Sight words for pre k and kindergarten
Preschool Sight Words - The Measured Mom
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How should I introduce sight words to preschoolers?
What is a good sight word list for preschoolers?
Where can I find preschool sight word worksheets?
These are all questions I’ve heard from parents who are eager to get their children on the right path when it comes to learning to read.
They are all good questions, but I think we need to back up and ask this question first:
SHOULD we teach sight words in preschool?
First of all, let’s clarify what sight words are. Some people will tell you that sight words are words that cannot be sounded out.
But researchers’ definition of sight words is different. Sight words are words that a reader recognizes instantly, without needing to sound out or guess.
Therefore, all beginning readers have a different sight word vocabulary, because they all know a different set of words “by sight. ”
It’s probably best to speak in terms of “high frequency words.” These are the most commonly used words in printed text.
Obviously, readers need to know high frequency words.
But HOW they learn these high frequency words matters.
We’ll get to that in a minute.
First …
What should preschoolers know BEFORE they learn to read?
This is an important question to answer.
After all, we don’t teach newborn babies to read. Why not?
They’re not ready (obviously).
They’re not ready because they need a set of important pre-reading skills.
5 important pre-reading skills for preschoolers
1- Concepts of print
- They hold books correctly and turn pages in the right direction.
- They know that each word on a page represents a spoken word.
- They understand that text is read from left to right.
2- Language and listening skills
- They can retell a familiar story in their own words.
- They engage with a story as you read to them — asking questions (“Why did he say that?”) and making personal connections (“I wish I could have that much ice cream!”)
- They can answer simple questions about a story.
3- Letter knowledge
- They recognize the letters of the alphabet.
- They can name each letter’s sound (or a large number of them).
4-Phonological and phonemic awareness
- They can count words.
- They can count syllables in words.
- They can rhyme.
- They can put sounds together to make a word. If you say these sounds to your child, /f/ and /ish/, can he put them together to make fish? If you stretch a word and say it like this — mooooon – does your child know the word is moon?
- They can identify the first and last sound in a word. This is not the same thing as knowing the letter. For example, if you ask your child the first sound in the word phone, she should be able to answer /f/.
5- They have an interest in learning to read.
- They enjoy being read to.
- They frequently ask you to read aloud.
- They pretend to read.
After pre-reading skills are in place, we should teach preschoolers to sound out words.
Once students are ready to read, we teach them to blend sounds into words.
I used to teach that students should learn sight words FIRST, because it can seem easier to memorize a few words than to sound them out.
Because I believed this, I created a huge set of sight word books for preschoolers to “learn to read.” I thought that they could memorize the repeated “sight word” and use the pictures to read the rest of the words.
I don’t share those sight word books anymore, because I’ve learned that three-cueing (something I learned to use in college and grad school) is a major problem and NOT something we should be teaching beginning readers to use. (I won’t get into that here, but you might want to check out my podcast episode: “What’s wrong with 3-cueing?”)
What if preschoolers struggle to sound out words?
If your child struggles to sound out simple words, you might think that you should switch to giving them them lists of words to memorize.
That is NOT the answer.
Instead, you need to go back to those pre-reading skills and make sure they’ll all in place … particularly phonemic awareness.
Phonemic awareness is the ability to play with individual sounds in words.
Readers should be able to isolate, blend, segment, and manipulate phonemes.
While we certainly can (and SHOULD) continue to teach phonemic awareness as we teach phonics, if children don’t have the basics, they will not be successful with reading.
Practice ORAL blending if your child struggles to sound out a 3-letter word like hat.
You can say, “Put these sounds together to make a word. /h/ /a/ /m/. What’s the word?” If your child cannot say HAM, then you need to build phonemic awareness before sounding out words.
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AFTER preschoolers are starting to sound out words, we can teach “sight words.”
When your child understands the concept of decoding words and is ready to read a simple decodable book, you’ll need to teach the high frequency words that are also included in that book.
For example, if your child is learning to sound out CVC words, the book’s text may look like this:
“The cat is big.”
To read the sentence, your child needs to know the high frequency words THE and IS.
