Tutorial - High Frequency Words
(for students who struggle)

From The Teachers.Net Chatboard
http://teachers.net/chatboard

kdw asked:
I have a 3rd grade student who cannot read sight words from a preprimer list. I know about sight word bingo and things like that. Any other ideas besides drilling over and over again?

Mary Miehl responded:

I work with the lowest achieving first graders. The following is the procedure I use to teach these children how to learn how to remember how words look. You will not have to do this forever. With each word the child learns how to know, the next word becomes easier to learn. Eventually you will not need to go through these procedures; the child will have an established learning path in his brain and will be able to learn words on his own.

This will seem very time consuming and complicated, but it is necessary for some children.

First day
While reading a text, when the child comes to a word he does not know but needs to know because it is a high frequency word, say, "This is an important word that you will see often during reading. You need to know how this word looks so you can say it every time you see it. I'm going to teach you how to know this word."

Go to a chalkboard or whiteboard. Using magnetic letters, the teacher constructs the word with magnetic letters and reads the word while running her/his finger under the word in the left to right direction while saying the word.

The teacher covers the constructed word with a card or some other masking object and asks the child, "What letter do you expect to see at the beginning of the word?" The child answers and then the teacher moves the card to expose the first letter asking the child, "Were you right?" The child answers and then the teacher asks, "What letter do you expect to see next?" The child answers and then the teacher moves the card and asks, "Were you right? Follow this procedure for the remaining letters of the word.

Mix up the letters and have the child assemble them in the proper order and read the word while running her/his finger under the word in the left to right direction while saying the word.

Go back to the text in which the unknown word was located and ask the child to locate the word by saying, "Show me ____? Now read this page again and when you get to that word, you say ____."

Next day
Find another text containing the word studied the previous day. Ask the child to locate the word by saying, "Show me ___." If the child can not quickly locate the word, go to the chalk/white board again.

The teacher supplies the necessary letters and says the word; the child constructs the word and reads while running her/his finger under the word in the left to right direction while saying the word.

If the child is unable to construct the word, repeat the steps taken the previous day.

Go back to the text and ask the child to locate the word in the same manner as the day before.

Next day
Find another text containing the word being studied. Point to the word and ask the child, "What is this word?" If the child can not quickly say the word, go to the chalk/white board again.

The teacher supplies necessary letters and prompts "make a word you know." Child constructs the word, reads while running her/his finger under the word in the left to right direction while saying the word.

If the child is unable to construct the word, the teacher says, "Make ____," telling the child what word to make.

Go back to the text, point to the word being studied and ask the child, "What is this word?" If the child cannot say the word quickly the teacher tells him the word and says, "When you read this page you say ____ when you get to this word."

Plan on repeating this day's procedures tomorrow if the child was unable to identify the word.

Next day
Find another text containing the word being studied. Point to the word and ask the child, "What is this word?" If the child can not quickly say the word, go to the chalk/white board again.

The teacher supplies a pool of letters including the letters needed to construct the word and a few that are not needed. The teacher names word to construct; child constructs the word and reads while running her/his finger under the word in the left to right direction while saying the word; the child writes the word several times on the chalk/white board.

Go back to the text, point to the word being studied and ask the child, "What is this word?" If the child cannot say the word quickly the teacher tells him the word and says, "When you read this page you say ____ when you get to this word."

Plan to repeat any of the preceding procedures tomorrow if the child was unable to identify the word.

Next day
The teacher supplies a pool of letters including the letters needed to construct the word and a few that are not needed. The teacher prompts to "make a word you know." Child constructs word, reads while running her/his finger under the word in the left to right direction while saying the word; the child writes the word while the teacher provides language during writing to support construction of the word.

Next day
Teacher supplies word, child writes word and reads while running her/his finger under the word in the left to right direction while saying the word.