Reading Lesson Plan: Dolch Sight Word Booklet

Learning Objectives:

  1. Practise Dolch sight words.
  2. Master Dolch sight words.

Materials:

  1. Cut workbooks in half horizontally, so that you have 2 small booklets stapled at the left.  Make enough for the class, plus 6 or so more so that new students will have lists of all the Dolch sight words.  Keep these extra booklets updated as your class adds each new list to the booklet.
  2. On the computer, make a Master Sheet with 8 identical cover pages on an 8 1/2″ X 11″ page, print it out, then make 4-5 copies for your class.  Cut the cover pages apart so that they will fit on the booklets, keeping one Master Sheet intact for your records.  The booklets will be flip booklets, with the staples at the top, and the cut edge at the side.  Cover page says:  Grade 1 (or “Grade 2” )//(next line at the //)Sight Word Booklet//Name:______//Parents please noteIt is important that this booklet be taken home each night and returned to school each day.  We will be reading and using these words daily.  Your child needs to read and learn these important words.  A recognition test will be held each Friday.  I will read the first word (randomly), students will find the word in the list, and put a number 1 in front of that word.  I will read a second word, which students will find in the list, and put a number 2 in front of that word.  All 10 words need to be recognized by your child.  (When practising these words at home, please do not print numbers in the book.  This will be confusing to your child when we practise at school.  It is sufficient if your child points to the word at home.)   If your child has mastered recognition of these words, you may ask them to spell them for you, as an extra challenge.  Students will not be tested on their spelling, but this will be important in the future.  Thank you for your participation.  Teacher’s Name.” I highlight the words “Parents please note:” in a bright coloured highlighter so that parent’s cannot miss their note.  I also let them know about this booklet coming home in their beginning-of-the-year newsletter.  ***When students forget this booklet at home, I always have extra lists available for them to use for our practises or for our recognition test.  If it’s a test, I date stamp the page, and have the student put their name on it.  When their booklet returns to school, I glue this page on top of the existing one in their booklet.***
  3. In the same manner as the cover page, make a Master Sheet of  8 Dolch word lists on the computer on an 8 1/2″ X 11″ page.  They will all be identical and say “Grade 1 (or “Grade 2”)//Dolch sight words #1 (each list will be numbered)”  at the top, then a 10-word list will follow, with lines in front of the word, for the student to print in the numbers 1-10.  The list for grade 1 might look like this “____  a// ____ and// ____ away// ____ big // ____ blue// ____ can // ____ come//____ down // ____ find//____ for”.  Keep one Master Sheet of all the lists for Grade 1 and Grade 2, for your records.  Each sheet will have 8 identical lists for grade 1 list #1, list #2, etc. and grade 2 list #1, list #2, etc.
  4. See bottom of this lesson for Lists of Dolch sight words.

Method:

  1. Tell parents about this word recognition booklet in your newsletter home, either at the beginning of the year, or the monthly newsletter when you start using it.  I use it at the beginning of the year.
  2. Have booklets, cover pages, and the first list ready for handout and give one to each.
  3. Show students how the covers are glued on, like a flip booklet, and the first list is glued inside in the same direction, from top to bottom.  Check their work before the glue dries, so pages can be changed.  Students who are finished first, and do a good job, may be given one of the extra booklets to make/update for you.
  4. Grade 1’s will begin with Pre-primer, Primer, then First Grade lists.  Grade 2’s begin with First Grade, then Second Grade lists.  Then I choose words from the Dolch 220 Basic Sight Word List, then the Dolch 95 Commonly Used Nouns.  Later in the year, grade 1’s may do the Second Grade words and grade 2’s may do the Third Grade words.  Other often used words may be added.  My classes have chosen words that are important to them.      ***If I find that students have difficulty with any words we have already covered, I will put them on a list again for another practise.***
  5. Keep Master Sheets of the cover page, and all the lists, so that next year, you just have to photocopy the sheet of 8 covers, or the sheet with Grade 1 list #1 or the sheet for Grade 2 list #21.  Also, try to keep one booklet for an example to show next year’s class.
  6. Using the booklet: Every day, students pull out their booklet and we read the list.  I might ask a student to spell the word “away”, so that I know they are reading the correct word.  They can look at the word to spell it.  I might ask them to find the word that has the small word “way” in it (away…finding small words within larger words is a reading skill).  I might ask them to find the word that has the “bl” blend in it (blue).  I might ask them to find the word that ends with a long a sound (away), or has an oo sound (blue), or a word that rhymes with “door” (for), or rhymes with “play” (away), or words that start with a “K” sound (can, come).
  7. Recognition test on Friday, or whatever day you choose, is fun for students.  I did the test once a week, but if the weeks were short, we did it after two weeks.  They love the game of “finding” the word.  ***I have my own Grade 1 list and Grade 2 list and I number them as I go so I don’t get confused.  Before I start, I  put the number “1” on my Grade 1 and 2 lists:    “____1___ big ”     on my Grade 1 list and       “____1___ again”     on my Grade 2 list, then I say “Grade 1’s…for the first word, find the word ‘big’.  It is a ‘big’ deal to be able to read well.  Put a #1 in front of the word ‘big’………………Grade 2’s…for the first word, find the word ‘again’.  I would like to read that book ‘again’.  Put a #1 in front of the word ‘again’……….everyone listening? (eye contact)… anyone need their word repeated?…….grade 1’s have put a #1 by the word ‘big’ and grade 2’s have put a #1 by the word ‘again’…..okay, ready for #2? (eye contact) and continue with #2…, I write in “#2” on both my lists first, then I say the word, sentence for grade 1’s, then grade 2’s (I do grade 1’s first to give them more time to find their word).
  8. Booklets are handed in to me, I mark them right away.  Students can read their poem books while I take 2 minutes to do this.  It’s very fast to mark….I just put my list on top of theirs and glance at the matching numbers down the side.  I put the mark on the cover (no X’s, only the number correct, like an 8 and a checkmark, or a star for a perfect 10).  Students love to see all their 8’s or 9’s or *’s on the cover.  They love to see their improvements at a glance.  It’s easy for me to see their progress in reading these words at report card time.

