How to Teach Sight Words in Grade 6

Students can improve their reading with sight words.

Sight words are the words most often used in the English language, and that can be recognized automatically. Some examples of sixth-grade sight words include the word "admire" and the word "heir." Sight words are found in the Dolch Sight Word List. Students should not need picture and sound clues to help them understand what sight words mean. Teachers begin showing their students the meaning of sight words in elementary school and the lessons on sight words continue through middle school. You can help your sixth grade class learn about sight words by following a few tips.

Instructions

1. Begin by becoming familiar with sight words that are appropriate for sixth graders. Each grade level has a different list of sight words that the children should understand. The website for the Clovis Unified School District has an article called "Sixth Grade Sight Word List" at clovisusd.k12.ca.us that you can print to look over before teaching the Dolch Sight Word list to your class.

2. Type up each sight word two times on a piece of printer paper with two inch margins all around the word. Cut each word out into a rectangular card. Laminate the cards.

3. Have your students play matching concentration games with the laminated cards. A student turns over two cards out of the 20 cards laying face down on the table, and if the words match, the student removes them and continues playing. The student should pronounce and repeat the words. The winner of the game has the most cards when all of the cards are off the table.

4. Give the students the laminated cards to take home. The students can take the laminated cards home to play the concentration game with their families. A benefit of the students having homework with sight words is that their parents should become involved with the lesson as well.

5. Have the students look for the sight words in books. The students should each have a book to look through for 45 minutes, and they should write down all of the sight words they see. Students should become familiar with picking out sight words in the sentences they read.

Tips & Warnings

• Give students a reward for winning the concentration game.

• Sixth graders should have a strong understanding of sight words that elementary school students should know. Sight-word tutoring can help build confidence for sixth graders who do not understand elementary-school-level sight words.

References

• Clovis Unified School District: Sixth Grade Sight Word List
• English Raven: Dolch Words
• The School Bell: Concentration

Resources

• The School Bell: Dolch Kit