THE is not a word your child can sound out; you will need to teach him/her to memorize the tricky parts. IS is not as tricky as you might think; just teach your child that the letter S has two sounds: /s/ and /z/, and in the word IS it makes the sound /z/.
What sight words should we teach preschoolers?
In general, I don’t think you should teach preschoolers to memorize words. However, it’s helpful to know a small set of words “by sight” so that your child can start to read decodable books.
Readsters recommends teaching these sight words to pre-readers:
- the
- a
- I
- to
- and
- was
- for
- you
- is
- of
HOW should we teach introduce sight words in preschool?
While flash cards can be helpful for review, that’s not how we should introduce sight words. I’ve got a whole post about how to teach sight words, and I recommend checking it out here.
Here’s a quick summary of my approach:
- Assuming your learner has phonemic awareness and letter-sound knowledge, you’re ready to begin. (Not sure about the phonemic awareness? Give this free assessment.)
- Name the new word, and have your learner repeat it.
- Name the individual phonemes (sounds) in the word. For example, in the word is, there are two phonemes: /i/ and /z/.
- Spell the sounds. Call attention to any unexpected spelling.
In is, we spell /i/ with i and /z/ with s. - If possible, have your learner read related words. Has and his are great words to read alongside is because they are short vowel words with an s that represents the the /z/ sound.
- Have your learner read connected text. Connected text can be decodable sentences or books.
I recommend my high frequency word lessons and books which can be used with kids as young as preschool.
You’re invited to check out the rest of this series!
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9
Free Reading Printables for Pre-K-3rd Grade
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8 Easy Ways to Teach Sight Words to Preschoolers
Learning sight words is a critical skill for kids to learn how to read!
Teaching children how to learn sight words can be a challenge.
Why?
Because it all comes down to memorization. There is not a way to sound out these words. In case you are unfamiliar, sight words are words like that don’t follow the traditional rules of spelling or can’t be sounded out phonetically. Some examples of sight words are who, does, and come.
To give your preschooler a great jump start to reading, I have come up with 8 EASY ways that you can teach your preschooler sight words!
#1. Start With TWO Letter Sight Words
Does anyone have a toddler that says no to absolutely everything?
You’ll be hearing it all over again when you start teaching sight words because the word “no” is one of the easiest ones to recognize!
When you start out teaching a child sight words, it’s important to start small and build up to longer words. Starting with TWO letter words for them to memorize is going to be a lot easier than FOUR letter words.
Here are some two-letter sight words that you can start with: of, to, is, in, it, he, on, as, at, be, or, by, we, an, do, if, up, so, no, go
Once your little one has mastered the two-letter words, you can move onto three or more letter words!
While some of the words on this list can be sounded out and others can not, I think it’s easier to have your child just memorize the words so they can say it at a glance.
Here is a list of sight words for each age/grade level?
I use the above sight word checklist when I am deciding what new words to teach my daughter!
#2. Choose Sight Words In Your Child’s Favorite Books
I have a quiz for you.
How many sight words can you find in this sentence below from the book, Where the Wild Things Are?
“His mother called him “WILD THING!” and Max said “I’LL EAT YOU UP!” so he was sent to bed without eating anything.
”
I found 12 sight words in that one sentence!
- (his, him, wild, and, said, eat, you, up, so, he, was, to)
Sight words are referred to as high-frequency words because some of them are the most common words in the English language!
When you are reading to a child, and they are starting to learn sight words, make sure to point out the words in their favorite books. They will be more interested in learning the sight words if it’s in a context they enjoy! We have a subscription to Highlights Magazine, and my daughter loves pointing out which words she recognizes.
Your kids will feel so proud when they can read a few words in their favorite stories. It will encourage them to want to learn more!
#3. Practice Daily
Just like teaching your kids the alphabet, numbers, and shapes, it takes repetition for them to understand the material!
At least a few minutes of work on sight words each day will help them immensely when it comes to memorizing sight words.
Here is what works best for my daughter:
I write the sight words that we have previously learned on a small dry erase board, which I limit to about 25 max.
