Day 10 of 31 Days of READiNG Rewards

Day 10 – sight word game

Today’s post is for someone of any age who is learning to read.

A sight word is a word whose spelling isn’t conducive to simple pronunciation.  The word THE is an example.  It is learned just the way a person learns how to pronounce the. . .

You just can’t pronounce it by sounding out the letters. You must memorize its sound.

Or how about like the way this symbol:

. . . means McDonald’s Restaurant – even to a 2 year old.

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And even though some words can eventually be sounded out, there is nothing wrong with learning the words as symbols when you are first learning to read.

So just as you would decorate your refrigerator like this:

You can decorate your refrigerator or the rest of your house to encourage reading and symbol recognition.  The reading tip here is to take a word (include the picture if you like), and tape it up – eyesight height – for your preschooler or learning reader to see.  Occasionally point to it and say the word. Very quickly your toddler will learn the symbolism of that collection of letter symbols. Don’t forget to make sure they are lower case letters! 

Additional tip: I taught one of my children the word “the” with a hand symbol. As I read to her, there were a few words she knew, so I would stop and let her fill in the word (even if it was just through repetition of the book – you know, just like you know The Christmas Story). And when I thought she could use the word “the”, I taught her a hand sign for it. So when I was reading and the word came up, I would perform the hand sign and point to the typed word, and she would say, “Oh! the!”.  It was a simple exercise, no pressure, but something that made her feel proud. 

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Don’t forget to pop over and read how to win a $10 Starbucks gift card!