When you’re a new teacher, the number of buzzwords that you have to master seems overwhelming at times. You’ve probably heard about many concepts, but you may not be entirely sure what they are or how to use them in your classroom. For example, new teacher Katy B. asks, “This seems like a really basic question, but what are sight words, and where do I find them?” No worries, Katy. We have you covered!
What’s the difference between sight words and high-frequency words?
Oftentimes we use the terms sight words and high-frequency words interchangeably. Opinions differ, but our research shows that there is a difference. High-frequency words are words that are most commonly found in written language. Although some fit standard phonetic patterns, some do not. Sight words are a subset of high-frequency words that do not fit standard phonetic patterns and are therefore not easily decoded.
We use both types of words consistently in spoken and written language, and they also appear in books, including textbooks, and stories. Once students learn to quickly recognize these words, reading comes more easily.
What are sight words and how can I teach my students to memorize them?
Sight words are words like come, does, or who that do not follow the rules of spelling or the six types of syllables. Decoding these words can be very difficult for young learners. The common practice has been to teach students to memorize these words as a whole, by sight, so that they can recognize them immediately (within three seconds) and read them without having to use decoding skills.
Can I teach sight words using the science of reading?
On the other hand, recent findings based on the science of reading suggests we can use strategies beyond rote memorization. According to the the science of reading, it is possible to sound out many sight words because they have recognizable patterns. Literacy specialist Susan Jones, a proponent of using the science of reading to teach sight words, recommends a method called phoneme-grapheme mapping where students first map out the sounds they hear in a word and then add graphemes (letters) they hear for each sound.
How else can I teach sight words?
There are many fun and engaging ways to teach sight words. Dozens of books on the subject have been published, including the much-revered Comprehensive Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Guide by Fountas & Pinnell. Also, resources like games, manipulatives, and flash cards are readily available online and in stores. To help get you started, check out these Creative and Simple Sight Word Activities for the Classroom. Also, check out Susan Jones Teaching for three science-of-reading-based ideas and more.
Where do I find sight word lists?
Two of the most popular sources are the Dolch High Frequency Words list and the Fry High Frequency Words list.
During the 1930s and 1940s, Dr. Edward Dolch developed his word list, used for pre-K through third grade, by studying the most frequently occurring words in the children’s books of that era. The list has 200 “service words” and also 95 high-frequency nouns. The Dolch word list comprises 80 percent of the words you would find in a typical children’s book and 50 percent of the words found in writing for adults.
Dr. Edward Fry developed an expanded word list for grades 1–10 in the 1950s (updated in 1980), based on the most common words that appear in reading materials used in grades 3–9. The Fry list contains the most common 1,000 words in the English language. The Fry words include 90 percent of the words found in a typical book, newspaper, or website.
Looking for more sight word activities? Check out 20 Fun Phonics Activities and Games for Early Readers.
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Sight Word Assessment — Literacy Assessment Toolkit · What are sight words? Sight Word Assessment Assessment and Progress Monitoring for the Dolch 220 Sight Words Make, Take & Teach
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Sight WordAssessment
Dolch 220 Sight Words
Assessment
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What are sight words?
Sight WordAssessment
Assessment and Progress Monitoring for the
Dolch 220 Sight Words
Make, Take & Teach
Sight words are words that are used frequently in reading and
writing. Because these words are used so often, it is important
that readers are able to recognize them quickly without having to
sound them out. It is estimated that these words make up between
50-70% of the words we encounter in text.Assessing sight words
Before beginning instruction, it is important to know which
sight words the student(s) area able to indentify. Student
assessment forms as well as the Dolch sight word lists (220 Dolch
sight words divided into 9 lists) are provided. First choose the
appropriate assessment form. For students just learning words, you
may wish to use only the assessment form and materials for lists
