Introducing Sight Words

Knowing letter sounds plays an important part in learning to read and write. However there are many words in the English language that have spelling patterns that cannot be figured out by applying letter sound knowledge. For example, you cannot decode (sound out) words such as for and said. How do beginning readers learn these words? I am so glad you asked, they memorize them so that they are recognized by sight. Hence the term "sight words".

How do you know if your child is ready to learn sight words? Each child develops his/her reading skills at a different pace, but usually once a child has learned to recognize upper and lowercase letters and can tell most of the sounds that go with letters he/she is typically ready to learn sight words. However, if you start showing your child sight words and he/she is saying letters in the word or are having trouble remembering the words, he/she may not be ready to learn words yet. Most kiddos who are learning sight words are also beginning to realize/work on developing concept of word.

I knew my four-year old son was ready to begin learning sight words because the conversations we were having about words changed. Instead of asking me what letter things started with (ex: "Mommy, what does dog start with?") he started asking me how to spell words (ex: "Mommy how do you spell the word dog?" I knew that he had an awareness that objects are named by words. This could be because my husband and I spell a lot of things that we don't want to say out loud in front of the kids. You know, like if you are planning on watching a movie or having ice cream after the kids go to bed, the last thing you want to do is say the words "movie" or "ice cream." My kids do not do well with routines if they think they are going to be missing out on something. I guess our days of spelling will be coming to an end shortly.

My other, "oh, you're probably ready to learn how to read sight words" moment came one afternoon while my son was having quiet time in his room. He was looking at some books instead of napping and he calls me up to his room. He says, "I can't look at dese books Mommy, cause I don't know the words." I think maybe this was a ploy on his part so that I would let him come downstairs and watch a movie or something because normally he has no problem checking out the pictures in a book. But it dawned on me that he had a realization that there were words to read on each page and he didn't know what they said. So I said, "well, I can teach you some words so that you can learn to read on your own." He replied, "Dat sounds like a plan to me!"

So, that very afternoon, after quiet time, we started our sight word wall. Now, typically word walls are organized by letters of the alphabet, like the one in my classroom. (I'll try to remember to add a picture of that later). However, we simply don't have space for that in my house and I wanted to put the words in a place that will be visible every day so that we can practice. So, we have a very basic word wall going on the back of our pantry door in the kitchen.

I cut small squares of brown cardstock I had left over from another project and wrote them in my kindergarten teacher printing with a marker. I started with I and a because they are words that are single letters. Then I just add one or two other words each week that I know are found frequently in books or words that he has asked how to spell (for example, car). So far we have 7 words (I, a, go, see, at, car, the). I am planning on adding color words and other words that are important to his world (Mommy, Daddy, his sister's name, etc). If you need ideas for words to use, I recommend starting with the pre-primer Dolch word list created by Edward Dolch. The Dolch word list is comprised of 220 frequently used words and 95 nouns found in children's reading.

We read through the words once a day or every couple of days, usually when I'm making dinner. Sometimes we read straight through them in order or sometimes I point to them out of order. Occasionally he'll forget the newest word, but usually once he has them, he has them. He loves reading them for other people when they come over. It is especially impressive to his grandparents, who in turn think he's super smart. Also, I know he's really learning these words because I'll point them out in stories when I'm reading to him and he'll remember what they are. Checking that your kids can recognize the word in different forms and places is key to knowing if they truly have mastery of the word.

My advice, don't push hard, but take cues from your child. Look for more ideas for ways to practice sight words with your child in future posts!

The Lost Tooth Club

In Kindergarten February is a busy month. We celebrate Valentine's Day, President's Day and somewhere in there we manage to squeeze in dental health. One of my favorite books to teach dental health with is The Lost Tooth Club by Arden Johnson. In The Lost Tooth Club Olivia tries everything she can think of to get into the lost tooth club her friends have formed. You have to read this book to find out if Olivia finally makes it into the club. This is an excellent book to share with children who are about to or who have lost a tooth or two.

