Well, after wrestling with the uploader at Youtube, I finally managed to get it to accept my upload.
In case you don't know what Dolch Sight Words are, here's a very brief explanation: When you're reading, you actually only READ a very small portion of the words. You're actually looking at the shape of the word or the "picture" of the word. For example, you've "read" the word "word" several times by now, but not once did you go through the exercise of sounding out the "w" sound, the dominant "r" sound in "or," nor did you ponder what sound that "d" makes. No, you glanced at the basic shape or picture the letters make & you knew the word without having to read it. This is very much how people read those "funny looking" words in Chinese... they and you have memorized the "picture" of thousands of words.
The Dolch Sight Words lists are the most commonly used words in the English language. They're all fairly simple words and easy to learn. For a young learner, they're a great starting point. If they can learn these words, the words they'll actually have to "sound out" will be minimal. The Dolch Sight Words are divided up into five lists based on difficulty. They start with pre-K, and go through 3rd grade. I have found, however, that with a little help and encouragement, a pre-k kid has no problem learning them all (especially if nifty videos are used!)
These lists are also great for people learning English as a second language for the exact same reasons. I also used these lists and videos for my grandmother after she'd had a stroke and lost her ability to read.
The videos are quite simple, and I've made them that way on purpose. If you're familiar with my Youtube channel, you know I can - at times - go a bit overboard with editing and special effects. However, those don't serve these videos well. The Sight Words flash on the screen for three seconds and are accompanied by a clear pronunciation. I didn't want them to be too slow, because the goal is to get people to read them "by sight," not by sounding them out (thus the name "Sight Words.")
If you're helping someone learn to read and use these videos, have them watch the video and repeat the word. After they begin to say the word independent of hearing it, start muting the audio when familiar words pop up. Eventually, they can be weened off the audio all together!
Only one is on Youtube, so far.
Kindergarten Dolch Sight Words
The others will be up as soon as Youtube and my ISP play nice with each other.
As always, comments, suggestions and requests are welcomed! If you like the videos and/or this blog, please subscribe and share with your friends!
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