1-3. For older students, use the assessment materials for all 9
lists. Simply point to the word on the list and put a + in the
square on the form if the student was able to say the word. If the
student hesitates for more than 3 seconds before providing the
word, sounds out the word, or provides an incorrect word, put a —
in the square. If the student identifies less than half the words
on a given list, consider stopping the assessment. When the
assessment is completed, count the number of correct words and
record the date and the number of words on the progress summary
form. -
Tracking student progressStudent progress can also be tracked on
the graphs provided. First you will need to choose the correct
graph for the student. For students just learning sight words, you
will want to use the graphs for lists 1-3 only. Record the date at
the bottom of the graph. Provide your student with a crayon and
have him/her color the column up to the number of correct
words.How often to test sight wordsPeriodically assess the student to
ensure he/she is making progress. There is no rule as to how often
to assess sight words. This determination will need to be made by
you based on your knowledge of the student and how quickly he/she
is learning words. Many schools assess sight words three times a
year during first and second grade. For students who have
intervention plans, assessment of sight words will occur more
frequently (twice a month).How many sight words should students know?Schools differ greatly
in the number of sight words expected at each grade level. Below is
a guidelin that you may consider. These targets were developed by a
committee of reading specialists and teacher consultants.Kindergarten: Winter- 12+, Spring- 25+First Grade: Fall- 25+,
Winter= 100+, Spring- 175+Second Grade: Fall- 175+, Winter- 220List One
and
it
his
they
with
a
in
she
had
all
the
I
was
for
at
to
you
said
on
him
he
of
that
but
up
-
List Three
like
me
are
no
over
this
yes
if
ask
its
get
my
big
now
very
them
would
went
long
an
one
will
come
came
your
List Two
look
out
we
do
what
her
be
then
could
see
is
as
am
can
so
there
have
little
when
not
some
go
down
did
were
-
List Five
by
after
help
yellow
or
here
think
going
six
eat
away
saw
ran
sleep
walk
old
call
let
brown
two
their
well
make
five
before
List Four
ride
from
want
put
every
just
any
how
got
jump
into
good
dont
too
pretty
blue
about
know
take
green
red
around
right
where
four
-
List Seven
ten
always
run
only
hold
bring
once
open
three
funny
black
goes
soon
has
our
white
write
made
find
better
does
drink
gave
us
buy
List Six
again
stop
cold
tell
first
who
never
fly
keep
new
play
off
today
much
try
been
seven
myself
give
must
may
eight
round
work
start
-
List Nine
hot
clean
sing
many
far
best
please
laugh
wash
live
upon
thank
show
draw
these
wish
because
grow
together
shall
List Eight
warm
use
hurt
sit
under
full
say
cut
fall
why
ate
fast
pull
which
read
those
light
kind
carry
own
done
pick
both
small
found
-
Date
the
to
and
he
a
I
you
it
of
in
was
said
his
that
she
for
on
they
but
had
at
him
with
up
all
Total
Date
look
is
her
there
some
out
as
be
have
go
we
am
then
little
down
do
can
could
when
did
what
so
see
not
were
Total
Date
get
them
like
one
this
my
would
me
will
yes
big
went
are
come
if
now
long
no
came
ask
very
an
over
your
its
Total
Sight Word Assessment Lists 1 — 3
List 1 List 2 List 3
Name
-
Date
ride
into
just
blue
red
from
good
any
about
around
want
dont
how
know
right
put
too
got
take
where
every
pretty
jump
green
four
Total
Date
away
old
by
their
here
saw
call
after
well
think
ran
let
help
make
going
sleep
brown
yellow
five
six
walk
two
or
before
eat
Total
Date
again
play
who
been
may
stop
off
never
seven
eight
cold
today
fly
myself
round
tell
much
keep
give
work
first
try
new
must
start
Total
Sight Word Assessment Lists 4 — 6
List 4 List 5 List 6
Name
-
Date
black
white
ten
does
bring
goes
write
always
drink
once
soon
made
run
gave
open
has
find
only
us
three
our
better
hold
buy
funny
Total
Date
warm
ate
full
those
done
use
fast
say
light
pick
hurt
pull
cut
kind
both
sit
which
fall
carry
small
under
read
why
own
found
Total
Date
wash
show
hot
because
far
live
draw
clean
grow
best
upon
these
sing
together
please
thank
wish
many
shall
laugh
Total
Sight Word Assessment Lists 7 — 9
List 7 List 8 List 9
Name
-
Sight Word Progress Summary
Date
Name
Number of Words
-
Words I KnowLists 1 — 3
Name Dat
e
5
75
60
65
70
25
20
15
10
40
35
30
50
45
55
-
Words I KnowLists 4 — 6
Name Dat
e
5
75
60
65
70
25
20
15
10
40
35
30
50
45
55
-
Words I KnowLists 1 — 9
Name Dat
e
75
210
180
190
200
110
100
90
80
140
130
120
160
150
170
220
-
Make, Take & Teach Sight Word Activities
Thank you so much for downloading this freebie. Please visit the
Make, Take & Teach TpT store to check out theseactivities designed to teach and practice sight words.
Overview
Learn the history behind Dolch and Fry sight words, and why they are important in developing fluent readers.
