Building words isn’t just for younger students! Building words from larger words such as constitution, ratification, amendment, and delegates formed last week’s word study activities. 

Not only does this activity require high-order thinking skills, but also gives students opportunities to practice and apply phonemic learning as students build a stronger understanding of language. When using letters of a larger word, students explore how to use short and long vowel sounds to form words, and how their knowledge of spelling patterns can also help them increase their spelling skills. 

First, students worked in small groups to build words using the letter tiles of the larger word. Then, they traveled around the room to record what they found. As a class, we checked each list and added words, as needed. 4th graders were so excited to add more and more words to their lists. We will continue using this strategy periodically as we build words, check our understanding of learned spelling patterns, and discover new words and sounds.