Literacy-Sight Words

What are sight words?

• These are words which your child easily recognize when reading without having to attempt to decode for meaning or pronunciation.  These words may include "the", "who", and "what".  Sight words typically result from seeing the words frequently in text.  Over time, with more exposure to reading materials and practice, many or most words become sight words for skilled readers.
• Sight words also result from your child becoming familiar with letter and sound patterns.  Here's some examples: "s" followed by an "h" produces the "shuuhhh" sound, "c" before "a" produces a hard "c" sound (kuuuhhh).

How can I help my child?

Sight words are very important as your child's literacy develops.  Since sight words can be learned with frequent exposure, providing your children with plenty of reading material is essential.  You can work with your child to learn a wide array of words, as well as work with them on learning the sounds that are associated with the letters.  This can be done with homemade flashcards or simply while reading aloud.

Are learning sight words enough to become a skilled reader?

No. It should be noted that learning sight words is not enough alone to help your child become a skilled reader.  While a child may be able to identify and say a sight word, they may not be able to construct meaning from the text.  Helping your child with reading comprehension as well as many factors are equally important (see label Literacy-Comprehension Strategies and Literacy-Helping Your Child Become a Skilled Reader for more info)

References

Griffin, P. (2011). Printed word identification [Power Point Slides].  Retrieved from online lecture notes.