Providing a wealth of tools to enhance upper-level spelling and vocabulary instruction, this engaging book features more than 120 reproducible sorting activities and games. It offers specific suggestions for helping students build mastery of vowel patterns, syllable structure, syllable stress, consonant and vowel alternations, compound words, prefixes, suffixes, and word roots. Also featured are "Did You Know?" sections with absorbing stories about specific words; tips from teachers at different grade levels; discussions of idioms; literature recommendations; and lists of vocabulary related to social studies, science, and math. See also Ganske's Word Journeys, Second Edition: Assessment-Guided Phonics, Spelling, and Vocabulary Instruction, which provides a comprehensive framework for assessing and building word knowledge, and Word Sorts and More, Second Edition: Sound, Pattern, and Meaning Explorations K–3, which presents word study activities for the primary grades.

Part 1. Setting the StageBackgroundThe Context: What Is Word Study?A Word about HistoryTeaching ConsiderationsTeacher to Teacher: Tips from Teachers for TeachersPart 2. Word Study for Syllable Juncture SpellersIntroducing Compound WordsInflectional EndingsPatterns across Syllables: Other Syllable Juncture DoublingVowel Patterns in Stressed SyllablesUnstressed SyllablesConsonant ExtensionsPrefixes and SuffixesAdditional SortsPart 3. Word Study for Derivational Constancy SpellersRevisiting Prefixes and SuffixesConsonant AlternationsVowel AlternationsA Further Look at Suffixes and PrefixesGreek and Latin Word ElementsAppendix A. Homophone Rummy Answer Key: Sample SentencesAppendix B. Understanding PrefixesAppendix C. Applying Prefix Knowledge to Common Latin RootsAppendix D. Blank Word Card TemplateAppendix E. Sampling of 100+ Important Math WordsAppendix F. Sampling of 100+ Important Science WordsAppendix G. Sampling of 100+ Important Social Studies WordsAppendix H. Performance Records