Sight Word Bootcamp

Sight Word Bootcamp

Sight Word Bootcamp teacher with students in a learning circle

An Effective Approach to Sight Words

Sight Word Bootcamp at our scenic Irvington, NY campus is an immersive learning experience tailored for young readers. Our unique approach goes beyond conventional methods. We engage students in mastering sight words through lively games, catchy songs, and hands-on activities. Rather than introducing sight words in isolation, we seamlessly contrast them with foundational phonics lessons. This ensures that children can swiftly grasp and recall the common spelling patterns of frequently used words. By thoughtfully categorizing these words—those that follow regular spelling rules and those rule-breakers—we empower students with a deeper, more intuitive comprehension of reading and spelling.

Kids Have Fun Learning

This understanding lays the groundwork for their future literacy success. We pride ourselves on offering premier and convenient learning opportunities for children of working parents. And with activities set both indoors and outdoors, every session becomes an adventure. At Clairmont’s Sight Word Bootcamp, we transform education into a captivating journey of discovery, ensuring that every child thrives.

Pre-K – Kindergarten Sight Word Bootcamp Kids

Tailored to Each Student

At Sight Word Bootcamp, we understand the importance of catering to learners at different stages of reading readiness. Whether your child is a pre-reader or a more advanced beginning reader, our teaching approach is designed to meet their unique learning needs. We believe in the power of personalized instruction and strive to create a supportive and engaging learning environment for every student. Join us at Sight Word Bootcamp and watch your child’s reading skills soar!

Pre-readers, or students who are still struggling with letter recognition, sounds, and blending or segmenting sounds, will focus on the following areas in Sight Word Bootcamp:

  • Recognizing and writing lowercase letters: It is essential for students to develop the ability to recognize and write lowercase letters. This skill forms the foundation for reading and writing in English.
  • Understanding letter-sound correlation: A crucial aspect of early literacy is understanding the relationship between letters and their sounds. By grasping this correlation, students can decode words and improve their reading skills.
  • Developing reading-prerequisite phonemic awareness skills: Phonemic awareness skills are fundamental to successful reading. This includes segmenting beginning sounds, ending sounds, and middle sounds, as well as blending them together to form words. Students need to practice these skills to become fluent readers.
  • Mastering two-letter phonetic-based words: Two-letter phonetic-based words such as ‘at,’ ‘in,’ ‘am,’ ‘an,’ ‘if,’ ‘it,’ ‘up,’ and ‘us’ provide a solid foundation for early reading. Mastering these words helps build confidence and paves the way for more complex vocabulary.
  • Tackling “rule-breaker” words: At this level, some students will encounter “rule-breaker” words like ‘go,’ ‘no,’ ‘we,’ ‘me,’ ‘he,’ ‘so,’ and ‘hi.’ These words do not follow typical phonetic patterns and require additional practice to be recognized and understood.

Beginning readers will have a slightly different focus:

  • Emphasis on Vowels: In the early stages of reading, beginning readers will find a special focus on vowels. These essential letters form the core of words and their sounds, playing a crucial role in reading comprehension.
  • Rule-Breaker Words: As students progress, they will encounter rule-breaker words that don’t follow the usual pronunciation patterns. Examples of such words include ‘the,’ ‘was,’ ‘of,’ ‘off,’ ‘or,’ ‘for,’ ‘goes,’ ‘you,’ and ‘said.’ While these words may pose challenges, they are vital for developing a well-rounded reading ability.
  • Addressing Letter Reversals: One common hurdle for beginning readers is letter reversals, such as confusing ‘b’ with ‘d’ or ‘p’ with ‘q.’ Educators actively address this issue by providing targeted exercises and reinforcing the distinct characteristics of each letter. By doing so, students can overcome these reversals and gain greater reading accuracy.
  • Phonics-Based Sight Words: Alongside consonants and rule-breaker words, students will learn phonics-based high-frequency sight words. These frequently encountered words, such as ‘his,’ ‘bed,’ ‘big,’ ‘dad,’ ‘bad,’ ‘pig,’ ‘let,’ and ‘and,’ are pivotal for developing reading fluency and comprehension skills.

Advanced students, or those who have mastered preliminary phonemic awareness skills, will focus on words specific to their reading level.

The reading-level-specific words will be determined during an assessment prior to the start of the Bootcamp. This tailored approach ensures that each child gets the right level of challenge and support to grow their reading skills effectively.

By incorporating these elements into early reading instruction, educators ensure that beginning readers receive a comprehensive foundation in phonics, sight words, and letter recognition. This approach equips them with the necessary skills to become confident and capable readers.

1st Grade – 3rd Grade Sight Word Bootcamp Kids

Master High-Frequency Words

Each day at Sight Word Bootcamp is a journey into the world of high-frequency words. We use a variety of active and passive learning activities, making sure that the learning experience is engaging and enjoyable for all our students. Our unique approach includes exciting games like sight word frisbee golf, as well as more structured activities like match and color worksheets. Before the bootcamp begins, we assess all students to understand their reading level and accordingly tailor the daily lessons.

