Reading
Last month we discussed reading to your children. This month I thought I would share ideas on sight words. What is a sight word?
Sight words are also referred to as high-frequency words and it means they are words that do not follow the phonics rules for pronunciation. They are some of the first words young children are encouraged to memorize to make learning reading and comprehension easier. The most popular list among educators is the Dolch List.
How can you help your child memorize sight words?
In the classroom, I would place a word on a card shaped according to the theme for the month. During the center reading time, the students would take turns at their reading center time to learn to read each card.
Basically, these are flash cards with a twist. I turned it into a game for the children. Before I knew it, they were ready for more words, and they were reading with success.
For my own kids, I took word strips, but you could use large index cards. Write the word and cut the word out according to its shape. Practice the word with your child and then paste the word on their bathroom mirror, bedroom bulletin board or a location that would involve them to see the word often. If you color code the word then they learn the part of speech at the same time. Exmaple: adjectives could be yelllow, verbs could be orange and nouns could be green.
