When a teacher is working with a SPED student that CANNOT spell a few of his sight words (for example- and they have been doing Lessons and using the Skill Builders, but to no avail), what would you recommend for how many/what types of cues to give that student so that they can get past that specific unit? Student is red-faced and teary-eyed etc. The teacher wants to stay faithful to Lexia implementation, but also recognizes that this student may NEVER spell the word "does" correctly!
Ideas?
Response from Bonnie Coleman
The sight words lessons can be very difficult if students have not had prior instructions or exposure to the words that will be presented to them in the lessons in Core5. I've seen quite a bit of student frustration over these lessons when teachers just let students go, without preparing them for the sight words lessons coming up in Core5. The words themselves are not exactly the sight words that might be in their language program (depending on what teachers use to teach reading). So, it's beneficial - VERY beneficial, especially for SPED students, to have several days of non-Core5 experience with these words prior to working in the Core5 lessons that present those sight words.
Teachers can use the Teacher Manual to see which levels and which lessons have Sight Word work, plus, they can also work through the lessons themselves on the Demo access.
I would suggest a variety of activities - word match is a good one. I've seen one called "Feed the Puppy" that works great, and there's a Bingo sort of activity that I actually made copies of and laminated, to show as an example of a great sight-word game, it's very nice, and gives the student a lot of non-stress related exposure to the words that are labeled as "sight words" even if they can still be sounded out.
The more teachers allow this sort of work, the more confident students will be when doing the Core5 activities. Spelling the words is not critical at this point - students are not required to spell words (since that is a different skill), but only to recognize the words. Many teachers have little tricks to help students remember certain words. One that works well (surprisingly) is to associate the word "the" with films and things kids often watch on TV or devices, at the end of an episode, or even stories. Just showing the phrase "The End" over and over again, and pointing out the word, helps kids associate it and become able to recognize it in other contexts.
Teachers that use gimmicks like this to get students to remember sight words often see that their students move on faster, score higher, and read quicker, simply because the gimmick helps them not only to remember, but to do it quickly.
So, to reiterate... encourage teachers to look ahead to what students will be presented in the program, and prepare their students ahead of time. SPED students in particular need this. Teachers can Demo a lesson in small groups or for the whole class, but they can also provide non-tech based activities to familiarize students with content they will soon be presented.
Not sure if this helps or not. Bonnie
Response from Kathleen End
I don't think there is a right or wrong...the teacher just has to trust their gut. One thing you can recommend is to use the new Sight Word Flashcards in the resource materials. There is also a really good connection for sight words that has a number of good ideas for how students can practice sight words offline.
and also look at the child's ISP or bring this up during the student's re-eval.
