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As I mentioned in my previous emails, Children's Reading Partners surveys teachers at the beginning and the end of our programs to see where students need help and how they have improved. Over the next few weeks, I will continue sending you weekly tips to address the areas where our students need the most help, based on the results of our fall evaluations. I want to thank you for taking the time to read these emails as these tips are designed to specifically target your students' area of literacy needs.
Our fall 2016 Elementary Express survey found that 66% of students in kindergarten through second grade need improvement in reading "high frequency sight words."
Sight words are essentially words that a student should be able to automatically read on sight. These words appear frequently in various texts, but cannot always be easily sounded out. Some examples include "there, where, he, she, the, only."
How to help:
Since sight words cannot be easily sounded out using general phonics rules, the trick is to repeatedly expose students to the words until they are able to recognize and read the words on sight. In your reading sessions, have your student read beginning reader books with sight words that appear frequently and repetitively.
Dr. Seuss books are actually perfect for building a child's knowledge of sight words, as they specifically feature sight words in repetitive rhyming schemes that are both engaging and instructional. Take the following passage from Green Eggs and Ham, for example:
I would not, could not, in a box.
I could not, would not, with a fox.
I will not eat them with a mouse
I will not eat them in a house.
I will not eat them here or there.
I will not eat them anywhere.
This passage repeats throughout the book, offering the student a fun and engaging way to become more familiar with these words. If you find that your student has difficulty reading certain high frequency words on sight, I highly recommend bringing some Dr. Seuss books to your next reading session.
Happy reading!
Alana
Alana Butler
Director, Children's Reading Partners
860.727.6152
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