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We take some time and review those words plus add one or two new words depending on how well she does during the review.
Check out this short video of how I review the sight words with my daughter!
To ensure that she remembers the sight words we learned, I make sure to include ones that we learned in the past.
Tip#4: Make Reading Fun!
If I just focused on the above activity over and over again, I think I would struggle badly getting my kids to learn how to read.
It’s essential to come up with EXCITING ways to teach your kids how to read!
Here are FOUR ways to make learning sight words engaging!
Activity #1. Shaving Cream Sight Words
Shaving cream is such an amazing sensory activity! Your kids will be so excited to use shaving cream for a learning activity, it won’t even feel like they are learning!
I use men’s foaming shaving cream because I think it works the best! But other types can be used as well.
How to do this activity:
1. Spray foam shaving cream on an art tray.
2. Spread it out so the shaving cream is all over the tray!
3. Write a sight word that you are working on in the shaving cream and ask your child if they know what it is.
4. Repeat this process over and over again! Let your child erase the words so they get a chance to play in the shaving cream!
Activity #2.
Do-A-Dot Painting Activity
Do-A-Dot painters are one of my MUST-HAVE supplies to have on hand at your house.
They are so much fun to play with and they are pretty much MESS FREE! Can’t beat that right?
Do-A-Dot markers can be used for so many fun and learning activities. This specific activity was great because it worked recognizing a specific sight word while getting to paint!
GRAB YOUR FREE Pre-K Sight Word Do-A-Dot WORKSHEETS HERE!
(Each grade level coming soon!)
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Want to check out my other MUST-HAVE Supplies? Take a look at my list HERE!
Activity#3. Play Sight Word Games
My new thing is trying to turn games into a learning activity!
My kids love to play board games, so why not add a little bit of learning into the mix while getting to play?
How to do this activity:
1.
Materials you need- Don’t Break the Ice Game, dot stickers, and a marker.
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2. On white dot stickers, write some sight words that you are working on with your little one. I wrote one that my daughter already knew so she could play the game and be successful!
3. Explain to your kids that they have to tap lightly on the ice with the hammer instead of trying to hit it as hard as they can because a lot falls at once that way. Tell them they can play the regular way after you practice the sight words. 🙂
4. Ask them to find a specific word and tap on it with the hammer or they can tap on a word of their choice and tell you what it says!
5. After they say or find all the words, then you can play the normal way!
Activity #4. FUN Worksheets
My daughter loves to color, so I created this Popsicle themed Color by Sight Word Worksheet for her to do.
Here are some excellent workbooks available on Amazon that have activities ready to go!
- 100 Write and Learn Sight Word Practice Pages
- Wipe Clean: Learning Sight Words
- The Best Sight Word Book Ever!
Don’t want to buy an entire workbook? I am constantly working on new FREE resources to make available for you.
Click here to grab your FREE Popsicle Color by Sight Word WORKSHEET!
Also, take a look at the other FREE RESOURCES that I have while you are there!
#5. Build Sentences with Sight Words
Building sentences using sight words is a GREAT way to show your child how the specific word is used in real life.
You can do this by verbally saying sentences or you can also do it in an interactive way.
We have a bunch of Thomas the Train, train tracks at home, so I thought it would be fun to work on sentence building with sight words with them!
How to do this activity:
1.
Materials you need- Thomas the Train tracks, labels, and a marker.
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2. On labels, write some sight words that make sense in a sentence that you kids know or you want them to learn!
3. Spread them all apart so they have to work on building the sentence so it makes sense. They will have to read each word then create the sentence!
#6. Add A New Word Each Day
Once your child can recognize words, you can start introducing at least one new sight word each day. In the beginning, you want to start slow.
Since sight words are based on memorization, that’s why learning one word a day is perfect for this age level.
While you should introduce one new word a day, remember to review past sight words that you practiced with them before. It’s crucial to go over these sight words so they won’t forget them.
Remember they are still preschoolers, repetition is key!
#7.
Stay Positive!
You never want to rush the learning process.
