word study activities works best for the students with whom I work.

Tim Rasinski

Reply 1c

Author: Morgan_Potter
Date: 09-26-1999 11:56

This concept of Making and Writing Words really appeals to me. I feel that is program can be easily done in the classroom without too much hassle. However, there is not enough research on the subject that tells us if this really does improve word recognition. I will be interested in hearing future developments on this subject.

Reply 1d

Author: Karla_Stroet
Date: 11-10-1999 13:07

I want to take this opportunity to thank Timothy for sharing his Making and Writing Words activity with the world. I am a pre-service teacher who is always looking for alternatives in teaching students in innovative ways. I agree with Timothy that it is vital to know where your students are at so you can develop instructional strategies that fit them the best. It is inevitable that within a class of 25-30 students there will be a number of different learning styles, but if teachers include Making and Writing Words with several other activities, the needs of all the students will hopefully be met. I imagine Making and Writing Words will be a particularly effective strategy because the students are constructing their own meaning and they can physically manipulate the words they create in a number of different ways. One extension I thought of for this activity is for intermediate age students to devise their own "challenge word", think up the clues for the other words, and develop their own sorting categories once the teacher has demonstrated it. The students could then work in small groups where each of them takes a turn at sharing their activity with their group. I have not tried the activity myself, but I will be integrating it with at least one of the themes I will be teaching during the next year. I wonder if the best way to research whether these strategies are effective is to be conscious of what is occurring when we use them in class, and then pass on the information to other teachers? If anyone has any pointers or would like to share their experience with Making and Writing Words I would be interested to hear about them.

Reply 1e

Author: Rebecca_Eschmeyer
Date: 12-01-1999 11:32

This article was very informational for me as a kindergarten teacher. I never have used the Making Words program, but I was slightly aware of it. You did a very nice job of presenting your ideas of why you believe Making Words works and why you have adapted it for older students so they are now Making and Writing Words. I do agree that it is important for primary students to actually manipulate those letter squares to form words. This is part of their learning process. I will begin using this skill with my students who are ready for beginning reading and writing skills. Thank you for the informational article!

Reply 1f

Author: Jowanna_James
Date: 09-10-1999 14:50

This article provides a postive outlook of the future of technology and education, and how "doing" becomes learning. I plan to use this article in my Reading Center this fall.

Reply 1g

Author: JoAnn_Tiemann
Date: 12-07-1999 15:01

I also agree with this form of teaching students how to make and write words. After reading this lesson, I became anxious to also try this lesson in the future. I thought that the idea of having the kids be so active as the teacher is as well will keep them on task and in to the lesson. I really like how the students are engaged in making and writing words as they are guided through the activitiy along with the teacher. I also like how the progression of the activity leads to more deep understanding of the overall objectives. NICE JOB!

Reply 1h

Author: Rosalind_Pehoski
Date: 03-04-2000 19:08

I have used Making Words for five years in my first grade classroom. I also found it was lost instructional time for each child (28) to choose the appropriate letters, either from classroom letter boxes or from individual baggies in their desks holding all the letter cards needed. They were often lost, on the floor, etc.

I adapted the format to whole classroom instruction using foam-magnetic letters (courtesy of HB). It works great! We are all involved and learn from our mistakes, the best teacher of all! Also, I can call on individual children according to their ability...easier words for less able learners...challenging words for those more advanced. All feel successful. I also send a Making Words Sheet home every week in my Weekly Homework Packet, similar to the sheet I downloaded. Letters on top, boxes below to make words.

There is no doubt in my mind that this format has greatly enhanced my reading program.

Thanks, Tim! Excellent article, both in content and style. I will now use your variation also! Interesting how you separated vowels from consonants, with the addition of punctuation. I have two books for Making Words. Are their others?

Rosalind

Reply 1i

Author: jennifer_snevel
Date: 04-20-2000 16:47

Rasinski's article is great for any teacher for students who are learning to read and write. He makes a good arguement about the small pieces of paper being difficult to manipulate and keep track of. I enjoyed working through his variation of the MWW. This is a great step by step process to follow, and still gives the teacher a lot of room to "do their own thing." They are not just listening to the teacher or copying down words from the board. This activity allows students to create words with letters from a given group-the answers are not given to them!

