Weekend Warriors: Sight Words

Hooray!  The Weekend Warriors are back!  Now that the chaos of back to school has settled down a bit, the Weekend Warriors have returned to share some classroom tips and tricks.

In our district, we use Fountas and Pinnell assessments for our reading instruction.  In Kindergarten, this includes Foundational Skills before running records.  Our students are assessed on 25 sight words, then on a list of 50 once the first set is mastered.  

We begin the year teaching one sight word a week.  Once we are half way through, we bump it up to 2 words per week.  For most, this is enough.  For others, it can be too fast or too slow.  Here are a few things I've done to differentiate my sight word instruction.

Sight Word Slideshow

Part of our morning routine includes a sight word slideshow.  The words are projected on the SMART Board and the students choral read them.  I change the order every week and we do them in different voices (Kindergarten voice, monster voice, baby voice, robot voice, etc) just to mix it up.  For those kids that can't read all of the words yet, it gives them a chance to hear their friends say them and then they chime in.

Sight Word Practice Pages

Each week, students work on our sight word for the week using these practice pages.

 

  I'm working on getting this unit done and will post it to TpT soon!  

Sight Word Choice Board

I have an ABC Center in my room where students can go during choice time or as early finishers.  I have rings with the sets of sight words hanging on the wall.  

Students can choose from the Sight Word Choice Board, different ways to practice their words.

All the materials needed are kept in these drawers.

How do you practice sight words?  Leave a message in the comments or link up with us below!

Grab the images for sharing and don't forget to link back to this post!

Now check out some other great ideas for teaching sight words:

An InLinkz Link-up

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#2getherwearebetter: Classroom Reveal!

The 2015 - 2016 school year is in full swing!  We are in week 3 and already rockin' and rollin'!  I'm linking up with Ashley and Angie again this month for the #2getherwearebetter linky party.

After a second summer of construction keeping us off school property, I came in the week before school started to find this...

That's sawdust...all over...everything.

Once I got over the shock of the mess, I spent the first days cleaning up.  So, my room is still a work in progress but I know things will come together as the year goes on.  

The love of my favorite baseball team has certainly influenced my room!

This is a panoramic view of my room from the interior door.  I have two walls of windows and I love the light it brings into the room.

This is a view of the front of my room.  

A view toward the back of my room.  That's a lot of orange & black!

I love this area of my classroom.  My word wall is at kid level so students can access the words and take them to their tables as needed.  I keep alphabet and phonics activities in this part of the room for students to use during choice times.

We have a built in playhouse/dramatic play area in our room.  My students love it and I love to observe how they interact and learn to socialize and communicate with each other!

The book center.  I have books in baskets by reading levels as well as by themes.  I love how accessible the books are for my students.

These are our school agreements.  I created these posters this year and I absolutely love them!

I hope you enjoyed this little tour of my classroom!  Head on over to Schroeder Shenanigans in 2nd & Lucky Little Learners to check out some other great classrooms!

 

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September Currently

Ah, September...this can only mean that fall is just around the corner.  I absolutely LOVE this time of year.  We don't really have seasons here like in other parts of the country but this is when our weather becomes beautiful and everything smells like pumpkin spice!

We are in week 3 of back to school and things are once again in full swing.  I'm linking up with Farley for this month's Currently.

Listening:  It's still baseball season and you know I'm tuning in if my boy's are playing!  Now if only they could all stay healthy and off of the disabled list.  #ibleedorangeandblack

Loving:  We have 2 new members to our grade level team this year and I couldn't be happier!  Everyone is invested, working together, and supporting each other.  I'm all about collaboration and I so appreciate them all.  #thefantasticfour

Thinking:  I absolutely LOVE Fall (and not just because my birthday lands in the fall)!  We have our best weather in September and October.  And fall means pumpkin spice lattes.  #nuffsaid

Wanting:  Picture day is next week.  I really would love to get something fun to wear.  Not likely I will have time to shop though.  I'm going to have to look at my class pictures and make sure I don't repeat an outfit!  Ha!  #ionlyshopformykids

Needing:  Back to School Night is the same day at Picture Day next week.  I'm almost ready.  I'd really like to finish prepping before the long holiday weekend.  #preppingfordays

3 Goals:
Organize - I'm still recovering from school construction.  I feel like I've been playing catch up since the start of last year.  There are some areas in my room I still need to go through and organize.  I'll get there eventually.
Balance - We had a staff check in meeting today and the common theme seems to be balance.  I've talked about this before and it's nice to know I'm not the only one who struggles to balance school, home, spouses, kids, etc.  One day at a time.
Breathe - I'm trying to take some time each week for myself to just breathe.  My TBFF and I have been taking a weekly walk at night to get out of the house, get some exercise, and just reflect on the craziness of back to school.  I look forward to it each week and hope we can keep it up!

Ok, friends.  I'm off to make lunches and prepare for tomorrow.  Head on over to Farley's blog and see what others are up to currently!

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