It’s time for the Return of Flashcards into your classroom. Not convinced? Read on …
For some, the very thought of using flashcards to teach sight words, arouses depression and anguish. Repetitive drilling of words with flashcards seems something of the past, and yet, with a few tweaks of your teaching style and method, they can be a very effective tool in the teaching kit.
“The best teachers are those who show you where to look, but don’t tell you what to see.”
Alexandra K Trefnor
(Remember to let them do most of the work!)
Don’t Bore your Learners!
You want your learners to love learning sight words, to love learning to read, to be excited when you announce today is Dolch Words day! Drab and dreary rote learning needs to be spiced up!
What Colour are your Flashcards?
You might like the simplicity and clarity of black print on white paper, laminated and cut into rectangles, a good old reliable tried and tested format. But what about changing up the font? Times New Roman might be replaced with a fun Comic Sans, or a cursive font if the learners are older and developing their joined-up writing. Comic Sans is often detested amongst professionals, but variation in letter height and shape make the font particularly readable for those who suffer from reading difficulties.
Do your sight words flashcards have to be rectangular, or could they be oval? Perhaps a different shape or colour for different groups of words might be effective and appealing for learners. Perhaps pink ovals for Dolch Pre-Primer words, or light blue stars for Dolch Primer words? Bold or not? Gold-rimmed or wavy-line trim? 2D or 3D? Why not give them a try?
How are your Flashcards Displayed?
Are your flashcards displayed in a corner of your board? Are they stapled in a block to your backboard? Is there any way you can display sight words in your classroom that will attract your learners’ attention and inspire them to use them in their writing and speaking?
Stand back and have a look at your display, could you switch it up? Perhaps a hanging display? Sight word trees are great, flashcards hung like Christmas decorations. Word steps can spread across your boards, climbed by fun characters the learners can relate to. Balloons, handprints, shooting stars, clouds, fish in the ocean, bubbles, animals, boats, ladders, the world of Google for ideas is your oyster!
Using Flashcards to Assess Learners
Teachers know how important it is to assess and progress. Cycle through flashcards of your chosen words, Dolch Pre-Primer or Primer for example. Ask your learner(s) each word and note down which words need focussing on, or, for one-to-one learners, you can create separate piles of flashcards.
For each learner, ascertain the following …
(a) Words, which are confidently and immediately read. (No need to focus on these mastered words – Put them aside or keep them in a pile for occasional review. You might also begin to focus on the spellings of these words)
(b) Words, which are recognised and read within a few seconds. (More practise is needed with these – Incorporate them into reinforcement/review activities.)
(c) Words, which are not recognised, or which are read after a few seconds using decoding skills. (These are your focus words – Persist with recognition/recollection activities.)
Regularly check your learners’ progress with the chosen words, and if they know them all then you can confidently move on to the next group of words, from Dolch Pre-Primer to Primer for example.
Don’t forget to review them as you progress. For example, display all the flashcards on the board and ask the learners to read them. Then ask the learners to close their eyes before removing one flashcard. Ask the learners to name the missing word, then continue in the same fashion until all the words have gone!
Flashcard Sentences/Poems/Stories
Reinforcing sight word knowledge and teaching understanding of their meaning by creating silly or serious sentences, poetic verse or stories about your favourite character, is loved by all learners.
Rather than staring blankly at sight word flashcards on your board held up with old plastic magnets in a higgledy piggledy mess, do something inspirational with them. Bring them to life by injecting them into learner-created prose. Create the next limerick for your learners to recite for the week.
Display the sight words either side of your whiteboard ready for action, so the learners know which words they must include in their work today. Then begin creating sentences together with the learners, but substitute the written words with the flashcards. Learners can now read their sentences with pride, write them in their books, develop them with adjectives etc. but always with the flashcards as the focal points.
Quick-Fire Flashcards
Don’t completely avoid using the flashcards for some quick-fire practise. There are those moments when flashcards allow the perfect opportunity for learning sight words. When your learners are lining up to leave the classroom, or when you have a spare minute at home with your child before dinner for example.
Use the flashcards as part of my Five Rs system (Repeat – Recognise – Recall – Reinforce – Review) discussed in my other article >>>here<<<. For newly introduced words your learners can repeat the words after you. To aid recognition, you can show multiple flashcards, then read a sight word and ask your learner to choose the correct flashcard. For simple recall practise or review, flash the cards quickly and have the learners read them. If they don’t know a word, ask them to repeat it after you, then ask them to say the word again, then include the word in a sentence and have them repeat it. A good little routine.
As long as the flashcards are used like this in short bursts, the learners aren’t going to sigh at the sight of them, keep it punchy and exciting!
Flashcard Games
Flashcards can be used as part of many super games, whether you’re at the front of a class, in a small group of private learners, or teaching one-to-one. Games are great practise for your learners, and an easy way for you to assess their knowledge and understanding. Here are a few games to play …
BINGO!
An all-time great. Get your learners reading those words again and again to win big! Display the flashcards on the board as you read each word. No need to work hard on this, click >>>here<<< for pre-prepared ready-to-go free BINGO game cards, and there’s a game creator if you need it!
GO FISH!
Print two copies of the sight word flashcards, then divide them between a small group of learners. Play by the traditional rules, but with words instead of playing card numbers.
MEMORY GAME
Print two copies of the sight word flashcards, then arrange them face down on the table/floor. Each player can turn two cards over per turn. The aim is to remember each flashcard’s word and position after it is revealed, then match two the same on your turn.
SIGHT WORD FRISBEE
Buy a stash of paper plates and stick your sight word flashcards on them. Make a circle with your learners or play one-to-one, and, as you throw and/or catch the Frisbee, read the sight words. Great fun, great practise!
WORD HUNT
Hide your sight word flashcards around the classroom or home, or even outside in the park or playground. Then have your learners write the number of words to find in a list, and set them loose hunting! When they find each sight word, they write it in their list. First to find them all wins!
I HAVE, WHO HAS?
There are lots of these sets available on the net, and providing you have enough cards to give at least one to each learner, these can be lots of fun. Although, it’s better for each learner to have more than one card, or some learners can quickly switch off after they’ve read their word! The game snakes its way around the class, as one learner says “I have he, who has she?” for example, and the next learner says “I have she, who has be?” etc. etc.
Go Digital!
You don’t always have to rely on flashcards for quick review. You can use simple slides of words in a PPT (as digital flashcards), or take it to the next level by including sentences and pictures for each sight word, to reinforce knowledge of the words and understanding of their meaning. Check out the Quick Review PowerPoints >>>here<<< they work really well and learners love them. Use them in your classroom or on your tablet or phone, anytime, anywhere.
Have the learners read the sight words on their own, then practise them in sentences and check they understand their meaning with quick-fire Q&As, or have the learners create their own sentences using the words. Check out my other article about teaching sight words: >>>here<<< There are also lots more ideas for games and activities you can include in your teaching.
That’s all for now! Grab your Flashcards, Good Luck and Have Fun Teaching! :O)