If you are teaching reading to your little one or have a child who is having trouble reading, then it is vital that they become proficient in sight words. Sight words are about 87% of all the words that children read in their trade books. Words like “the” “in”, “a”, “it”, and “is” are all part of this very important list. These words are phonetically irregular words, meaning you cannot use phonics to decode them so they must be learned by sight. Knowing sight words is one of the basic building blocks when learning how to read and one that should not be ignored.
What happens if the Reading or Phonics program you selected does not include the teaching of sight words? I suggest that you do it on your own and it is quite simple. Am I saying that you shouldn’t teach Phonics? NO! Never! Phonics is important or just as important as teaching sight words. Many programs fail to integrate both of these in their reading programs, which is unfortunate but important for homeschooling moms to know. For the purpose of this post, I’m going to focus on sight words.
There are two lists but most of the words overlap; Dolch Sight Words and Fry Sight Words are the two lists you can work from. In the 1940s, Dr. Edward William Dolch used 220 phonetically irregular words and 95 common nouns to create his Dolch Sight Word List. He chose words that were most often used in children’s reading books during the 1920s and 30s. In the 1990s, Dr. Edward Fry took the Dolch researched list and created 1,000 most frequently used words and put them in order of frequency. Children should be repeatedly exposed to these words so that they learn them quickly. This bolsters their reading self-esteem, which in turn makes them want to read more. You would be so surprised how your little Joseph or little Mary is going to want to start reading and selecting books at the library!
Learn to Count DVD We have had the wonderful opportunity to review ABCatholic’s DVD entitled “Learn to Count” this past Summer. It is a beautiful DVD geared for small children with an instructional Math component but yet still Catholic. The hostess, the little girl who sings the songs with the kids is adorable, sweet and friendly…my children love watching this DVD, even those that already know how to count because of the Catholic component and the fun tune. Here’s a sample of the Learn to Count DVD:
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION: Teach your little ones to count on what really counts with ABCatholic’s Learn to Count! Geared to children six-months and up, this high-definition DVD features bright, engaging animations paired with live-action video to introduce your child to numbers and counting 1 through 10. Your child will love interacting with the children in this production!
To integrate early basics for mathematics and language skills, each number is introduced by:
Spoken Name
Quantity
Numeral
and Written Word
But you can count on ABCatholic to go a step further: Items and symbols representing each number have been carefully selected to establish early Catholic concepts. Learn to Count begins with:
1 Tabernacle
2 Rosaries
3 Bells
For the youngest child, this program is the ideal starting point for learning numbers. For older children,Learn to Count can be used to introduce to counting, spelling, and faith concepts. And parents can take heart in knowing they can trust ABCatholic to provide wholesome and holy tools for early education.
Marian Lullaby CD The second product we had the honor of reviewing this past Summer was the A Marian Lullaby CD. This came to our home at the perfect time! My six and seven year old love falling asleep with music on and the CDs we have had for some time, were seeing their last leg. Not only was this CD wonderful and perfect for night time music but it was an added bonus that it has a Marian devotion. Part of the CD has sung lyrics the other half has just the instrumentals This one came in handy for our music class since we can just play the instrumental part as we learn the lyrics to some of the most beloved Catholic songs.
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION: Lull your little one to peaceful sleep with this beautiful collection of lullabies honoring the Blessed Mother. During wakeful hours, your children will come to treasure these specially selected songs. This collection of hymns and original songs includes a variety of sung and instrumental pieces, arranged and performed by Matthew Torres and introducing Patrick Culbertson (Lovely Lady Dressed in Blue).
Listen NOW to samples from this collection by clicking on the links:
In addition to the lovely DVDs and CDs on their website, I also love these alphabet coloring pages for Catholic kids over at ABCatholic….their videos and cds are awesome too! They post new FREE activity coloring pages every Monday on their Facebook page
They have setup a discount for our readers, yes, that’s YOU! The promo code you should use is RLS2012 this will give you a 10% off discount for any order!
