Linking Words Their Way with Vocabulary A to Z

 

                      We have used Words Their Way all year long, and recently I found an incredible way to enhance the program and to deepen my students understanding of the vocabulary. My class has six different WTW groups, and some of the higher groups are very advanced spellers. This is great, however, some of them are spelling words and have no clue what they mean! I used to have them get out dictionaries and look up the meanings, but not only was it time-consuming, there were always lots of questions regarding multiple meanings and contexts. Well, Vocabulary A to Z has saved my sanity and I have discovered a great way to link it to WTW! 

First things first, you have to have a log-in to Reading A to Z. I know my school district has purchased licenses for all teachers.If you do not have access to Reading A to Z then STOP READING NOW, just kidding, feel free to read on, but this probably won't be very helpful to you! 

 

               So the good news is that if you have a Reading A to Z account then you already have Vocabulary A to Z as well! True Story! I didn't know this for about a year! I'm so sad that I missed out on this for so long. 

 

 The first step is to click the Vocabulary A to Z tab at the top of the screen. This is the page that will display. Then in the search bar you are going to type your kids words that they have for the week for WTW.

              This page will show you if the word is in the database, and you just select the word and it will move up into the "Word List" box. You can add up to 12 words per list. 

               Even though Vocabulary A to Z has a large word database, sometimes the words will not be loaded. You can either load it yourself, or just skip it. Depending on the group, I give my kiddos between 6-12 vocabulary words. Once you have selected all of your words, find step three and hit "next".

 

              At this point you can decide if you want to save it or download it without saving. I figured it would be easier to re-create the vocabulary lists as the students move through the year, so I don't save mine.

 This is the best part! It compiles a 34 page document of vocabulary work specifically for the words you chose! What what! Here are some examples of what is inside the packet.

 

 

              Isn't this F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S?!?! It's sooo user friendly and I have seen amazing growth in my students vocabulary and understanding of their WTW word studys! I hope you are able to use this too! Let me know if you have any questions!