5 Tricks to Help Them Remember Sight Words

I've been fascinated by the brain for years now. I have been reading quite a bit about how the brain works and the best ways to help children learn. 

There are basically two types of words for the children to learn. One kind is based on letter sound relationships and letter patterns. In other words, they can be "sounded out." The other kind of word can't be "sounded out" and must be learned by the way it looks: by sight! These suggestions are to help with sight words. 

Here are some brain strategies that are easy to implement into the classroom to help the kiddos remember those important sight words.

Practice makes permanent! When the children practice a little bit each day, it will help them remember. It's also a good idea to introduce small amounts at a time. If they need to know the first 100 Sight Words, only give them 10 at a time, then slowly adding on as they master those. Going through their pile of sight words for 5 minutes every day is more valuable than once a week for 30 minutes. Remember when you were in college and cramming for an exam? It didn't work so well, did it. (But somehow we got through it!)

Exercise brings oxygen to the brain, and helps the brain become more receptive to learning. We all know that sitting still for too long makes for cranky, wiggly children (and adults!) Experts say bodies to move every 20 minutes. Bodies of children need to move more frequently than that! A quick walk, a little yoga, or a nice stretch are perfect Brain Breaks for little learners.

 Emotions play a big role in memory. If you make it fun, they're more likely to remember. Games make learning fun! A little healthy competition gets the pulse moving and the emotions rolling. It really makes a difference!

Brains are visual! Brains remember colors and other visuals, like cute little pictures. Use color when making word lists or word cards. You can use a variety of colors, but make sure they can be easily read. Make sure the words are appealing for the children.

Experts recommend sight words be practiced in phrases rather than in isolation. Words in isolation don't have much meaning to the children, and brains need meaning. Three or four words in phrases have a lot more meaning and are more likely remembered by growing brains.

I do have some sight word phrases that follow these suggestions. You can find them HERE.

There are built in Brain Breaks.

There are color coded word cards, if desired, with "cute pictures."

There are plenty of color coded phrase cards, again with "cute pictures." The different colors on the borders correspond to the Fry Sight Word level.

There's also a game that can be used to practice the words or phrases! The pictures correspond to the pictures on the individual cards. Each level of words is compatible with the game board, so it's easy to differentiate.

The game board and cards are easily stored in ziplocks!

 

What are your tricks to help them remember sight words?

5 Resources for Earth Day

My Earth is pretty important to me! 

It's my home, and it's the home for my kids (both biological and students) and their children. If we make the effort, we can make our Earth and its resources last!

 

I plan to make the whole week all about protecting our Earth and its resources.  Here are some of my plans:

1.  Literature! I always use plenty of literature whenever I teach a concept.  Here are some great books that tell what happens if we don't take care of our Earth: (Click image for a link to Amazon for more information about these books.)

     

Here are some more books to bring Earth Day awareness:

 

         

2. Resources! Here's what I'll be using next week to tie Earth Day into reading, writing and math in my second grade classroom: Earth Day No Prep

These Earth Day Math Story Problems are a favorite! 

 

The above resources as well as a few others are included in this bundle at a HUGE discount!  Earth Day Collection

3. Videos!  Speaking of Youtube, there is a wealth of information out there, and some of it is pretty good!  Here are a few I've found that are great for Earth Day:

4. Be a Role Model! If you want the kids to do what they can to protect our Earth, you need to show them how! Let them see you reduce, reuse, and recycle! I always warn my students not to use more than their share of paper, not to waste materials, and not to let the water run. They see me being careful about using paper. I even print on both sides whenever I can! If a paper has print on one side, I save it and put it upside down in my printer to use again. We have a recycling box in our class for paper, and save paper scraps, especially construction paper that can be used again on other projects! I also make a point to mention when I see a child being conservative with materials.

5. Dollar Deals! Here are a couple more Earth Day bargains!

Here's a Dollar Deal for students to write about their Earth Day plans: EarthDay Writing Paper

 

This Dollar Deal is a song to the tune of Take Me Out to the Ballgame! Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

 

Can you tell Earth Day is important to me? 

Happy Earth Week!

Organizing Literacy Centers

I work with 2 of my 3 reading groups daily. What do I do with my other students?

Many teachers use the Daily 5, and have some great ways to organize the 5 choices.

My district has some specific guidelines on how we spend our reading time, but we can be flexible within those guidelines.

Every child must have Independent Reading daily.  That's easy! Reading groups need to meet so many times per week, with the lowest group meeting daily.

I use little cards with magnets on the back. At the beginning of the year, I teach the children the meaning of each card, and introduce them one at a time. We start with Independent Reading, then move on to the others.

Some people call these Centers, or Learning Centers. I call them Stations. I don't know why!

I have a section of my whiteboard in the front of the room that's always about literacy stations. On some days, it might look like this:

The children know that the first row of cards tells where the children go for the first station.  In my classroom, instead of "Group 1, Group2, and Group 3", I have the children's individual names on magnets.  I do change my groups often, depending on the needs of my students.  

I also have one child starred per group, per day. The starred child is in charge of handing out pillows for Independent Reading.  (I try to make this time as special as possible... who doesn't love curling up with a comfy pillow and a good book?)

In the above picture, for the first station, I'm working with Group 1, while Group 2 does word work, and Group 3 has Independent Reading. After a while, I switch the groups, and I'll have 2 groups at Independent Reading while I work with the third group.

Or it might look something like this.

In the red example, I work with Group 1, while Group 2 has Independent Reading.  Group 3 has their reading time at the Library. Later, I work with Group 3, while Group 2 has Independent Reading and Group 2 works at assigned computer activities.

On a day where I have to work with individuals, it might look like this, where I only teach one reading group.

For the first station, I work with Group 2 while Group 1 has Partner Reading and Group 3 has Independent Reading.  Later, I have 2 groups at Independent Reading and Group 3 has a written reading assignment. This is the time I would pull individuals for reading or writing conferences.

Here's a little freebie with some of the cards I use:
Literacy Center Cards Freebie

 

If you like this freebie, you might enjoy this full set of Guided Reading Management: 

 

 

How do you organize your students for reading?

How Do I Squeeze in Mardi Gras?

I really like to find ways to celebrate all those special days, but it's not easy to squeeze everything in. 

Mardi Gras is just about fun, and it's at a time of the year when the children really need something to lift their spirits, so I find a way to squeeze it in... by having the Mardi Gras theme overlap what I need to teach anyway!  Like Math!

Well, for one, I thought I'd squeeze a little Mardi Gras and Valentine's Day into math time with these math problems:

 

 Mardi Gras and Valentine's Day 2-Digit Addition and Subtraction Story Problems

Here's another fun way to "squeeze in" Mardi Gras without losing time developing important skills: Mardi Gras No Prep Printables! These practice important skills, but have a Mardi Gras theme. These are great if you are going to be out for the day or are so busy you don't have time to plan! 

But first, I'll read them a book on Mardi Gras and let them make some masks on Monday. (That way, the math problems will make a whole lot more sense on Tuesday!)

          

How do you manage to squeeze in the fun stuff this busy time of year?