{"podcast":{"title":"play on words","slug":"play-on-words-6399561","podcast_index_feed_id":6399561,"rss_url":"https://feeds.zencastr.com/f/B4HeOMxA.rss","website_url":"https://www.bigcityreaders.com/","image_url":"https://media.zencastr.com/image-files/643d94b7e5cd786efbd7958c/e7504645-5337-4b02-8927-e5d3e551d61d.PNG","author":"miss beth","episode_count":83,"summary":"Learning to read starts with learning to play. This is the podcast for parents and teachers of kids ages 0-8 who want to have FUN learning evidence backed early development and literacy strategies in a short amount of time. This is the podcast for the teacher who needs a bestie to ask questions to and the parent who wants to know the best developmental practices to implement in the 3 minutes a day they have. You're not alone. Ask your questions here. If I can't answer them, one of my friends will be on to help! There are so many confusing parts about the learning to read journey. Miss Beth is here to simplify it, affirm you are the best person to teach your child, and give you the confidence you need in the early childhood education years. This podcast is for fun, community and confidence making tough topics more bite sized for every parent teacher and child.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-23T02:21:13.034856+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/play-on-words-6399561"},"episode":{"title":"Ep. 68 Sight Words: The Good, the Bad & the What Were They Thinking?!","slug":"ep-68-sight-words-the-good-the-bad-the-what-were-they-thinking","published_at":"2025-04-10T19:43:26+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/play-on-words-6399561/ep-68-sight-words-the-good-the-bad-the-what-were-they-thinking","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/play-on-words-6399561","url":"https://zencastr.com/z/1EdZJbUQ","audio_url":"https://redirect.zencastr.com/r/episode/67f81f5eda168068bdef602b/size/150518133/video-files/643d94b7e5cd786efbd7958c/1d8c1b8b-f380-42bd-9b62-7555027afb52.mp4","summary":"In this episode of Play On Words, Miss Beth is bringing the heat—and the research—on one of the most asked-about early reading topics: sight words. What even are sight words? Should your child be memorizing them? Is there a better way? What do syllables have to do with all this? And what should you do if your child's school is sending home flashcards and calling it a day? Whether you've got a preschooler being told to memorize a word list or you're just trying to figure out what \"high frequency\" really means—this one's for you. ✨ We'll cover: * The difference between sight words and high-frequency words (yes, there's a difference!) * Why some approaches to teaching sight words are actually holding kids back * What you can do to help your child recognize words with confidence * Open vs. closed syllables (in a way that actually makes sense) * Miss Beth's favorite sight word activities that don't rely on memorizing 📩 A real parent question kicks things off: \"My child goes to a play-based preschool. I asked what their literacy goals are and they said they're introducing memorizing sight words. Is this the right track?\" Spoiler: Miss Beth has thoughts. And she's not afraid to say what's helpful—and what's just hype. Grab your headphones, kiss your brain, and let's talk about what really works when it comes to growing strong, confident readers.","meta_description":"In this episode of Play On Words, Miss Beth is bringing the heat—and the research—on one of the most asked-about early reading topics: sight words. What e…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1804,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/play-on-words-6399561/episodes/ep-68-sight-words-the-good-the-bad-the-what-were-they-thinking/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/play-on-words-6399561/ep-68-sight-words-the-good-the-bad-the-what-were-they-thinking.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}