More
Lessons
Follow the sight words teaching techniques. Learn research-validated and classroom-proven ways to introduce words, reinforce learning, and correct mistakes.
More
Flash Cards
Print your own sight words flash cards. Create a set of Dolch or Fry sight words flash cards, or use your own custom set of words.
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Games
Play sight words games. Make games that create fun opportunities for repetition and reinforcement of the lessons.
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- Overview
- What Are Sight Words?
- Types of Sight Words
- When to Start
- Scaling & Scaffolding
- Research
- Questions and Answers
1. Overview
Sight words instruction is an excellent supplement to phonics instruction. Phonics is a method for learning to read in general, while sight words instruction increases a child’s familiarity with the high frequency words he will encounter most often.
The best way to learn sight words is through lots and lots of repetition, in the form of flashcard exercises and word-focused games.
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2. What Are Sight Words?
Sight words are words that should be memorized to help a child learn to read and write. 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. 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.
Sight Words are memorized so that a child can recognize commonly used or phonetically irregular words at a glance, without needing to go letter-by-letter.
Other terms used to describe sight words include: service words, instant words (because you should recognize them instantly), snap words (because you should know them in a snap), and high frequency words. You will also hear them referred to as Dolch words or Fry words, the two most commonly used sight words lists.
Sight words are the glue that holds sentences together.
These pages contain resources to teach sight words, including: sight words flash cards, lessons, and games. If you are new to sight words, start with the teaching strategies to get a road map for teaching the material, showing you how to sequence the lessons and activities.
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3. Types of Sight Words
Sight words fall into two categories:
- Frequently Used Words — Words that occur commonly in the English language, such as it, can, and will. 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. For example, knowing just the Dolch Sight Words would enable you to read about 50% of a newspaper or 80% of a children’s book.
- Non-Phonetic Words — Words that cannot be decoded phonetically, such as buy, talk, or come. 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.
There are several lists of sight words that are in common use, such as Dolch, Fry, Top 150, and Core Curriculum. There is a great deal of overlap among the lists, but the Dolch sight word list is the most popular and widely used.
3.1 Dolch Sight Words
The Dolch Sight Words list is the most commonly used set of sight words. Educator Dr. Edward William Dolch developed the list in the 1930s-40s by studying the most frequently occurring words in children’s books of that era. The list contains 220 “service words” plus 95 high-frequency nouns. The Dolch sight words comprise 80% of the words you would find in a typical children’s book and 50% of the words found in writing for adults. Once a child knows the Dolch words, it makes reading much easier, because the child can then focus his or her attention on the remaining words.
More
3.2 Fry Sight Words
The Fry Sight Words list is a more modern list of words, and was extended to capture the most common 1,000 words. Dr. 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. 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.
More
3.3 Top 150 Written Words
The Top 150 Written Words is the newest of the word lists featured on our site, and is commonly used by people who are learning to read English as a non-native language. This list consists of the 150 words that occur most frequently in printed English, according to the Word Frequency Book. This list is recommended by Sally E. Shaywitz, M.D., Professor of Learning Development at Yale University’s School of Medicine.
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3.4 Other Sight Words Lists
There are many newer variations, such as the Common Core sight words, that tweak the Dolch and Fry sight words lists to find the combination of words that is the most beneficial for reading development. Many teachers take existing sight word lists and customize them, adding words from their own classroom lessons.
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4. When to Start Teaching Sight Words
Before 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. When prompted with a letter, the child should be able to name the letter quickly and confidently. Note that, different from learning phonics, the child does not need to know the letters’ sounds.
Before starting sight words, a child needs to be able to recognize and name all the lower-case letters of the alphabet.
If a student’s knowledge of letter names is still shaky, it is important to spend time practicing this skill before jumping into sight words. Having a solid foundation in the ability to instantly recognize and name the alphabet letters will make teaching sight words easier and more meaningful for the child.
Go to our Lessons for proven strategies on how to teach and practice sight words with your child.
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5. Scaling & Scaffolding
Every child is unique and will learn sight words at a different rate. A teacher may have a wide range of skill levels in the same classroom. Many of our sight words games can be adjusted to suit different skill levels.
Many of our activity pages feature recommendations for adjusting the game to the needs of your particular child or classroom:
- Confidence Builders suggest ways to simplify a sight words game for a struggling student.
- Extensions offer tips for a child who loves playing a particular game but needs to be challenged more.
- Variations suggest ways to change up the game a little, by tailoring it to a child’s special interests or making it “portable.”
