Color Coding Can Help With Sight Words

Some kids skip small words when reading. Others have difficulty remembering words they can’t picture—words like “the” or “of.” In either case, color can help. Before having the child read, write down a troublesome word and color over it with a highlighter. Point to it, say it, and then have the child say it. Give the child the highlighter to mark that same word each time it appears in the sentence, paragraph, or page he is about to read. For kids that skip words, highlighting draws their attention to words they might otherwise ignore. When memory is the problem, the color helps the child make a mental image. For that reason, try to assign a different color to each sight word that seems to be interfering with his ability to read fluently.