Monday, January 26, 2015

Sight Words-A Constant



Sight word mastery is so important for kinder-1st grades.  Having a solid sight word foundation prepares students for reading.  Without it, kids really struggle to read beginning books.  I spend a lot of time incorporating sight words into my days at school.  This is a constant for me throughout the year.  I expect my students to be able to quickly read and spell all 100 of the Fry's First 100 Sight Words.  We do many things in class to secure this:

1.  I start the year with ALL 100 sight words on my word wall.  This is up for debate.  Some like to introduce the words slowly, but I prefer to have them all up, all year to give my kids constant exposure to them from day 1.  It's definitely what each individual feels most comfortable with.


2.  I have an interactive, magnetic word wall where students are encouraged to come up and get the word they need for use in Writing Workshop or any other type of writing we may be doing in class.


2.  We start learning and practicing our words very early in the year.  I do morning message with my class 1st quarter.  I incorporate those 1st 25 words into my messages every day.


3.  We play review games at least once a week.  Some of our favorites are Sight Word BINGO, Musical Sight Words, and Board Races.



4.  I incorporate sight words into my guided reading instruction.  We do Sight Word Flashcards or Sight Word Fluency Strips daily.



5.  I test students quarterly to see how they are doing with the reading and spelling of the words.  I send home the tests and letters with parents to let them know what words their children still need to master.


6.  Every week for centers, there is a sight word center.  Some favorites are Dot-a-Word, Play-Doh Words, Magnetic Words, and Sight Word Stamping.





And finally, I constantly stress the importance of sight words with my students.  I also constantly stress that sight words are NOT intended to be sounded out.  They are to be memorized.  

All of the items shown above can be found in my Teachers pay Teachers store if you'd like to take a look.  Just click the picture/banner below to check them out.


What are your favorite ways to practice sight words??  I love finding new ideas!

xo
Megan


3 comments:

Lee Ann Rasey said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

I also have an interactive word wall so the kids can take a word down to use during writing. But the problem we are having is that if one student takes a word and 2 or more students needs that same word, they can't find it because the first student has it at their seat. How do you deal with that situation?

Lori said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

Fun ways to get in sight word practice, Megan! We are constantly working on this too. Love your word wall!
Lori
Conversations in Literacy

Unknown said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

How did you make your word wall magnetic? I am looking for most cost-effective way. Thank you

Post a Comment

Thanks for your comments!