- Small Group Adaptations offer ideas for scaling up from an individual child to a small group (2-5 children), ensuring that every child is engaged and learning.
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6. Research
Our sight words teaching techniques are based not only on classroom experience but also on the latest in child literacy research. Here is a bibliography of some of the research supporting our approach to sight words instruction:
- Ceprano, M. A. “A review of selected research on methods of teaching sight words.” The Reading Teacher 35:3 (1981): 314-322.
- Ehri, Linnea C. “Grapheme–Phoneme Knowledge Is Essential for Learning to Read Words in English.” Word Recognition in Beginning Literacy. Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates, 1998.
- Enfield, Mary Lee, and Victoria Greene. Project Read. www.projectread.com. 1969.
- Gillingham, Anna, and Bessie W. Stillman. The Gillingham Manual: Remedial Training for Students with Specific Disability in Reading, Spelling, and Penmanship, 8th edition. Cambridge, MA: Educators Publishing Service, 2014.
- Nist, Lindsay, and Laurice M. Joseph. “Effectiveness and Efficiency of Flashcard Drill Instructional Methods on Urban First-Graders’ Word Recognition, Acquisition, Maintenance, and Generalization.” School Psychology Review 37:3 (Fall 2008): 294-308.
- Shaywitz, Sally E. Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Reading Problems at Any Level. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2003.
- Stoner, J.C. “Teaching at-risk students to read using specialized techniques in the regular classroom.” Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal 3 (1991).
- Wilson, Barbara A. “The Wilson Reading Method.” Learning Disabilities Journal 8:1 (February 1998): 12-13.
- Wilson, Barbara A. Wilson Reading System. Millbury, MA: Wilson Language Training, 1988.
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© 2023 Sight Words: Teach Your Child to Read
Автор: Горбушина Оксана Сергеевна
Организация: МБОУ «СОШ №18»
Населенный пункт: Челябинская область, г. Миасс
Обучение чтению на английском языке — достаточно сложное занятие, так как есть много слов, которые читаются не по правилам, в большинстве случаев это ставит детей любого возраста в тупик, и поэтому усложняется процесс обучения чтению.
Как следствие педагог, который обучает ребенка данному виду навыка, должен владеть не просто методикой преподавания иностранного языка, а желательно современными способами преподавания, чтобы процесс обучению чтению проходил быстро, эффективно и увлекательно для детей.
Мой педагогический опят в школе составляет 11 лет, за это время мы проходили разные курсы повышения квалификации, но, к сожалению, лично я не нашла той «изюминки», за которую хотелось зацепиться и начать использовать в своей практике. Но 2 года назад случилось чудо, я познакомилась с фонетическим подходом в обучении чтению и понятием «sight words». Если о фонетическом подходе я слышала, то о понятие « sight words » в университете и на курсах повышении квалификации не говорили, поэтому я стала изучать эту тему более подробно, чтобы понять, как знание sight words может облегчить процесс обучения чтению.
Понятие «Sight words» было введено американским писателем Едвардом Уиллиан Долч в 1930 — 1940 годах. Слово « sight » с английского переводится как «взгляд», а «words» — слова. В русском языке такого понятия не существует, но можно провести аналогию с высокочастотными словами. Так вот, sight words – это слова, которые ребенку важно запомнить, чтобы научиться читать и писать. Их нужно запоминать целиком как образ, без необходимости разбивать их на буквы. Изучение sight words помогает детям быстрее научиться читать на ранних этапах. Как правило, дети запоминают слова и при чтении не задумываются, почему буква в этом слове так читается, вследствие этого увеличивается скорость чтения. Дальше перечислены некоторые примеры sight words: I, you, she, he, one, two, this, that, have, some, come и т. д.
Теперь давайте поговорим подробнее, как мы знакомимся с этими словами на занятиях с детьми возрастом от 5 до 10 лет.
Я предпочитаю вводить sight word, когда оно встречается в контексте урока или искусственно создаю ситуацию, что бы нужное слово встретилось. Так, например, мы с детьми запоминали языковую конструкцию „She is …“, и на этом этапе я ввела sight word «she».
На доске я пишу изучаемое слово и прошу детей посмотреть сначала на доску, а затем видео, где показывается параллельно графическое написание слова и его звуковое произношение. Затем после просмотра видео дети должны сказать мне, как оно произноситься. В своей работе я использую видео с ютуб канала «Preschool Prep Company» . Каждое видео – это маленькая история о слове, которая воспринимается с удовольствием.
