APH would like to thank the following Teachers of the Visually Impaired who contributed their time, expertise, and creativity to the field evaluation of All Aboard! The Sight Word Activity Express:

Darla Chambers, Elementary Educator, Illinois School for the Visually Impaired, Jacksonville, IL

Barbara Collins, Teacher of the Visually Impaired, Stafford County Public Schools, Stafford, VA [currently teaching in Tampa, FL]

Stephanie Davis, Literary Coach, Kentucky School for the Blind, Louisville, KY

Judy Wiepert Dickson, Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments, Cherry Creek School District, Aurora, CO

Allison Fullenkamp, Teacher of the Visually Impaired, Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Indianapolis, IN

Anna Gayle, Teacher of the Visually Impaired/Braille and Art Teacher, Louisiana School for the Visually Impaired, Baton Rouge, LA

Sister M. Elaine George, IHM, Librarian/Materials Assistant, St. Lucy Day School for Children with Visual Impairments, Philadelphia, PA

Jeri Hile, Teacher of the Visually Impaired, Shawnee Mission School District, Overland Park, KS

Wendy Hirsch, Teacher of the Visually Impaired, Lincoln Public Schools, Lincoln, NE

Kevin Hollinger, Teacher of the Visually Impaired/Orientation and Mobility Specialist, Francis Howell School District, St. Charles, MO

Patricia Kohut, Special Education Teacher, Ossipee Central Elementary School, Center Ossipee, NH

Patricia Leader, Teacher of the Visually Impaired/Orientation and Mobility Specialist/Program Coordinator, Cupertino School District/SELPA II Vision Program, Cupertino, CA

Mary Jo Martinez, Teacher of the Visually Impaired/Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist, Chinle Unified School District #24, Chinle, AZ

Eric Shaw, Teacher of the Visually Impaired/Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist, Vermont Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Rutland, VT

Pam Snyder, Instructional Technology Specialist/Computer and Assistive Technology Teacher, Governor Morehead School for the Blind, Raleigh, NC

Jessi Troester, Teacher of the Visually Impaired, William Southern Elementary, Independence, MO

Karen Welch-Southerland, Teacher of the Visually Impaired, Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Indianapolis, IN

Anne West, Teacher of the Visually Impaired, Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Indianapolis, IN

Special thanks, also, to the 48 students who were involved in the field evaluation of this product.

All Aboard! The Sight Word Activity Express is produced through the special talents of many individuals at APH who performed necessary tasks to produce and package the kit. Thanks to those who helped with silkscreen setup, braille translation, vacuum-form tooling, HTML translation, electronic file preparation, printing, purchasing, and support services.

Proper Trademark Notice and Attribution

Abcteach^® is a registered trademark of Sandra G. Kemsley.

Dolch^® is a registered trademark of The Trustees of the Marguerite Pierce Dolch Trust.

Excel^® is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

VELCRO^®, VELTEX^®, and VELCOIN^® are registered trademarks of Velcro Industries B.V.

Wikki Stix^® is a registered trademark of Omnicor, Inc.

The Sight Word Activity Express can be used for instruction and assessment of a student’s recognition of sight or “high frequency” words—the most commonly used words in the English language. These words should be part of a bank of words that the student recalls “automatically without having to use word-identification clues such as phonetics” (Wormsley & D’Andrea, 1997). However, a student still needs to learn to decode or sound out the words in order to learn how to read new and unfamiliar words. Developing phonemic awareness is an important component to reading and should be addressed in addition to rote memorization of words. It is also important that sight words and sounds be introduced in meaningful contexts. Meaningful literacy instruction for students with visual impairments is supported by direct experiences with what they are reading and writing about (Koenig & Farrenkopf, 1997).

