I teach sight words by having my students to sky write them. I also have them to look at them and tell me what they notice about the word. After this I have the students to write on their desks with a dry erase marker the word. If students struggle I have them to tell me what can you do to help yourself remember or what did we just discuss as a class.

I write the sight words on cards using a crayon and a different color for each letter. The waxy crayon gives them a tactile feel when they trace the words with their finger. The different colors for each letter gives them colors to help visually. Also, start with a small amount then gradually add as they are learned.

In addition to the strategies shared, word mapping is an essential step in supporting orthographic mapping of words (see: science of reading). Here’s a link to an example: https://youtu.be/H8tqyu4LCTQ?si=Mp7661NigVbODrsx

Thank you Clark! I was introduced to orthographic mapping this year and it has made such a difference in how so many more of my students can remember sight words. We have rich discussions about parts of each word, which parts we can hear and then which parts need a heart over them to help us remember parts we need to remember by heart. Orthographic has been a game changer!!

I use multiple methods throughout the day. The focus is to use those strategies in authentic ways, when they are reading and writing. If it is a reproducible or workbook, I ask the students to look for those words and highlight them. If they need them to write, I have them look for them on the word wall. That means that every word introduced as a sight or heart word has to be on the wall to reference. If they are reading books and they get stuck on one of those words, they can get up with a ruler or a pointer and find that word on the wall. I always tell them that once the word is on the wall, they should own it or take it to heart. It is okay to forget but it is then their responsibility to find that word to refresh their memory. One early expert once told me that it takes 100-150 encounters with a sight word to become a word known by sight. That could happen in a week, a month or even longer.

We use textured walls (brick, concrete) or plastic, textured grid-like sheets under white paper and would have the students copy (or trace) a word 3xs using a red crayon. They would see it (copy or trace), say it, and write it. They would also arm tap it - using both of these multi-sensory approaches (OG) really helps students remember tricky words. Here is a similar example: https://blog.maketaketeach.com/multi-sensory-activity-for-teaching-letters-and-sight-words/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6nGL_AQWtI