Download pdf - Teach sight words faster - The Phonics Page Reading/Resources/Teach sight words faster.pdfand minority students, watch 40L’s YouTube video “Closing the Reading Gap.”7 My 23 years

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TeachsightwordsfasterBestpracticesfrombrainresearch,science

Wewilllookatwhatrecentbrainresearchhasfoundaboutreading,andhowtoapplythattolearningtoread.Then,thereisa52weekplantolearnover200sightwordsbasedonbestpracticesfromscientificresearch.Recentbrainresearchhasfoundthattheadultbrainofgoodreadersdoesnotprocesswordsaswholes,butinstead,asStanislasDehaeneexplainsinhisarticle,TheMassiveImpactofLiteracyontheBrain,byanalyzingtheindividuallettersandletterteamsatthesametimeina"massivelyparallelarchitecture."1Thespeedofthisparallelprocessingledearlyresearcherstobelievethatthebrainwasprocessingthewordsasawhole,butrecentbrainresearchusingmorepowerfultechnologyhasfoundtheopposite.YoucanfindmanyofStanislasDehaene’sarticlesonline2,andhisvideosandothervideosaboutreadingandthebraincanbefoundononeof40L’sYouTubeplaylists.3Recentadvancesinbrainscanshaveenabledscientiststoseewhatishappeningasthehumanbrainreads,capturingwhatisgoingoninthebrainmillisecondbymillisecond.Theabilityofthebraintotranslatelettersintomeaningfulwordsisamazing,andharderthanitseems.First,thebrainhastorecognizeletters.Whilethisseemssimpletoanadult,itisactuallyacomplextaskthatishardforcomputerstoreplicate.Thehumanbraincanquicklyandeffortlesslytranslatehundredsofdifferentfontsandthousandsofdifferenthandwrittenletters,someofthemmessierthanothers[messywriting],intothelettersofthealphabet.Itishardtotraincomputerstorecognizesomanyfontsandevenharderforacomputertorecognizemessywriting.Then,thelettersaretranslatedintosoundssofastthattheadultmindthinksthatitisrecognizingthemaswholes,wheninfact,eachletterandletterteamisbeingprocessedinparallel.4Asthishappens,thesoundsofthewordalmostinstantaneouslylightupthe

1Dehaene,Stanislas,"TheMassiveImpactofLiteracyontheBrainanditsConsequencesforEducation,"HumanNeuroplasticityandEducation,2011,p.23[Note:StanislasDehaene's2009book"ReadingintheBrain"hasamoredetailedexplanationsandcomparesmanydifferentstudies.]2SelectedpublicationsofStanislasDehaene:http://www.unicog.org/biblio/Author/DEHAENE-S.html340L’sYouTubePlaylist,“YourBrainonReading:”https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJLxBWdK_5l1u9v4FTXD3CXgCBIGeSZpM

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meaningareasofthebrain.Foramoretechnicalexplanationofthisamazingprocess,readDehaene’s“ReadingintheBrain.”InLanguageattheSpeedofSight,cognitiveneuroscientistMarkSeidenbergstates,

Thereisaprofounddisconnectionbetweenthescienceofreadingandeducationalpractice.Verylittleofwhatwe’velearnedaboutreadingasscientistshashadanyimpactonwhathappensintheschoolsbecausetheculturesofscienceandeducationaresodifferent.Thegulfbetweenscienceandeducationhasbeenharmful.Alookatthesciencerevealsthatthemethodscommonlyusedtoteachchildrenareinconsistentwithbasicfactsabouthumancognitionanddevelopmentandsomakelearningtoreadmoredifficultthanitshouldbe.Theyinadvertentlyplacemanychildrenatriskforreadingfailure.Theydiscriminateagainstpoorerchildren.5