После того, как мы познакомились со звуковым содержанием слова, дети вырезают фигуру понравившегося им животного или фрукта из бумаги и клеят на нее печатный вариант слова. Затем с помощью скотча крепят эту картинку на тонкую шашлычную палочку и втыкают ее в коробку, где «живут» у нас все sight words. Такие веселые палочки повышают мотивацию детей и позволяют педагогу быстро повторить с детьми все изученные sight words.
На следующем уроке мы опять обращаемся к нашим коробочкам, сначала вспоминаем уже изученные слова, а потом продолжаем работу над новым словом. На втором этапе дети делают рабочий лист « worksheet », который помогает ученикам запомнить написание слова. Эти рабочие листы можно найти в интернете и распечатать. Обычно они включают в себя следующие задания: найди слово и обведи его в кружок, обведи буквы слова, раскрась буквы разными цветами, найди слово и выдели его маркером, напиши его, вырежи буквы слова и приклей их в правильном порядке. Работа с рабочим листом занимает максимум минут 10, но зато дети начинают его узнавать. Однако этого не достаточно, чтобы запомнить его окончательно.
Кроме того, периодически на занятиях мы возвращаемся к sight words и играем с ними. На листах формата А4 я печатаю по одному изучаемому слову, раскладываю листы на полу, предварительно вспомнив с детьми какое слово как читается. Задание заключается в том, что дети должны наступить на то слово, которое называет учитель. Здесь важно время от времени перемещать листы на полу, так как некоторые дети запоминают не слово, а место где лежит слово. Данная игра активная, позволяет детям подвигаться, отдохнуть и заодно выучить sight words.
И последнее, что я создала для лучшего изучения sight words – это была интерактивная игра на сайте Wordwall. Wordwall – представляет собой многофункциональный инструмент для создания как интерактивных, так и печатных материалов. Игры, созданные на этом сайте, очень удобно использовать при дистанционном обучении. Мной было создано вращающиеся колесо, которое делится на несколько разноцветных секторов. В каждом секторе написано определенное sight word. Задача детей — крутить колесо и называть то слово, на которое покажет стрелка. Ребята играют в эту игру с большим интересом.
После того, как мы проходим через все эти этапы, обычно дети без проблем узнают изученные слова и они не вызывают у них никаких трудностей на всех этапах обучения чтению и письму. Чтобы читатель мог прочувствовать и понять, как детям нравится изучать sight words, я создала презентацию, где можно проследить все этапы изучения этих « обычных необычных » слов.
Список литературы:
1. http://didaktor.ru/wordwall-zamechatelnaya-kollekciya-shablonov-didakticheskix-igr/
2. https://letterland.ru/cards/
3. https://vk.com/@english.stepbystep-sight-words-chto-eto-i-kak-s-nimi-rabotat.
Приложения:
- file1.pptx.zip.. 1,9 МБ
- file0.docx.. 20,0 КБ
Опубликовано: 17.05.2021
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Reading sight words (Worksheet)
Sight words are also called popcorn words, because they must be quickly recognized (like a popcorn kernel pops) so that students can read them fluently. In this presentation you’ll find some engaging activities and games for children who are beginning to learn to read.
Check this out as well:
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Planning for sight word instruction can be overwhelming. So many questions… Which sight word lists should I use? Why are there different sight words lists to begin with?!? Which one is better, Dolch or Fry? Does it even matter?!? Are sight words even that important? If you are an early literacy teacher just starting out, this can be so stressful! I mean, teaching kids is hard enough. Why do they make it even harder? Just tell me what to teach!
Where are Sight Words in the State Standards?
Where are they? Different states have different standards. Yes, several years ago there was a push toward a common set of standards nationwide. These were not to be confused with national standards as states had the option to choose to adopt them or not. (Nevermind the substantial federal grants that were tied to early adoption of the Common Core State Standards… but that’s another story for another day…).
Given that I live in Georgia, I’ll speak to my state’s standards.
Kindergarten Sight Word Standards
Sight word standards can be found in the Reading Foundations domain of the ELA standards in grades K-3. In Kindergarten, the standards actually spell out sight word mastery using the terms “sight words.”
1st Grade & Beyond Sight Word Standards
For first grade and beyond, the standards for sight words are a bit more cloaked. IT is important to realize that they are hidden within the Reading Foundations standards requiring first, second, and third graders to know irregularly spelled words for their respective grade-level.
