SIGHTWORD  Flashcards are an essential part of any primary classroom.  It can get so tedious that some days, I wanted to shudder when we had to practice our sight words!

IT WAS BORING TO ME AND I KNEW IT WAS TO MY FIRST-GRADE STUDENTS!

I HAD TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING TO KEEP ME AWAKE!

44 YEARS OF THE SAME WORDS CAN WEAR A PERSON OUT!

Here are FIVE WAYS I BROUGHT BORING TO AMAZING!

TIP # ONE:

Make Flashcards Seasonal!

•   Use Holidays or Seasonal Backgrounds to make the Learning Entertaining!
•   It doesn’t matter that they have the same words that they had in September!
•   It is the fact that it is in a fun holiday format.
•   Children LOVE HOLIDAYS AND SEASONS!
•    MAKE IT FUN AND REFRESHING! 

   

  

TIP # TWO:

CONCENTRATION GAME!

• Easy to make and teach to students
• Partner Game
• Use only ten words or less
• Can be used to start a reading group session
• Great game for substitutes

TIP # THREE:

ALPHABETICAL ORDER!

• Use the flashcards and put them in alphabetical order

Differentiation is key here.  You can either have students alphabetize by:

• first letter
• second letter
• using three words
• four words
• five words
• all ten words

Change up the words every week so that the students get a fresh set of words to sort and alphabetize.

Important: Have an alphabet posted in the room for the students to refer to, or a card at their desk.  This is really important for the struggling learner.

TIP # FOUR

HOMEWORK PRACTICE!

• Great for differentiation! It doesn’t matter if your student is reading on a primer level or on a fifth-grade level, homework practice words are unique to that student.
• Family time! Let the student play games with their parents, like Concentration!
• Writing!  Great homework practice.  Ask them to make up a story with their ten words!
• Ten words! Yes, try to keep the list of flashcards to ten or fewer each week!
• Having a container to carry the flashcards each week will make it easier to keep track of the words, and make it exciting for them too!  I would provide the boxes to my students because most of them couldn’t afford to get a plastic container.  It also made it easier to be uniform for all of them.

TIP # FIVE

COLOR-BY-CODE!

• Color-by-code worksheets are easy to make!  Get a seasonal picture.  Write the sight words you want them to find.  Add a color key!  And you have a great worksheet for your students!  
• Use for practice in finding and reinforcing their words for that week.
• Differentiate their learning.
• Learning Centers
• Early Finishers
• Assessments
• Great for Substitute Teachers