How to Use Dolch Sight Words

Children who are learning to read typically are taught phonemic awareness to learn now to sound out new words. The Dolch sight words are words that do not follow the typical grammar rules. These words are commonly seen in the English language, but are not easily sounded out. Dolch sight words can be used a few different ways to help children learn how to read.

Flash Cards

• 1

  Using a marker, write the Dolch sight words on index cards in big, block letters. Write one word per card.

• 2

  Set aside 5 to 10 cards. Those cards will be the words you'll focus on for the next week.

• 3

  Prepare the child by introducing those 5 to 10 words by letting them look at and study the cards.

• 4

  Hold up the cards one at a time and see if they are able to recognize the words. Once they begin to recognize the words, begin introducing the word in other settings like in print to see if they can still recognize the words.

• 5

  Once they have mastered certain words, take those words out of the flashcard stack and begin adding new words.

Bingo

• 1

  Using graph paper with large one inch squares, create a bingo card with five squares across and six squares down. Across the top five squares, have the children write "BINGO" with one letter in each square.

• 2

  The children will choose one sight word to write in each square, leaving the middle square blank. They will then write "FREE" in the middle square.

• 3

  Using the Dolch sight word list or flash cards, choose one word to call out. As a child hears and ise able to identify a sight word on her card, she then will cover the space with a dried bean or other marker.

• 4

  The child that covers five spots across or diagonally wins.