Developed by Edward W. Dolch in 1948, the Dolch^® Basic Sight Word List consists of 220 common words including prepositions, conjunctions, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs. A separate list of 95 nouns is also provided. Representing words frequently encountered in basal reading series, the 220 words are classified into the following grade level categories: Pre-primer, Primer, First, Second, and Third. The 95 nouns or “picture words” appear in a separate list. It is important to note, however, that the introduction order of the Dolch^® words varies within Building on Patterns: Primary Braille Literacy Program published by the American Printing House for the Blind (APH). In this specialized curriculum, the sequence of word introduction deviates from the original Dolch^® word classifications to accommodate systematic introduction of braille contractions. Two words—slow and yours—are also added.

Components

• Contracted Braille/Print Magnetic Word Labels

  

  The set of Contracted Braille/Print Magnetic Word Labels includes all of the sight words and common nouns. These labels are identified by black text on a yellow background with a diagonal orientation cut in the upper-right corner.

• Uncontracted Braille/Print Magnetic Word Labels

  

  The set of Uncontracted Braille/Print Magnetic Word Labels includes letter-by-letter versions of all of the sight words and common nouns that use braille contractions in contracted braille format. For example, the contracted braille version of the word brown contains the contraction ow (⠪); in the uncontracted version of the word, the letters o (⠕) and w (⠺) are written separately. The Uncontracted Braille/Print Magnetic Word Labels are identified by black text on a white background with a curved orientation cut in the upper-right corner.

• Accessory Labels

  

  The set of Accessory Labels contains a variety of braille/print magnetic labels to accommodate sorting tasks. These labels are identified by white text on a blue background with two opposite diagonal orientation cuts. This set includes the following labels:

  • contracted (2)
  • uncontracted (2)
  • noun (2)
  • verb (2)
  • pronoun
  • adverb
  • adjective
  • preposition
  • conjunction
  • one-syllable
  • two-syllable
  • three-syllable
  • opposites
  • short vowel
  • long vowel
  • ch
  • sh
  • st
  • th
  • wh

  The set of Accessory Labels also includes blank, white magnetic labels. Additional words can be added by writing directly on the blank labels with a bold permanent marker and/or by affixing a brailled, clear label to the label’s surface. Use scissors to trim the labels to size and incorporate needed orientation cut(s).

• Magnetic/Dry-Erase Board
  

  The included magnetic/dry-erase board is ideal as a working surface for reading tasks, activities, and games when using the word labels. If a larger magnetic surface is needed, consider using a cookie sheet or APH’s All-in-One Board that accommodates a variety of reading angles.

  

• Three-Ring Binder/Word Label Pocket Pages
  

  For convenient storage and portability, all of the word labels can be housed within the provided three-ring binder. The word labels can be sorted into the pocket pages according to the instructor’s storage preferences (e.g., alphabetical, contracted versus uncontracted, known versus unknown by student).

• Magnetic Sorting Strips
  

  Two lengths of blue, magnetic sorting strips—(10) 10.5-inch strips and (10) 8.5-inch strips—are provided to allow the construction of a variety of charts and grids. Examples of possible setups are shown:

  

  

  

  The sorting strips can also be used to create guidelines on a magnetic surface to accommodate “writing” activities.

  

• Clear-View Pouch
  

  A clear-view pouch is provided for convenient storage of the blue magnetic sorting strips within the binder.

  

• Sight Word Assessment Checklist
  

  Use the provided Sight Word Assessment Checklist (on pages 35-52), also included as an Excel^® spreadsheet, to monitor an individual student’s progress in reading and identifying the sight words and common nouns. The Excel^® spreadsheet will automatically calculate the percentage of words recognized/read by the student. Space for comments is provided. Permission is given to copy the Sight Word Assessment Checklist as needed for recording the progress of multiple students.

The Sight Word Activity Express can be used for a variety of reading activities. The following suggestions should serve as “starter ideas” that can be expanded and enhanced by the instructor to meet the learning needs of an individual student. They are presented in no particular order and should be chosen based on the appropriateness for the student’s age, grade, and reading level. The student’s recognition of the sight words and common nouns can be tracked on the provided Sight Word Assessment Checklist.

