Benchmark Word Detectives Instructional Series

Do you have students who struggle with decoding
and spelling?

Would you be interested in a program that not only helps them become proficient in these areas but taps into their intellectual curiosity?

Then you should consider the Benchmark Word Detectives series.

It is common to hear people talk about how English is idiosyncratic and full of exceptions. This belief  has led some students to feel that it is hopeless to try to remember general rules that are proposed to help them spell and pronounce words but often don't work. For everyone who has shared this frustration, there is good news. It doesn't have to be that way!

  • The English language is actually far more consistent than people realize,
    and it is possible for teachers to assist students in discovering genuinely beneficial patterns in our language that can help them develop into knowledgeable, strategic, and effective decoders and spellers. The Benchmark Word Detectives series is built on these patterns.
  • Literacy research has identified strategies that expert readers consistently apply to decode unfamiliar words. The Benchmark Word Detectives series is grounded in this research.
  • As every parent and educator knows, children are inherently curious. They love to make discoveries and understand how things work. It doesn't matter
    if the subject is physics, chemistry, mathematics, or the English language. The same principle holds. The key is to design an instructional environment that takes advantage of the latest research about how to spark that curiosity. The Benchmark Word Detectives series is designed to lead students to make discoveries about words, letters, and sounds that get them excited about how our language works.

We are delighted with the tremendous gains we have seen our students make using our programs, and we are proud of the enthusiastic feedback we have received from educators and researchers across the English-speaking world who have used the Benchmark Word Detectives series. Thus, as we unveil our first revision in our systematic update of our entire series, we encourage you to review our website and consider what the Benchmark Word Detectives series could offer you and your students.

The [Benchmark Word Detectives] program is grounded in theories about reading and spelling acquisition processes and is supported by research evidence for its effectiveness.
- Dr. Linnea Ehri,  City University of New York

 

Benchmark Word Detectives Series Overview

The Benchmark Word Detectives series is a family of instructional programs that has been developed and revised at Benchmark School by Dr. Irene Gaskins in collaboration with the Benchmark faculty and informed by guidance from several prominent reading researchers. The Word Detectives series consists of five multilevel, multidimensional programs designed to meet the word identification, fluency, and spelling needs of students at levels of reading proficiency from emergent reader through 5th grade. It is an approach to reading and spelling that:

  • is rich in language
  • honors children's differences by providing differentiated instruction
  • scaffolds discoveries about how our language works
  • focuses on whole words, patterns, and meaning
  • provides a motivating collection of activities that consistently promote active engagement.

Word Detectives teaches developing readers to approach word identification and spelling as thoughtful activities in which they:

  • Reflect on alternative strategies they have learned (e.g., letter-sound matching, application of an analogy approach based on spelling patterns, use of context clues) and
  • Flexibly apply the strategy or strategies that best fit(s) the current situation.

The focus on students developing awareness of their strategic options and taking control of their decision-making processes is why the program is often referred to as a metacognitive approach. The central strategy in the program is the analogy approach. In this approach, students are taught a consistent set of "key words" to use in decoding and spelling words that they don't know (e.g., using "he," "ten,", and "wish" to decode "replenish"). Key Words are familiar words chosen to represent each common spelling pattern in the English language.

Throughout the program, students are presented with activities that lead them to make and apply discoveries about our language. Students also use visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile procedures as they fully analyze the letter-sound representations in the words they are studying. All the while, students employ high-efficacy word study routines and engage with high-interest texts that are respectful of students' intellectual development.

The Five Programs are:

  • Word Detectives Plus Beginning Level
  • Word Detectives Transition Program
  • Intermediate Word Detectives Program A
  • Intermediate Word Detectives Program B
  • Introductory Word Detectives for 5th Grade and Above

During the past five years Benchmark has launched an exciting
re-development effort of programs in the Word Detectives series. This effort is intended to align the Word Detectives series with the most recent research on decoding and spelling as well as the latest writing about student engagement and learning. Benchmark is pleased to be able to introduce the first revision in this process, Word Detectives Plus, Beginning Level, with revisions of other programs in the series to follow.