Reply 1j

Author: Deb_MacCallum
Date: 06-20-2000 23:33

I have used Making Words for the past two years in my first/second grade looping classroom. The first year my first graders had their own letters in plastic bags that they kept in their desks. We lost a great deal of instructional time finding the bags of letters in their desks and sorting them for the lesson. As Mr. Rasinski stated in his article, students would lose the letters as they fell to the floor, the letters were torn or bent, or they flew away when someone walked by their desks. The second year, I put all the letters in a clear plastic tackle box from WalMart in which there was a place for each individual letter. When it was time for Making Words, students would come and get the letters displayed on the overhead. They still lost their letters, but we saved some time sorting this way.

Students find this activity engaging because it is challenging for all levels. The more proficient spellers work to find the "challenge word" before anyone else. The less proficient spellers are able to spell simple words most of the time. The students are encouraged to help each other to succeed. Each student is given an opportunity to spell a word successfully because I choose the students according to their ability. They go to the overhead and say and spell the word with overhead letters. Making Words is a valuable tool for scaffolding word building and for improving word recognition.

I agree with Mr. Rasinski that the original Making Words is best for first grade because students at that level need to develop a greater awareness of word structure by manipulating the letters and through practice spelling the words. The variation of Making and Writing Words would be of great value for second grade and above. Older students can use the additional practice of writing the words instead of manipulating the letters to spell new words. This extra writing will help them remember the structure and spelling of words.

Thank you, Mr. Rasinski, for an interesting article and the variation of Making and Writing Words. I look forward to trying it in the classroom.

Reply 1k

Author: Karen_Roloff
Date: 06-23-2000 14:39

I enjoyed this new idea of MWW and its exciting expected outcomes for students at many grade levels. MWW is flexible, inexpensive, and through extension activities learners of various grades and abilities can benefit from this activity. I teach first grade and find Cunningham's Making Words activity to be valuable, but it is also very time-consuming and troublesome for students to manipulate letter cards, especially at the beginning of the year. Through MWW, students are given opportunities to make consonant and vowel pattern distinctions and can record new words onto word sheets for later use. Students advanced in writing, could use the MWW activity in not only making the letter/sound/word connection, but also the reading/writing connection.

Mr. Rasinski explained ways for teachers to address areas of language such as opposites, word families, contractions, vowel pairs, word meanings, and semantic clues by broadening their usage of the MWW activity. The MWW-LP extensions allow students to use letter patterns derived on word cards to reaffirm meanings, word families, and parts of speech through games, sorts, and word walls. These options are great for teachers who enjoy a variations in instruction to address new reading topics.

I have used Making Words extensions into writing through the Early Success Reading Intervention Program. MWW brings many of the same benefits for students through active engagement in the writing process. I would be interested in student outcomes and teacher reactions in relation to MWW. Do students enjoy the activities? Are they engaged and successful in deriving extension words? I feel that MWW-LP is a great variation to MW and could be an even more successful activity when used with an oral language extension.

Post 2

Author: Rebecca _Crass
Date: 09-13-1999 22:38

I read the article Making and Writing Words Using Letter Patterns, and then accessed the article Making and Writng Words. This sounds like a great approach for increasing word recognition. It actively involves students in word building, and helps them see common spelling patterns in words.I plan to use it in my resource classes. I have 4th and 5th grade students whose reading levels range from 1st to 3rd grade. I was wondering if you would recommend using the onset and rime approach of the MWW-LP, or beginning with the individual vowels and consonants of the MWW for my students. I like to stress that my students look for patterns in words so the MWW-LP appeals to me; however, I do not want to overwhelm my students.

Reply 2a

Author: Robyn_Weaver21
Date: 10-02-1999 12:18

I found this method of teaching work recognition to be very interesting. I just completed a reading course in which I had to tutor a middle school student in reading. I think I could have used this method to help my student and have fun at the same time. The article provides a lesson plan that anyone can use. This is most helpful when trying a new method with students.

Reply 2b

Author: Hannah_Boone
Date: 12-06-1999 23:15

I enjoyed reading the article about the MWW method becuase in the MWW method I see students practicing many valuable language skills being practiced such as spelling, word recognition, conceptual learning of new vocabulary terms, group work, and hand-eye coordination. I agree that the MWW method seems to work better with a sheet of paper listing the possible letters and the graph with a spot for the appropriate words to be written as opposed to dealing with small slips of paper that may be easily destroyed, lost, or damaged.

What I would have liked to have read about in the article about the MWW method was what the specific student reactions were when they were given an MWW activity to complete. Likewise, I would have liked to read an excerpt from an teacher who had used a MWW in his or her classroom to get thoughts on the benefits and disadvantages of this instructional method.

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