Download RED WORDS General Info • Sight words are called red words. This

RED WORDS
General Info
• Sight words are called red words. This is simply a
visual reminder to stop sounding out, and to read
from recognition/memory instead.
– Never tell a student to “sound out” a sight
word!
– Introduce 2-5 new red words a week.
– If you are teaching color words, have students
write the word in that color instead of red,
otherwise, always use a red crayon.
– Any word that has a letter/rule that you have
not yet explicitly taught is considered a red
word.
Arm Tapping
• Raise writing hand in air and place it on “off
shoulder”
• Tap moving down the arm as you name each
grapheme(letter) in the word
• “Underline” the word sliding from shoulder to wrist
as you repeat the word
• This process is always repeated 3 times!
Introducing a Red Word
• The teacher presents the word to the class,
modeling how to spell the red word by stating the
letters in the word (can be done on board,
sentence strip, etc.)
• (T) then uses the word in a sentence and shows the
placement of the word in a sentence by underlining
it.
• (T) checks for understanding having a couple of
students use the word in a sentence out loud.
• (S) place their red word paper on the screen and
write the word with a red crayon (using teacher’s
example)
• (S) hold the paper in their left hand, while arm
tapping and spelling the word (3x)
• (S) trace bumps with finger while verbalizing
grapheme name, then underline and state the word
(3x)
• (S) put screen over paper, trace with finger while
verbalizing grapheme, underline and state the word
(3x)
• Now students flip over the red word paper and, on
the lines provided, they will write the word 3 times
without a visual cue (first time to spell without
visual cue)
• If students have difficulty, they can arm tap to
bring back the word through kinesthetic memory.
• This time the word isn’t written on top of the
screen, but it is written in red.
• Now students use a pencil to write a sentence
using the red word. Students then underline the
red word with a red crayon.
• Students can illustrate or share their sentences.
• Students store their red word paper in their red
folder for review.
Reviewing Red Words
• Before teaching a new red word, old red words
should be reviewed.
• To review, students hold their red word in their
left hand, and arm tap/spell the word with their
right hand.
• Ultimate goal is for students to spell/arm tap the
word without having to hold the paper for the
visual cue.
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