Now, the super interesting part here is that there is no definition provided for exactly what constitutes a sight word or irregularly spelled word for a given grade level. This is not to mention that despite what so many teachers have taught in the past, MANY sight words ARE in fact decodable! (Look for an upcoming blog post about this specifically!
)
Which Sight Words List Should I Teach?
So what are we to use to teach sight words? Admittedly, both the Dolch and Fry sight word lists are both very renowned and highly touted.
But, which one is the right one? Which sight word list should we be using?
What are Dolch Sight Words?
Dolch sight words, trademarked by Edward William Dolch, were developed through his work in determining the most common words in children’s literature at the time. Keep in mind that this was nearing 80 years ago. The Dolch sight word lists are comprised of 220 sight words divvied out into five lists. He also had a separate list for nouns, 95 to be exact. Even though Dolch developed his lists many years ago, a majority of the words (50-75%) of words are still relevant today.
What are Fry Sight Words?
The Fry sight word lists are quite a bit more up-to-date. They were compiled in 1956, but were revised in 1980. Dr. Edward Fry examined print that we encounter most in our day-to-day lives. From his analysis, he produced a list of the most common 1,000 words. Although there is not a separate list for nouns as Dolch included, nouns are interwoven throughout Fry’s 1,000 word lists.
What is more, you may even see the Fry sight words referred to as Fry’s Instant Word Lists. By and large, teachers and parents encounter the Fry lists most commonly separated into groups of 100. Many educational resources further break down the Fry lists into groups of 25 to make instruction and assessment more manageable. According to Dr. Fry, the first 300 Fry words make up 67% of all words most students encounter in their reading.
What are Fry Phrases?
Of course, the ultimate goal of decoding is to recognize words without hesitation. To be sure, this is a pre-requisite for reading fluency. Reading fluency is important because if students struggle pulling words off the page, then their reading comprehension suffers.
Without a doubt, reading fluency improves with practice. Once students can read the Fry sight words, teachers can address further fluency practice with the Fry Phrases. Even though there is an element of word recognition involved, the emphasis isn’t as much word recognition as it is in improving accuracy and speed with the most common of the high-frequency words. Actually, the Fry phrases include the first 600 Fry sight words.
An Efficient Way to Track Sight Word List Mastery
As a newbie first grade teacher, I didn’t quite realize the vast difference in prior knowledge my kiddos would bring into the classroom. In particular, there were kids who could whip through beginning reader materials in August and there were kids who were still working on letter sounds in November. In spite of the vast levels of first-grade readiness, I had to teach all of the students how to read using decoding and word recognition skills. In reality, I needed a tool to differentiate for the many levels of progress in my classroom. Thus, the Sight Word Folder was born.
Now, this wasn’t just any old folder. This baby had value. It had purpose. It had a place of special recognition in our room. You see, my school required all first graders to fluently read all of Fry’s first 300 sight words. This was no easy feat for many students at our rural Title I school. My kids knew I had high expectations for learning, and we were going to work hard to get there!
But, I needed a system. How in the world could I keep up with 20+ kids’ mastery of 300 very specific words? Read on to see how I tackled this challenge!
Step 1
It was very evident that I had to get parents on board. Without their support, this task would be impossible. That is to say, kids need to read at school AND at home. Furthermore, I needed to build parents’ capacity in helping their child learn to read. For this reason, I wrote a parent letter to give them very specific directions on what our learning objective was and how they could and should help. Then, I shared ideas for families to help their child master the Fry sight word lists. With this purpose in mind, I even shared other fun ways to incorporate sight word practice that was more than using flashcards to memorize them.
Step 2
At this point, I prepped the materials to send home with every child. I made class sets of the Fry sight word lists without reservation. Next, I hole punched the sight word lists and put them in a three-prong folder along with the parent letter (from step 1) on top.
Teacher Tip! It’s been my experience that plastic poly folders with prongs typically hold up for the entire school year. You can label them with markers, or print labels using sticker labels. I like using the Avery 2 1/3 x 3 3/8 inch labels with their free online templates. It’s really teacher preference.
*Some teachers like to include this in the students’ take-home folders instead of a separate folder. Again, it’s up to you and what works for your classroom and your kids.
The name badge label templates are a good size for folder labels, and Avery’s Design and Print online software allows you to customize it as much or as little as you’d like. There’s no charge. Just set up your free account and choose the “print your own” option after designing your label. I printed these on Office Depot labels using Avery template 5395.
