I recently reviewed Mindful of Words , Spelling and Vocabulary Explorations 4-8 by Kathy Ganske.
The book is a great resource for teachers and tutors who work with upper-level spellers. Based in developmental spelling research and vocabulary learning, the book helps teachers understand how to assess students’ word knowledge and how to teach in a way that encourages a love of words.
Mindful of Words picks up pretty much where her other book, Word Sorts and More left off, and covers the challenging topic of syllable juncture and derivational constancy spellers.
As with all her books, this newest one is full of practical, teacher-friendly ideas for implementing word study within a classroom. Word sorts are provided for teachers, and the appendix includes 100+ important words for math, science and social studies.
In addition to those helpful timesavers, throughout the book readers will find “Did You Know?” questions that explain something about word origin (for example, where “Saturday” gets its name, the origins of the word survey and skyscraper).
So…this book can not only help you learn more about how to engage older students in a mindful way in word study, it will also give you ice-breaker material for your next adult gathering! For example, do you know the origin of the word pumpkin?
About the Author
Along with her background as a professor, researcher, writer, and teacher, Joanne Meier is a mom. Join Joanne as she shares her experiences raising her own young readers, and guides parents and teachers on the best practices in reading.
Publication Date
September 29, 2008