Reading is a fun, engaging way to develop early phonics in children, and as their literacy gradually develops, they become more familiar with the words they see. Recognising sight words is a good sign that your child’s reading comprehension is expanding, but what exactly are sight words?
What are Sight Words?
Sight words, also known as high-frequency words, are basically words that frequently appear in any written text that children can immediately recognise. In most cases, sight words account for 80% of the text in a children’s book. Given how often these words appear, children will gradually memorise them without needing any strategies (such as sounding out the word) to recall their function or meaning. The more they read, the more familiar they become with these sight words. In turn, their reading speed and fluency improve, thereby benefiting their comprehension.
Sight words cannot be pictured with descriptive terms, so they can only be memorised and understood instead of decoded. The most common sight words are those that add direction and meaning to the English language, which more often than not include adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, pronouns, prepositions, and verbs. They may be short words with differences in spelling and pronunciation that do not follow regular spelling rules. Most are phonetically irregular, where the sound to pronounce a sight word may not match its spelling.
In kindergarten, most children learn their sight words through a helpful list of the most common words they will encounter in their reading. Sight words are categorised across different grade levels through systems like the Dolch Word List.
Why are Sight Words Important?
There are a few key reasons young children will need to learn sight words.
Reduced Cognitive Load
Memorising sight words can be helpful in the long run, as it frees up cognitive resources for learning other words through decoding or other means.
Improve Fluency
Even though sight words are difficult to illustrate, mastering the basic sight words still helps improve linguistic fluency. It encourages children to understand the text rather than struggle to decode every word.
Confidence Boosters
Mastering sight words also gives your child the confidence to learn new words, providing the foundations they need to develop their overall literacy further.
Enjoyable Reading
Children also become more inclined to read on their own, making it an enjoyable hobby for passing the time or sharing with parents and friends.
A List of Sight Words for Kindergarten
As children grow older, the number of sight words they must learn increases gradually. At the kindergarten level, there are approximately 90 sight words to learn. Remember that learning sight words does help them grasp more complex words and pronunciations, which is vital to their fluency journey.
Here is a small but comprehensive list of some common sight words your child may learn in kindergarten:
A | All | Am | And |
At | Ate | Be | Big |
Blue | But | Came | Can |
Come | Did | Do | Eat |
Find | Four | For | Funny |
Get | Go | Good | Have |
He | Help | Here | I |
In | Is | It | Jump |
Like | Look | Make | Me |
Must | My | No | Not |
Now | On | One | Our |
Out | Please | Ran | Red |
Run | Said | Saw | See |
Say | She | That | The |
There | They | This | Three |
Too | Up | Want | Was |
We | Well | Went | What |
Where | Who | Yes |
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Tips to Teach Your Child to Read Sight Words
Since sight words can seem tricky to teach due to their phonetically irregular nature and spelling exceptions, here are some handy tips you can try to help your children master sight words.
Take It Slow
It is perfectly fine to start small and gradually build up as your child’s confidence increases. Instead of working on a complete sight word list, choose a few and work on them first. You can always start with five sight words per session to reduce the risk of information overload. Once your child has mastered the first batch, move on to the next five. Keeping sessions short and simple can benefit your child’s fluency with a solid understanding of sight words, rather than leaving them to struggle with so many they are still mastering.
Stay Consistent
Consistency is crucial to help your child’s progress when learning sight words. Fifteen minutes of practice daily is more than sufficient compared to longer, less frequent ones. Over time, this will become a healthy habit your child adopts into their routine, further supporting their fluency journey.
Read Together
If you have already inculcated family reading time in your children’s lives, these reading sessions can do plenty of good in helping them learn sight words quickly. You can first say a sight word aloud, then repeat it a few times, before you ask your child to repeat what you said. If they stumble, pause and offer reassurance before letting them try again. Remind them that it is okay to take it slow and steady. Patience will be key to helping them grasp the word’s spelling and pronunciation.
Make It Fun
Learning should always be a fun process, and infusing your sight word sessions with engaging activities can make it easier for your child to pick up on sight words. Board games, sight-word hunts, and flashcard memory games can add an extra dimension to their learning. Outdoor learning activities can also be an exciting way to get their attention and help them develop their fluency. Let your child suggest sight words for specific scenarios, such as “Should I have a cookie or ice cream?”
Reward Small Successes
Learning sight words can be frustrating for your child, and helping them overcome their discouragement can fuel renewed growth in fluency. Celebrate small wins with them so they feel good about their progress, no matter how small it might seem. Have patience and understanding so that, even if they fail, you can always encourage them in the right way to help them improve. Tell them that failing is a part of the learning process, and what is essential is how they respond to failure.
At Read With Me, teaching sight words is one of the many fundamentals we teach to young, curious minds to strengthen their linguistic fluency. Want to know more about our various tutoring programmes and how we empower your kids with the education they need? Contact us today to learn more!