• Have the student read and become familiar with new words that are displayed on the magnetic board.
• Say a word and have the student locate it from a list or word wall.
• Sort words into noun and verb classifications.
• Construct a Venn diagram to illustrate words that can be used as both a noun and a verb (e.g., wash, ring, hand, top, name, duck).

  

• Sort one-syllable versus two-syllable words.
  • One-Syllable: ride, made, hold, shall, nest, seed, etc.
  • Two-Syllable: little, under, going, apple, sister, etc.
• Sort words with a long vowel sound versus a short vowel sound.
  • Short Vowel: stop, red, black, ten, pull, wish, jump, etc.
  • Long Vowel: make, play, take, five, old, use, grow, etc.
• Review and read words with consonant blends (e.g., shall, then, drink, start, where, grass).
• Review and read words with the same vowel diagraph.
  • oo: too, soon
  • ee: seed, sleep
• Review and read words with the same diphthong.
  • oy: toy, boy
  • ou: house, ground
  • ow: cow, now
• Arrange a list of words in alphabetical order.
• Unscramble/rearrange words to create a sentence.

Important: When the magnetic word labels are placed side by side during sentence-building activities, standard braille spacing between words is not maintained; this is unavoidable. Supplement “writing” activities with sentences brailled onto paper using a braillewriter or slate and stylus. Add capitalization and punctuation as necessary.

• Select an appropriate word from a list to complete a sentence or fill in a blank.
  • The boy said _____. (good-bye)
  • A _____ sat in the nest. (bird)
  • The bed _____ not made. (was)

  For cloze activities, use a tactile magnetic shape (e.g., star, circle) to represent a missing word in a sentence.

• Construct sentences using pronouns.
  • We want to sit together.
  • He went home today.
  • I found the doll.
  • She had a birthday.
• Identify and read words that begin a question (e.g., who, when, will, where, would, why, which, shall, may, how, what).
• Review words representing various parts of speech.
  • Prepositions: in, so, into, as, etc.
  • Conjunctions: and, or, but, for, etc.
  • Adverbs: well, soon, always, etc.
  • Adjectives: kind, round, pretty, funny, etc.
• Build compound words (e.g., sunflower, homework, seesaw, daylight, greenhouse)
• Create adjective-noun combinations (e.g., yellow bird, clean table, funny thing, round cake, little seed, cold milk)
• Pair contracted braille words with uncontracted braille words.
  • around:
  • contracted: ⠜⠨⠙
  • uncontracted: ⠁⠗⠕⠥⠝⠙
  • chicken:
  • contracted: ⠡⠊⠉⠅⠢
  • uncontracted: ⠉⠓⠊⠉⠅⠑⠝
• Pair related words (e.g., kitty/cat, garden/flower, robin/bird, game/toy).
• Pair rhyming words (e.g., boat/coat, top/stop, sleep/sheep, sing/ring).
• Pair words that have opposite meanings (e.g., old/new, warm/cold, go/stop, came/went, before/after).
• Identify and read words that describe the following:
  • Time (e.g., morning, day, night, now, then)
  • Colors (e.g., blue, brown, black, red, yellow, white, green)
  • Numbers/quantities (e.g., two, three, much, many, all)
  • Size (e.g., small, little, big, full)
  • Parts of the human body (e.g., leg, hand, eye, feet, head)
  • Outside features (e.g., sun, farm, hill, grass, street, ground, nest, wind, rain, tree)
  • Features of a house (e.g., window, floor, bed, chair, door)
  • Food (e.g., egg, bread, corn, apple, milk)
  • Animals (e.g., duck, pig, bear, squirrel, fish, sheep, chicken, cow)
  • People (e.g., farmer, mother, sister, boy, children, men)
  • Events (e.g., Christmas, party, birthday)
• Review words that contain silent letters (e.g., light, window, coat, eight).
• Review words with various suffix endings (e.g., er, ing, en).
• Review words made plural by adding s (e.g., cake, egg, hand, farm), or es (e.g., box, grass), or ies (e.g., baby, kitty, party).
• Review words with double consonants (e.g., kitty, yellow, squirrel, pretty, rabbit).
• Review words with double vowels (e.g., seed, school, sheep, keep, soon).
• Practice reading words with braille contraction reversals (e.g., ch and st, t and ou).