YoucanfindmoreinformationonMarkSeidenberg’swebsite6andinhisbook.Formoreabouthowandwhythisdisconnectbetweenscienceandeducationharmspoorandminoritystudents,watch40L’sYouTubevideo“ClosingtheReadingGap.”7My23yearsasavolunteerliteracytutorhavetaughtmejusthowimportantagoodphonicsbaseisforeveryone,butespeciallyformydisadvantagedstudents.Thegenerallyrecommendednumberofsightwordsthatteacherssuggestayoungstudentcanlearnbysightis2wordsperweek.Withphonics,youfirstneedtospendafewweekslearningthelettersoundsandthenafewmoreweekslearningtoblendthesesoundstogethertomakewords.We’llcomparehowmuchyoucanlearnattherateofafewsoundsorwordperweek,comparingteachingthemostcommonlytaughtsightwordsaswholesbysightversesteachingthemwithphonics.4FromStanislasDehaene’sbook“ReadingintheBrain,”page107:“Theconversionofaletterintoasoundstartsonly225millisecondsaftertheletterfirstappearsontheretina,anditscompatibilitywithaspokensoundisrecognizedafterabout400milliseconds.”5Seidenberg,Mark.LanguageattheSpeedofSight,BasicBooks,2017,page9.6MarkSeidenberg’swebsiteabouthisbook,“LanguageattheSpeedofSight:”https://seidenbergreading.net/contact/740L’sYouTubevideo“ClosingtheGapinReading:”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zORKu1F5wx0


Asyoucanseeonthisfirstgraph,initiallythesightwordmethodlooksfaster.

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But,onceyougetpastthebasicsoflearningthelettersoundshowtoblendthemtogether,phonicsisfasterandmoreefficient.Thenewreaderwillinitiallysoundoutwordsslowlyandhaltingly,butwithpractice,thisprocessgetsfasterandfasteruntileventuallytheywillbeabletosoundthemoutsofastthattheytoowillthinktheyarereadingthemaswholes,butscienceprovestheopposite,thattheyarebeingdecodedassoundslightningfastinparallel.Itcantakeafewyearsofpracticetoachievethisspeed.

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Bytheendof52weeks,phonicsnetsyoutwiceasmanywordslearnedvs.learningthemaswholesbysight.

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Moreover,thebenefitsofphonicsaremagnified,phonicsisevenmorepowerful.Attheendof16weeks,youhavetheabilitytosoundout10,000additionalwords.Attheendofweek20,youaddanadditional5,000words.


Bytheendof52weeks,withphonics,youhavetheabilitytosoundoutthousandsandthousandsofadditionalwords.So,yourprogressismagnifiedandmultiplied.

Learningsightwordsaswholescanalsoleadtoconfusion.Whenyouarelearningbyshape,wordsthatlookalikeareeasilyconfused.Forinstance,lookatthefollowingwords,asmallsubsetoftheeasilyconfusedsightwords:be-by-buy-bigcome-came-canthey-then-themTheyareeasilyconfusedifyouarenotlookingateveryletterandsoundingthemout.Almostallofmyremedialstudentshavelingeringconfusionproblemswithsomesightwords,butespeciallybetween“they,”“then,”“than,”and“them.”Formoreaboutthis,seeRaymond E. Laurita's article, Basic Sight Vocabulary - A Help or A Hindrance?Theproblemsfromguessingoftendonotshowupuntilafewyearslaterwhenmorecomplextextisused,anotherreasonsightwordsarestilltaughtbesidesthedisconnectbetweeneducationschoolsandresearch.Allmyremedialstudentshavehadsomedegreeofguessingproblemsanddifficultysoundingoutcomplexmulti-syllablewords.


Youcaneasilyavoidtheseguessingproblemsandconfusionbyteachingthesightwordswithphonics.About70%ofthemarecompletelyregularandneednorulesorexplanationtoteach.Allbut5ofthemostcommonlytaught220Dolchsightwordsand100FryInstantwordscanbeeasilytaughtwithphonicsbyteachingafewsimplerulesandpatterns.Seethedocumentsandvideoslinkedinfootnotes9–14ofthisdocumenttolearnhow.AgoodphonicsprogramlikePhonicsPathwaysorthefreetoprintBlendPhonicsorWordMasterywillalsoteachmostofthesesightwordswithphonics.Tomakesureyou’regettingagoodsoundphonicsprogramwithoutalotofsightwordstaughtaswholes,useonerecommendedby40L,byDonPotter,orbytheNationalRighttoReadFoundation.8Thefastest,mostefficientwaytolearnthesightwordsiswithphonics.Learningthemwithphonicswillalsopreventlaterconfusionandguessingproblems.Plus,yourbrainwillthankyou.840L’slistofgoodphonicsprograms:http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/phonicsandspelli.htmlDonPotter’slistofgoodphonicsprogramsandotherphonicsinformation:http://www.donpotter.net/education_pages/reading-instruction.htmlTheNationalRighttoReadfoundation’slistofrecommendedphonicsprograms:http://www.nrrf.org/resources/#featured-products