Do you love these as much as I do…you could WIN THEM ALL! Yes that’s right, you can visit their Facebook page and sign up to win their entire collection of three DVDs and two CDs right now; here are the details:
Contest closes on October 31, 2012 at 11:59 PM. A winner will be chosen by a random drawing on November 1, 2012. Winner will be notified by phone and/or email. Please do not inquire via Facebook as to whether you have won. Prize includes one copy of each of the following: My Catholic ABCs DVD, Learn to Count DVD, Little Latin DVD, A Marian Lullaby CD, Sing Along Adventures of the Saints CD. Winner will be sent prizes within two (2) weeks of the contest ending. No purchase necessary.
If I don’t win these, I can guarantee you that I have selected what I want to get the children for Christmas! The other two DVDs: My Catholic ABCs and Little Latin as well as the Sing Along Adventures of the Saints CD. Don’t forget to use the promotional code to receive 10% off your order!
Enjoy! Blessings,
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Months ago, I wrote a post on essentials in teaching reading. I would like to continue this series with focusing on working with words. Like I said in my last post, the more interesting you make it for kids the more they will want to participate in the steps to learn how to read independently. This next activity gives you an idea of a game you can use over and over again to make creating words and reading interesting for little ones.
This next game I call: “Shake it, Roll it, and Write it!” I’ve created a printable to share with you and here are some pictures with my kinder and first graders using this game to learn new words or practice old one
With this printable you will be able to create seven blocks each unique to the other to create this game.
This is the recording sheet I created to accompany the game. I inserted mine in sheet protectors and the kids used dry erase markers
The final recording sheet. This one was played as a team, so they both had the same words and score since it was one of the first times we played. Once proficient, the kids will get to compete with one another. This game could also be played solo or keep track of weekly scores.
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If you have little ones learning to read, like I do (two of them actually), then you know the importance of teaching them Sight Words. {A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog post about what sight words are and why they are vital in teaching little ones to read, if you missed it here is the link}. Since repetition is important in teaching these words as they do not follow a phonetic pattern, it is important to make learning these words as fun as possible. This is why I loved being able to review Rock N Learn’s newest DVD on Sight Words. They put these words to music and in context throughout their colorful video that both boys and girls will love. Mine did! In the summer I got to introduce them to this DVD and though they weren’t 100% able to identify all the words when I began this school year I was so surprised when my daughter saw a sight word and recalled the scene from the DVD! It was great! Its important for children to learn these in so many forms that putting these words in context on a DVD was a brilliant idea!
My kids love watching it, for my 6 year old it’s great review, for my 5 year old it is a fantastic part of her Reading Program and for my 3 year old, a wonderful opportunity to expose him to these words already (and my 18 month old loves to dance to the music)! As a reading specialist myself, I was not surprised to find out that to put this DVD together Rock N Learn worked with reading specialists with 50 years experience combined! It is a great addition to your homeschool’s reading program. I love all of our Rock N Learn DVDs because I know my kids can watch them time and time again and always learn something new. PLUS, I love hearing them sing the words to educational things instead of silly songs to cartoons!
Here is a little clip of what this DVD is like, I love how they expose the kids to the sight words in context (opposed to isolation):
Sight Words Covered: • up • down • come • go • in • out • of • the • a • where • is • it • here • there • one • two • three • red • yellow • blue • little • big • look • see • find • run • jump • play • away • and • you • I • we • can • make • funny • face • get • to • for • me • my • give • from • came • as • are • no • not • now • said • help • will • he • she • his • her • they • that • was • with • on
Bonus Sections:
Word Shapes
Pronouncing t-h-e
Description:Sight Words, a new DVD program from Rock ‘N Learn, helps kids learn to read. Using fun music and exciting characters, kids learn to read over 60 words. These are the most common words used in the English language and are words kids need to know automatically. This program is perfect for parents with very young kids who appear advanced and eager to learn, as well as older students with remedial needs. It’s effective at helping kids learn to read at all ages. Developed along with four reading specialists having combined classroom experience of over 50 years, Rock ‘N Learn Sight Words is designed to hold the interest of kids and get results. A bonus section helps kids practice their spelling skills and focus on the shapes of words. The program engages kids to participate along with the fun characters. Approximately 50 minutes in length, it’s most effective when kids watch again and again. Before too long, they are reading the sight words with ease.
Want to get one for your homeschool? We are hosting a give away! YAY! Here is what you need to do:
Don’t want to wait for this giveaway to end? You can buy one for your little ones at Rock N Learn’s website but wait there is more, if you us this code: JQ7711 you can get 25%off your order. Blessings, Erika
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