Forcing preschoolers to sit and complete work when they are not ready may cause the child to think negatively about learning.
You want your child to be EXCITED to learn.
Don’t get frustrated if they don’t catch on right away or if it takes them a few days to master a word. It will happen with time, and they will feel successful if you encourage them!
There are times that my daughter can just not grasp on to a word.
For example, she had trouble memorizing the word “find.” I asked her every day for TWO weeks about this word, and she still wasn’t getting it. I decided I was going to take a break and come back to it later. I introduced the word to her again after about a month, and now she has no problem with it!
As parents, we have to be patient with our children while they are learning.
We are supposed to be their biggest cheerleaders! Tell your child how proud you are when they learn a new word. They will feel your excitement and, in return, be more excited to keep on learning new material!
#8. Join An Online Learning Program
One great website that works on early reading skills is Kickstart Reading.
Kickstart Reading– This is such a fantastic reading program! I also have a promo code that you can use to get some money off of your subscription! You will receive a FOREVER plan for $39.00(normally $57.00). This is a program that focuses solely on reading, which I think is better than anything else out there. Your little ones will learn about phonetics, sight words, vowel sounds, digraphs and MORE!
PROMO CODE: ABCDEE
Here is a short demonstration of just one of the segments included on Kickstart Reading.
This is my 5-year-old daughter working on word blends.
Final Thoughts and Conclusion
Deciding when to start your preschooler’s journey into reading is a fun but challenging adventure!
It’s important to start slow, begin with two letter sight words, and stay positive with them! Try to mix up the activities that you do with them to learn sight words to keep them engaged and excited to learn!
I would love to help you on your journey to teaching your preschooler sight words. Whether you need some creative ideas or you need more helpful suggestions, please leave a comment below.
If you have any great ideas that you would like to share as well on what helped you teach sight words to a preschooler, please share them with us!
Artistic word in sensitive moments in kindergarten
Municipal budget
preschool educational institution
"Child Development Center - Kindergarten No.
6"
" Artistic word in sensitive moments in kindergarten "
nine0003
Contributors:
Verkhoturova A.Yu., educator
highest qualification category
Karpenko M.A., educator,
highest qualification category
nine0003 Novokuznetsk.
Artistic word in sensitive moments in kindergarten.
The artistic word is a powerful pedagogical tool that can be appropriate in the process of communicating with children literally everywhere. Of course, in order to successfully apply it, it is desirable that an adult read it by heart, be emotional, maintain eye contact with the child.
Examples of using a literary word in regime moments:
In the morning, create a good mood and ease the separation of the child from his mother.
We rise together with the sun,
We sing along with the birds.
Good morning,
Happy new day!
That's how fun we live.
Let's stand side by side, in a circle,
Let's say "Hello!" each other.
We are not too lazy to say hello:
Hello everyone! and "Good afternoon!"
If everyone smiles -
Good morning will begin. nine0094 Good morning!
If a child is having a hard time parting with his relatives, you can reassure him with the following lines:
Mother of a white Kitten
Brought her to kindergarten.
But the fluffy child
could not calm down.
He began to meow, to cling
With his paw to her hem,
He did not want to stay in the garden,
He did not go to the group at all.
Mama-Cat was in a hurry
And, saying sadly:
She unhooked from the Kitten
And she herself left in tears.
No, don't do it guys,
Cry and shout loudly:
Mom is in a hurry somewhere,
Mom might be late.
Moms love you all very much,
They are waiting for the long-awaited meeting,
They will not forget about the kids -
They will definitely come!
It is more fun to get ready for exercises while reading lines.
Strong kids
Went to the site,
Robust Babies
Exercise!
(T. Volgina)
Charging! On charge!
Wake up in order,
Arms, legs, head!
At-two! At-two!
Charging! On charge!
We take out the heel with the palm!
Charging!
Every day we meet,
We start with exercises!
Hygiene procedures are more smoothly accompanied by jokes and poems. nine0005
I am early this morning
Washed from the tap.
I can do it myself now
Wash face and neck.
Ay, frets, ay, frets,
We are not afraid of water,
We cleanly wash ourselves,
We smile at mom.