Example of cover page:   (put 8 on a page)

Grade 1

Sight Word Booklet

Name:______________________________
Parents please note:It is important that this booklet be taken home
each night and returned to school each day.
We will be reading and using these words daily.
Your child needs to read and learn these
important words.  A recognition test will
be held each Friday.  I will read the first word

(randomly), students will find the word in the list,
and put a number 1 in front of that word.  I will
read a second word, which students will find
in the list, and put a number 2 in front of that word.
All 10 words need to be recognized by your child.
(When practising these words at home, please
do not print numbers in the book.  This will be
confusing to your child when we practise at school.
It is sufficient if your child points to the word at home.)
If your child has mastered recognition of these words,
you may ask them to spell them for you, as an extra
challenge.  Students will not be tested on their spelling,
but this will be important in the future.
Thank you for your participation.  Teacher’s Name.”


Example of sheet for recognition tests: (put 8 on a page)

Grade 1 Grade 1 Grade 1 Grade 1
sight words #1 sight words #1 sight words #1 sight words #1
____ a ____ a ____ a ____ a
____ and ____ and ____ and ____ and
____ away ____ away ____ away ____ away
____ big ____ big ____ big ____ big
____ blue ____ blue ____ blue ____ blue
____ can ____ can ____ can ____ can
____ come ____ come ____ come ____ come
____ down ____ down ____ down ____ down
____ find ____ find ____ find ____ find
____ for ____ for ____ for ____ for

Lists: Dolch Basic Sight Vocabulary List by Grade Level (Pre-Primer, Primer, First Grade, Second Grade, Third Grade)

Dolch 220 Basic Sight Words

a     about     after     again     all     always     am     an     and     any     are    around     as     ask     at     ate     away     be     because     been      before      best     better     big     black     blue     both     bring     brown     but      buy     by     call     came     can     carry     clean     cold     come     could     cut     did     do     does     done     don’t      down      draw      drink      eat      eight     every     fall      far      fast     find     first     five     fly      for      found        four          from       full       funny      gave     get       give       go      goes        going        good     got       green       grow     had      has      have     he      help     her      here     him     his     hold     hot     how     hurt     I     if     in     into     is     it     its    jump     just     keep     kind     know     laugh     let     light     like     little     live      long     look     made     make     many     may       me     much    my    myself     never     new    no    not      now      of     off     old     on     once     one     only     open     or     our     out     over     own     pick     play     please     pretty     pull    put     ran     read     red      ride     right      round     run      said     saw     say     see     seven     shall     she     should       show      sing     sit     six     sleep      small     so     some     soon     start     stop     take     tell     ten     thank     that     the      their     them     then     there     these     they     think     this     those     three     to     today     together     too     try     two     under     up     upon     us     use     very     walk     want     warm     was     wash     we     well    went     were     what     when     where     which     white      who     why     will     wish     with     work     would     write     yellow     yes     you     your

Dolch 95 Commonly Used Nouns

apple     baby     back     ball     bear    bed     bell     bird     birthday     boat     box     boy     bread     brother     cake     car     cat     chair     chicken     children     Christmas     coat     corn     cow     day     dog      doll     door     duck     egg     eye     farm     farmer     father     feet     fire     fish     floor     flower     game     garden     girl     good-bye     grass     ground     hand     head     hill     home     horse     house     kitty     leg     letter     man     men     milk     money     morning     mother     name     nest      night     paper     party     picture     pig     rabbit     rain     ring     robin     Santa Claus     school     seed     sheep     shoe     sister     snow     song     squirrel     stick     street     sun     table     thing     time     top      toy     tree     watch     water     way     wind     window     wood

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