Step 3
The next step in prepping the sight word folders was actually for me to use for my record keeping as the teacher. I made a class recording sheet. This could look different depending on your classroom calendar. You may want to track student progress on the sight word lists by month, by list, or both.
Some teachers may need a recording sheet with the school year starting in August or September. Some places even have a school calendar that mirrors the traditional calendar with the school year beginning in January. I kept my recording sheets in my data notebook to have record of student progress throughout the year. This especially helped me in providing evidence that I used data to differentiate instruction in my reading flex groups. All of my reading flex groups were working on different Fry sight word lists.
I wanted my students to take ownership in their learning. To work toward this ownership piece, my student had their own student data notebooks. Some people think of these as learning portfolios. This is where students show evidence of learning. After developing their recording sheet, each student received a copy for their data notebooks.
As students mastered each sight word list, they dated and colored the corresponding reading character and numbered circle. On this data tracking tool, the numbered circle aligned to the number of Fry sight words the students had mastered.
Step 4
I did not want my kids to memorize the lists in order. I wanted them to actually recognize and know the words (as all teachers do!). I knew that I needed to assess the students out of order. Y’all! Before I switched to this method, I had a little first grade baby who legitimately memorized the lists. He thought it was SO FUNNY to “read” the sight word lists to me with his eyes closed. You cannot make this stuff up! 
Anyway… I decided to make flashcards for teacher use during assessment. This made it easy to test students on the sight words out of sequence.
I must have organization in my life and having literally hundreds of sight words all printed on the same color cardstock would have me seriously bonkers. Color-coding is my go-to for keeping up with what’s what. I copied the different word lists on different colors of cardstock to help me differentiate among the lists.
Then, I hole punched each card and put each set of 100 on its own o-ring.
Teacher tip! I picked this #teacherhack up from an awesome kindergarten teacher. She stored the o-rings on command hooks near her teacher table. You could also keep these near a sight word bulletin board display if you have one. This made keeping up with everything just a little bit easier. Kids can even go get the set for you to test them!
This is an example of my rings of Fry Phrases for sight word practice and assessment. This also shows an example of how I track student data for my own records.
Teacher Tip! I like using a dot to mark student progress as they master lists. To me, this is a much cleaner look than check marks. I can easily see who has and has not mastered a given list. For privacy purposes, these are not my actual students’ names.
Step 5
Celebrating student success is so important, and mastering sight word lists is no exception! There are many ways to accomplish this, but a big shout-out board usually really gets kids excited about moving up. (Yes, I know that there is some hesitancy about this when it comes to your struggling learners. I always found a way to celebrate smaller success for this group.)
One example would be using an incentive chart with stickers. For this type of recognition, I set up my classroom data display on an open bulletin board. This specific photo is from when I taught math and used incentive charts to track math fact mastery. I used something similar for sight word lists when I taught first grade.
This is an example of a Math Fact Mastery Incentive Chart I used when I taught 4th grade.
I used the same system for sight words during some of the years that I taught 1st grade.
For the incentive chart with stars, students’ names are listed down the first column, just like the recording sheets. As students master the lists, they earn a foil star to put on their row on the chart.
This is a progress monitoring chart for the whole class to use. I have also used a bulletin board display with student photos. This display was used throughout the entirety of the school year. It was a focal point for daily celebrations. See the example below.
For the bulletin board display, I used number headers for each list. Directly beneath the headers are the student pictures. I took these pictures on the first day of school and used them throughout the year for various purposes. The photo is of the students’ face and upper body on a plain background. The pictures were printed 2×3 inches on cardstock and laminated. The photos were attached to the bulletin board using thumbtacks. This made it very easy for the students to move their own pictures as they mastered new word lists. (Of course, in the mock-up above you will not see my students’ photos, but a collection of pictures of myself. This is for demonstration purposes only!😂)
Bulletin Board Tips
These can be printed out on white cardstock if you’re printing on a color printer, or you can print out a blackline version on colored cardstock, if you prefer.
You’ll want to staple all elements onto your board except for the student pictures. I recommend using a thumb tack for these. The tacks make moving students from one level to the next very easy!
Step 6
Get started on the initial assessment! I always liked to use an extra copy of the Fry Sight Word folder or the teacher flashcards.
If using the teacher flashcards, make two stacks as you assess students – one for sight words the student can read fluently and another for those they need to work on. You’ll need to circle these in the student’s folder.
If using the actual folders for the initial assessment, have the student read from the extra copy while you circle each phrase the student misses in their folder.
Test until a student has missed the 5 or more sight words on a page and teacher judgement. The circled sight words indicate to parents that these are the focus sight words for their child.
