Dolch Spelling List Information
As part of the 2nd grade exit learning objectives, my goal for the children is to learn to pronounce and spell the Dolch basic sight vocabulary words. These words are common words that are used frequently in speech and writing. From 50-75% of all words used in school books, library books, newspapers, and magazines are in the Dolch Basic Sight Vocabulary of 220 words (preschool - grade 3). The Dolch word list is made up of “service words" (pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and verbs) which cannot be learned through the use of pictures. Memorization of these words increases writing speed and accuracy as well as reading fluency.
I will be testing the children in class on the words (a pretest to determine existing proficiency) and will send home information about the test results. If your child does not score at least 95% on the tests, he/she will need to retake them until a passing score is received. Testing dates will be announced periodically on the nightly homework sheet.
The children will progress at varying speeds through the word lists, but my goal is to have everyone pass every list by year’s end. Please see that your child studies any of the required word lists (those lists where the score is below 95%) and that the studying is not put off until the night before the test. There are many great practice websites for studying these words and the following is one of them:
http://www.theschoolbell.com/Links/Dolch/Contents.html
Thanks for helping your child to learn these words! It’s a very valuable activity.
Sincerely,
