Greetings, Bloglings!
We are working through many a phonics rule in summer school these days:
When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking! I before E, except after C! Use /ck/ after a short vowel! Magic E makes the vowel say its name! Listen to the Bossy R!
My sweet second graders have these rules memorized. The problem, of course, is that they only occasionally apply in English.
Enter Sight Words. Aside from for the benefit of individual students, I have not found a great need to emphasize sight words in my second and third grade classroom during the school year. Most of my students come into second grade with a strong enough reading foundation that has allowed me to implement balanced literacy instruction with high engagement in authentic reading. We systemically study words and spelling patterns in daily mini-lessons and independent work, and I am cognizant of the research supporting the importance of inventive spelling opportunities as opposed to memorizing weekly word lists in isolation. However, summer school has rendered me a bit less idealistic. This teacher only has four weeks, and I am pulling out all the stops to make the biggest impact possible in a short amount of time.
Sight Word practice can get very "drilly" very fast, so we've been using games galore to keep things fun! Today I introduced my Sight Word I Have... Who Has? game, and it was a hit! You can find 5 sets of this game, including every Dolch Sight Word from Pre-Primer through Grade 3, at the link below the picture.
Another fun option is Sight Word Splat! This gets kids moving as they "splat" colorful bugs labeled with sight words that are called out by the teacher or student partner. It's a silly game that's great for small groups.
Perhaps my most favorite part of teaching in a Montessori classroom is that students are expected to learn at their own pace. In order to track their progress through the different Dolch lists, I am using the following form that you can pick up for free at the link below:
How do students practice sight words in your classroom?
Curiously,
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