What are sight words for pre k

How to Teach Sight Words

Tips for Teaching Sight Words in Pre-K and Kindergarten

Sight Words

What are sight words?

Sight words are words that are immediately recognizable and do not need to be decoded. Some examples of sight words are come, does, or who that don’t follow the rules of spelling. These words need to be memorized because decoding them is difficult.

When teaching reading to youngsters, it helps for them to have these sight words memorized because these are common words they will come across frequently.

Sight Word Facts:

• Sight words are the most frequently used words in the English language. These are considered high frequency words.
• Sight words make up about 50% of any written text.
• Students will be able to read more fluently if they have learned to recognize sight words instantly.

Heidi Songs Sing and Spell vols. 1-5

One of the most important things to remember when teaching sight words is to make it both fun and memorable; HeidiSongs Sing and Spell the Sight Words DVDs offer a unique way to do just that. Heidi has a song for every sight word and each song is so catchy your kids will beg to sing them again and again. What makes Heidisongs unique is the multi-sensory aspect. Each song features movements that the students make with their bodies as they sing the songs. This method works well because it incorporates the different learning styles. When children are seeing, hearing, saying, and moving they are more likely to remember.

I have had such great success using HeidiSongs with my classes I can hardly believe it. The parents could hardly believe it either, their children were learning the sight words so quickly and were singing the songs non-stop day and night. Many parents asked for the lyrics to the songs so they could help their children practice the words at home.

Heidi Songs was such a big hit I decided to incorporate the songs into our homework routine to spice it up. Using flashcards, the students sing the corresponding HeidiSongs each night to their parents. I also incorporated Heidisongs into my Rainbow Words program (see pictures and explanation below).

Rainbow Sight Words

Rainbow Words is a unique combination of a sight word motivational tool, an organizational system, and a tracking system all rolled into one. It is difficult to remember which words each student knows. I use assessment checklists but it is time consuming to go around the room and look at the list, then figure out what each student needs to be doing. Rainbow Words is a fantastic solution to this problem.

Basically, it’s a large rainbow you place on your wall, each color of the rainbow is assigned certain words that stick on the rainbow with Velcro. Their words follow a certain sequence that our district does not so I just re-arranged the words on the rainbow to suit my needs. You don’t even have to use their words, you can make your own and stick them on the rainbow. I color coded all of my sight word cards to match the words on the rainbow.

Now during word work time each student has their own ring of color coded sight word cards (see picture below) and I know that they are working on the words that they should be. It’s also easy enough for the kids to follow too, they always know which color they are working on.

Rainbow Sight Word Cards

I purchased the matching colored baskets at Really Good Stuff

The motivational aspect of Rainbow Words is another great feature. The students start out at the bottom of the rainbow on purple with words like “I”. They are highly motivated to move up the rainbow to the next level and so on. Each time they reach their goal and learn all the words of one color they get a certificate of achievement in that matching color. There is also a cloud and raindrop bulletin board motivational system you can create.

Sight Word Resources

Disclosure: Pre-K Pages is a participating member of the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program.

More Literacy Resources from Pre-K Pages

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.

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. ”

• (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.

Check Amazon's Price

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!

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!)

Check Price - Amazon

Want to check out my other MUST-HAVE Supplies? Take a look at my list HERE!

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.

Check Amazon's Price

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!

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.

View/ Check Amazons Price

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.

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.

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.

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!

Top 100 Pre-Intermediate Words in English

Study Set

[ækˈtɪvɪti]

activity

activity

[ɔ:lˈredɪ]

already

already

[əˈmaʊnt]

amount

amount

[əˈnɔɪ]

annoy

annoy

[əˈpɪər]

appear

appear

[ˈætəm]

atom

atom

[ˈɔ:θə]

author

author

[baɪˈɒgrəfi]

biography

biography

[bland]

blind

blind

[breɪn]

brain

brain

[ˈkænsl]

cancel

Cancel

[kɑːˈtuːn]

cartoon

cartoon

[ˈkætʃi]

