Categorizing Sight Words

Purpose: To provide review and practice of sight words

Preparation time: 10 minutes  

Materials: Flash cards with selected sight words

Preparation: Generate flash cards with words that have been introduced in lessons. They should be words the student has learned, but cannot yet read fluently.

Procedure:  

1. Present the flashcards to the student one at a time. Have him/her read the words on the cards, providing as much help as necessary.
2. The first time through, sort the cards into two piles – those the student read successfully and those he/she needs to practice more.
3. Now go through the group of cards that require additional practice.
4. Next, ask the student to sort the cards in some other manner as he/she reads them. For example, sort by the number of syllables in the words, separate nouns from verbs, sort into things they use vs. things they don’t use, etc. The categories will depend on the student’s level and the words chosen.
5. After the student has sorted the cards one way, have him or her re-sort them in a different manner, reading them each time.