JUST A FEW COOL IDEAS FOR TEACHING SIGHT WORDS

One of the common themes from parents at interviews this time around was: "Do you have any fun or different ideas to help us teach our child sight words?" I'm going to list a few ideas in this post, but if you've come up with a great idea/game/website that you do at home with your child, please email it to me and I will add it to the post! Thanks!

WHAT'S THE PASSWORD? Hang a piece of dark paper on a door, the fridge etc. that says “What’s the password?” Underneath the construction paper flap is a sticky note (or multiple) with a sight word (or two) on it. The children have to tell you the sight words each time they enter the room. They get SO excited whenever there is a new sight word!

MAGNETS... Add the words in magnet letters to magnetic white boards, cookie sheets or your fridge. Throughout the day, mix up the letters and ask children to come up and fix the words.

CLICK HERE FOR A LIST OF SIGHT WORD CHANTS

Make a word with glitter glue. Wait until the glue hardens, and have him/her trace the letters while saying the letter name and then the word (“t” “h” “e”- “the”).

Have your child use glue to make the word and then place yarn over the glue.

Use Playdoh to make a word.

Have your child trace words in sand. I use meat trays and craft sand.

Of course, shaving cream is a popular multi-sensory activity!

Incorporating movement into learning sight words is also fun. Try having your child jump, hop, clap or tap out the letters of a sight word.

Make an old fashioned hopscotch game with chalk in the driveway and write sight words in each box.

We also call Sight Words "popcorn words" because the "Pop Up" in reading ALL the time! Pick a common word and let your child colour the ones they find with a yellow crayon, highlighter or marker in an old magazine or newspaper.

Make a BINGO game! There are many free BINGO sheet generators online, or better yet, just make one out of paper and a marker!

ONLINE GAMES TO HELP REINFORCE LEARNING

Let me say once again, you can not use computer games to TEACH. However, they can be a great resource to mix things up a bit and to reinforce skills already learned. Here are just a few.

1. Learn To Read

Learn To Read has 15 individual activities listed within the “Play, Book, Skills” format. The play component had children making words with similar endings eg cot, pot, hot, dot. The Book format then focuses on a sound like the “short o” and children click on individual words on the book to listen to the word and read along. The Skills format is either a video reinforcing a skill required for reading like “chunking” or practicing blends.

2. Dub Cubs

From PBS Kids, Dub Cubs focuses on rhyming words through allowing kids to make their own little rap. Complete with record scratching sounds and throwing in words like “funky” and “alright”!!

3. Three Little Plays

Another game from the fab Starfall. Three Little Plays has two components, firstly familiarising the child with the key words to be read in the play and then they read the play, by pressing on each word individually. What I like about this part is that the audio comes up slowly, so allows the child time to decode the word themselves.

4. Word Reader

Word Reader requires the child to listen to a word then click on its written form. It has a base of approx 35 words that it runs through of the easier sight words. My only issue is that the audio could be a little clearer to make it easier for the children.

5. Star Words

From BBC, Star Words requires the child to identify the shape of the sight words and match them up to the shape by either dragging the word to the shape or clicking on the shape.

6. I Can Read

I Can Read requires the child to listen to a simple sentence and the associated question. To answer the question the child will need to click on one of the high frequency words. (You need to click on listen after each time you have answered a question.)

7. Sight Word Bingo

Listen to the word the BINGO bug speaks and click on the corresponding sight word on the screen. Get four words correct vertically, horizontally or diagonally to get BINGO and win!

8. Dinosaur Eggs

Similar to Word Reader, Dinosaur Eggs requires children to listen to the words and then click on the matching text. The words in this game are from the harder high frequency words.

9. Spelling Practice

Select a Dolch Word List and listen to the word the dragon speaks. Click and drag the letters to spell the word correctly.

10. Word Search Creator

Make your own Word Search Puzzle - Junior! Children can practice spelling by making a Word Search Puzzle to search for words! At home or in school children can make their own puzzles and have fun learning to spell. You can print or play the word search online.