Understanding Sight Words
Aims
This activity is designed to:
- test your child's understanding of the words they can read
- encourage your child to pay attention and join in a learning activity for short periods of time
When to start
This activity is suitable for children who can read some sight words.
Children who can successfully select sight words (Activity 3) and (optionally) say sight words when reading them (Activity 4) are ready to start Activity 5 - Understanding Sight Words.
Selecting words
Choose words that your child can read.
Start with two sight words. As your child becomes more familiar with the activity and learns more sight words, increase the number of words you work with.
Modelling and prompting
At first, model the activity. Demonstrate the steps in the activity, encouraging your child to watch and listen.
When your child starts the activity, prompt them as needed to help them complete the task successfully.
Steadily reduce your prompts as your child becomes more confident.
Instructions
| 1 | Show your child the picture cards | |
[Cards]: Select corresponding word and picture cards for each of the words you wish to work with. Place the picture cards in front of your child. Vary the order and position of the cards each time you work on this activity. ::: ::: |
[Apps]: From the Main Menu screen, select Activities > Understanding Sight Words. Select the sight words you wish to work with and the number of cards to present (start with 2). Tap the start button. ::: |
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| 2 | Attract your child's attention Say "let's put words with pictures". Encourage your child to look at the picture cards. |
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| 3 | Present a word card to match | |
[Cards]: Hand your child the first of the word cards to match. ::: ::: |
[Apps]: Tap the card to 'turn over'. ::: |
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| 4 | Ask your child to match the word ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Point to the word card that you are asking your child to match. Say "put the word with the picture" At first, you may need to prompt your child while they learn the activity. Point to the picture card that matches the word card presented. Help your child to place the word card over the corresponding picture card. If your child correctly matches the word, say "yes - [baby] - this is [baby]" If you are modelling or prompting, repeat the word after you have matched the picture together - say "this is [baby] - [baby]" [Apps]: Your child can drag the presented card over the matching card or simply tap the matching card to indicate their selection. |
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| 5 | Present the next word card to match | |
[Cards]: Hand your child the next word card to match. ::: ::: |
[Apps]: Tap the card to 'turn over'. ::: |
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| 6 | Repeat steps 4 and 5 Repeat steps 4 and 5 until your child has matched each card. |
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:::Apps settings
The apps include the following settings that control how the activity is presented:
- Number of choices - sets the number of cards to be presented for matching.
- Number of answer attempts - sets the number of incorrect answers that can be given before prompting the correct answer.
- Time to wait for answer. Initially, this is indefinite to allow you to demonstrate and explain the activity.
- Enable applause - enables/disables playing applause at the end of the activity.
Recording progress
You can record your child's progress using the Understanding Sight Words record.
Record the dates your child first started to practise putting each word with the corresponding picture, and the dates your child first linked each word with prompting and then independently (Figure 4).
Moving to the next activity
You can move on to the next activity (Understanding Phrases) when your child can successfully match the sight words in the phrases to the corresponding pictures at least 5 times.
Figure 4 | Example Understanding Sight Words record sheet
