Word Study Kit

The Word Study Kit is a set of 11 Montessori card activities — antonyms, synonyms, compound words, homophones, contractions, masculine/feminine nouns, and classified animal vocabulary — that build vocabulary depth once children are reading non-phonetic words independently. Children read the cards themselves, then sort, match, or complete phrases as self-directed games, with control charts built in wherever there's a single factual answer to verify.

Read these cards yourself to inspire your spoken language games. Then, once the children start reading non-phonetic words, set them free to play word study card games.

What's included:

11 card packets with detailed lesson plans for each activity.

1. Animals and their groups (cards and control chart)
2. Animals and their homes (cards and control chart)
3. Animals and their young (cards and control chart)
4. Antonyms 1 (physical comparatives like deep/shallow, hot/cold)
5. Antonyms 2 (states of being like awake/asleep, young/old)
6. Compound words
7. Contractions
8. Homophones
9. Masculine and feminine: humans (cards and control chart)
10. Masculine and feminine: animals (cards and control chart)
11. Synonyms

All cards are eco-made in the USA, laminated with a food-grade laminate, and ready to use right out of the box. CPSIA compliant.

Add-ons:

• Word Study Spelling Charts
• Color-coded cloth pouches to beautifully display and organize your materials.

How these materials work:

Children work alone or in small groups to read the cards and match them to their partner card. The cards have a built-in control of error so that children can find and fix their own mistakes. 

The Word Study Spelling charts offer a whole new round of word study vocabulary ideally suited for memory, spelling, and dictation games. Use these to continue the work the children began with the Word Study Cards. 

All of these materials can be extended for spelling activities. When two children are working together, one child can read a word on a card/chart while the other child tries to spell it with the movable alphabet or chalkboard. Children then use the card/chart to check their own work. When one child is working alone, they cover half of the card (e.g., animal homes) and have to remember what is missing before writing it down.  

Why word study matters for reading

Scarborough's Reading Rope groups word study under the Vocabulary strand of Language Comprehension — knowing what words mean and how they relate to one another (Scarborough, 2001). Antonyms, synonyms, homophones, and compound words all build this same relational knowledge: a child who knows that awake and asleep are opposites, or that flour and flower sound alike but mean different things, is developing the kind of flexible word knowledge that supports comprehension of increasingly complex text. This kit builds that knowledge through discovery-based card games rather than definitions to memorize.