Dolch Sight Words – Using them in ESL classes

Listen to the show.

This show starts off with a quick discussion about the new teacher tips video blog that Matt has put together on DreamEnglish.com called the Teach Kids English Show. They are short 3-4 minute videos packed full of tips for teachers that are teaching young learners.

Talking briefly about MES-English‘s 5th anniversary on the web, Matt brings in the show’s main topic, Dolch Sight Words. We first go over briefly what sight words are for those that are unfamiliar and then discuss how Matt found them to be inspiring and exciting in some classes where phonics-only was failing. For Matt’s class they really sped up reading and the learning process.

Mark has taken the original list and made a graded and short version for his ESL classes. You can find those downloads and a more in-depth explanation of the lists on the MES Dolch Sight Words Resources page.

We also go over:

• when to start using sight words
• the importance of knowing the word before memorizing the spelling
• using a book to create a list of sight words and then immediately applying knowledge to context to inspire your readers
• 5 different games and activities you can use in your classes to practice sight words

Thanks for listening!