Description

Did you know there’s a science to learning “sight words”? We don’t have to tell kids to memorize hundreds of words. Once they know their letter sounds (and continue to learn more about diagraphs, diphthongs, etc…) they can sound out many of the high frequency words they need to learn.

Out of the 220 most commonly taught (Dolch) sight words, 150 are phonetic! So why do we tell students they have to memorize all of these words?

Allow students to use a dry erase board and markers or  a notebook and pencil. I always used dry erase boards with my students to save paper and so they could fix errors easily!

It’s important for all students to be engaged to make these connections and permanently store these words in their long-term memories.

They shouldn’t just watch and listen. They should be actively participating!

For some students, some parts of the word may seem irregular because they don’t know that phonics rule yet.

Make sure to point out and explain why certain sounds are actually not irregular, just a phonics rule they need to learn.

Ex:

In the word this, students may think the /th/ is irregular because they haven’t learned it yet.

In the word like, students may think the i_e is irregular because they haven’t learned about long vowels yet.