I use sight words, along with phonics, to teach my students how to read in English (ESL, EFL) . Sight Words are commonly used words that young learners are encouraged to memorize by sight. More below the video!
Sight Words Song Series
I started using sight words a few years ago when I wanted to give my students a boost in their reading skills. Phonics are great, but it can take a long time to get students to begin reading. Encouraging students to memorize words that occur often in text help them read faster, and gain confidence in reading.
I chose the words for my song series from the “Top 150 Sight Words” list, with some modifications based on my experience teaching English to young learners. The basic idea is like the lyrics to the song, “Listen. Read. Remember.”
How to teach
Show the students the video, and then on the second or third try ask them to read the words with me. You can also write the words on the board and pre-teach them before watching the video. The list of the words for this video is: the, I, and, a, to, in, is, you, that, it.
Game Idea
You can play a simple touch game with the words. Write each word on a separate sheet of paper. Put all of the words on a table and have a group of 2-4 students sit around the table. Call out one of the words, for example “the.” The student who touches the word first wins the round.
These are just some ideas to get you started with sight words. Stay tuned for the remaining videos of the series on the Dream English Kids Youtube Channel!
