The Dolch 220 sight words make up between 50-70% of the words we encounter in text. Most of these words cannot be sounded out and students need to be taught to instantly recognize these words in order to be fluent readers. Because recognizing these words is so important during reading, it is important that we use a variety of activities to teach, practice and memorize sight words.
It all begins with assessment. Before you begin teaching sight words, it is important to know which words your student(s) already know. When you download the Sight Word Assessment and Progress Monitoring file, you’ll receive the assessment, student recording forms and progress monitoring charts. You’ll want to periodically re-assess you student(s) to be sure they are making progress. Students absolutely LOVE coloring in their own graph.
Click HERE to download the Dolch Sight Word Assessment and Progress Monitoring materials FREE from my TpT store.
To assess your students, you can use the assessment materials contained in the file above, or you can use the Dolch 220 Sight Word Flashcards. The flashcards can also be used for drill and practice activities. I color-coded the flashcards according to the lists to help with organization.
Click HERE to download the Dolch Sight Word Flashcards from my TpT store
Especially when working with struggling readers, it is important to engage parents in helping their child learn to read. Helping their child learn sight words is one way they can play a role in helping their child on the road to becoming a fluent reader. You may want to download this parent handout on Learning Sight Words. It contains ideas for fun ways for practicing words.
Click the following link to download the FREE parent handout on learning sight words Learning Sight Words
Using a multi-sensory activity to introduce a sight word increases the liklihood that the student will remember the word. We first introduce a word using a multi-sensory activity and then we use the drill and practice activities. Of course, it is very important that the student recognizes the word in text. The student needs to see the word multiple times in text before the word is learned to automaticity–so, be sure to read, read, read (and read some more).
Click HERE to download the Dolch Sight Words Multi-Sensory Templates from my TpT store
Hi! I like your assessment and tracking. How did you decide which words would go in which list? Because some of the words are pre-primer, primer, first, etc; they are from mixed grades. Was is based on the frequency the words would show up in text? Thanks!!
Yes, it is based on the frequency of words in text. The order was something that was shared at the Teachers Reading Academy (so I didn’t do it myself). It makes sense to me and it is what we use across our districts. Thanks. Julie
I love your sight word assessment. Do you offer any itmes for reading assessment (comprehension)?