A Kindergarten Smorgasboard Sight Word Routine

Hello Monday!  I am exhausted from my fabulous birthday weekend!!!  I am so blessed to have such amazing family and friends to surround me on my special day!  Thank you to everyone who sent birthday wishes!  You all make a guy feel so special!

Here’s my story today….We are learning about apples.  We were labeling the parts of an apple.  We were discussing the inside of the apple and we were learning that it was the “flesh” of the apple.  We talked about the flesh and I asked what the white stuff inside of the apple was called and my friend answered:  “it’s the sh**!”  PEOPLE!  It was totally unintentional that he said it…but wow, I laughed hysterically.  Seriously…I love kindergarten!

Last week, I shared about my literacy block kick off routine.  Today I want to share our sight word routine.  This is new for us this year and I was a little hesitant at first.  But after the first week, I was sold.  I am so impressed at how well the ‘staches are reading sight words already!  

The whole premise of this routine is that the students get approximately 60 exposures to each sight word throughout the week!  That’s right…60 exposures!

Day 1-
We introduce the word.  I read the word, they echo.  Repeat 2-3 times depending on the word.
Spell the word.  Students repeat.
If possible, segment the word.
I use the word in a sentence.  Class repeats the sentence.  Repeat with 2-3 sentences.
Students use the word in a sentence.

Day 2-3-
Review the word.
Use the word in a sentence.  Class repeats
Students use the words in a sentence.

Day 4-
Sight Word Grid
We create a grid of the words for the week.  I have created a 4×4 grid and type the words in random order.  I project the grid and we read the words.  I then point to a word and one ‘stache reads the word and uses it in a sentence.

After we’ve reviewed words, the ‘staches go to their seats and I give them a mini version of the grid. We color the words according to a color code.  The code is just whatever you want it to be.  For example, if the words for the week are:  to, the, in, blue, we would color all of the’s yellow, to’s red, in’s green and blue’s blue.  The ‘staches take this grid home to practice the words.

Day 5-Graphing
I cut apart 2 or 3 copies of the large grid and place the words in a bag and shake!  People, I shake my hips!  Shake shake.  Each ‘stache draws a word and reads the word.  Then they glue the word on the graph!

It seems to be a lot and it is, but it goes quickly.  I incorporate this into my literacy routine each day.

I have seen a marked improvement in our sight word skills compared to my previous years of teaching. I am excited to see how well our assessments go next week!

Here are some sight word freebies for you!

Don’t forget to enter for a chance to win a PINK pencil sharpener from Classroom Friendly Supplies!