Making Reading Easier ~ Sight Words

My youngest child found learning to read was such hard work! Sometimes she needed to sip some water, breath hard, cuddle a soft toy while she battled on … It was not easy learning to read! Teaching sight words is a very important and helpful tool to make reading easier.

Sight words are also called high frequency sight words, which are commonly used words that young children are encouraged to memorize as a whole by sight, so that they can automatically recognize these words in print without having to use any strategies to decode. ~ Wikipedia

Sight words often cover almost half the reading material on a page. By memorizing sight words, a child can recognize and recall these words and do not need to decode or break up and sound out every letter. With all the smaller, ‘easier’ sight words ‘jumping’ out the page, it leaves the rest of the words on the page to decode which requires much less stress and less effort to read the page. I have compiled a comprehensive Sight Words eBook with Dolche lists and high frequency word lists as well as games and activities to order on my Packages page. What sight words does my junior child need to know? Here are recommended sight words in this list below words from Ruth Beechick’s book A Home Start In Reading (pg.15,16) I highly recommend her Home Start Series!

ago all am an and any are as ask at	be been best black blue brown but by	call can cent come cry	day did do does dog done don’t drink	eat end eight even ever every
keep kid kind knew know	land little last long lay look led lost left leg lend less let like	man many may me meet men met much must my	need never next nine no not now	of out off over old on one only open or orange our

pen pet pick pink play please pull purple put	quick quiet quite	ran read red rest ring run rush	sad said same sat saw say see set seven she sit six so some stop sun	take tall talk tell ten that the their then them there they this three too two
under until up upon us use	water we weak week well went were wet what when where which who whom why write	yellow yes you yours	could should would	words that sounds the same to too two its it’s for four new knew there their

These are sight word games we play:

peg – find the words laid out on the carpet and peg them on the line.
grabbing hanging words off the line – finding the word I read aloud as quickly as possible
snap – match same words (instant recognition)
winning cards – if she reads them without any help or sounding out – she keeps the card (and gets rich!)
sight word hop-scotch – jumping on the correct word on the floor
group same sound/ spelling words
throwing bean bags on the word on the floor in front of her as she sounds them out (upper body work out if she is lying over a gym ball and holding herself up on her hands while I hold her legs – as in wheelbarrow stance)
sight word sit ups – she lies on her back (on the floor or on a gym ball) with the word, rolls up to say it and give it to me (I’m holding her feet)
sight word direction game – read the word aloud and put it left/right/front/back according to the arrow chart I point to (helps improve spatial awareness which helps prevent reversals in reading – d/b or t/f)

You’ll notice that I’m sneaky ~ we play physical games to increase muscle tone and upper body strength. This also improve posture and handwriting skills. Ask your local occupational therapist for more ideas if your child needs help in these areas. You can download this word wall here ~ Mini Office Lapbook Practice makes good readers – practice these sight word activities daily until mastered!

Blessings, Nadene

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