©Susan Close Learning, 2020

Name: ___________________________________________________________________ Date: ____________________

Brain words… a word mapping

“Hear, say, write & explain stores new words in the brain.”

Say & write the word… Copy the word & √ letters you got right Write & explain…

1. • Hear a word

• Say the word

• Talk about the

meaning/s…

• Write the word as you think it will be spelled

Research underpinnings This word mapping routine is called orthographic mapping and is based on recent reading science research. Words a learner spells correctly are stored in the brain for automatic recall. Words not spelled correctly can fairly quickly be corrected and stored by using the routine. References

Kilpatrick, D. (2015). Essentials of Assessing, Preventing and Overcoming Reading Difficulties. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Gentry, J.R., and Ouellette, G. (2019). Brain Words: How the Science of Reading Informs Teaching. Portsmouth, NH: Stenhouse.

Miles, K., and Ehri, L. (2019). Orthographic Mapping Facilitates Sight Word Memory and Vocabulary Learning. In Kilpatrick, D., Joshi, R.M., and Wagner R. (2019). Reading Development and Difficulties. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature.

2. • See the word

correctly spelled

• Copy the word in box 2

• √Put a check on letters you got right – right on the word in box 1

• Highlight on the

word in box 2 where you made mistakes

3. • Write the word again

• Explain what you learned about the correct spelling

• Play with the word a bit.

Coaching points: If the word has two syllables, clap the word: rug/ged, put a line under each syllable; say the word in syllables, spell it out loud in syllables, then say the word again, and spell it fast.

If the word has a blend at the beginning, like ‘tr’ in trail, say the word, put a line under ‘tr’, and another under ‘ail’, say the word and spell it: tr/ail. This will help the learner hear the second letter in the blend.

4. Put the word in a Personal Word Book.

• Draw a picture beside the word, to show the word’s meanings.

Word fun: take the word book out from time to time.

• Open to any page and choose any word to be spelled.

Orally &/or in writing, invite the learner to spell the word. If s/he gets it right, put a √ beside it; if it needs correcting, show the correct spelling to the learner, invite the learner to put a check √ on letters s/he got right, copy the word correctly, highlight where the error was made, write it again and explain the error/s.

Words spelled correctly 3-4 times are usually are stored in the brain for life. The goal is to have as many words as you can on automatic. Vocabulary has a massive influence on reading development.

©Susan Close Learning, 2020

Two examples from Gr.3 students working with vocabulary from Robert Blake’s book, Akiak:

An example of how you might set a paper up for word mapping:

Name: ___________________________________________________________________ Date: ____________________

Brain words… word mapping

“Hear, say, write & explain stores new words in the brain.”

Hear… say… write Copy… √, highlight Write & explain… 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

©Susan Close Learning, 2020

Brain words… word mapping

“Hear, say, write & explain stores new words in the brain.”

Hear… say… write Copy… √, highlight Write & explain… 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

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Brain words… word mapping “Hear, say, write & explain stores new words in the brain.”

Hear… say… write Copy, √, highlight Write & explain… 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.