Reading Sight Words in Kindergarten
From the beginning of the school year, kindergarteners are working hard to learn the letters and sounds of the alphabet! Their growth continues to accelerate over the course of the school year, as they begin to use their phonics knowledge to decode words and then sentences. Reading Sight Words is an important part of becoming a fluent reader, so it’s important that kindergarteners get plenty of practice with this skill!
Teaching Sight Words in Kindergarten
An important part of reading instruction is giving students the chance to practice words until they can recognize them by sight. For this practice, we often prioritize words that occur most often in text, also known as high-frequency words. We also prioritize common words with irregular or challenging spelling patterns that students won’t learn until later in their literacy instruction. We prioritize these words because students will encounter them often, so it’s helpful when they can identify them by sight. Teaching sight words in kindergarten can increase fluency and help new readers build their confidence.
As teachers, there are many things we can do to help students create a bank of sight word knowledge. This doesn’t mean we have to drill our students with flashcards all day long! Instead, we can give students many opportunities to read sight words through classroom activities. This might include small group instruction, morning work, centers, and more!
How to Help Students Practice Reading Sight Words
If you’re looking for a way to include more sight word reading practice in your daily routine, I have a resource and some tips to help! My I Can Read Sight Word Fluency Passages are perfect for small group instruction. I’ll take you through the process of helping students practice reading sight words with this resource:
1. Introduce the Word
The first step is to introduce the word and give students the chance to repeat it out loud. This is a great opportunity to discuss phonics patterns with your students as you review the sounds in the sight word. Even if the word contains a phonics pattern you haven’t focused on in your curriculum yet, it’s helpful to mention it as you introduce the word. Students can highlight any tricky parts in the word that they will need to remember.
2. Practice the Word in Isolation
Next, students can practice identifying and repeating the word in isolation. They can touch and read the focus word multiple times. This repetitive practice can help your students visually process the word as they read it out loud.
In preparation for the next step, students can also look for and highlight the focus word within the sentences that they will be reading. It’s a good idea to do this while the word is at the top of mind. Students always think it’s fun to go on a word hunt! Plus, the highlighted words will be helpful when they’re reading the sentences.
3. Read the Word in Sentences
After highlighting the focus word in the sentences on the page, it’s time for students to practice reading the word within those sentences. This gives them a chance to fluently read text that includes the focus word along with other decodable words.
It’s helpful for students to see the focus word within the context of several different sentences. Not only does this give them more repetition with the word they’re trying to learn, but it also helps them build confidence as they read multiple sentences. This can really help them feel like readers! It’s much more engaging than reading the same sentence multiple times. The sentences also include a picture to add more context for the students and support comprehension.
4. Repeat the Sentences
We know that it takes many exposures to a word in order for students to be able to recognize it by sight. Encourage your students to read the sentences multiple times in order to help them get the repetition they need!
One way that I like to do this is by having students color on the page for each reading that they complete. This can help them track their progress and give them a little bit of extra motivation! The repeated readings are helpful during small group practice, since it gives you the chance to listen to each student read.
5. Write the Word
Even though we’re focusing on reading sight words, writing can also play an important role in helping students learn high frequency words. After reading multiple sentences containing the focus word, students can write their favorite sentence. This gives them the chance to review the spelling of the word one more time. It also provides much-needed fine motor practice!
As students make the connection between what they’re writing and what they’re reading, it will make it easier for them to recall this word the next time they see it. In addition to writing their favorite sentence from the page, students can also go back up to the top of the page and trace over each copy of the focus word.
Printable Sight Word Reading Pages
I have put together a set of printable sight word worksheets that you can use to help students improve their fluency and build confidence. This resource is differentiated to meet your students’ needs and includes over 300 pages of reading practice. They are easy to prep and include throughout your daily learning routine.
Help your budding readers build confidence with these I Can Read Sight Word Fluency Passages! The practice worksheets provide built-in support and even challenge students to work on writing and comprehension skills. If you’d like to take a closer look at everything included in this set of sight word pages, you can click below to find it in my shop.
I Can Read Sight Word Fluency Kindergarten Worksheets
Save These Tips for Reading Sight Words in Kindergarten
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