52WeekSightWordTeachingPlanWeek1–4.Teachlettersounds.AneasywaytolearnthebasiclettersoundsistoplayLeapfrogsDVD“Talkingletterfactory”dailyforafewweeks.Youcanalsouse40L’sfreetoprintvowelandconsonantchartsandcards.9DonPotterhasagoodvideoshowinghowtolearnthesoundsusingaPhonovisualchart,achartsimilarto40L’sfreetoprintchart.10Week4–8.Workonoralblending,whenitismastered,startonawhiteboardoruse40L’scardsormagneticletterstosoundoutsimple2letterwordslistedforweek9.Watchthevideoson40L’sYouTubePre-ReadingSkillsPlaylistfororalblendingideasandfunwaystoteachblending.1140L’sBlendingPagehasmoreblendingideas.12

Week9.Learntoblendandreadthefollowing2letterwords.Theyareallshortbecausetheyendinaconsonant.Youcanwatch40L’svideo“KnowSightWords#1–ShortVowels”tohelpteachthesesounds.13an,am,atin,it,ifonup,usWeek10.Teachthese3lettershortvowelwords,19additionalwords.Theyareallshortbecausetheyendinaconsonant.had,can,ranyes,get,let,red,tenbig,did,him,sit,sixgot,hot,notrun,cut,but940L’svowelandconsonantchartsarefreetoprint:http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/Resources/40LChartsCombined.pdf10DonPotter’sPhonovisualChartforKidsYouTubevideo:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBdyTR-dqxw&feature=youtu.be1140L’sPre-ReadingSkillsYouTubeplaylist:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJLxBWdK_5l3aBN-qowg2u8BdGYM64pTi1240L’sBlendingPage:http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/blendingwords.html1340L’sYouTubevideoKnowSightWords#1–ShortVowels:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eed_-elWl6k&t=6s&index=5&list=PLJLxBWdK_5l2AdSYtPS1d426P8rIv66eT


Week11.Doubleconsonantffhasthesamesoundasasinglef.Reviewallshortvowelwords.offWeek12-13.Consonantswillblendtogether,see40L’sblendingpage(linkinfootnote12)forexplanationsofhowsoundscombinewhentheyblend.and,ask,fastwent,bestitsstop,longjump,just,mustWeek14.Thisweekyouwillteachshandendingckask.See40L’sSightwordpage,40L’s“SightWordsbySound”documentand40L’sKnowSightwordsYouTubeseriesforhelpteachingthesesounds.14(Theselinksalsocoverhowtoteachtheremainingsoundsforweeks15–52.)YoucanalsouseanygoodbeginningphonicsprogramsuchasDonPotter’sfreetoprintBlendPhonicsortheinexpensive“PhonicsPathways”byDeloresHiskestolearnhowtoteachusingphonicsandincorporateadditionalwordsinyourlessons.black,pickwishWeek15.Teachthesoundsofthandwh.that,thanthen,themthiswhenWeek16.Teachchandendingth.much,which,with

1440L’sSightWordpage:http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/sightwords.html40L’s“SightWordsbySound,”freetoprint:http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/Resources/Sight%20Words%20by%20Sound1.pdf40L’ssightwordYouTubevideos,includingthe“KnowSightWords”series:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJLxBWdK_5l2AdSYtPS1d426P8rIv66eTDonPotter’sfreetoprintBlendPhonics:http://www.donpotter.net/education_pages/blend_phonics.html