catchy

catchy

[ˈkærɪktər]

character

character

[ˈsɪnəmə]

cinema

cinema

[ˈsɜːkl̩]

circle

circle

[ˈsə:kəs]

circus

circus

[ˈkɒmən]

common

common

[kəmˈpleɪn]

complain

complain

[kəmˈpəʊz]

compose

compose

[kəmˈpəʊzər]

composer

composer

[ˈkɒnsət]

concert

concert

[kənˈgrætjʊleɪt]

congratulations

congratulate

[kəˈrekt]

correct

correct

[ˈdeɪlɪ ru:ˈti:n]

daily routine

daily routine

[ˈdɪkʃənəri]

dictionary

Dictionary

[drə'mætɪk]

dramatic

dramatic

[driːm]

dream

dream

[ˈdrʌmə]

drummer

drummer

[əˈnɔːr. məs]

enormous

enormous

[ɪnˈvaɪərənmənt]

environment

environment

[ɪˈvent]

event

event

[ɪkˈsaɪtɪd]

excited [ɪɡˈzɔtɪk]

exotic

exotic

[ɪkˈspensɪv]

expensive

expensive

[fɔ:ləˈsli:p]

fall asleep [ˈfeɪməs]

famous

famous

[ˈfɑ:mhaus]

farmhouse

farmhouse

[fi:ld]

field

field

[faɪnd aʊt]

find out

find out

[ˈgʌvənmənt]

government

government

[ges]

guess

guess

[ˈhɒrər]

horror

horror

[ˈhjuːmən]

human

human

[ɪmˈpɔːtənt]

important

important

[ɪmˈpruːv]

improve

improve

[ˌɪnspɪˈreɪʃən]

inspiration

inspiration

[ɪnˈtriːɡuid]

intrigued

intrigued

[ɪnˈvent]

invent

invent

[ɪnˈvestɪgeɪt]

investigate

investigate

[ˈdʒeləs]

jealous [ˈdʒuːəlri]

jewelery

jewelery

[ləˈbɔrətərɪ]

laboratory

laboratory

[ˈlɑːftər]

laughter

laughter

[ˈlɪtərɪtʃər]

literature

literature

[ˈlʌki]

lucky

lucky

[ˈmɑːstəpiːs]

masterpiece

masterpiece

[ˈmedɪsən]

medicine

medicine

[ˈmelədɪ]

melody

melody

[ˈmeməri]

memory

Memory

[ˈmentʃən]

mention

mention

[ˈmesɪdʒ]

message

message

[mesi]

messy [mɪsˈteɪk]

mistake

mistake

[muːn]

moon

moon

[ˈmaʊntɪn]

mountain

mountain

[mɪˈstɪəriəs]

mysterious

mysterious

[ˈmɪstəri]

mystery

mystery

[ˈnaɪtmeər]

nightmare

nightmare

[ˈnɒvəl]

novel

novel

[ɔɪl]

oil

oil

[ˈpeɪmənt]

payment

payment

[piˈænəʊ]

piano

piano

[ˈpəuɪm]

poem

poem

[ˈpəuɪtrɪ]

poetry

poetry

[ˈpʌblɪʃ]

publish

publish

[ˈrɪəlaɪz]

realize

realize

[ˌriːˈfjuːz]

refuse

refuse

[rɪˈvaɪz]

revise

revise

[ˌsaɪənˈtɪfɪk]

scientific

scientific

[ˈsaɪəntɪst]

scientist

scientist

[ˌsentɪˈmentl]

sentimental

sensitive

[ʃiːp]

sheep

sheep

[sɒlv]

solve

solve

[step]

step

step

[ˈstɔːri]

story

story

[ˈstreɪndʒə]

stranger

stranger

[səkˈses]

success

success

[θɔːt]

thought

thought

[ˈtaɪdɪʌp]

tidy up

tidy up

[ˈtrævəl]

travel

travel

[ˈʌnfəˈɡetəbl]

unforgettable

unforgettable

[ˌvaɪəˈlɪn]

violin

violin

[vəˈkæbjʊləri]

vocabulary

Vocabulary

[ˈwɔndə]

wander

wander

[ˈweðər ˈfɔːkɑːst]

weather forecast

weather forecast

[wɪəd]

weird [wiːl]

wheel

steering wheel

[wɪn]

win

win

[ˈraɪtər]

writer

writer

Study set

7 effective ways to memorize words in English

When learning a foreign language, it is very important to constantly replenish your vocabulary - to learn new and new words. However, not everyone succeeds in doing this. We offer eleven tips to help you memorize new words in English more effectively.