Game Examples

Use The Sight Word Activity Express to play a variety of games to practice reading within a fun context.

Which One Doesn’t Belong?

Give a list of words that share something in common, with the exception of one word. Can the student identify the misfit?

Example: dog    cow    chair    cat   bear
[Common words describe animals.]

Example:  start     party     carry     car   farmer
[Common words have ar in the middle of the word.]

Example:  green   walk   robin  bear   street
[Common words contain braille contractions.]

Bingo

Build a bingo card on a magnetic board using the provided sorting strips. Place a magnetic shape (e.g., star) in the center square to represent the “free space.” Randomly place recently reviewed words within the remaining squares. If a word is called, the student can mark the word on his bingo card. Printable Dolch^® Word Bingo cards are available from various online sources such as http://www.theschoolbell.com/Links/Dolch/bingo/bingo_index.html.

Apple Picking

Draw a tree on a magnetic/dry-erase surface. Cut out paper apples and “hang” them from the branches by anchoring them with selected magnetic word labels. Position the magnetic surface at an angle. If the student reads the word correctly, she can “pick it” from the tree by removing the label and letting the apple fall to the “ground.”

Lily Pad Hop

Create a tactile/visual “leaping” path (using graphic art tape or Wikki Stix^® craft yarn) along a small number of lily pads made from paper cutouts or drawn with a dry-erase marker. Magnetic tabs (available from office supply stores) can be affixed to the back of the paper lily pads for secure positioning on the board. Have each lily pad represent a word of a short sentence. Initially place the words out of sequence along the path and have the student rearrange them to form a coherent sentence.

Mystery Word

Display five to ten word labels on the magnetic board. Progressively provide clues about one of the words until the student correctly deduces which is being described.

Word Chain

Take turns making a chain of word labels. Each word label added to the chain should begin with the last letter or sound of the previously connected word (e.g., bird, drink, keep, paper, robin…). Who can keep the chain going the longest?

The sight words and common nouns are listed in alphabetical order within this section. Words highlighted in blue contain braille contractions; consequently, these words appear in both the Contracted Braille Set (yellow labels) and the Uncontracted Braille Set (white labels). This listing is a combination of the 220 sight words and 95 common nouns. The words slow and yours have been added because they are covered in APH’s Building on Patterns: Primary Braille Literacy Program.

The Sight Word Activity Express is compliant with Unified English Braille (UEB). Five sight words are affected by the adoption (in 2012) and implementation (by 2016) of UEB. Therefore, UEB versions of by (⠃⠽), come (⠉⠕⠍⠑), into (⠔⠞⠕), table (⠞⠁⠃⠇⠑), and to (⠞⠕) are provided. For more information and updates on Unified English Braille code, visit the Braille Authority of North America’s (BANA’s) website at www.brailleauthority.org.

Use the Sight Word Assessment Checklist to record a student’s recognition of each sight word and common noun. The 220 common sight words appear first in the checklist and according to the original grade level categories, followed by a list of the 95 common nouns. Two words, slow and yours, have been added to the Second Grade category; these two words are addressed in APH’s Building on Patterns: Primary Braille Literacy Program. Words in each grade level category appear in alphabetical order. For the instructor’s convenience, an Excel^® spreadsheet of the Assessment Checklist is provided. The spreadsheet automatically calculates the percentage of words recognized within each subcategory. Save each individual student’s progress as a separate file. Enter an “X” or preferred symbol next to each word successfully recognized on a reported date. Press the Enter key or click outside of the cell so that data is properly recorded and accurate percentages are calculated.

The Excel^® spreadsheet of the Sight Word Assessment Checklist is available for free download using the following link: Sight Word Assessment Checklist, Excel^® version.

