What are sight words?

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What are sight words?

Sight words are everywhere, but if you ask someone what exactly sight words are, the answer is often not very clear. Let’s break it down in simple words.

What Are Sight Words?

The term sight word refers to any word that a reader can recognize instantly, without needing to sound it out. These are words that children store in their memory and can recall at a glance. That’s why they are called sight words.

Interestingly, any word can become a sight word. For example, common words like the, is, and, you are sight words because children encounter them so often in books. But even longer words like elephant or football can eventually become sight words if a child reads them frequently enough.

How Children Create Their Own Sight Words

When children read regularly, they automatically build a personal bank of sight words. If a child loves reading about animals, words like lion or tiger may quickly become sight words for them. On the other hand, a child who enjoys space books might easily recognize words like moon or rocket. This happens naturally through repetition and exposure.

 

Why Sight Words Are Important

Sight words are extremely helpful for young readers. They:

  • Allow children to read more fluently without pausing to sound out every letter.

  • Build reading confidence by making sentences easier to understand.

  • Help kids focus on meaning rather than getting stuck on decoding.

The more sight words a child knows, the smoother and faster their reading becomes.

The First 100 Fry Sight Words

Educators often use word lists to guide sight word teaching. One of the most popular lists is the Fry Sight Word List, which arranges words by frequency of use. Here are the first 100 Fry words:

Set 1: the, of, and, a, to, in, is, you, that, it
Set 2: he, was, for, on, are, as, with, his, they, I
Set 3: at, be, this, have, from, or, one, had, by, word
Set 4: but, not, what, all, were, we, when, your, can, said
Set 5: there, use, an, each, which, she, do, how, their, if
Set 6: will, up, other, about, out, many, then, them, these, so
Set 7: some, her, would, make, like, him, into, time, has, look
Set 8: two, more, write, go, see, number, no, way, could, people
Set 9: my, than, first, water, been, called, who, am, its, now
Set 10: find, long, down, day, did, get, come, made, may, part

Teaching Sight Words Step by Step

Instead of overwhelming children with too many words at once, it is best to introduce them in small sets. A simple method is to teach 10 new words each week. This allows time for practice through games, flashcards, and reading activities. After 10 weeks, children will already know the first 100 Fry sight words, which appear in almost half of all written texts!

Remember, any word can become a sight word if a child encounters it often enough. While lists like Fry’s are helpful, the ultimate goal is for children to build a large bank of instantly recognizable words that make reading fluent, easy, and enjoyable.

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