Sight Words Lesson Plan for Special Education: The First Ten
A reading lesson where students read the first ten high frequency words on sight against a three second timer, then find each one inside a sentence.
- Reading
- Ages 5-9
- Group of 4
- 30 minutes
- Free printable PDF
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Page 1 of 3. Page 2 is the data sheet.
What’s inside this plan
Objective: Students will read the first ten high frequency words on sight and find each one inside a short sentence.
The goal it serves: Given a set of ten high frequency words on cards, the student will read each word aloud within three seconds with 80% accuracy in 4 of 5 sessions.
- 4 min Warm-Up
- 6 min Direct Instruction & Modeling
- 10 min Guided Practice
- 7 min Independent Practice
- 3 min Closure
Supports on the table: Errorless Learning, Token Board, Timers, Positive Reinforcement, Prompt Hierarchy. Differentiated three ways (more support, on level, more challenge), with accommodations and a per-student data sheet at an 80% accuracy target.
Frequently asked questions
- Which sight words does this lesson plan use?
- The first ten high frequency words: the, and, a, to, in, is, it, you, that, he. They are the ones that appear most often and least follow the rules, which is exactly why they are taught by sight instead of by sounding out.
- How many new sight words should I introduce in one lesson?
- Two. The plan introduces two and reviews the rest, because adding more reliably costs yesterday's words. The ten stay on the wall and in circulation the whole time.
- Why is there a three second timer?
- A sight word is only a sight word if it comes back fast. Three seconds separates recognizing the word from working it out, and the data sheet records read, hesitated, or missed so the difference shows up before it hardens.
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