Words Their Way Classroom® Supplemental Literacy Homeschool Program for Grades K-5

Words Their Way Classroom® is a supplemental literacy homeschool program that provides all the resources needed to personalize word study instruction to meet individual student needs. Developed by renowned authors Donald Bear, Marcia Invernizzi, Francine Johnston, Shane Templeton, and Lori Helman, the latest edition provides a complete, integrated print and digital experience.

  • Strengthen phonics, spelling, and vocabulary skills
  • Teach word study at students’ developmental spelling stages
  • Build word knowledge through hands-on sorts and interactive digital activities
  • Implement in just 15-20 minutes per day using easy, step-by-step lesson plans
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Teach Word Study with Words Their Way Classroom

Words Their Way Classroom provides personalized word study instruction and engaging, hands-on word sorting practice.

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Personalized Instruction and Practice

The program personalizes word study instruction and practice based on the five developmental spelling stages, making it easy to meet students’ diverse learning needs and grow their literacy skills.

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Engaging, Hands-on Word Study

Students actively explore, compare, and categorize word patterns and relationships through hands-on and interactive word sorts, helping them build true word knowledge (not rote memorization!).

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Easy, Manageable Instructional Routine

Homeschool parents and teachers only need 15 to 20 minutes per day to provide students with engaging, effective word study. Each lesson provides strategies to model the sort, practice it, and apply and assess learning.

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Interactive Word Sorts and Digital Resources

Every lesson has an associated digital word sort where students can click-and-drag pictures, words, and/or spelling patterns. Printable games and other resources add extra practice options.

Homeschool Bundle Details

The bundle includes: 

  • 8 consumable Word Study Notebooks for homeschooling your child for Grades K-5
  • Teacher Resource Guide 
  • Implementation Guide 
  • 6-year access to the Savvas Realize digital platform


Shop Bundle Offerings
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Word Study: An Interactive Approach for Teaching Word Knowledge

  • What Is Word Study?
  • How Do Word Sorts Work?
  • Words Their Way Classroom
  • Phonics, Spelling, and Vocabulary

Word Knowledge, Not Memorization

Word study teaches students how to organize, analyze, and compare words and their features — moving them beyond rote memorization and into true word knowledge. 

One of the most powerful word study techniques is the word sort, which has students explore, compare, and categorize word patterns and relationships.



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Word Sorts: Actively Engaging Students in Word Study

At the heart of every word sort is the same process: First, students identify the meaning and properties of each word, sound, or picture. Second, students sort the words (or sounds or pictures) into collections with similar features. Words may be sorted by meaning, sounds, spelling pattern, or other properties.

Word sorts can be done as fun, hands-on activities using print resources or as interactive online practice using digital materials.



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How Words Their Way Classroom Teaches Word Study

At the heart of Words Their Way Classroom is the hands-on or interactive sort. The sort invites students to group words or pictures representing specific sounds into categories. 

Most sorts begin with teacher-directed instruction along with questions to guide student learning and generalizations.



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How Word Study Grows Literacy Skills

Word study is an effective, engaging way to build students’ phonics, spelling, and vocabulary skills. Students are encouraged to think deeply about the sounds and letters that form each word, helping to strengthen their phonics and spelling skills.

In addition, the word sort process links students’ prior knowledge to the new vocabulary they learn and use as they sort words, building their word knowledge.



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Strengthen Literacy Skills with Words Their Way Classroom Supplemental Literacy Program

  • How the Program Personalizes Word Study
  • Fun and Engaging Word Study for Students
  • Easy and Manageable Word Study for Teachers
  • The 5-Day Weekly Word Study Routine
  • The 5 Developmental Spelling Stages

How the Program Personalizes Word Study

  • Developmental Spelling Stages

    Words Their Way Classroom offers a complete set of ready-to-use resources—lessons, sorts, and activities—for each of the five research-based stages of spelling, so homeschool parents and teachers have everything needed to personalize word study based on each student’s developmental spelling stage.

  • Meeting Individual Needs
    Each lesson includes ideas for providing extra support (or challenge) for students who may need it, as well as strategies for supporting multilingual learners. The Implementation Guide provides additional tips for differentiating instruction according to individual student needs.
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Fun and Engaging Word Study for Students

  • Hands-on Practice
    Each developmental spelling stage has an associated full-color, consumable Word Study Notebook (available in print or as a digital printable). These pages are designed so students can cut and paste words into sorting categories for hands-on practice.
  • Digital Interactivity
    Kids love digital interactivity! These online word sorts allow students to click-and-drag pictures, words, and spelling patterns, plus instantly check their work. There’s an Interactive Sort associated with each lesson.
  • Big Book of Rhymes
    Designed for students in earlier developmental spelling stages, the Big Book of Rhymes provides vividly illustrated poems that teachers can use to introduce the sort and grow students’ vocabulary.
  • Games and More
    Digital resources include printable word study games, picture and word cards, and more to give students additional support and practice.
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Easy and Manageable Word Study for Teachers

  • Everything Needed for Word Study

    One of the greatest challenges to implementing word study in the elementary classroom is developing all the materials needed for effective word sorts. Words Their Way Classroom provides everything homeschool parents and teachers need to deliver effective, personalized word study for all students in their classroom!

