Teachers in Virginia love being able to use WordSort with students in their classrooms. They have had access to some version of this software for over ten years but the most recent WordSort provides everything needed for closely designed word study instruction--randomly selected and already programmed words at specific readability levels (grades 2-4), a teacher report to keep track of children's progress in accuracy and speed, the ability to create word cards that match the computer sort, and now the inclusion of picture cards for sound sorting. This is the software of the new millenium...a perfect selection for teachers who understand about spelling and phonics and the relationship to reading fluency and comprehension.

Mary Pyman Abouzeid, Ph. D.
Professor Curry School of Education
University of Virginia

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      I know of a couple of my former students who have it in their schools (in particular in their Title 1 Rooms). They and the kids really enjoy it, and the sorting is wonderful for their recognition of patterns. In this same school, they print out some of your lists of words to sort and play with in the kids' classrooms as well. The pattern sequences are handy for teachers who don't quite know which patterns to have kids examine first and in what order. We also use it extensively in our clinic when tutoring children. I always notice progress as the kids sort words and then play follow-up games using words with similar patterns.

Dr. R. Jeffrey Cantrell, Associate Professor of Education
University of Scranton, Scranton, PA
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    Research has confirmed that word sorting is one powerful strategy to build the necessary word knowledge to improve spelling and decoding skills. WordSort software offers teachers and students an excellent format for providing additional practice at individual levels of assessed need. I especially like the feature that allows students to adjust the time allocated (i.e. speed sorting) to build fluency as well as accuracy. This software is simple - direct - powerful - and effective!

Dr. Kevin Feldman
Director of Reading & Early Intervention
Sonoma County, California
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    I wanted to personally thank you for the thousands and thousands of hours that you have personally put into making an incredible program which is a PERFECT example of putting "theory into practice". I have never seen a spelling program that is so closely aligned with the stages of spelling development. You program does exactly what we need it to do for kids. …it's true you don't have the fancy bells and whistles; you don't have music, color, dancing bears, sound. But you don't need it and I don't want it. In fact, your program does EXACTLY what we need it to do: visually expose students to the PATTERNS that they are "using and confusing" so that they can sort them and begin to GENERALIZE AND CONCEPTUALIZE (rather than memorize) spelling patterns. Extra gadgets and gizmos that fancy programs have would detract from the educational value. I want kids LOOKING at the words, reading the words, sorting the words...AND I want them to do it QUICKLY AND ACCURATELY. Your program does not need Pavlovian "stimulus response" rewards like dancing animated characters for getting the right answers. The kids learn quickly that if they have speed and accuracy they can move to the next level. I believe effort creates ability. Your program fits with that paradigm.

Cindy Marten
Reading Specialist
Los Peñasquitos School
Poway Unified School District

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    For about the last month, I have been using your software. My very "low motivation" students are really engaged in using this software. What I like about it is that they find the immediate feedback very reinforcing and totally nonthreatening. I want to thank you for providing me with an evaluation copy of this program. I wish it went into Syllable Juncture (Suffixes & Affixes) level."

Lisa Gefvet Payne
Special Education Teacher Leesburg, VA
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We will be building a new school on our current site. I am working on removing everything out of my classroom and into a much smaller space by the Wednesday of this week. I just sat down to ready my 6 computers for the move. Sadly, these systems will be off the network until some time in the spring. Without the network and the software available over it, I will need to pick and choose what I will be running on these stand alone work stations. For me as a classroom teacher, software that is most useful is software that is flexible enough to span the needs of all of my first graders. I am here on Saturday to load the new version of WordSort on my workstations before I dismantle them and move them because it is that important.

The departing class entered with some children who weren't quite sure what letters were, some who knew their names but not their sounds, others who were beginning to blend words and still others who were reading independently. WordSort allowed me to target their specific needs for practice. They left with a few reading at the primer level, most on target and a few reading at the third fourth or fifth grade level. A few of my students were just beginning easy short and long vowel sorts. Others were working on r-controlled patterns, and still others were ready for vowel digraphs and diphthongs. It is my goal that all of my students, no matter what their level of reading/spelling development when they arrive, leave at the end of the school year having made a year's growth or more. WordSort is valuable to me as a classroom teacher because any day during any assigned computer practice session, each student is working on what they need to practice or learn next.

Why am I here in my classroom on a Saturday when school is out to set up the new version of the software on stand alone workstations? With WordSort I can assign and monitor each student's progress with an engaging high quality research based practice activity at her or his own developmental spelling level. I wanted to share my thoughts briefly with you, before visiting the web site to upgrade to the new version. Thanks for making WordSort even more available to teachers.

Susan Wolters
First Grade Teacher
San Andreas Elementary School

San Andreas, California