Water, water,
Wash my face,
To make little eyes shine,
To make cheeks red,
To make the mouth laugh,
To bite a tooth.
Warm water
I clean my hands.
I'll take a bar of soap
And rub their hands.
Mouse bad foot soap:
I only moistened it with water,
I did not try to soap with soap -
And the dirt remained on the paws.
Towel - in black spots!
nine0003 How unpleasant!Germs will get into the mouth -
May have stomach ache.
So, children, try,
Wash your face with soap more often!
Need warm water
Wash your hands before eating!
Before breakfast, lunch and dinner, it is useful to remind about neatness at the table, proper use of cutlery.
And we have 9 spoons0006
A little magical.
Here is a plate, here is food.
No trace left.
On my plate
Red squirrel,
To make it visible,
I eat everything to the bottom.
Lunch time has come,
The children all sat down at the table.
nine0003 So that there is no trouble,Let's remember the rules of food:
Our feet don't knock,
Our tongues are silent.
Don't litter at dinner,
Messed up - so clean it up.
For the one who eats neatly,
And it's always nice to watch,
We always eat beautifully,
After we say "Thank you" to everyone.
Deep and shallow,
Ships in a plate,
Here the boat is sailing,
Swims directly into the mouth.
Let's put on a spoon
Cabbage, potatoes - and hide!
Try to find it!
Not visible on the spoon
Cabbage, potatoes.
And not on the plate - look!
Take a spoon, take bread,
And rather for lunch.
We are going for a walk, saying.
One, two, three, four, five -
We are going for a walk.
Put on legs
Boots-boots
And let's go for a walk,
Jump, run and jump.
Need to get dressed quickly
Ina needs to be distracted.
Don't look around,
Dress yourself.
One, two, three, four, five are going to walk! nine0094 If you want to take a walk,
You need to get dressed quickly,
Open the closet door,
Dress in order.
Gather the sock into an accordion,
And put it on the leg.
Take another sock
Put it on in the same way.
Now get up quickly
And put on your pants.
Look, it's getting cold outside
.
It's time for the blouse
Children to wear.
Tutushki
Where are your ears?
Ears in a hat,
Legs will not reach
So that the ears do not hurt
Quickly put on a hat.
And then a jacket
For a long walk.
Sunny, don't come in,
Wait for us in the yard!
We are now going for a walk
And to meet our parents.
I miss my mom,
I can't wait right now!
Let her come soon
And take me home!
(M. Senina)
The group went out to get dressed,
to get ready for a walk,
to wait for dads and moms.
And then go home.
Daytime sleep.
We walked, we played
And a little tired.
To gain more strength,
We need to get some sleep.
You will close your eyes -
And dream of a fairy tale:
About a cat - purr,
Crane - kurdyku,
Fox - cunning,
Little mouse,
Bunny - braggart,
About buzzer fly,
About bumblebee - buzzer,
Squirrel squirrel,
About a sweet tooth - a bear.
Sleep my baby!
Animals played together,
You need to go to bed after bed.
Quiet time is coming,
Silence is needed now.
Even if you are not sleeping,
Lie down, don't make noise,
Don't disturb your friend's sleep
And rest easy!
Waking up after a sweet dream is not always easy, again verses come to the rescue:
Wake up, peephole! Wake up another!
Say hello The sun came out with you!
Look how it smiles!
A new day, a new day begins!
Who's already awake? Who stretched so sweetly?
Pull-ups
From toe to crown.
We stretch - stretch,
We won't stay small.
We are already growing, growing, growing!
At the end of a quiet hour,
A sound sleep is gone from you.
If you can't sleep anymore,
You shouldn't have fun,
And don't play around
And throw pillows.
It's hard to jump on the beds.
You'd better lie still.
So that feathers do not fly,
Like February snowstorms.
Lie down, be quiet
And wait for the rise.
We put ourselves in order, comb ourselves after sleep, saying:
I scratch, I scratch my hair,
I comb my braids!
What do we do with a comb?
We do hair for children.
