Sight Word - the

The probability of preschoolers retaining sight words, escalates when it is taught using a multi-sensory method. 

Now that the students are Kid Writing on a regular basis, we will be introducing 1 or 2 sight words, weekly, as we have found success incorporating phonics and sight words.  

  

Introducing sight words helps preschoolers learn the whole-word process in which readers are stimulated to recognize the whole word rather than breaking down the single sounds of each letter within the word.

 

 

 Phonics is the technique of teaching children to read/write, spotlighting, individual sounds of letters, or groups of letters, and blending them together. Words are broken down and decoded by sounds, then blended together to expose what the word says.

This week the students learned the sight word "the".

We used the following procedures to teach the sight word "the":

Watercolor Paint - the students painted then wrote the sight word using watercolors.

Letter Stamps:  Stamp the sight word.

Sidewalk Chalk - We gave the students sidewalk chalk and invited them to write the sight word and set them free.  They even wrote on a tree stump!  Later, they spelled and jumped on t-h-e.

I Spy - The students were instructed to "spy" the sight word on signs during a neighborhood walk. 

 Naturally and without instruction, the students spied the sight word in books and on classroom displays.

 

We sang a song entitled: "The" by: Havefunteaching on youtube. This song promotes spelling and includes the sight word in various sentences.  

Candy - The students traced the sight word with candy.

 

 

 

Cut and Paste - The students cut apart the letters h-t-e, then glued the letters, in order, spelling "the".

Library Visit
 Library visits encourage preschooler's enthusiasm for reading and books.

Therefore, it is of vast importance for them to visit libraries on a regular basis.  This routine teaches them the responsibility of borrowing and returning books ,as well as, the process of using a library card.  

We designated a particular spot in our classroom to keep our library books when the students are not reading them.  This helps the students understand that library books are special and it's important to take good care of them.

 

Here's some other ways the students will explore sight words throughout the school year:

1 - Play dough - Roll out the play dough to create long snakes or strips.  Form the letters of the word with the play dough.  

 
2 - Dot Art - We will use Dot Art Stampers to stamp the letters, spelling the word.

3 - Glitter Glue- The students will trace over the letters with glitter glue.  When the word is dry, they may trace over it with their fingers.
 

4 - Bendaroos or Pipe Cleaners -  These materials may be purchased at craft stores.   The students use these materials to form the  letters of the words.

5 - Shaving Cream– The students will squirt shaving cream on the table, spread it out and write the word in the shaving cream.

6 - Finger Painting- The students will squirt the paint on paper, spread it out and write the letters of the word in the paint.