Our first-grade-level readers in Sight Word Bootcamp focus on:

  • High-Frequency Phonetic Words: Enhance reading vocabulary with words like ‘candy,’ ‘party,’ ‘fly,’ ‘down,’ ‘house(s),’ and more, paving the way for fluent reading and comprehension.
  • Rule-Breaker Sight Words: Tackle challenging words like ‘said,’ ‘goes,’ ‘would,’ ‘could,’ ‘should,’ and others, honing the ability to recognize and use irregular but commonly used words.

When it comes to our second and third grade Sight Word Bootcamp students we focus on:

  • High-Frequency Phonetic Words: Extend reading vocabulary with words like ‘plowed,’ ‘growing,’ ‘south,’ ‘shouted,’ ‘pointed,’ and more, paving the way for fluent reading and comprehension.
  • Rule-Breaker Sight Words: Tackle challenging words like ‘different,’ ‘friend,’ ‘because,’ ‘something,’ ‘nowhere,’ ‘together,’ and others, honing the ability to recognize and use irregular but commonly used words.

Sight Word Bootcamp offers a comprehensive and engaging approach to learning sight words, ensuring students of different reading levels get the targeted support they need to excel.

Seats Fill Quickly So Register Now!

Sight Word Bootcamp Sample Day

  • 9:00am Drop-off
  • 9:00am-9:30am Free Play & Social Time
  • 9:30pm-10am Homeroom activity: Oh Snap! 
    The Game: Each round a 7-minute timer is set. The first player picks up a popsicle stick from the “Oh Snap” bucket and reads the word. If read correctly, the player gets to keep the popsicle stick. If incorrect, place the stick back into the container. Then, the other player picks up a stick and reads the word. Continue playing…BUT WAIT If a player picks up an “Oh Snap!” popsicle stick, that player must then put all the popsicle sticks back into the container. Player at the end of each round wins the max tickets for that round (5 tickets = 1 prize). Note: Oh Snap! is a tailored game. A beginning reader will take a stick from the “Level A” Oh Snap! bucket, while an advanced reader might take their Oh Snap! sticks from the “Level C” or “E” buckets.
  • 10am-10:45pm: Sensory Writing and Spelling: Shaving Cream/Bouncers
    Watch the “Bouncer” lowercase letters video  (all the letters that start at the top, go down, bounce back up, and around). The bouncers are the letters h, b, r, m, n, and p. Air write the letters & make their sounds, while watching along with the video. Practice writing the bouncers with Shaving Cream! Each Bouncer formed correctly earns you a ticket! Practice spelling your assigned sight words of the day in shaving cream! For an extra challenge write a sentence across the desk in shaving cream, using one of your sight words!
  • 10:45am-11:30pm Active Reading and Spelling Game: Alien Tag
    The Game: Teams of 2 (Aliens & Soldiers). Each round, students take turn being the Aliens and Soldiers.  The goal of the game is to try and tag the Aliens as many times as they can, using their left hands! The team with the most Alien tags each round earns 5 tickets; the other team earns 3 tickets for good sportsmanship. Between rounds students race to the board to practice spelling their individual sight words.
  • 11:30am-1pm: Lunch + Free Play + Individual Educational 1:1 Time 
    After lunch, students play while the teacher spends 1:1 educational time with each individual student working on their individual needs such as practicing reading student-tailored word cards or reading a short story to the teacher.
  • 1:00pm-1:45pm: Outside Game: Word Burglar
    The Game: This is our spin of Red Light, Green Light! At each stop, students will be asked to read or air spell a sight word. When they get to the teacher, they get to pick from the prize bag! Hurry and get back in the game and play again!
  • 1:45pm-2:50pm: Sight Word Art: Painting Birdhouses
    Paint your birdhouse, then write and hide sight words all over the birdhouse. Have a friend find and read your words!
  • 2:50pm-3:00pm: Wrap-Up and Dismissal

Sight Word Bootcamp Price:
$75/half-day
$150/day
$375/week

Register here or call (914) 771-0531 for more info.

Sight Word Bootcamp Registration

24/25 Sight Word Bootcamp Schedule

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Upcoming Workshops

We Appreciate All Of Your Reviews!

Additional Information

Pricing

Full-Week Workshop M-F 9am-12pm: $375 ($25/hour)

Full Day Workshop 9am-3pm: $150 ($25/hour)

Student Pick-Up and Drop-Off

The student drop-off/pick-up location is at the valet booth entrance in the back of the building.

Class Size

Maximum class size per schedule is 10 students.

Location

Clairmont Advanced Education Center is located at 90 N Broadway, Irvington NY 10533

Contact Us

Call/text 914-771-0531 or email info@clairmontadvanced.com with any questions

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