Elementary Test Prep: ELA 4 (Grade 1) Sight Words

Children need to develop a growing core of sight words. These high-frequency words are words that occur often in reading and writing. Emergent readers use the words they know to help monitor their reading. Reading becomes more fluent as early readers learn sight words and do not have to problem solve on every word. The ability to write sight words quickly helps children compose more meaningful messages.

The first words children learn (especially names) may be very simple but they require children to look closely at letters and spelling patterns. Sight words will be acquired as children read books and participate in writing activities in the classroom. Some children may need more systematic instruction to help them learn a core of high-frequency, high-utility sight words.

Teach - Model - Practice (using eyes to look, mouth to say, and hands to touch)
Teacher makes a word with magnetic letters	Child makes word with magnetic letters, mixes and remakes word at least 3 times
Teacher writes word in big print on the chalk board while saying it slowly	Child traces the word while slowly saying the word
Use different mediums to practice the word (salt tray, magna doodle, paint-brush and water on a blackboard, clay, Wikki-Stix...). Ask the child to make or write the word many times to over learn it and be fluent reading/writing it.

Click on the buttons below to see a suggested list of sight words for each grade level. These lists have been printed on "cards" that can be copied and laminated for sight word games or flash cards.