If you are an avid Wait ‘Til Your Father Gets home follower, first, I thank you for your patience. I know I haven’t been around a whole lot, but there is an important reason behind my absence…
I’ve been immersing myself into the world of homeschooling for over a year now. I started with Pre-K last fall with my then four year old, and we’ve just started Kindergarten this August. He’s doing beautifully and truly learning a lot. I enjoy it too, even though it keeps me busy {and if I’m honest} on my toes. That boy of mine has an interest in many topics that this mama never once really thought much about….the solar system, weather, dinosaurs, and now–his latest interest–sharks! Gone are the days of me choosing picture books at the library. All that little man wants to do is check out the non-fiction section for his favorite topics!
In addition to my big Kindergartener, I’ve got a couple of preschoolers on my hands too. They are 3 and 2, only 14 months apart. Mostly we work on learning shapes, colors, letters, and numbers. I’m guessing since little miss {already} seems to be highly motivated and wanting to keep up with big brothers, she and my three year old will be going through school together for the most part!
I could probably write post upon post {already} on my very short experience with homeschooling. I hope to do that little by little each week starting NOW! Today I wanted to start with a very basic thing I do daily with my Kindergartener. We started this during his second half of Pre-K, so he was already familiar with the routine I have laid out. I’m talking about the ever important, learning of the sight words!
What are Sight Words?
Sight Words are also referred to as “high frequency words,” and they are, you guessed it, words that a reader sees the most in text. Plain and simple, they are the words that we just need to learn/memorize/know. Otherwise, your kids will spend their time trying to decode or sound out these words FOREVER and many of them really can’t be “decoded” like a typical, easy to sound out word. There are several “lists” out there for the order of importance for learning sight words. I’ve always followed the Dolch Sight Words list from my years as an elementary teacher. The other common lists used are Fry’s First 200 High Frequency Words. Here are a few resources I’ve used in whole or part with tons of success over the past year and a half:
Free Sight Word Dolch Lists from 3 Dinosaurs
Printable Sight Words from Dolch & Fry from This Reading Mama
Sights Words Assessment Checklists from TPT {this is a freebie}
Sight Word Rings and Checklist from Totally Terrific in Texas
Let me share with you my favorite {and most used} resource for sight words practice. It’s a complete set of the Dolch Sight Words from the blog, Kindercraze, in a ready to go flash card layout. All you have to do is print them on Avery 5163 labels and stick them on 3×5 colored cardstock. I even laminated my complete set, so I can use them with all three of my kids for many years to come.
Sight Word Flashcards from Maria at Kindercraze
I love the font she chose and putting them on colored cardstock makes them colorful and fun! While you’re at it, just start reading her blog because it’s seriously awesome. Then head her TPT store and start making your wish list because you will literally want all the things.
So, how do I use these you ask?
Weekly Sight Word Practice
Each Monday I introduce 5 new words to my kindergartener. We are using the Dolch list, so I started with the pre-primer list and move up from there. At the end of Pre-K he had about 30 sight words in his memory bank, so for Kindergarten, I started with those words first as a review {and to boost his reading confidence once again}. I go through each list and add 5 new words per week. Each morning, I share the 5 new words first followed by his words from the previous weeks. On Fridays, I give him a “quiz.” Some weeks I make a big deal about it, but most of the time, I just use a checklist with the new words added to it each week. Then I mark if he had any difficulty with any of the words.
Other Ways to Learn Sight Words
Although this isn’t necessarily “pretty” it is most definitely useful and practical way to study sight words on the go.
I simply hung a plastic sheet protector using some string around the back of the headrest of the passenger side of my truck. My son sits directly behind that seat, every single day. This gives him something to read and practice while we’re on the go. He’s also started learning his doubles addition problems in Math, so I’ve included those for him to study as well. When you think about it, you can use this idea for SO MUCH! Does your child have vocabulary words to learn for a foreign language class, or maybe they need to memorize plays for their football game this weekend, or perhaps they need to learn lines for the class play? Make a copy, slide it in the sheet protector, and tie it to the back of your driver or passenger seats. I’ve gotten many compliments on them from the friendly people at Publix who always offer to take my groceries to the car. A few teenagers even said they wish their mom had thought of that for spelling words when they were younger! I’m also secretly hoping my 3 and 2 year olds will just start learning things that are posted as well…we’ll see!
What are your tried and true methods for practicing and learning sight words with your young readers? I’d love to hear your ideas!
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