However, age is just one reference point to use when assessing a child’s readiness for sight words. In fact, in many states in the US, the curriculum for sight words does not start until Kindergarten, with the only “sight word” requirement for reading and writing in Pre-K being their own name. If a child has developmentally been on track for other milestones such as crawling, walking, and talking, then odds are they will be ready for sight words at age 5. The first (and most imprecise!) suggestion is age. Here are a few ways to gauge if a child is ready to start learning sight words. Not every child is ready for sight words at the same time, and that’s okay! So when speaking casually with parents and other teachers, I take sight words to mean any of the words that beginning readers need to learn to read instantly on sight – whether or not they’re ‘sound-out-able’. (Yes, for you and me, just about every word is a sight word… more advanced readers generally only need to figure out a word once before internalizing it.) If they can’t read them quickly and fluently, they’ll lose the thread of meaning and struggle with comprehension. Others broaden the meaning to also include high frequency words – meaning words children will encounter often as they begin reading, even if they’re easy to sound out – such as it, had, and run.įor both groups of words, kids must learn to decipher them at a glance. Some educators reserve that term for words that kids can’t sound out with beginning phonics skills – such as the, one, and you. So, not everyone defines “sight words” the same way. I know she’s not alone, and so this post is for her and other parents and childcare providers with similar concerns. I had a blog reader write to me recently asking if I had any suggestions for her 4-year-old who was struggling to learn sight words. But don’t worry – if that’s not your cup of tea, this post will make a handy cheat sheet for you.
Lately, I’ve been teacher-geeking out, reading sight word research of Linnea Ehri, Marilyn Jager Adams, and others. The more I learn, the more convinced I am of this. But, in hindsight, I wonder if we should’ve been emphasizing other things.
Yes, we played games and made the experience playful. We spent a lot of time working on sight words when my own children were small. We also review which early literacy skills children should master before jumping into sight words. Inside: This post helps parents and caregivers understand when it’s best to teach sight words.
0 kommentar(er)
