We’ve all heard the story of the child who goes to school and comes home disappointed after his first day.
Why? He didn’t learn to read.
Teaching reading is a long process which begins with children understanding that letters form sounds and these sounds go together to form words. This phonemic awareness is a crucial step in teaching children to read.
But not all words can be ‘sounded out’ or decoded using their phonemes. Have you ever heard a child try to sound out ‘do’? It doesn’t work.
Sight words (words children need to read by sight because they don’t follow a regular phonics pattern) and high frequency words (words that occur frequently in texts) form over half of the words encountered in texts. When children don’t know these words their reading fluency is greatly impeded.
With that comes a great deal of frustration.
We know that teaching these words can’t be a one size fits all approach.
Some children will only need one or two exposures to a new word in order to recognize it again. For others, it can be twenty or more.
We can meet the needs of our children by having our sight word and reading stations differentiated. Children can then learn at their own pace.
Sound like a lot of work?
It can be, but with editable sight word activities, it isn’t.
Reduce the Time it Takes to Organize your Sight Word Centers
Editable sight word activities are a huge time saver. When I need centers that have the right words for my kids, editable packs are my ‘go to’. I can easily create a range of sight word practice activities, all with the words I need.
To make a sight word center, I simply type in the words I want once to generate them on each activity sheet or game.
I print off what I need, save the pack, or if I don’t want those words again I just close it. When the pack is reopened, the editable field is clear, ready to type in the words I need for another reading group or child.
As quickly as that, I have games and activities that are differentiated for the needs of every child in my class.
Editable Sight Word Activities for Fall
If you’re getting ready for some fun fall activities, you’re going to love this pack as much as I do. (But if you’re looking for winter activities, read this blog post.)
It allows for up to six new words. If you’re only covering two or three new words that week, use the remaining spaces to include revision words. There are no guarantees that because you’ve introduced a new word to a child one week they’re going to remember it the following week.
Studies show that the average child requires between four and fourteen exposures to automatize the recognition of a new word so it’s important that revision words are always included in your activities.
With editable packs, it’s easy to make all the resources I need to ensure my kids are getting as much exposure to the words they need.
Focus on One Sight Word at a Time
Sometimes kids need to focus on just one word at a time, particularly when we’re teaching those tricky irregular words.
Playdough mats can be great for this. Set up a sight word center with the sight word cards the child needs, a tub of playdough, a whiteboard marker, and letters. Have your kids read the word, build it with play dough, make it with letter cut out or magnetic letters, and then write it. This multi-sensory approach to learning sight words helps kids remember the word.
You can also use the following activity sheet to focus on just one word. Kids read it, find it, write and then write it in a sentence.
Encourage Independence at Centers
It’s wonderful when your kindergarten or first grade students can work independently.
First, teach kids the routine and procedures for using centers. Once you’ve done that, having a visual instructions card for both the worksheets and games makes it easier for kids to work without teacher help. Of course having similar activities each month also helps, because kids know what’s needed to complete each activity.
Is it Visual Matching or Reading?
It’s important to make sure your kids are actually reading the words, not just finding words that look the same. After all, it’s easy to write, trace, daub or stamp a word without being able to read it.
Pairing children can help with this.
Give each child an activity sheet and you’ve made a game. When kids are partnered up they’ll read the words to each other.
And of course, games are great for getting kids to read their words.
When you have a black ink copy as well you can easily send it home for an exciting way for kids to practice those new words with their parents.
Card games are a fun way to consolidate sight words and involve a lot of reading.
Easily Make Activities for all your Word Work
Don’t forget it doesn’t just need to be sight words. Type any words you’re working on into the editable fields and you have an instant word work center.
I love using my editable pack with word families too.
If you’re a British English user, you’ll find activities made just for you included in the pack.
Grab a Freebie
Get started with editable sight words with two free center activities.
Want Easy Prep Sight Word Centers?
If you’re eager to have sight word games and activities that are engaging, rigorous and fun and suit the exact needs of your young learners, you’ll want to try this fall themed sight word pack.
The pack features:
♦ a single worksheet to focus on one word only
♦ 15 engaging worksheets to focus on six words of ANY length, many are perfect for partner play as well
♦ ‘I Can’ visual instructions
♦ 2 board games to use in small groups, one board game can be printed in color or black ink only so that you can send it home.
♦ A sight word card game
♦ 8 bingo cards
♦ a multi-sensory activity using your 6 focus words Children read the word, build it with play dough, make it with letter tiles and write the word with a whiteboard marker.
♦ an editable word list to use in class or send home
You can pick up a pack of fall themed editable sight word/word work packs from my Teachers Pay Teachers store for $5.
Or save big with this bundle of 16 themed sight word packs.
Editable sight word packs are going to make teaching sight words so much easier for you and lots of fun for your students. I know they will enjoy them as much as mine do.
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