You can start with a video from Tanya Starikova in which she shares how she manages to learn English words: thoughts. Therefore, each word is valuable not in itself, but in the context.

Don't learn English words in a vacuum. If you come across an unfamiliar word and decide to remember it, write down the context in which it was used. For example, the English word ajar (ajar) is easier to learn as part of the phrase “the windows were ajar” (“the windows were ajar”) than separately.

You can find ready-made examples of the use of the English word you are interested in in online services such as Reverso, PlayPhrase or Yandex.Translate. Also, practice making sentences with new words on your own. For example, you need to remember the verb to prefer (prefer). Make up some examples that will reveal the meaning of this verb.

Promo code for English lessons at Skyeng

Get your promo code and get up to 3 English lessons at our school as a gift

Draw little words of English to remember the meaning of pictures. It’s not scary if you can’t draw: our brain receives so much monotonous information that a strange picture is a kind of surprise, and we always remember surprises.

If you don't feel like drawing on your own, choose a ready-made illustration for a new word on Google. It is better if the image is bright, strange or funny - this way it will be remembered more reliably.

You can collect word + image pairs in electronic form, but better - in the form of paper cards. To test yourself, look at the side with the picture and try to remember what English word it stands for.

If you already have a basic vocabulary, practice finding synonyms and antonyms for new English words. This will not only help them learn, but also come in handy in communication: if you do forget a word, you can easily find a replacement for it.

For example, you need to learn the word irreverent (irreverent, disrespectful), and you already know the word with the same meaning disrespectful . It remains to pick up antonyms: "respectful" - "respectful" and "polite" - "polite". In conjunction with synonyms and antonyms, a new English word will be easier to remember.

Let's take the English root -respect- , which we have already considered in the previous example. Noun respect means respect. Now let's look in the dictionary for other words formed from the same root:

Thus, instead of one word, you learned several at once, and their meanings are interconnected, which will help to learn them.

To learn several unrelated words at once, combine them into a story. Memorizing a short story is easier than a bunch of random words because the story has a plot and can be recreated in the imagination.

Let's fantasize and come up with a story with five random English words:

From these words we got the following story:

It's not scary if the story comes out strange or even absurd, because the unusual is remembered better.

Our brain takes what we read and converts it into images, ideas and feelings, and then forms connections between new information and what we already know. This is how memorization happens - the new unites with the old. When you connect a new English word with something you already know, it's easier for your brain to find it and remember it at the right time.

Draw a network of concepts. Take what you want to remember (word, idea, sentence) and write it in the center of the paper. Then draw lines from it in all directions, like a web.

At the end of each line, write down any English words or pictures that come to mind when you think of the word in the center. It doesn't matter what the associations are, just write down whatever you come up with.

It will only take a couple of minutes, and now all the words or concepts will be interconnected in your brain. If you see or hear one of them, it will be easier for you to remember the others.

Sometimes you can't remember a new English word, and none of the above methods helps. Then mnemonics will come to the rescue - a way of remembering through associations.

Let's say you have trouble learning the English word " eagle " ("eagle"). You can use a mnemonic hint with a consonant Russian word: "Eagle's claws are ten needles ".

To memorize word tire (tire), you can mentally associate it with the consonant English word tired (tired): “Dad is tired, he’s been pumping up the tires” (“Dad is tired because he pumped up tires”).

You shouldn't get carried away with this method, but it helps a lot to learn tricky words that you can't remember otherwise.

