As a second grade teacher presently and a past pre-k teacher, I feel that the more the students are exposed to the better. Once they are in kindergarten the expectation of expressing their thoughts in writing emerge. Good readers produce good writing. In fact, good readers are usually great communicators. Exposing the Pre-K students to sight words will give them a greater chance of embedding them in their long term memory. I would suggest after drilling no more than four to five sight words a week that the same sight words be used and pointed out in other ways throughout the week. This could be in shared readings, small groups, within the print rich environment, and/or within the centers.

I believe that there are developmentally appropriate ways to expose children who are ready for beginning sight words. Some students begin pre-k with a fall birthday, almost five. If they have had structured daycare experiences, they have already been exposed to sensory and literacy activities. Differentiation begins in PK. If students are not ready, don't teach sight words to them. My daughter began preK this year, and falls in this category- being 5 already, spending her toddler years in daycare, and having good stimulation from family. She knows all of her letters and sounds, and is beginning to teach herself to spell. Why not give those students early exposure? My advice would be to check online sources, like teacherspayteachers, pinterest, etc. and find fun, developmentally appropriate centers and games to introduce sight words to those who are ready.

As a former Pre-K teacher, I introduced sight words as well. Learning is developmental and some of the students were advanced and ready for this step. However, they were not assessed or penalized if they did not know the words. It was mearly exposure to get them ready for K.

I think it is appropriate to begin teaching sight words in Pre-k, even if it is not in the standards. For students who are not cognitively ready to learn this, they are still getting a feel for the kindergarten atmosphere which makes for an easier transition. I think the teacher should teach sight words, but not rigorously. Maybe making up a song that spells a few words and interchanging them every few weeks, or labeling the room with sight words would be good options.

The teacher could incorporate learning sight words in activities that follow the Pre-K standards.

As many of the other posts have stated, there is nothing wrong with exposing the students to sight words at such a young age. I feel the issue may come into place if a teacher were to evaluate the students on these words. I feel that a formal eval would be out of the question, but exposing the children on a daily basis would be a great idea.

Hello ypyPuT! While it is important to abide by state standards, I totally agree with vapaju's solution above. Vapaju did a great job at highlighting the major benefits of using sight words with PreK students. I agree that exposure is beneficial, and there are a lot of things that students should have exposure to - even if it is not time for them to master that skill yet. However, I would add to vapaju's solution by suggesting that Ms. Thomas should not let sight word practice dominant her curriculum. When the class has extra time, exposure to sight words is great. However if the students have not mastered specific skills aligned in the their current PreK standards yet, they should be focusing on those skills or remediating those skills first before exposing them to something that is not at their grade level. Melissa

I think that the purpose of Pre-K is to get the children ready for Kindergarten. If reading site words is something easy and fun that can be done in a Pre-K class than I see no harm in it.

I feel that, at such a young age, the more these students are exposed to information the better off they will be. It may take longer for students this young to fully understand the information, but if delivered properly i feel that presenting students with this information early better prepares them for future learning.

I think it is wonderful to begin introducing students to sight words. They will see them in kindergarten so this will just make them even better prepared for this grade. The more they see, the better. This will give them the opportunity to be better students.

Having experience working with a VPK program, I believe students can learn sight words. While there are students who need the whole year to learn to spell their name, write their name, count, recognize letters and their sounds; there are other students who are ready to move on to sight words and word families. Try pulling small groups according to students learning needs and differentiate instruction.

I don't think it hurts to expose them to sight words. Certainly every student will not be ready for them but for the few that are they are available. Reading is the key to success the more we can teach students that, the better off they will be.

The teacher should make certain that they are able to effectively teach all Pre-K standards. As long as this is met, early exposure to material will only benefit the students as long as it is shown at their level of understanding.

I think that is important that children learn sight words as early as possible because with the use of computers most children recognize site words already. My daughter school teaches them and I do also.

Implementing the sight words is a great idea. However, you must continue to differentiate instruction for students who are not ready for sight words. Look at each student individually and assess their ability.

I think she should teach the 2wy she feels is right. And maybe sit down with the director and come to a half way solution, following both ideas. I think kids should learn early on.

Without knowing more context behind this case study, I have to assume that Ms. Thomas has artifacts regarding teaching these students sight words. If she has continued this activity long enough for the director to come in and see AND defend it as she did, I believe that indicates she has results to back up her lessons. If this is the case and Ms. Thomas has the evidence to back her up, I would advise she consult with her principal and get their advice. If the principal is on her side then she should be free to continue. I don't personally mind pre-school teachers teaching sight words. The purpose of Pre-K is to teach children how to prepare for Kindergarten. I believe I learned to read as a concept back in Pre-School and improved further in Kindergarten. I'm pretty sure this also used to be a standard for Pre-K.

I don't think there is anything wrong with that. If the Pre-K students can follow along with the Pre-K curriculum, why not teach them more and get them prepared for the future years of school.

I think that the teacher should do what is best for her students.

Students should definitely be exposed to sight words! The earlier the better. If you could somehow provide data for the director to show him/her how this is beneficial, i'm sure you could change their mind.

I absolutely think that teachers should be able to teach sight words in Pre-K. I feel like the only thing that it doing is helping the students to be better prepared for when they do go to kindergarten. It will only help them to become better students in the future and help them learn more and may even help them to succeed at a faster rate.

I think the teacher should work how she thinks her students are developed, but she also has to understand the rules. I think she needs to follow curriculum, and maybe bring it up to the parents to use sight words.

I think the solution to this case boils down to knowing your students. As a preschool teacher, analyze your student's comprehension levels. If your students are excelling and getting bored with the curriculum, I think it is reasonable to work ahead and introduce sight words. If students are working at grade level, do not introduce sight words for fear of overwhelming the students. The solution to this question is simply to monitor your students and observe their understanding of the content.

I do agree that teachers should not teach sight words in PRE-K

There is nothing wrong with exposing children to knowledge early.