  • Easy, Step-by-Step Lessons
    The Teacher Resource Guide provides a simple and effective lesson plan for each sort. The guide includes objectives, routines, multilingual learner strategies, differentiated support, and assessment ideas.
  • Group Students
    The Qualitative Spelling Inventory helps teachers place students in their correct developmental stage of word study. Students then work in small groups based on their developmental spelling stage.
  • Monitor Progress
    Prebuilt spell checks can be used as a spelling pretest to assess prior knowledge, or as a posttest immediately following instruction.
  • Reinforce and Extend Core Instruction
    Words Their Way Classroom is an ideal complement to core ELA instruction! Use word study to give students additional practice with the phonics, vocabulary, and spelling skills learned in their core reading program.
  • Additional Teacher Resources

    The Implementation Guide provides homeschool parents and teachers with helpful background and information about the program, along with strategies for implementing and managing the program in an elementary classroom.

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The 5-Day Weekly Word Study Routine

  • 15-20 Minutes Per Day
    Homeschool parents and teachers who use this 5-day routine only need about 15-20 minutes per day to provide students with engaging, effective word study.
  • Day 1: Introduce & Model

    On Day 1, homeschool parents and teachers introduce vocabulary using a Big Book of Rhymes or a curated Word List, then model a picture, sound, or word sort for students.

  • Day 2: Practice the Sort
    On Day 2, students practice the sort and pattern using hands-on print and interactive digital sorts.
  • Day 3: Practice Writing Sorts
    On Day 3, homeschool parents and teachers can use a writing sort to connect the pattern or skill to writing. Interactive digital writing sorts are also available!
  • Day 4: Word Hunts
    On Day 4, students can hunt for words and patterns in reading. Each Words Their Way Classroom lesson provides a digital Classroom Library book for word hunts!
  • Day 5: Word Sorting Games
    On Day 5, students can play engaging word sorting games. Homeschool parents and teachers will find a printable PDF with a fun game included in the Teacher Resource Guide for each sort.
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The 5 Developmental Spelling Stages

  • Five Research-Based Stages
    Words Their Way Classroom uses a developmental model that recognizes the synchronous nature of reading, writing, and spelling. The program personalizes instruction based on which stage students are at along the literacy continuum.
  • Emergent – Early Letter Name
    Students at this stage have an incomplete knowledge of the alphabet and may not use any sound-symbol correspondence.
  • Letter Name
    Students apply the alphabet literally or spell phonetically, representing most strong sounds and beginning consonants, but omitting silent letters and preconsonantal nasals.
  • Within Word Pattern
    Students correctly spell most single-syllable words with short vowels, and can recognize consonant digraphs and two-letter consonant blends.
  • Syllables and Affixes
    Students correctly spell long-vowel and high-frequency words, but may make errors at syllable juncture points and in unaccented syllables.
  • Derivational Relations
    At this stage, students spell most words correctly. They are growing their knowledge of vocabulary and spelling patterns of low-frequency, multisyllabic words derived from Greek and Latin roots.
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Take a Closer Look at Words Their Way Classroom

Program Overview

Get a quick overview of Words Their Way Classroom

Teacher Resources

Explore teacher resources for word study

Student Resources

Explore student resources for word study

Try a Words Their Way Classroom Lesson

  • Emergent – Early Letter Name
  • Letter Name
  • Within Word Pattern
  • Syllables and Affixes
  • Derivational Relations

Sort 8, Beginning Sounds r, s

 

At this stage, the word study focus areas are: concept sorts, rhyming sorts, beginning sounds, letter recognition, ending sounds, and digraphs.

 



View Sample Lesson
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Sort 9, Word Families -op, -ot, -og

 

At this stage, the word study focus areas are: beginning consonants, same vowel word families, digraphs and blends, mixed vowel word families, short vowels, preconsonantal nasals, r-influenced vowels, and contractions.

 



View Sample Lesson
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Sort 31, Vowel Digraph oo

 

At this stage, the word study focus areas are: short and long vowels, other long vowel patterns, r- influenced vowels, diphthongs and other ambiguous vowels, complex consonant clusters, and homophones

 



View Sample Lesson
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Sort 49, Suffixes -y, -ly, -ily

 

At this stage, the word study focus areas are: compound words, inflected endings, open and closed syllables, accented syllables, unaccented syllables, consonants, prefixes and suffixes, homophones, and homographs.

 



View Sample Lesson
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Sort 30, Greek and Latin Elements cap, ped, corp

 

At this stage, the word study focus areas are: prefixes and suffixes, Greek and Latin roots, advanced spelling-meaning patterns, and prefix assimilation.

 



View Sample Lesson
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Enhance Word Study with Interactive Digital Resources

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Savvas Realize - logo

The digital components of Words Their Way Classroom are all hosted on the award-winning Savvas Realize® digital platform. Realize integrates with a wide variety of digital tools and systems.

Word Study Resources for Homeschool Parents and Educators

  • The Essential Elements of Word Study
  • Scope and Sequence
  • On-Demand Webinar
  • Word Meaning and Word Study

Dr. Donald Bear: Word Study to Teach Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling

What does word study look like, and what does it take to provide explicit and differentiated word study instruction? Dr. Donald Bear explores the essential elements of word study in this free whitepaper.

Read the Whitepaper
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Scope and Sequence for Grades K-5

See the full list of sorts for each developmental spelling stage for Words Their Way Classroom. Sorts are sequenced to progressively build students' phonics, vocabulary, and spelling skills as they move from grade to grade and from stage to stage.

View the Scope and Sequence
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Strengthening Phonics and Vocabulary with Word Study

Watch this free, one-hour webinar featuring award-winning author, professor, and literacy expert Donald Bear as he shares best practices, quick tips, and helpful resources for implementing word study in K-5 classrooms.

Watch the Webinar
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Dr. Shane Templeton: The Critical Role of Word Meaning in Word Study

In addition to spelling-to-sound and sound-to-spelling relationships, students need explicit instruction around the meaning of words. Learn how word study grows students’ knowledge of vocabulary, morphology, homophones, and homographs.

Read the Whitepaper
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