Learning Opportunities

AUDIENCE: GRADES K-9 EDUCATORS, INSTRUCTIONAL COACHES AND LITERACY LEADS ARE ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND.

Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) is an approach to literacy instruction in which teachers and students investigate English spelling system by looking at the interrelationship of morphology (bases and affixes), etymology (history), and phonology (grapheme-phoneme correspondences). In SWI explicit instruction of how phonology works in English spelling is essential. However, embedding that instruction in the context of words related in structure, meaning and history allows students and teachers to make sense of the suprising logic of English spelling. In SWI, words typically thought of as irregular like (does), (one), (love), (business), (rough) and countless others are not only understandable, but targeted to make sense of the system. The spelling-meaning focus also means that SWI instruction is used to build understanding of vocabulary and understanding of content area for students of any age or ability.

This session includes an introduction to:

• basic underlying principles of how the structure of English spelling system (interrelation of morphology, etymology and phonology)
• the "4 Questions of Structured Word Inquiry" to guide spelling investigations at any grade level and to understand the interrelation of morphology, etymology and phonology that drives English spelling
• introduction to the basic tools of SWI including matrices, word sums, etymological reference etc.