Though I often quarrel with you,
Toothed comb,
Hello!
Sister can't do without you
Braid your pigtails.
Without you, I would have had to wash
All day long to walk shaggy
I'll braid it,
I'll braid it in Russian,
I'll braid, braid, braid,
I say:
"You grow, grow, braid -
Beauty for the whole city."
Municipal preschool educational institution "Kindergarten No. 2" of the city of Yaroslavl
Page updated on 12/02/2019
12/02/2019 Waste paper collection
Dear parents!
We would like to thank you and your children for participating in the environmental education campaign "Bright Ecology" (waste paper collection). This action has already become traditional in our institution. We collected 1310 kg of waste paper! nine0005
Thank you for the fact that most families take an active part in the action, thereby forming the right environmental awareness of their children!
"You are a human! It depends on you,
How your planet will live!"
06/25/2018 Gratitude
Dear parents!
Thank you for your heartfelt participation in the life of the kindergarten, despite being busy and lacking time. Thank you for your patience and diligence! nine0005
Read more: Photo gallery of gratitude to groups
08/08/2017 Ecological and educational action "Bright Ecology" (collection of waste paper)
Dear parents!
Thank you and your children for participating in the environmental education campaign "Bright Ecology" (waste paper collection).
This campaign has already become traditional in our institution. We collected 1850 kg of waste paper, breaking our personal record of last year.
Thank you for the fact that most families take an active part in the action, thereby forming the right environmental awareness of their children!
"You are a human! It depends on you,
How your planet will live!"
08/17/2017 Thanks for the registration of groups
Dear parents!
The administration of the kindergarten and teachers sincerely thank you for the help you provide in organizing groups. Thank you for your patience and diligence. nine0581
08/17/2017 Gratitude to parents
We express our appreciation to all parents,
Which support the initiative
and do not forget about the bangels, replacement shoes, 904 .
We really want our house to become even cleaner and more comfortable.
Sincerely, children, teachers and administration of preschool. nine0581
08/17/2017 Competition "The best feeder"
Dear parents!
As part of the city action "Take care of the birds" in our kindergarten there was a family competition "The Best Feeder". 125 families responded to our call: fathers and mothers together with their children made wonderful and unique feeders. (exhibition of works)
November 29, 2016 vote passed. Parents and children visited the exhibition and chose the feeders they liked the most. Adults and children received an amazing charge of joy and pride for the work done. nine0006
According to the results of voting, feeders were recognized:
08/17/2017 Waste paper collection
The administration of the kindergarten thanks you and your children for your help in collecting waste paper.
Read more:
08/17/2017 Feedback from parents
Dear parents!
We would like to thank you for your heartfelt feedback on the activities carried out in our kindergarten during our first academic year.
- “Dear employees of our kindergarten! What good fellows you are!! Everything was very bright, beautiful, elegant!!! Such a holiday was arranged for our children !!! Thank you, parents of the group "Pearl".
- “Thank you for the interesting activities within the framework of the Open Doors Week, it is clear what children know and can do, it's nice that the classes are in an exciting and playful way. Parent of the "Rybki" group.
- “… having visited the holiday dedicated to the family day, we saw how our children opened up to us in a new way: they read poetry, sang songs, danced. How much joy and inspiration in their big eyes. Many thanks for the work done and the organization of such a wonderful holiday.
” 05/16/2017 group "Rybki"
- “… many thanks to the teaching staff of the kindergarten. The holiday dedicated to the family day left the best impressions. This is a great event that parents spend with their children, rejoice, admire and remember their childhood.” 18.5.2017 parents of the Zvyozdochka group.
We are very pleased that parents see and appreciate our work. In turn, we are grateful to them for their activity in the life of the kindergarten, for their responsiveness, positive attitude and high appreciation of the professionalism of the teaching staff. nine0006
We bring to your attention a video film about the professions of a teacher and educator, developed by the Ministry of Education and Science within the framework of the subprogram "Increasing the prestige of the profession of a teacher" of the Comprehensive program for improving the professional level of teachers of general education organizations. View the link
tiser_1_master.
