How to make them realize that they can read sightwords on books?

[NPLight]

Hello,
My DD (18 months) can read lots of sightwords on the computer, but if I ask her to read some of these words on a book or piece of paper she doesn't even try and tells me to read it. How could I encourage her to try?
I also find very difficult to have my DD and DS (twins) to focus on books when I'm reading to them. They look at the pictures for a second and then turn to play with something while they listen, they almost never try to follow my finger. Do you have any advice on this?
Thank you very much in advance

[Wolfwind]

I wish I knew how to generalize reading!  You can try just putting one word per page, printing it off the computer in the exact same font.  Then bring that book to your next computer session and point out, "Look, they're the same word!"  That might help break down the process.  But my daughter is two and a half and not there yet (she completely rejected sight words at about 15 months, so we're doing phonics, and it's much slower).

As to not watching your finger, don't worry about it.  That's very normal at 18 months.  They've got things to do, places to be, messes to make!  They don't want to sit around watching a book for more than a few seconds at a time.  Just keep reading, and keep moving your finger, but let them look as much or as little as they want.  Eventually they'll decide to sit for longer.

As Mandabplus3 always says, focus on your input, what you're doing, not the output of what they can show they learned.  Almost certainly, they're picking up a lot more than you think.  And getting stressed about it will only slow things down.  I know, much easier said than done.  But try not to worry, knowing that lots of kids do the same thing and learn to read just fine as early learners.

[annisis]

I completely agree with printing off the words in the same font onto paper. I would also recommend attaching the pages together to make them into a mini book. You can use rings or staples or even sew them together. I would then read the book as quickly as I would read flashcards. This might help to bridge the gap. Like Wolfwind said, they have a lot to do and see, so you have to move quickly to keep their interest and to show them that you are not trying to take up all their time. Try to keep in mind that large font is best. Small children may be capable of reading small print, but if it takes too much focus, they might bypass it to get onto to something that they consider more interesting and engaging. So large print is best. I also recommend making these books available for your child to flip through whenever they want. My floor is covered in books on a daily basis. And many of my books are being held together with tape. I am personally okay with that as all the tears are accidents usually due to excitement while reading!

[Mandabplus3]

Yes yes IMPUT IMPUT IMPUT that's the mantra.
I have also had some success with three year olds by using their finger to underline the words. Of course this only works for simple books with large print.
My son pointed out to me yesterday that one of the girls in his class moves her fingers under the words smoothly, and I taught him to point to each word as he reads it in his sight word readers. My aim was to learn to recognise the sight words. I can't say which method is better but it is interesting that he noticed! Anyway try holding their hands gently moving them as you read together. Take turns reading the same page.
Keep reading sessions short and exciting. Read words around the house not just in books. Label everything at their height. Use their interests. If you see some birds find a book on birds. If you go to the park find a book about parks to read. If they can make connections to their own life they will look more and show more interest. It's all about you feeding them the information at this age not about them telling you what they know.
Using the same font and helping make the connections is a great idea.

[AaronJ]

Yes, I agree with Mandaplus3. Be very enthusiastic and keep it exciting when reading to your little one. I found out when I did that, adding in little funny/silly noises to emphasise the words, my toddler got much more interested in the book and actually kept asking for the book again and again, Then when we read the book together again later, he would point out the words by himeself and say them out. Then he would look at me and imitate me to make the same funny/silly noises and grin at me. That sent me into stiches laughing so much and we had so much fun then

[NPLight]

I hadn't thought about showing printed words at the same time, it's a good idea. We have lots of Doman-style cards all over the floor so that they can step on them and even destroy them if they feel like that... I usually tell them, look! you found spider! (or whatever). I will  try to prepare some printed books, thank you!!
About imput and output... the "problem" is that my girl is absolutely happy performing! The boy just listens most of the time, and that's completely ok for me. But she likes it! So I ask her...   And if I don't do it she will tell me anyway... When I notice that she doesn't want to try I just show them the words a little bit faster than usual and they also like it...
Thank you all again, you are always an inspiration.

[Stodd]

For me (and my son) it really helped when I try to use his knowledge, showing him right away that reading is a tool for something. So, when Easter came, Easter Bunny left a little note for him, using the words he could read at that time. Same thing with X-mas. Or, when i lost my voice for a day and it was really hard for me to talk I wrote him little sentences or just a few words what to do.. He loved it and we played it a lot even when I got my voice back. It also worked for me using different font words. The game was to find the same words on different cards. Sometimes I didnt even printed out I just used a marker with different colors or sizes....I agree that variety and movement is really important. And being silly. I know it's frustrating sometimes. Hope I could help. Good luck.

[kitevolv]

I had the same problem with my second child - she could read the words on video but not in books or paper.  I searched for a video that teaches sight words and found one from a company that I had never heard of (Kid 2020 or Realkid2020 or something like that)  that comes with paper flash cards that match the video.  The video shows the sight words with music and a little girl and the flash cards match (colorful cards) so she wants to play with the cards while I play the video for her.  It worked!  She can finally see that the words on the cards match the words on the video screen.

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