Seashells Sight Word Them: 4 Clever Collect-and-Read Turns

Read the seashell lines all the way through

I can see them.
Put them in the bucket.

Let an adult read these two them sentences while the child follows the print. Give the child a second turn in which they read as much as they can and get help with unfamiliar words. When they circle them, ask them to reread the sentence so it still sounds like something a person could say.

On a third turn, read the lines in reverse order and ask which one the child remembers by meaning. Look again at where them shows up. If finding it by sight was easy but making sense of the sentence was hard, return briefly to the opening situation before tracing again.

A slow rehearsal of the spelling them

Start them with the voiced th heard at the start of then. Follow e with the final m, which is the only letter that differs between the two printed words. They ends differently and normally has another vowel. Let the reader check the whole word on each shell before coloring one.

Start the them tracing panel with an adult demonstration on the first pale model. Let the learner point at each letter and then write a single guided example. If the finished model is readable, use the independent space when the child has the letter order in mind. Point back to the large spelling after the new word is written.

Use the blank end of the line for one complete them. A child who leans very close to the dots can first write on a larger scrap of paper. Give them a moment to compare shapes and positions. Ask which letters are easy to identify and which need a fresh look at the larger model.

Four ways to check the seashells reading

Which seashells labels should get color?

The search choices on this sheet are that, them, them, they, then, them. Read across the top row and then the bottom. Have the child pause on that and then to explain something visible that makes each a different spelling from them. Color only once the group can show the exact match.

Let a partner cover one row of the Seashell Word Adventure search, leaving the other row and the large reference in view. Check the labels with a finger before asking for any color. Reveal the covered row after the first row is settled. That keeps the child from counting pictures they already checked during a second pass.

Use the search as two separate jobs. One child reads the them candidate out loud and another compares it with the model from left to right. When the children agree, use a soft color so a later reader can still see the whole word inside the picture.

Try the seashells conversation in two settings

At home. Gather paper shells on a plate and say where the learner should put them. If a child picks up a different group of objects, give the shells a name before repeating the same instruction. Then have the child give an instruction back.

With a class. A group labels the first pile smooth shells and the second striped shells. A reporter says which pile is in view and reads Put them in the bucket. A listener holds up the complete intended group so the class can verify the reference.

A first grade reader around ages six or seven may need oral rehearsal for a them sentence but manage the spelling with little help. Keep a pencil turn brief in that situation. Have an adult point to a clause or phrase and let the child finish reading it before asking them to repeat a more difficult part.

Five signs of a stronger them reading turn

• Letter order. Ask the child to explain one difference between them and they.
• Sound and print. Listen together, then revisit the part of them covered in the spelling rehearsal.
• Controlled movement. Compare the spacing of one fresh them with the model above it.
• Attention to sentence details. Pick one statement from the seashells lesson and have a partner act it out.
• Independent reading. Let a listener who missed the first seashells turn read the new caption.

Give them a short place in tomorrow's reading too. Let the child find it once in the worksheet or in a new sentence you have written. End on a successful read and invite them to choose one seashells task for the next visit.

Show which shells a visitor should collect

Try the same references with picture cards for crayons, blocks or leaves. Ask the reader to make a request using them and a location such as beside the book. A partner identifies the objects and checks where to put them. If more than one group fits, add an earlier sentence to set the reference before trying once more.

Give a learner a drawing of a mixed beach with groups of shells and stones. A partner reads an instruction with them after naming one group. Ask another listener to follow it without watching where the first person pointed. If different pieces move, reread the naming sentence and discuss where the reader could add a clearer reference.

Try a collection instruction with two possible groups of shells. Name the group on the left first, then ask the child to put them on a pretend display. Before the partner moves anything, have the reader restate which shells are meant. The reading practice ends with a new situation in which the pieces have already been moved and a learner points at the same group while reading I can see them aloud. Have the child say the group name again for someone entering the room.

More places to read after the seashells lesson

When the them lesson is finished, choose a brief next turn with a lesson with the ap word family, a printable lesson for leg, or practice with the five short vowels. Ask what changed when the new task moved to a different word or sound.

Adults planning the next seashells session can use UF Literacy Institute’s high-frequency word materials or Reading Rockets’ high-frequency word teaching guide.

Print and revisit worksheet 12

The original them PDF is the free download. An eligible membership also provides the clean Seashell Word Adventure PDF. Print on US Letter in portrait. Check the line guides and word labels on a single sheet before making a classroom stack.

The $4 set places them on page 12 of the twenty-sheet PDF. Use the collection when you want a single download for the supplied words from of through know.