January 22, 2019

What are Sight Words?

Successful readers use several tools to help them understand texts. One of the most effective and powerful reading tools that parents, and teachers can help children develop is sight word recognition. When a child can grasp and identify sight words, he is well on his way to becoming a thriving reader.

Believe it or not, 50% of all reading texts are made up of the same 100 words! The most frequently used and repeated words in the English language are known as sight words. This list of words includes the, a, is, of, to, in, and, I, you, and that. Think about the number of times that you have seen these words in a piece of reading material. It’s probably too many times to count.

Sight words are critical to reading not only because they are used so frequently, but also because many of them cannot easily be sounded out or illustrated. Imagine what reading would be like if you attempted to sound out walk every time you encountered it in your reading. Then imagine that you do not know the word the. You cannot use the pictures accompanying a text to help you decipher this word because it cannot be illustrated. Using phonics or picture reading skills for words like these is useless and fruitless for readers, especially those who are in the early stages of developing their decoding skills.

Because they are used so often it is important that readers be able to recognize these words on sight (hence the term “sight words”). When a reader masters sight words she can understand at least half of the words in a text. By eliminating the need to decode these words, the reader can focus on those that are more difficult and less familiar. Beyond this, sight words offer important clues about the meaning of a sentence. For example, when a reader can identify and understand the word and, in a sentence, he knows that there will be multiple figures, actions or descriptors in the sentence. Similarly, if the reader sees the word into in the sentence, she knows there is movement from one location or idea to another.

When a reader masters sight words her memory automatically brings the sound and meaning of the word into the person’s consciousness. The action is so unconscious that she doesn’t even realize it is happening. In fact, researchers found that when they presented readers with illustrations of some sight words along with the written word s, the readers could not avoid looking at the words. They used the written words rather than the illustrations to determine meaning because their brains were “trained” to read these words.

Enjoy,

Ms. Nora

January 14-18, 2019

Reading Readiness: The Top 5 Skills

Did you know that there are five skills your child should master before you begin formal reading instruction? Because these reading readiness skills are so important, we call them The Big Five Skills.

Although much of your child’s learning comes naturally as he plays and experiences life, there are some skills, like reading, that must eventually be taught. That may feel a little scary, but if you’ve taught your child how to pick up his toys or put on his socks, you can teach your child to read, too!

5 Critical Skills for Reading Readiness

Print Awareness

Print awareness is the understanding that the print on a page represents words that have meaning and are related to spoken language.

To develop this skill:

Open book: Help your child learn how to hold a book correctly.

As you read books together, emphasize the fact that you’re reading from front to back and from left to right. Let your child turn the pages.

As your child helps you in the kitchen, point out the names on the food boxes and cans and the ingredients as you read your recipe.

Point out and read road signs and store signs as you travel in the car.

Letter Knowledge: Letter knowledge enables a child to recognize the letters of the alphabet and to know the names and sounds of each.

To develop this skill:

Friendly letter A: Sing the alphabet song together. Practice starting at different letters.

Use activities that help children recognize both uppercase and lowercase letters.

Begin to encourage an association between letter names and the sounds they make.

Explore the alphabet with refrigerator magnets.

Create the alphabet with building blocks or form letters with playdough.

Phonological Awareness

It’s a big term, but it’s quite basic. Phonological Awareness is the ability to hear and identify the various sounds in spoken words.

To develop this skill:

Dog with perked ear: Read lots of nursery rhymes and rhyming picture books together. Encourage your child to anticipate rhyme as you read together.

Play clapping and rhyming games like Miss Mary Mack and Pat-a-Cake.

Sing silly songs by changing the first sound in some of the words. For example, sing, “Bingle bells, bingle bells, bingle all the bay,” or “If you’re chappy and you chow it, chap your chands.”

Play games that encourage children to identify words that begin with a specific letter sound. For example, say, “I spy with my little eye a color that starts with /r/.”

Listening Comprehension

Listening comprehension is the ability to understand the meaning of words heard and to relate to them in some way. A child with good listening comprehension has a wide vocabulary and a growing understanding of the world around him.

To develop this skill:

World globe: Read aloud to your children daily. Read books that are in line with your child’s interests, so he begins to realize that there is a benefit to learning to read.

Encourage even young children to interact with books.

Attend story time at the library.

Let your child see you enjoying books.

Make read-aloud time an enjoyable shared time. Here are some picture book lists to get you started.

Motivation to Read

Motivation to read is a child’s eagerness and willingness to read.

To encourage your child:

Smiling cartoon boy

Read both fiction and nonfiction books to your child.

As you read, ask open-ended questions. For example, ask “What do you think is going to happen when we turn the page?” or “Why did the boy go outside?”

Use everyday life experiences to build your child’s vocabulary.

Encourage imaginative play and storytelling.

Enjoy,

Ms. Nora Sierra

EC Assistant principal