How do you make teaching sight words fun? (2023)

How do you make the learning of sight words enjoyable for kids?

Stamp a Sight Word

My kids LOVE to play with stamps. The novelty of getting to use stamps and ink keeps them interested in their word work. Create a written list of the words your child is working on, and then using a set of alphabet stamps, have your child stamp each word, letter by letter.

By eliminating the need to stop and decode sight words, readers are able to focus on words that are less familiar and more difficult. And teaching sight words not only helps students read more fluently, it helps them write more efficiently too.

Playing the imitation game is a great and fun way to teach reading that doesn't require any additional materials. If you want to give this activity a go, when you're reading with your child, change up your voice and then ask them to imitate you while reading the same sentence you just read.

Write sight words on picture memory cards. OR cut index cards in half and write each sight word you want to use on two different cards. When students flip their two cards over, they must read the sight words. If they make a match, they get to keep the cards.

Sight words are words that students are expected to recognize instantly. With the right support, students can become so familiar with these words that they no longer need to pause and try to decode them. Some sight words are regularly spelled words, and some are spelled irregularly.

A: There is no one set prescribed order to teach sight words. Some teachers and parents teach the sight words from the Dolch or Fry lists in alphabetical order. Others use the lists and create their own order. Consider using the Frequency Fry List that has words ranked by the frequency of use for reading and writing.

Sight Words Teaching Techniques

Introduce new sight words using this sequence of five teaching techniques: See & Say — A child sees the word on the flash card and says the word while underlining it with her finger. Spell Reading — The child says the word and spells out the letters, then reads the word again.

Even if it's not possible to sing the exact pitches out loud, sight-reading helps the ability to feel the rhythm and get the general direction of the melodic notes and harmony just by looking at the music.

What are the characteristics of sight words?

Sight words are the words that appear most frequently in our reading and writing. Often these words do not have a concrete image that accompanies them. They are high-frequency words that may not be able to be pictured, and as such, they simply must be memorised and understood.

Sight words are common words that schools expect kids to recognize instantly. Words like the, it, and and appear so often that beginning readers reach the point where they no longer need to try to sound out these words. They recognize them by sight.

The child picks one card and turns it over so the word is visible, reading the word on the card. The child then picks a second card and also turns it over, reading the word on the second card. If the words on the two overturned cards match, the player removes the pair, placing them by her side, and gets another turn.

Teach 10 Words at Time

Research shows that students memorize sight words more efficiently when working on 10 words at one time. In my classroom, I choose 10 words to work on for two weeks. All are introduced together and practice each day.

It is easier to start teaching 3 to 5 sight words at first and then add more once they have mastered these first words. The noun sight words are taught to children when learning to read. Presenting flashcards, wall words, and posters to children helps them memorize the words through visual connections.

Why can't kids remember sight words?

If, after ample repetition, your child still can't remember basic sight words, it could indicate dyslexia, an auditory processing problem, or a visual perception disorder.

Sight-reading is hard because of the number of complex tasks you have to accomplish simultaneously in real-time.