How to teach sight words at home to create fluent readers

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How To Teach Sight Words At Home For Busy Parents In 6 Simple Steps

Reading is such an important skill for kids to learn. It opens up so many doors and gives them the ability to learn about anything they want!

But reading can be tough, especially for little ones just starting out.

That’s why knowing sight words is so important. Sight words are common words that appear often in text, and they can’t always be sounded out.

By memorizing these words, your child will be able to read faster and with more confidence. Here are a few tips on how to help your kindergartener learn their sight words.

This post is all about how to teach sight words at home.

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Get Your Sight Words (And Supplies) Ready

You can download the list of common sight words printable flash cards here, or you can ask your child’s teacher for a list. Once you have the list, you can make flashcards out of it.

To make it more fun for your child, you can print the words on different colored paper.

Don’t forget to get a sturdy pouch or container to keep the flashcards safe.

Get your sight words printable flash cards here

Tips On How To Teach Sight Words At Home

Start slow and only introduce a few new sight words at once

There’s no need to overwhelm your child with too many new words at once. Start by introducing four sight words and ask your child to point to the word as you read it or vice versa. Once your child has mastered those four words, add two more to the list. By keeping the number of new words manageable, you’ll help your child feel confident and successful in their reading skills.

Put up the sight words in visible places at home

One of the best ways to help your child learn sight words is to have them up in visible places at home. For example, you could tape them to the door of the fridge or on the wall.

We have the sight words taped to the shower door and the glass door to our patio. That way, every time your child sees them, they will be reinforced.

Ask your child to point to the word as you read it aloud. Alternatively, you can point to a word and ask your child to read it back to you.

The more exposure they have to the words, the more likely they are to remember them.

Since we have the sight words visible when W eats and when he showers, we practice sight words at least 4 times at home after school!

Play games together that focus on sight words

There are lots of ways to make learning sight words fun. Be creative and you can choose from any of these fun ideas:

• Ask your child to write sight words using all capital letters. Write them again using all lowercase letters.
• Pour rice on a shallow tray. Ask your child to use fingers to write sight words on the rice.
• Use a keyboard or phone app and type sight words two times.
• Use playdough, pipe cleaners, or string to form the letters in the sight words
• Pick a different color for each letter and write sight words using rainbow colors.
• Count the number of letters in the sight words. Write them in order from least to greatest
• Ask your child to use his finger to write sight words in the sky.
• Grab a book and see how many sight words your child can find.

Read books that have a lot of repetition

One of the best ways to help your child learn anything is to read together. Choose books that have a lot of repetition or that focus on specific sight words. As you’re reading, point out each sight word as you come across it.

These are our favorite books with sight words for kindergarten

Give your child plenty of praise when they progress

One of the most important things to keep in mind when teaching your child to read is that everyone learns at a different pace. Some children will pick up the sight words quickly, while others may need more time. It’s important not to get frustrated or show anger if your child isn’t learning as quickly as you’d like. This can lead to negative feelings about learning and make it more difficult for them to pick up new words.

Instead, focus on providing positive reinforcement when they do succeed. This can be in the form of praise, stickers, or even a special treat. By keeping things positive, you’ll help your child build a love for learning that will last a lifetime.

Be patient and keep practicing

It’s important to be patient when teaching a child new words. It may take a while for some children to learn all of the words. Keep practicing and eventually they will get it. Try using different techniques such as flashcards or games to help make the process more fun.

Repetition is also key. The more times they hear the word, the more likely they are to remember it.

Learning sight words is such an important step in helping your child become a confident reader. By following these tips, you’ll have them reading like a pro in no time!

This post was all about how to teach sight words at home.

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