Tell your child that sight words appear silently in the world around us. This approach helps commit the word to their long-term memory. Have your child form the sight words they are learning on the cloth using the pieces of yarn. Lay a blanket or towel flat on the floor for a dark backdrop. Using brightly colored yarn, cut out short (about 3 inches), medium (about 6 inches) and long (about 10 inches) pieces. “We live in North Carolina, but my grandma lives in Georgia.” Make Wormy Words This can be challenging, so be ready to slow down with your child as they try to use their new word in a sentence and give lots of high fives when they can use it correctly! Have your child tell you an original sentence using their new word. Sight words are meaningless until we know how to use these words in our own conversations. For “you,” they can point both their hands at you while repeating the word “you” they read from the card. For example, for the word “my,” kids can wrap their arms around themselves and say “my” while looking at the word. Bring a new word to life by creating a movement or gesture to help them build an association to the word. Act it OutĪll children benefit from acting out words. For the word “in”, you could draw the word “in” inside of a bubble. For example, for the word “my”, you could draw a small girl hugging the letter “y” to show her saying “my”! For the word “it”, you could draw a small creature that looks like a thing or an “it”. If you’re writing sight words on note cards or pieces of paper, add a small picture or detail that might help them remember it. Your child has mastered this new word when they can show you that they can read the word at least 5 times on their own, while its in the context of a book.įor many kids, it’s easier to visualize a picture with a word.Finally, if your child has started writing, have your child write the word in a notebook.For example: how, “h” tap the shoulder, “o” tap the elbow, and “w” tap the wrist. Next, using the hand they write with, tap each letter of the word down their opposite arm.Have them try to trace it from memory on their last try.
Say each letter as you trace it then say the whole word while underlining it.
We’re learning them so we can enjoy a good story and read words to learn. Sight words have an important job because without them a lot of books and writing would not make sense. The most important aspect of teaching sight words is teaching kids WHY they must memorize these whole words.