Kindergarten Sight Words: Level 1

I tried to make a regular habit of writing posts on this subject but my first kindergartner was very advanced. He went from kindergarten to first grade in 3 months of school. At one point I had to home school him to wait for the school to catch up to his level. So basically, I didn't have any kindergarten info to share. Now I have a daughter who is in kindergarten. And though she is an amazingly fast learner, she is not at the accelerated level as her older brother...yet. Her speed seems to be in reading and writing, while her brother was advanced in math. Perfect reflection of their parents. As a result I just might be able to maintain a regular blog post to help parents of pre-k kids prepare their little ones for kindergarten.

The following in a list of sight words. In case you don't know what they are, they are words that must be instantly recognized on sight. In kindergarten here in California, a child is not considered proficient in the sight words list unless they can read the word in three seconds or less, without sounding it out. Again, they must read it on sight. If your child is in a daycare center or a preschool, they are already being exposed to these words. Be sure to find books on their level that include as many of these words as possible.

Make flashcards out of these words to practice. Also keep a checklist of these words to keep track of which words they know and which words they don't know. Practice every day, wait three seconds before telling the child the word. Once a week, using a checklist, have the child point to the words they know and call them out. Put a checkmark next to the words they get right. They should have the words memorized within three months.

Do not begin sight words for your children until they can recognize each and every letter of the alphabet in capital or lower case letters. The child should also know exactly what sounds each letter makes. Beginning sight words before this mastery will frustrate your child and create unnecessary difficulty.

Kindergarten Sight Words Level 1

a          and     they
I          are      this
at        can
do       for
go       see
he       she
is        the
it        was
me     you
my     have
no      here
of       like
to       look
up      went
we     with