Weeks17–18.Wordsandsyllablesendinginavowelarelongandthevowelwillsayitsname.Alsoteachsh,th,andendingyasIinshortwords.(Whenyisavowel,itusuallyactsasanIexceptwhenitisinanunaccentedsyllableattheendofaword.Rulesforwhentheword“the”schwasshouldbetaughtlaterandareexplainedintheSightWordsbySounddocument.)abe,he,me,she,we,theIgo,so,nomy,try,why,by,flyWeeks19–21.Silentewords.Youmayhavetocompareandcontrastandunderlinetheeandthevowel,forexample,matvs.mate,capvs.cape,petvs.Pete,hopvs.hope,etc.Atthebeginningofworkonsilentewords,therecanbeaconfusionbetweentheseandtheshortvowelwords,youwillneedtoreviewshortvowelwordsandcompareandcontrastthetwo.Iwouldpersonallyalsoteachlongo,e,andusilentewords,addingafewsuchashope,note,Pete,cute,andcube.(Seesightwordsbysounddocumentforhowtoteachlongu,itcaneitherbeyoooroo.)ate,came,made,make,take,gavefive,like,ride,time,whiteWeek22.Theletterteameeishighlyregularandisusuallyveryeasytoteach.see,green,keep,sleepthreeWeek23.Theletterteameaasitsprimarysoundoflonge.eat,clean,each,read*(readcanalsobeshortedependingoncontext)Week24.Theletterteamsayandeyaslonga.Personally,Iwouldalsoteachaiandeiasinmailandveinandaddafewextrawords.say,may,day,way,playtheyWeek25.Theletterteamigh.ThisisnotasilentghbutaletterteamworkingtogethertokeeptheIlong.light,rightWeek26.Theletterteamowaslongo.grow,show,own,yellow


Week27.Theletterteamsueandewaslongu.Iwouldpersonallyaddinafewwordssuchasfew,new,andglue.Youcanalsoteachuiaslonguasinfruit.blue,newWeek28.Thesearelcontrolledvowels.all,call,fall,smalltell,well,helpWeek29.Morelcontrolledvowels.willfull,pullWeek30.Thesoundofninngandnk.(Differentfromthenormalsoundofn.)sing,bring,goingdrink,thinkthankWeek31.Theletterteamsouandowas“ou.”out,found,roundhow,now,down,brownWeek32.Theletterteamaw.Youcouldalsoteach“au”asinautumnandfaun.saw,drawWeek33.Longandshortoo.good,looktoo,soonWeek34.Thesearercontrolledvowels.far,start,partor,for


Week35.Morercontrolledvowels(Dividebetweentwoconsonants,syllablesendinginaconsonantareshort.Ifthesetwosyllablewordsaretoodifficult,adddashesasinaf-terandbet-terorsaveuntilthestudentisolder.)firstherhurtafter,better,underWeek36.MorercontrolledvowelsourhereWeek37.Thesehavewcontrol.want,wash,walkWeek38.Morewcontrol.Iwouldpersonallyaddafewmoreofeachtypesuchaswarpandworld.warmworkWeek39.Schwa,unaccentedsyllablesoftenschwa,especiallybeginningunaccenteda.again,about,around,away.Week40.Schwa,see40L’sSightWordsbySounddocumentforexplanation.come,some,done,fromWeek41.Schwa.whatotherWeek42.Thesehavesasz,“does”alsohasaschwa.Thisisbecausesandzareconsonantpairs.as,hasis,hisdoes


Week43.Moresasz,wasandofschwaandhavetheirconsonantpairsubstation(Thelettersfandvarealsoconsonantpairs,thisiswhy“of”ispronounced“uv”andwhyleafchangestoleaves.)herswasofWeek44.Moresaszinending–se.please,thesethoseuseWeek45.Abittricky,alreadylearnedpatterns.alwaysgoesWeek46.Endingv.(Livecanbeeithershortorlongdependingoncontext.)havegive,live*Week47.Vowelchanges,oasoo.(Intodividesbetweentwoconsonants.)to,dointoWeek48.Vowelchanges.becausebeenWeek49.Vowelchanges.couldprettyWeek50.Vowelchanges.putsaidshallyou


Week51.Vowelchanges.bothany,manyWeek52.LongvowelinwordswithIorOfollowedby2consonants.kind,findold,cold,holdToteachtheremaining220Dolchand100Frysightwordsnotyettaught(35words),see40L’sSightWordsbySounddocument(footnote14)foradetailedexplanationonhowtoteachthem,includingsyllabledivisionrules.Youcanalsoseehowtoteachthemallin40L’s“KnowSightWords:Summary”YouTubevideo.15

silent letters

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1540L’sKnowSightWordsSummarymovieavailableat:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V1d_VmbFik&index=3&t=7s&list=PLJLxBWdK_5l2AdSYtPS1d426P8rIv66eT