Watching children struggle to learn how to read or memorize sight words got me.
From the children I serve with severe phonological processes, apraxia, or language issues to an average kindergarten student with minor articulation errors, I was tired of seeing the frustration. A long time ago, I read that you can’t sound out sight words; you’re just supposed to know them. Huh? I took phonetics years ago and knew (or had an inkling) that this information had to be wrong. Phonetics takes each letter and processes it into a symbol to show how that person articulates the sound. Simple enough? SLPs must learn phonetics to show how Sally says the word /little/. Does she use a /w/ for /l/ or delete the /t/ in the middle of the word? Do you get the idea? So, why not help my little friends by showing them how to make each sound in a sight word using motor visuals related to phonetics? So that’s how this resource happened.
Step 1: Teach the sounds and the motor movement.
I use the large cards, teach voiced/voiceless, and have the children mimic my mouth movements. Make sure everyone can make the movements as correctly as possible.
Step 2: Small group
In a group of 5 or 6, I use the student booklets (every child gets their booklet), small hand-held mirrors, and the voiced and voiceless cue cards. We review the sounds, and I take documentation on my datasheets.
Step 3: Move on to the sight words.
After your students have each sound/letter learned, it’s time to move to the sight words for the week. Teach each sight word and show how the individual sounds blend into the word. You will find that your students will understand blending so much better just by using this technique. There are also datasheets for each Fry, Dolch, or bonus word.
Research: Speaks for itself!
Research shows that using visuals of motor movements is an effective way to teach sight words. Judge for yourself! Download this free sample and see if it’s right for your students. Free Sample
