As part of our word work to reinforce strong spelling skills, we use word sorts. Students sort a group of words by "family" or pattern. We work with the words over the period of a few days so that students have time to become familiar with the pattern and will be more likely to apply it in their own independent spelling. The sorts are differentiated so that the students can work on the spelling patterns most appropriate for their level of spelling development. One of our favorite activities with the word sort is to do a "Blind Sort" with a partner. Each sort category has a heading, which is laid out for both partners to see. One partner reads the word to the other partner (without showing them the word -- thus the "blind" part) who has to point to which group it should go in. This can get pretty tricky when you start having multiple patterns for one vowel sound. Visual learners are usually really good at this!
