Sight word recognition is an important part of learning how to read and write. By having your child label common household objects and refer back to them later by creating his own tour, a reading tour is a simple and fun way for your child to practice reading and writing sight words. Help your child build a bank of sight words by creating your own pointer for the reading tour. With some decorative supplies, markers, and rulers or spoons, your child can create a beautiful pointer to take the family on a house-wide reading tour to show off all the words he knows.
What You Need:
- Post-it notes
- Thin black marker
- Decorating supplies like themed stickers, ribbon, decals, sequins, and paints
- Various objects for pointers like rulers, clean fly-swatters, wooden spoons, and dowels
- Glue
- Tape
What to Do:
- Using the marker and the Post-its, help your child label common objects around the house. For example, your child can label windows, doors, plants, the couch, towels, tables, chairs, clocks, curtains, and so on. As he sticks on each label, be sure to have him read the word back to you.
- Help your child decorate an assortment of objects to be used as pointers. For example, wrap silver and gold ribbon around a ruler and secure with glue or tape to create a magic wand. Or decorate a wooden spoon with some permanent markers and a little paint to make it look like a favorite storybook character such as a scarecrow or spaceman, or a favorite icon such as a flower or planet.
- You can also use scissors or a sharp cutting tool to round the edges of and cut a large, round window out of the flat “swatter” portion of a clean, unused fly swatter. (Make the window opening about the same size as the Post-it notes.) Decorate the rest of the fly swatter with stickers and other small decorations to create a candy or flower wreath pointer.
- Store the pointers in a handy, special place such as a tall gift box or an umbrella stand garnished with fancy ribbon.
Now when family comes to visit, have your child select a pointer and take the family on a reading tour!
By Liana Mahoney
Liana Mahoney is a National Board Certified elementary teacher, currently teaching a first and second grade loop. She is also a certified Reading Specialist, with teaching experience as a former high school English teacher, and early grades Remedial Reading Instructor.
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