The Sight Word Activity Express can be used in combination with the following APH products:

Magnetic Boards/Surfaces

All-In-One Board

(Magnetic/Velcro^®/Dry Erase)
(1-08836-00)

All-In-One Board: Student Model

(1-08833-00)

Braille Literacy Programs & Reading Materials

Braille Contraction Cards (1-03561-00)

Large print/braille flashcards (measuring 3.5 x 2 inches) can be used for practicing Literary Braille contractions.

Building on Patterns: Primary Braille Literacy Program

A complete primary literacy program designed to teach beginning braille users to read, write, and spell in braille. Visit www.aph.org for a complete listing of Building on Patterns materials.

Expanded Dolch^® Word Cards (1-03560-00)

Flashcards (measuring 3.5 x 2 inches) can be used for reading practice or informal assessment of a student’s ability to read words in contracted braille and spell words in uncontracted braille.

Quick Check: Index of Literary Braille Signs

(Print: 7-35960-01; Braille: 5-35960-01)

This booklet contains many of the common English braille contractions, including word signs, short-form words, punctuation, and composition signs.

Word PlayHouse (1-03562-00)

Over 400 letter tiles (with hook material backing) are useful for teaching letter recognition, braille code recognition, decoding, vocabulary, and spelling skills.

Accessories

Braillable Labels and Sheets

(Full-size 8.5 x 11 inches: 1-08874-00; Pin-Fed 8.5 x 11 inches: 1-08875-00)

Clear, blank self-adhesive sheets that can be brailled and used to create needed labels.

Feel 'n Peel Stickers

Alphabet (1-08849-00)

Literary Numbers (1-08865-00)

Nemeth Braille/Print Numbers 0-100: (1-08876-00)

Print/braille stickers can be applied to magnetic sheets and used in combination with a magnetic board.

Textured Sorting Circles and Shapes (1-08834-00)

Assorted magnetic-backed shapes are provided in a variety of textures, sizes, and colors. Magnetic sorting circles are also included for building Venn diagrams on a magnetic surface.

Dolch^® Word Websites

The following websites provide additional information about Dolch^® Words and activity ideas:

abcteach^®: The Educator’s Online Resource: Dolch^® Word Cards
http://www.abcteach.com/directory/prek-early-childhood-abc-activities-dolch-word-cards-29-2-1

Apples4theteacher: Dolch^® Sight Words
http://www.apples4theteacher.com/languagearts/dolch-sight-words/

Dolch Kit^®
http://www.theschoolbell.com/Links/Dolch/Dolch.html

Dolch^® Word: Free Sight Word Games and Printables
http://www.dolchword.net/dolch-word-list-frequency-grade.html

Enchanted Learning: Dolch^® Words
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/dolch/

K12Reader: Reading Instruction Resources for Teachers and Parents: Dolch^® Word List Worksheets and Activities
http://www.k12reader.com/dolch-word-list/

Mrs. Perkins’ Dolch^® Words: Helping Your Children Read
http://www.mrsperkins.com/dolch.htm

References and Further Reading

Browder, D. M., & Lalli, J. S. (1991). Review of research on sight word instruction. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 12, 203-228.

Browder, D. M., & Xin, Y. P. (1998). A meta-analysis and review of sight word research and its implications for teaching functional reading to individuals with moderate and severe disabilities. The Journal of Special Education, 32(3), 130-154.

Day, J. N., McDonnell, A. P., & O’Neill, R. (2008) Teaching beginning braille reading using an alphabet or uncontracted braille approach. Journal of Behavorial Education, 17, 253-277.

Degler, L. S., & Risko, V. J. (1979). Teaching reading to mainstreamed sensory impaired children. The Reading Teacher, 32(8), 921-925.

Dolch, E. W. (1948). Problems in reading. Champain, IL: The Garrard Press.

Koenig, A. J., & Farrenkopf, C. (1997) Essential experiences to undergird the early development of literacy. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 91(1), 14-24.

Wormsley, D. P., & D’Andrea, F. M. (1997). Instructional strategies for braille literacy. New York: AFB Press.