One of the Georgia Performance Standards for kindergarten is that 
the student will be able to read 30 (or more) sight words.  Sight 
words are words that should be instantly recognized without the 
student having to figure them out. I will be teaching your child 
sight words throughout the year. I will send home sets of 
sight word flashcards for you to cut apart and practice at home with 
your child.  It is important that you reinforce what I am teaching 
in the classroom at home.  Tips for practicing the sight words can 
be found at the end of this section.

My students and I will constantly review all the sight words we are 
learning at school on a daily basis.  I have my students look for 
sight words in big books I read aloud and I encourage them to find 
sight words in the books they read on the carpet.  We have a word 
wall in our classroom and the sight words will be added to this as I 
introduce them.  We constantly read and refer to them during 
classroom activities and the students are encouraged to spell sight 
words correctly in their creative writing.  I also write daily 
sentences during carpet time and have students come up and highlight 
the sight words.  These sentences are made into class books for 
our "homemade books" library.

Sight words for First Grade Readiness:

These are the words your child should know before entering first 
grade.  Your child will be tested on these words throughout the year.

I
a
we 
the
and 
to
see
it
you
like
me
for
at
are
he 
she
can
go
is
my
come
this
play
am
from
have
said
want
was
zero
one
two
three
four
five
six
seven
eight
nine
ten
yellow
brown
purple
black
green
red
orange
blue
white
pink


Sight Word Tips:

Sight words should be instantly recognized without the child having 
to figure them out.  They should be recognized by sight.  Sight 
words rarely follow any rules or guidelines.  They just have to be 
memorized.  This will take practice and lots of repetition. Go over 
just a few sight words at a time and add more as your child learns 
them. It is very important that you go over the sight words at home 
with your child.  If your child is not picking them up, he/she will 
fall behind as I introduce new sight words. 

Sight Word Ideas:

*find the sight words in the books and stories that you read to your 
child (read AT LEAST one story before bedtime every day!)
*make play dough sight words
*find and highlight the sight words in the newspaper and magazines 
(use a yellow marker)
*write the sight words TWO times on cards and play memory game 
(start out with just a few words - add more as your child learns 
them)
*look for the sight words at the grocery store, at Wal Mart, etc.
*challenge your child to spell the sight words in dirt using a stick 
from the yard
*YOU write the sight words that your child tells you to spell (act 
silly and spell them incorrectly ... see if your child can catch 
you!)

Thank you so much for your support at home!