By Learning is the Game™
Learning sight words can be
tricky for students, especially my EL students.
This year I wanted to come up with a way for my students to practice
their sight words that would be more engaging than just memorizing a group of words
on a ring, or in a baggie, so I created this activity. 40 different foldables, one for each word
from the Dolch Sight Words Pre-K list.
Each foldable has six tabs that
provide plenty of repetition writing and using a sight word. Don’t be fooled by the word repetition. This activity is much more engaging than
simply writing each word multiple times on a piece of paper. It involves tracing, writing, coloring, and
cutting and pasting. That’s right, these
are hands-on activities that get students excited about practicing their sight
words!
The front of each foldable has the
target sight word at the top, and tabs that explain what is on the inside
sections. The back has the name of the
foldable, so you know what list the word belongs to, a place for the student’s
name, and the date. The Common Core
State Standards (CCSS) addressed are also printed on the back of each
foldable.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.G
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.B
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.C
Students start by folding the
paper in half vertically and coloring the front of the foldable. Actually, I always have my students start anything
they do by putting their name on it first.
(Yep, I’m that guy, walking around the room asking, “Is your name on
your paper? Is your name on your paper?”)
Then the real fun begins.
Open up the foldable and start
working on each section. For the first
section at the top, trace the word twice.
For the 2nd section, write the
word on the lines twice.
For the 3rd section, Rainbow Write
the word on the lines twice. For rainbow
writing, start by writing the word with a colored pencil or crayon in any
color. Then, trace over the word a few
times using a different color each time.
For the 4th section, write the
word in the word shape boxes.
For the 5th section, cut off the
bottom of the foldable on the dotted line.
Then, cut out the letters from the bottom part and glue them in the
boxes in the correct order.
The 6th section is a little
different. This section helps track
progress and gives the adults and students a quick visual to see if more
practice is needed. For this section the
student reads the sight word to the teacher, or another adult. You could just have them fill a star in for
each time they read the word to an adult, but I like to use a color coding
system. If the student couldn’t read the
word at all, color the star red. If they
were close, color it yellow, and if they were correct color it green.
When students finish their
foldable, they should hold on to it so they can practice on their own, with a partner, or at home. If you use interactive
notebooks, these work great because part of the bottom is cut off, making it just the right size.
My students really enjoy these
foldables, and I hope your students do too.
Click HERE to check out a free preview of this activity.