Before looking up the translation of an English word in the dictionary, try to parse it by composition and determine the meaning yourself. For example, you came across the verb to mistreat . You don't know what it means, but you know the verb to treat - "treat, treat." It remains to find out the meaning of the prefix mis- . You may have encountered it in words such as to misbehave (behave badly) or to misunderstand (misunderstand). So the prefix mis- means something bad or wrong. Indeed, the verb to mistreat is translated from English into Russian as "to mistreat".

If you make a list of common prefixes ( un-, dis-, re-, de- etc.) and suffixes ( -able, -ly, -ent, -tion, -ive etc.) etc.) and remember what they mean, it will be easier for you to guess the meaning of new words for you in English.

It happens that some topic is very difficult to come by, because you personally are not interested in it. For example, you are studying the topic “Cars”, but you don’t drive a car yourself, and this area is completely alien to you. And it is not clear why to learn words that you are not going to use in life. To spark interest in a boring topic, connect it to something that is more interesting or useful to you personally.

For example, car images and metaphors are often found in the songs of foreign artists - you can easily find lyrics in English with the words steering wheel ("steering wheel"), highway (road, highway) or lane (strip).

Or look for English idioms that use the words you want. Here are some automotive-themed ones:

• Stay in your lane. - Mind your own business (literally: stay in your lane).
• Down the road. - In the future (literally: further down the road).
• U-Turn. - A sharp change of opinion (literally: a reversal).
• To put the brakes on. - Slow down (literally: slow down).

These idioms will come in handy in conversational speech, even if you never intend to drive. And now boring words will have more figurative associations that will help them learn.

Probably, this happened to you at school: you learned a dozen new English words, did your homework, wrote a dictation… And after a month everyone forgot. This happens because new vocabulary needs to be periodically repeated and refreshed in memory. There is even a recommended schedule for repeating English words, based on the works of the German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus:

1. Use a new word as soon as you learn it;
2. Use the word again after 20-30 minutes;
3. Repeat word every other day;
4. Return to a new word after 2–3 weeks;
5. Repeat the word in 2–3 months;
6. Fix the word after 2-3 years.

It is on this method of memorization that the application for learning new English words Aword is based. In order not to think about how many weeks and months have passed since meeting a new word, install the application and it will monitor the repetition schedule for you. By the way, Aword also uses other techniques for memorizing words listed in this article: images with associations and mnemonic phrases.

Knowledge that we do not use is sooner or later forgotten, as happened with poems and theorems that we learned at school. Therefore, do not waste time memorizing rare, little-used words. This is especially important for those who are just starting to learn English. Before you draw flashcards and add a word to the spaced repetition list, make sure you need to know it at all.

There is a list of 3000 words, which is enough to understand most of the texts written in English. Of course, during your studies you will still learn much more, but at first you should check the list so that you don’t spend time memorizing rare English words and forget about the most important ones. For convenience, such words are marked with a special icon in the Aword application.

You can read more about the "golden list" of English words and how to apply it in your studies in our magazine.

We have analyzed 11 ways to effectively memorize new English words - it remains only to put them into practice and choose the ones that suit you.

1. Learn not individual words, but phrases and sentences with them.
2. Draw association pictures for new words.
3. Choose synonyms and antonyms for the word you want to remember.
4. Instead of one English word, learn several cognates at once.
5. Write short stories with new words.
6. Make associative cards with English vocabulary.
7. Use mnemonic technique: consonant Russian or English words.
8. Parse words by composition and memorize the meanings of popular English prefixes and suffixes.
9. Associate new words with things that interest you personally, such as useful idioms or English song lyrics.

   ---

   Learn more

   • 
     Define print concepts
   • 
     Learning alphabet preschoolers
   • 
     Adjectives to describe teaching
   • 
     Dra test at home
   • 
     Enchanted learning fairy tales
   • 
     How you spell journey
   • 
     Letter o books
   • 
     Examples of fairytale stories
   • 
     Back to school printables free
   • 
     Learn more reading
   • 
     Teach child reading