The document discusses word study techniques for teachers, including a Feature Inventory approach that provides a comprehensive assessment of a student's full word knowledge rather than just their stage of development. The Feature Inventory results in a total score that can track student progress over multiple years and allow comparisons between students. The document also interprets different score ranges on the Feature Inventory, indicating whether a student has a secure understanding, is in a stage of development, or has too much unknown without a firm base of previous understanding.

1. Making Word Study
Work
Jenny Boyle and Tiffany Jensen

2. Credit Information
• Course Name: Making Word Study Work
• Workshop Number: 48645
• Dates: April 5 & May 21
• Augustana College: EDUC 659
• University of Sioux Falls: EDU 543H

3. Feature Inventory
• Is a comprehensive option that provides the same
instructional information as the brief approach. However,
because it is more extensive, it enables teachers to assess the
full range of a child’s word knowledge, not just stage of
development performance.
• The information that results from this approach leads to a
total inventory score, which is useful for following children’s
progress from year to year as well as for comparing the
progress of students.

4. Interpreting stage scores on
the Feature Inventory
22-25 Secure Understandings
• The speller is competent and confident at this stage and
demonstrates firmly developed understandings.
12-21 Stage of Development
• The student is confronted with new spelling issues that
challenge existing understandings
Below 12, but with strong scores on previous stage
Early Stage of Development (WW, SJ, DC)
• A lot the child doesn’t know at this stage, but a solid base of
understanding from which to progress.
Below 12 Too Much Unknown
• Without a firm understanding at the previous stage, scores
below 12 reflect an overload of new issues.