Use alphabet books for read alouds and shared reading experiences.
Provide pictures of objects for students to sort. Pictures can be sorted according to whether the sound at the beginning, middle, or end of the words is different or the same.
Invite students to bring in objects whose names begin with the sound being studied.
Place pictures and/or objects in a box. Some of the items should begin with the sound being studied; a few should not. Have students reach into the box, take out an item, name it, and indicate whether the initial sound of the object is the same as or different from the sound being studied. Then have students use the word in a sentence.
When students are reading and come across an unfamiliar word that contains the letter or letter combination being taught, encourage them to use the context along with their knowledge of the letter sound to pronounce the word.
Use the sounds of consonants during your regular school routine. For example, when the class is dismissed for the day, ask students whose last names begin or end with (letter) to leave first.
When students have learned several consonant sounds, provide sentences or stories with a word missing and invite students to use the context and their knowledge of certain sounds to predict the word (Cloze procedures). If a word is given that makes sense but does not begin with the appropriate letter, discuss why it is not the right choice. Invite students to share their thinking about particular responses and guide them as necessary.
Vowels are much more difficult for students to learn than consonants because they can represent more than one sound. Most vowels have two to three different sound, but there are also many exceptions for certain vowels. For example the long e sound can be spelled 16 different ways: see, team, equal, he, key, Caesar, deceive, receipt, people, demesne, machine, field, debris, amoeba, quay and pity.
Teaching various sounds of the vowels will probably span at least two grade levels. Generally short vowels are taught first because they have fewer spellings. However, some long vowels are easy to learn especially when they are the final letter in two-letter words (he, me, we).
Have students read short passage and circle words with long or short vowels. Then copy the words on a separate sheet of paper and have students attempt to categorize them. Each category should then be labeled with a description of what the long or short vowel words have in common.
Teach students the importance of vowels by placing cards with consonants on a table or under a document camera. Ask a volunteer to make a word with the letter cards. The students should quickly see that it is impossible to write words without vowels. Then include vowel cards and ask students to make words.
Write high-frequency words using two colors of markers-one color for vowels and another color for consonants.
Provide students with letter tiles or magnetic letters and have them engage in word-building opportunities.
Provide multiple opportunities each day for students to write.
Read aloud rhyming books, poetry and nursery rhymes. Point out the rhyming word families after the book has been read and enjoyed.
Word sorts with rime families
Create a rhyming word wall and ask students to draw/write words that they discover to add to the wall. Don’t forget to reference the words in your instruction in large and small group.
Ask students to circle the inflected endings in one of their pieces of writing. After finding endings in their own writing, they may want to read a story written by a classmate and find endings in a classmate’s writing. This activity helps create an awareness of endings.
Print prefixes and suffixes on tagboard or index cards. Pass out the cards to students. Write root words on sentence strips. Hold one root word card in front of the class. A student who has a prefix or suffix that would make a new word comes up to the front of the class and places the card in front of or behind the root word card. The student pronounces the word, and, if correct, the student may take the root word. Invite students to use the word in a sentence and, if necessary, help them understand the meaning of the word.
Place several headings on the board (for example, places, people, rides, things, times). Have students think of and write compound words that fit under each heading. Record words on the board or chart paper.
Give students several endings (e.g., -it, -ed, -ip, -et). Have students select one or more ending and then think of a beginning letter or blend that they could add at the beginning to make different words. Students could make words by themselves, with a partner, or in a small group. After several minutes, review the lists, have students use the words in sentences, and clarify or explain word meanings as necessary.
Play games such as Group Ball Toss, Twister and the Affix Stopped Me listed below.
Ask students to find the words in texts around the room. For example, the word and may be on a Friends and Neighbors bulletin board.
Use word games such as Bingo, Hangman, Word Dominoes, Word Checkers, or Go Fish.
Have students use the buddy system to practice word cards.
Chant the spelling of words. Clap together as the class spells a word out loud.
Have students write words. Writing provides a kinesthetic mode to help students learn and remember words.
Have students locate the most common high-frequency words (a, and, for, he, in, is, it, of, that, the, to, was, you) in newspaper or magazines. This activity will help students realize how frequently such words occur. Use a selection about 100 words in length.
Give students plenty of opportunities to read lots of easy materials
Students should read many books that are easy for them. There are many books appropriate for students who have limited sight vocabularies.
For words that can be represented by a picture, print the word on the front of a card under the picture. The back of the card should contain the printed word. You can use logos from stores and businesses for some sight words.
Provide many opportunities for students to interact with print such as independent reading, read-along stories and books, repeated readings, share readings, poems, songs, and rhymes.
Adapt Sight Vocabulary Games (How Many?, Word Sort, Around the World, Word Hunt, Concentration) listed below for whole group.
Read familiar pattern books to students, pausing at appropriate places so students can predict the missing word.
Create or provide a passage from a text in which selected words have been replaced with lines. Instruct students to read the passage and write in their choices of words. Stress that their words should make sense. Later, discuss their choices in conjunction with the words used by the author.
Using a text the students will be reading, read several sentences while omitting several words and have students predict the words that have been omitted. Then tell students the words used by the author and develop the idea that it is sometimes possible to predict a word the author will use.
Select a text that the students will need to read. Preview the text and determine which words might give the students difficulty. Model how you would use the context to help figure out the words. Think aloud so the students can hear your strategies. Choose at least one example where context is not particularly helpful.
List some common topics that students might be asked to read about and encourage them to list words that are likely to appear in the stories. Develop the notion that certain words might logically be expected to be associated with a particular topic.