Emergent readers are in a very exciting part of their lives. Soon the lines and curves that they see EVERYWHERE will become WORDS! Wow!!! Soon there will be meaning connected to those markings and their world will never be the same.
But, what if it's not that easy. What if an emergent reader doesn't seem to get it? The amazing world of text is closed for them. Story books, comics, magazines, maps, game instructions, menus, notes from a friend, and on and on. Completely LOCKED AWAY. Until they develop "word-recognition," not just the ability to sound out letters in a group, they will not be readers.
Word recognition consists of "sight-words" that can be called out within a second of seeing the word, word-structure analysis, and phonics. Let's just look at sight-words for a moment. Consider this statement:
Sight word lists are comprised of individual words that each have a separate skill. Therefore, it makes little sense to tally the number of words a child can pronounce at sight, but to understand the distinct skill each word represents.
This statement tells me that when I assess my students for sight word knowledge I am looking for particular skills that are possibly weak or missing. I have never heard of this perspective on sight words. This actually makes the task of teaching and assessing sight words much more relevant to the student and the teacher. Students can be encouraged to do their best and when an error is made the teacher can celebrate that they "discovered" a skill that they can work on together!
Below is a quick video that explains sight words very simply and contains a "Did you know?" nugget of information!
Happy Reading!
Sight word lists are comprised of individual words that each have a separate skill. Therefore, it makes little sense to tally the number of words a child can pronounce at sight, but to understand the distinct skill each word represents.
Sight word lists are comprised of individual words that each have a separate skill. Therefore, it makes little sense to tally the number of words a child can pronounce at sight, but to understand the distinct skill each word represents.
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