How Can I Teach Sight Words?

Sight words. Heart words. Puzzle words. Trick words. Red words. Snap words. Words that have tricky spellings and aren’t phonetically regular go by a lot of names! These words — which we will call sight words — include words such as through, because, school, the, was. Reading these words requires a strategy beyond “sound it out” because the words do not follow a phonetically predictable pattern.

What can we do to help readers read and spell sight words?

✅ Move away from the idea that they all need to be memorized
✅ Help readers see how to sound out the word much as possible – there are usually parts that are phonetically regular!
✅ Point out the unusual part for the reader to notice
❌ Do not spend time having readers memorize phonetically regular words such as and, at, it, and sit.
✅ Instead spend time on words such as the, when, and should, which do not follow normal phonetic patterns. These are true puzzle words.

Why is it beneficial to teach sight words?

🎉 Reading sight words dvances reading skill: Sight words aren’t entirely decodable, and so reading some words requires a strategy other than “sound it out”.
😎 Reading sight words builds confidence: A reader becomes more confident when they don't have to sound out every. single. word.
📚 Reading sight words builds comprehension: Having to sound out every word usually means losing the speed and fluency that is necessary for determining the author’s message.

When we teach sight words, we help readers to build confidence in reading irregular words and allow them to focus on decoding words that are less familiar and more difficult.

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