Create a file box with all of the current school year’s sight words written in lowercase letters on index cards. Go through the stack on a daily basis, separating out the words your child knows. On following days, go through the words he is struggling with and then take a break. Later in the day, review the ones he knows, which will be a good review and help him to not forget the words he has already learned.
Make up signs and post your child’s sight words throughout the house, including in her bedroom, the bathroom and on the refrigerator. These signs must be visible throughout the day for her to see and read whenever she goes into a room. Encourage her to say the words out loud whenever she sees the sign. Switch out the words every few days with new ones and continue until all sight words have been learned.
Help your child related to his sight words by associating them with pictures. Write the words on 4-inch-by-6-inch index cards and paste a photo that represents the word. For example, for the word “run” paste a picture a someone running. For the word “up,” paste a picture of an arrow pointing up. After awhile, start covering up the pictures when asking your child to read the words and only reveal the picture when he is struggling with the word.
Have your child continually look at and say her sight words. For example, if using flashcards, have her look at the word and repeat it three times. Try this method using 10 words at a time and go through those words three times. She will have looked at and repeated each word nine times in one sitting.
Have your child sit quietly while you go through the stack of cards as he looks at each word. Hold up the flashcard and say the word clearly three times. Then have him say the word back to you before moving onto the next word. Try to go through the entire stack in a single sitting, or if he gets restless, divide the list up.
Try to put your child’s sight words to music using popular children's songs, such as “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” or “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” Hold up the flashcard and sing the words to your child and then have her join in with the music. For example, for the word "up," use “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” but sing “Up, Up, Up We Go. Flying Through the Sky.”
Some children learn to associate sight words with specific meanings that might help them to learn the word and remember it. When showing your child his sight words using flashcards, take the time to talk about the meaning and give the word in a sentence. For example, for the word “cat” explain that it is a pet like the one you have and say “The cat loves to cuddle under the blanket.”
Set up a section of your child’s room as a word wall where all of her sight words can be hung up on display. Across the top of the section, have all of the letters printed out and the sight words underneath each letter it starts with. Every day, have your child pick a letter out of a jar and she must read all of the sight words underneath that letter. If a letter has less than 10 words underneath it, have her continue picking letters until she has read at least 10 words.
Turn classic children's games, such as Concentration and Go Fish, into a way for your child to learn his sight words. Make two index cards for each sight word that can be used as the cards for these two games. You can also create bingo cards with sight words at the top or make up word searches for your child to complete.
Spread out Scrabble blocks on a table and put your child to work searching for his sight words. Read a sight word out loud to him and have him find the letters and put the word together. Once the word is spelled out, ask him to say the word out loud.