Sight words break the phonetic code in some way. Many pieces of sight words are phonetic, like the /th/ in the and the /c/ in could. However, every sight word has at least one component that is not phonetic. For example, the /e/ in “the” is irregular and the /oul/ in “could” is also irregular. There are about 120-150 sight words worth memorizing. That’s it! That’s a tiny fraction of the overall 170,000 words in current usage in English.
Learning sight words is difficult for kids with learning disabilities like dyslexia and ADHD. If a child is really struggling to learn sight words, be sure to focus on incremental (or systematic) phonics instruction. This will allow kids to read the pieces in sight words that are phonetic. If they can break at least one part of the code, they can more easily unlock the entire word. For example, if a child can break /c/ and /d/ in “could,” they can try to think of a sight word that begins and ends with those sounds.
Dinosaur sight word activity for Kindergartners
The following is a printable coloring activity for Kindergartners. Have the students read and spell each word. Make sure you introduce 2-4 new words at a time. Thus, not all of the words in the activity should be new. If your student can read at least some of the sight words on his own, he will feel more confident. Put the sight words on flashcards and make sure your student practices reading and spelling them daily. Click on the link for the dinosaur sight word activity for Kindergartners:
For a dinosaur sight word activity for older kids, check out last week’s post.
Reading Elephant offers printable, systematic phonics books that teach kids to break the code. The books are written methodically to help kids learn one sound unit at a time. The bundle purchase includes our full printable library.
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