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Sight Words |
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There are many fun
and exciting ways to teach sight words.
The following
information is my "secret recipe" for teaching sight words. |
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Definition:
Sight words are words that are
immediately recognizable and do not need to be decoded.
Sight Word Facts:
Sight words are the most
frequently used words in the English language.
Sight words make up about 50% of
any written text.
Students will be able to read more
fluently if they have learned to recognize sight words instantly. |
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Sight Word Books vol. 1
The Sight Word Books vol. 1 by
Kim Jordano is a great resource. Each reproducible book
focuses on a different sight word and a different theme.
You simply copy the books, staple, and you have instant guided
reading books to use with your students. You can copy
different books for different reading levels. After you read
these with your students in class they can add them to their leveled
browsing boxes or take them home to read to their parents.
Reading A-Z
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A-Z is a subscription
site, although they do offer many free samples. A-Z is a
must if you are teaching sight words or guided reading. They
offer everything, not just printable books, they also have
individual lesson plans for each title, comprehension questions and
much more. Many school districts have subscriptions to A-Z for
their teachers to use. If your school does not have a
subscription ask if they will consider purchasing a site license.
A-Z has printable books for every theme and skill imaginable.
You can find books at A-Z that teach each individual sight words as
well as ABC books to print, a different one for each letter.
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Heidi Songs
Sing & Spell
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One of the most important things
to remember when teaching sight words is to make it both fun and
memorable; Heidi Songs offers a unique way to do just that.
Heidi has a song for every sight word and each song is so catchy
your kids will beg to sing them again and again. I had
such great success using Heidi Songs with my class this past
year I could hardly believe it. The parents could hardly
believe it either, their children were learning the sight words
so quickly and were singing the songs non-stop day and night.
Many parents asked for the lyrics to the songs so they could
help their children practice the words at home. Heidi
Songs was such a great success I decided to incorporate them
into our homework routine to spice it up. I printed the
sight words on flash cards, hole punched them, and placed them
on a ring. The students had to look at each card and sing
the corresponding Heidi Songs each night to their parents.
Click on the pictures of Heidi Songs above to visit her site and
hear samples of the songs. |
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Learning Workshop
Little Words Are
Everywhere CD & Chart
The Little Words CD from Learning
Workshop is a fantastic tool to introduce sight words to your
students. I begin teaching sight words by introducing the
Little Words song and corresponding chart. It helps if your
students know at least one or two words when you introduce the chart
so they will be excited about knowing some of the words but yet
still be motivated to learn more. The Little Words tune is
very catchy and easy for the children to learn, but the
corresponding chart is what really makes it an important ingredient
in the "secret recipe". You can click on the link above to
hear a clip of the song and see a sample of the chart. The
chart is unique and lends itself well to playing games. I
created a Little Words chart in Word and placed it under my ELMO so
the students could play games with it in a larger format. I
also printed out the Word document, copied it on cardstock- one per
child, laminated, and sent it home for homework. Students
could practice singing the song and pointing to the words each
night. I also created the Little Words chart in flipchart
format so we can play interactive games with it on our ACTIVboard.
Due to copyright laws I cannot share the charts with you, but you
can see a sample chart at the Learning Workshop link above.
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Rainbow
Words
Rainbow Words is a unique combination
of a sight word motivational tool, an organizational system, and a
tracking system all rolled into one. I have a hard time
remembering how many and which words each student knows. I use
assessment checklists but it is difficult to go around the room and
look at the list, then figure out what each student needs to be
doing. Rainbow Words is a fantastic solution to this problem,
you can click on the link above to visit their site and see detailed
explanations. Basically, it's a large rainbow you place
on your wall, each color of the rainbow is assigned certain words
that stick on the rainbow with Velcro. Their words follow a
certain sequence that our district does not so I just re-arranged
the words on the rainbow to suit my needs. You don't even have
to use their words, you can make your own and stick them on the
rainbow. I color coded all of my sight word cards to match the
words on the rainbow. Now during word work time each student
has their own ring of color coded sight word cards and I know that
they are working on the words that they should be. It's also
easy enough for the kids to follow too, they always know which color
they are working on.
The motivational aspect of Rainbow
Words is another great feature. The students start out at the
bottom of the rainbow on purple with words like "I". They are
highly motivated to move up the rainbow to the next level and so on.
Each time they reach their goal and learn all the words of one color
they get a certificate of achievement in that matching color.
There is also a cloud and raindrop bulletin board motivational
system you can create- click on the picture above to learn more.
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