Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Sight Word Ideas

Tricky reading a clue he left for the students.
I am trying to introduce at least 100 Sight Words this year. I have spread them out throughout the year, pairing them up with themes, sounds, poems, etc. I try to introduce them in a memorable way (like Jolly Phonics intros. sounds). We distinguish between the sight words that are just that sight words: see, look, made (these words follow the sound rules) and tricky words: was, said, the (don't follow the rules). We have a dog named "Tricky." He introduces the tricky words (he hides the flash cards in his dog house and the Top Dog of the day pulls them out to show the class). Tricky talks to me. He loves playing tricks on the FDKers. Last week Tricky was concerned because WOULD and COULD are oh so tricky. Tricky had the kids put on our Sight Word Glasses, trace the words in the air, on the carpet and using our legs to write in the sky. Whew.  Would they remember these words? Could they?


Tricky really put the students to work finding the sight word FIND. He had kids hunting down clues and finally lead the students outside. Flashcards with the word FIND were everywhere. After the FDKers found the word cards, they had to write the word on the blacktop. Then the kids found out they could play. Hurray!

Hurray for nice weather that let this lesson work so well.  We always fill out a Sight Word Sheet when we learn a new sight word. If our dog friend Tricky is on the sheet the kids know it's a tricky word. It's fun to see how much better the sentences on the back are now as compared to the beginning of the year.



2 comments:

  1. I love the little dog "Tricky" for introducing those words. Super cute! I also like to hear about your kids writing on the blacktop with chalk. That really is a good way for kids to remember the words and it's great to be learning outside! Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Alison, what a totally awesome idea! I'm going to run out and buy my own "Tricky" dog. I read your profile and I also like theater, singing, and dance. Have you ever heard of Kate Miller-Heidke or Caro Emerald? They don't sing children's music, but they're both phenomenal. I would be so happy if you could come and take a look at my blog and pick up some freebies. I'm also interested in your inclusive classroom because I am totally blind myself.

    Your newest follower,

    Sharon Dudley, NBCT
    http://teachingwithsight.blogspot.com

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