Newspaper Fun or Site Word Help

A fun activity to help children with site words is to use the newspaper!  I believe learning can be fun and one key to this is variety.  I try to come up with as many different ways to practice academic things with my children.
This was our “fun” today.  I have printed up a list of the site words that my Son is learning in school.  I then grabbed the newspaper and some highlighters.  I quickly looked to see what word, from his list, was used the most in the newspaper(the).  I then made a mark at the beginning of every line that this word (the) was used in.  Then my Son went through and highlighted the word “the” every time he saw it.  I then chose another word from his list and a new highlighter color.  Then, my Son went through and found that new word.  We did this with four words today.  He LOVED it. 
A few tips:  I make sure to repeat the word that he is working on as he works on it.  This helps reinforce not just what the word looks like but how it sounds as well.  I also ask him what word he is working on or just worked on.  It helps for him to see the word, hear the word, and to be saying the word himself.
Another tip is that I only have him work on one word at a time, otherwise it is too hard for him.
My last tip is just explaining why I make a mark in front of each line that has his site word in it.  The newspaper has a whole lot of words.  At this point, for my Son, it would be too overwhelming for him to find the words completely on his own.  So, the marks help him narrow down his search.
We also did 3 pages of this and not just the front page, so he got lots of practice seeing his words.
I also like this activity because it gets my children familiar with a newspaper. I always remember my Dad reading the newspaper at breakfast and so I had positive memories and thoughts connected with the newspaper.  To this day when I read the newspaper, I think of my Dad.  Positive thoughts and memories with reading is always a great thing!

Other ways that I am having my Son practice his site words are as flashcards.  I have flashcards for each of my children that are current for something they are studying in school.  I keep them in a bag by the door.  Then, every time we head out I grab the bag.  Instead of the kids being bored waiting in line, we pull out the flashcards and practice their school concepts.  Even if we only have time to go through the flashcards once, that is one more time to help memorize whatever new concept they are working on!
I also play a memory game with them by having two sets of the words and he has to match all the sets of words, with them turned over.
Play hopscotch with his words in each section.  He can only jump on that section if he can say the word. 
I use the words in other ways.  One example would be to come up with words that rhyme with his site words. 
We also keep these words handy as we read books and I will point them out as we read.  This works especially well if you have an older child that is reading.  You have the older child pause at his site words and he reads them!  They love helping each other out!
Rebecca