It is so super-satisfying to drag those magnetic dots around! Watch the video below for lots of tips on introducing a word using this process. Play dough squishing for each sound is the ultimate multi-sensory component. Set up a routine that works for any word. This is a genius way to introduce words with appealing materials: Say the word, represent each sound with a LEGO brick, write letters for each sound, and “drive” to read it. Sight Word Activities for Introducing Words 1. Experts often call these words “heart words” to call out for kids that they should learn the unexpected word parts “by heart.” (If all this is unfamiliar to you, it can feel overwhelming, but you’ve got this! Check out teaching guru Jillian Starr’s explanation for more help.)Ĭheck out these low-prep and engaging sight word activities for both teaching and practicing words. Even irregularly spelled words have decodable parts, e.g., kids can use the sounds of “s” and “d” to help with “said,” even if the “ai” is unexpected. Many common words are easy to tackle using beginning phonics skills (like “at,” “can,” “him,” etc.), so staying true to a strong phonics curriculum is one way to support kids’ sight word learning. The science of reading tells us that linking sounds and letters is the most effective way for kids’ brains to learn any word. It’s a myth that blindly memorizing every letter in a sight word is the only way to learn it. Sight words are any words readers recognize automatically “by sight”-for fluent readers, that’s almost all words! High-frequency words, the most commonly occurring words in written English like those on the Dolch list, are often thought of as the most crucial sight words.

Note that, different from learning phonics, the child does not need to know the letters’ sounds.įree Fry Sight Words flashcards are available at: or click the Downloads on the right side of this page.Teachers are always on the hunt for great sight word activities. When prompted with a letter, the child should be able to name the letter quickly and confidently. Learning all 1,000 words in the Fry sight word list would equip a child to read about 90% of the words in a typical book, newspaper, or website.īefore a child starts learning sight words, it is important that he/she be able to recognize and name all the lower-case letters of the alphabet. Edward Fry developed this expanded list in the 1950s (and updated it in 1980), based on the most common words to appear in reading materials used in Grades 3-9. The Fry Sight Word list is a more modern list of words, and was extended to capture the most common 1,000 words. Memorizing these words with unnatural spellings and pronunciations teaches not only these words but also helps the reader recognize similar words, such as guy, walk, or some. Non-Phonetic Words - Words that cannot be decoded phonetically, such as buy, talk, or come.Memorizing these words makes reading much easier and smoother, because the child already recognizes most of the words and can concentrate their efforts on new words. Frequently Used Words - Words that occur commonly in the English language, such as it, can, and will.The best way to learn sight words is through lots and lots of repetition, in the form of flashcard exercises and word-focused games. Knowing common, or high frequency, words by sight makes reading easier and faster, because the reader does not need to stop to try and sound out each individual word, letter by letter. Learning sight words allows a child to recognize these words at a glance - on sight - without needing to break the words down into their individual letters and is the way strong readers recognize most words.

Sight words are words that should be memorized to help a child learn to read and write.

First grade sight words