Kindergarten children can learn sight words through regular, short practice sessions with flashcards. Enlarge the "Pre-Primer" list of words that is available from the Dolch Word website. Print off the words and mount onto sheets of card stock. If possible, laminate the word card sheets and then cut them up to make individual word cards. Begin with the first six high-frequency words: "the," "to," "and," "a," "I" and "you." During teaching sessions, hold up each flashcard in turn and read the word to the children. Encourage children to look at the word and say the word out loud. Introduce further sight words at a steady pace as children make progress with their reading.
Shared reading sessions with big picture books enable kindergarten children to read high-frequency words in context. Choose simple stories and well-known tales, such as the "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" big book by Janet Hillman. Place the book on a book stand in front of the children so that they can follow the pictures and print as you read. Read the story fluently and expressively to the children and let them enjoy the story. On the second reading, use a pointer and smoothly follow the line of print as you read each sentence to the children. When you meet a sentence that contains a high-frequency word, for example, "the," use your pointer to return to the word and ask the children to read it to you.
Parents can support their children's reading of sight words with regular practice sessions at home. Provide flashcards that match the words that the children are learning in kindergarten. Place them into individual folders that are labeled with each child's name. Instruct parents to practice reading the flashcards with their children for approximately five to 10 minutes each day. If children are tired, hungry or ill, parents should delay practicing sight words until the kids feel more alert. Kindergarten teachers should assess children's reading at regular intervals and provide further flashcards for children to take home as they progress through the high-frequency word list.
Play Crocodile Snap. Write a high-frequency word, such as "here" on the white board. Children hold their arms outstretched in front of them, with one arm just above the other and palms facing toward each other, to represent crocodile jaws. Turn over flashcards one by one, and when children see the word "here," they clap their hands and arms together and say "Snap!"
Draw a track on A3 size paper, such as steppingstones or a ladder. Or, if weather permits, use chalk to draw a large "hopscotch" track on the ground outside. Write high-frequency words along the track and the words "Start" and "Finish" at opposite ends of the track. Take turns with children to roll a die and move a counter along the track, reading out loud each high-frequency word that you land on.