The Lost Tooth Club

Tricycle Press

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Listening

Active listening is truly an art. As a teacher and mother, I am often giving instructions and having conversations with my children and students. At the beginning of kindergarten I teach my students that you not only listen by hearing with your ears, but you also listen with your eyes, your body language and your brains. Not only do you have to sit still and look at the speaker, but you have to process what they are saying and determine how you should respond. It sounds simple enough, but getting children to actively listen takes teaching, practice and lots of patience.

Believe it or not, listening is a literacy skill mentioned on several Language Arts Virginia Standards of Learning as well as on literacy Common Core standards (for all you non-Virginia folks). Not only are students expected to follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (listening to others and taking turns) but they're also expected to listen to varieties of literary forms and follow directions. So, what can you do to foster listening growth at home? I'm so glad you asked. Here are four easy ways that you can help your child become a more active listener.

1) Have conversations with your children.  It sounds easy enough, but honestly, take an interest. Ask your child about his or her day and model good listening skills. This can sometimes be a little tricky if you're anything like me. Sometimes I feel like I'm running a million miles an hour and don't have time to sit down, stop prepping dinner, make eye contact and really pay attention to what's being said. That could by why my son always says, "Mom, look at me" before he starts talking. He actually will not start telling me something until I look. Well, that saying actually might be my fault, for some of those preschool discipline chats that began with, "look at Mommy when she's talking." Oops! But this is something simple that can be done on a daily basis and requires no preparation or materials and hopefully it'll set you up for the teenage years when you want them to tell you things and they won't.

2) Play Simon Says. Make listening a game. I've said it before and I'll go ahead and say it again, if it's a game, kids will do it. I can't tell you how many times I've started a quick game of Simon Says to get my students' attention when they are chitchatting. I actually call it "Mrs. Fields" says. It works like a charm and I don't have to raise my voice above the volume of normal speaking. Not only does it get my students' attention, but they have to listen to what I say and how I start the sentence.

3) Draw a Face/Monster. I recently played this with my son and he really got into it. All you need is a piece of paper (I used chart paper from our easel) and a few basic color crayons. I made our picture a monster, but a simple face will do if your child is not so into drawing monsters. First, I asked my son to draw a large green circle for the head. Then I asked him to draw two small blue circle eyes and a red square nose (yes, he drew a triangle instead of a square). From there we added more details, purple ears, orange hair, and a black mouth (the triangle teeth were his own creation). Your child will have to listen and follow simple directions to complete the face. This is also a great activity for practicing colors and shapes.

4) Say it once. This is probably the most important. One of my colleges recently gave me an article from Edutopia on 5 Ways to Get Students to Listen by Rebecca Alber. The first strategy was "Say it Once" which was very sobering for me because in 11 years of teaching and 4 years of being a parent, I repeat instructions until the child completes the task. I am a repeater. So why aren't my students and kids listening to me the first time? Because they don't have to, Mommy/Mrs. Fields will say it again, and again, and again. Nope, no more. I've quit repeating cold turkey, well, almost, I still catch myself repeating, sometimes.

I'd love to hear ways that you teach active listening in your home or at school in the comments below.

Steam Train, Dream Train

For Valentine's Day, instead of candy and chocolates, we gave our daughter a stuffed cat (because she loves kitties) and our son a new book, Steam Train, Dream Train written by Sherri Duskey Rinker and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld. That author/illustrator team may sound familiar to you as it is the same duo that wrote/illustrated the New York Times bestseller that I feature a few weeks ago, Good Night, Good Night Construction Site.

Steam Train, Dream Train is written with the same rhyming text as Good Night, Good Night Construction Site, but this time the story is about a train and it's many types of cars. The steam train is loaded up for the night by various animals. I love how this story integrates train vocabulary with regular children's items. For example paint fills the tankers, ice cream fills the reefer cars and balls are placed into the hoppers. After the train is full, you discover the train belongs to a child who is fast asleep in bed. It's been read at bedtime three out of the four nights we've had it and is quickly becoming a new favorite in our house. You should check it out too!

Steam Train, Dream Train

$9.60

By Sherri Duskey Rinker

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