Learning sight words can be a huge challenge for a child with dyslexia. If you have a child struggling with reading you may have already spent hours looking into sight words, high frequency words, Dolch words or even if sight words are the right way to help your child read. At the end of your research, if your child’s school teaches reading using sight words, your child will need to learn them.
First – Know Your Child’s Learning Needs
This first tip isn’t fun, but is the most important. If your child is dyslexic or you suspect he or she may have dyslexia, you need to partner with the school and get an evaluation and support plan in place. If your dyslexic child already has an IEP or 504 in place and sight words are being taught, here are a few tips you can use to help make learning sight words fun.
Sight Words by Touch – Multi-Sensory Learning for Dyslexics
These ideas are not only fun they help your dyslexic child involve their other senses which may help them learn the sight words.
Load a cookie sheet with:
- Shaving Cream
- Sand
- Peanut butter
- Frosting (thinned – stiff frosting may be hard to write in)
Have your child trace the sight word while saying it out-loud. If it fits your family, let them lick the frosting to experience the sweet taste of success.
Sight Word Games – Active Learning for Dyslexics
Games are a great way to help reduce the frustration your child may feel when learning sight words. They also introduce some kinesthetic learning which may help your dyslexic child progress faster. Many classic games can be converted into sight word practice with a few inexpensive supplies.
Sight-word Candy Land
Use sticky notes to put sight words on the board and on the matching card. Then play. Your child draws a sight word, gets to move to the sight word.
Sight-word Memory
The classic memory game where cards go face down and you match pairs by remembering location. Use index cards to write pairs of sight-words and you are ready to play.
Sight Word Bingo
Make bingo cards using your child’s sight words. Write the words again on slips of paper which are drawn to call the bingo words. Take turns letting your child be the player and also the bingo caller.
Sight Word Go Fish
Use index cards to make pairs of sight words. Use them to play the classic card game go fish. Be sure to put your matching pairs face up to give your child extra practice seeing the words.
Sight words are a common strategy used to teach reading in schools. Dyslexia can make learning sight words difficult leaving your child frustrated and discouraged. By making sight word practice fun at home, you not only give extra practice your child may need, you get to spend fun family time together.
Be sure to keep your focus off your child’s dyslexia or even their progress – emphasize the fun. That way everyone wins.
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