ABSTRACT
Word study techniques have gained much attention by reading educators, and many educators are incorporating them in their literacy programs. Word study techniques have also been coined a contemporary way
5 to teach phonics and considered to be spelling-based phonic techniques (Stahl, Duffy-Hester, & Stahl, 1998). There are various word study techniques, but one that has been described and researched is word sorts (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, & Johnston, 1996;
10 Cunningham, 1995). Word sorts are designed to help children examine, discriminate, and categorize words according to spelling and sound patterns (Barnes, 1989). Word sorts have multiple uses. Word sorts can be useful for helping children spell words, helping
15 children recognize words, make word analogies, become aware of the phonemic structure of words, learn about morphemic structures of words, and gain meaning of words (vocabulary) (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, & Johnston, 1996).
