SAIL: A Framework for Promoting Next-Generation Word Study

Abstract

This article introduces SAIL, an instructional framework designed to help teachers optimize students’ learning during small‐group word study instruction. Small‐group word study interactions afford opportunities for teachers to engage students in thinking, talking, advancing vocabulary knowledge (including general academic vocabulary), and making connections to reading and writing while furthering students’ knowledge of orthographic features. Yet, often, these opportunities are not leveraged. The SAIL framework encourages attention to these areas through four components: Survey, Analyze, Interpret, and Link. First, the author describes the SAIL components; then, to reveal some of SAIL's potential for enabling more robust instruction, she presents transcribed vignettes from a first‐grade classroom. The highlighted classroom was part of an exploratory study of K–1 classroom implementation of SAIL. SAIL can also be applied with learners at more advanced elementary grades. A list of elementary‐appropriate general academic vocabulary words is included.

Key Knowledge to Support Phonological Awareness and Phonics Instruction

“…Accordingly, phonics instruction need not involve only rote teaching methods. Contrary to criticisms that phonics instruction involves only “skill and drill,” phonics instruction can and should involve children in higher level tasks such as reflecting on words, grapheme–phoneme correspondences, and orthographic patterns; analyzing how words sound and are spelled and how these relate to meaning; and evaluating their own decoding and spelling to see whether and why their attempts are successful or unsuccessful (for examples of ways to integrate such higher‐level instruction, see Freeman et al, 2019; Ganske, 2016).…”

Word Knowledge Instruction: We Can Walk and Chew Gum at the Same Time

“…Student talk and cognitive engagement are emphasized. For elaborated discussions of the minilesson and smallgroup instruction, including transcription segments, see Ganske (2016Ganske ( , 2018.…”

“…Many small‐group, word introductions involve categorization activities to teach children about the sound, pattern, and meaning features of the English language. Because AV instruction is important but may not be taught and instruction in word features is critical for novice readers and writers, the SAIL framework ( survey, analyze, interpret, and link ; Ganske, 2016) was developed to integrate the two. SAIL involves initial teaching of an AV word, typically via a whole‐class minilesson, followed by its use during the talk of small‐group, word‐study instruction.…”