Remember This?! Series: Intermediate Word Study

One of the goals of the Remember This?! Series is to help busy ABE practitioners avoid reinventing the wheel and to not forget old resources that can serve us well today. So, for this installment, we go back more than 20 years to the original publishing date of Intermediate Word Study by Marn Frank. This free resource reminds us that phonics and alphabetics aren’t just for beginning English Language Learners (ELLs)!

In its own words, Intermediate Word Study is “‘mini-lessons’ for teaching intermediate alphabetics skills: compounds, syllable types and rules, common suffixes, prefixes, and roots.” It is appropriate for use with intermediate and advanced ELLs and native English speaking adult education learners, and it employs evidence-based approaches and explicit instruction. The detailed instructions, explanations and grab-and-go mini-lessons guide teachers and tutors who lack the training and confidence to teach alphabetics, but understand its importance.

It includes: 

1. Short, easy-to-use assessments  
2. A mini-lesson model for daily or weekly instruction 
3. Teacher / tutor scripts for explanation of compound words, the six syllable types, the five syllabication rules, common suffixes and prefixes, roots (common and less common) and the schwa sound
4. Twenty-five pages of multi-syllable word patterns for modeling and guided practice 
5. Ideas for student independent use of multi-syllable words and application to text or life 

This short slide deck provides a clear, brief overview of the 70-page document that is Intermediate Word Study. It’s a great starting point to get a general understanding of the document and everything it includes. Alternatively, you can dive right into the full version here. 

Previous installments in the Remember This?! Series:

• Remember This?! Series: Beginning Alphabetics Tests and Tools (BATT)

• Remember This?! Series: Pronunciation Instructional Support Kit
• Remember This?! Series: Voter Education Resources
• Remember This?! Series: Phonics and Phonemic Awareness ESL Instructional Support Kit
• Remember This?! Series: Reading ESL Instructional Support Kit
• Remember This?! Series: Mini Pronunciation Lessons for Improving Final Consonant Articulation 
• Remember This?!? Series: Literacy Workstations for Pre-Beginning ELLs
• Remember This?! Series: Classroom Videos:  Activities for Adult ESL Learners
• Remember This?! Series: Speaking and Listening ESL Instructional Support Kit
• Remember This?! Series: Citizenship ESL Instructional Support Kit

For questions or comments about this Tutor Tip contact Tutor Training Coordinator, Meghan Boyle, at mboyle@literacymn.org.