I usually let my students “take” up to 5 sight words with them to the next page/list. This keeps students from being stuck on a list due to a few challenging words. I hand write these sight words in the upper right corner of the next list and they become part of that list’s assessment for that child only.
Teacher Tip! Use a sticky note to mark the page in the folder the student needs to work on. The sticky note moves as the students master new lists.
(As pictured below with the Fry Phrase folder)
The Fry Phrases folder is best for advanced first graders or on level second graders. The phrases help students to work toward true fluent reading objectives with expression instead of just word recognition.
Kindergarten sight word list with 5 words per page.
First grade sight word list with 25 words per page.
Step 7
Do you remember when I said get your parents involved? Well, not only do you have to get them involved… you also have to keep them engaged. There’s no better way than making them personally invested in this learning project by giving class shout-outs.
In the first couple of weeks of school, communicate the importance of daily practice at home with the folders to your students and their parents.
I liked to use Class Dojo to send a picture of the folders with a little message so families would know to look for them. I also used Class Dojo to send Shout-Outs home each time someone moved up a level.
Students received printed certificates at the 100, 300, 600 and 1,000 benchmarks along with their shout-out on Class Dojo.
Another idea is to share the photo celebration with whomever manages your school’s social media to post there also.
*Check with your school administrator if you are unsure of your school’s policy about social media, including Class Dojo.
So Many Sight Word Resources!
Let’s Get CONNECTED!
The world of language is ever-evolving and one can indeed learn a lot many new things every day. English as a language is no different in this respect. You can come across new concepts and categories when you sit to learn them. Sight Words come under one such concept of English that we use regularly but are still unaware of. It is important for kids, in fact, everyone, to learn these as they are like the first pillar in the structure of language. They are small letter words that help you in proceeding towards the higher concepts of the language. And the best part is that it is no rocket science to learn these words and then bring them into use.
Jump to Section
- What are Sight Words?
- How to Learn Sight Words in an Easy Way
- Sight Words A to Z
- What is the Difference Between Sight Words and High Frequency Words?
- Some Sight Words that You Need to Learn
- Fun games that will help you understand Sight Words better
- FAQs
- Final Thoughts on Sight Words
This article will tell you about all the basics of sight words, how are they different from other words, why do you need to learn them. It will also help in making this concept clear in your mind.
What are Sight Words?
If we break the word for its literal meaning then it means that sight words are the words that kids should be able to understand by viewing for the first time. Sight words are frequently used in our day-to-day work and language. They are rapidly used words that kids are expected to learn in a way that they can be recognized easily by seeing. Some of the examples of this category are a, an, at, are, as, at, an, or, one, of, out, other, over, only, on, my, made, may make, more, many, most and many other such simple words.
How to Learn Sight Words in an Easy Way
To be honest, Sight words are difficult to learn and can be very confusing at times. So you need to find simple and easier tricks to learn and understand. Here are a few ways which you can adapt:
- Take one step at a time and move gradually from easier words to harder words
- Take the help of audios to understand them better
- Try to mix them with games and find other innovative ways to make it more interesting
- Take the help of examples and picture books
- Show kids real life examples so that they can know the actual meaning of things
- Read and play with these words daily
- Engage all their senses
Sight Words A to Z
One of the best ways to remember these words is to learn them by differentiating them based on the alphabet. Mentioned below are all the words of this category from A to Z:
A: a, an, at, are, as, at, and, all, about, after
B: be, by, but, been
C: can, could, come
D: did, down, do
E: each
F: from, first, find, for
H: he, his, had, how, has, her, have, him
I: in, I, if, into, is, it, its
J: just
K: know
L: like long, little
M: my, made, may make, more, many, most,
N: not, no, now
O: or, one, of, out, other, over, only, on
P: people
S: said, she, some, so, see
T: the, to, they, this, there, them, then, these, two, time, then, that, their
U: up, use
V: very
W: was, with, what, were, when, we, which, will, would, words, where, water, who, way
Y: you, your
Once you learn them in this way then, as soon as the alphabet will come in front of you, you will be able to remember all the sight word that begins with it. And it will also simplify your process of learning.
What is the Difference Between Sight Words and High Frequency Words?
There are many closely knitted concepts in grammar. One of this kind is that of sight words and high-frequency words which are two such closely knitted concepts. Also, one can often find them similar and confusing at the same time. High-frequency words 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. Both types of words are closely linked. Sight words are words that are instantly recognized and identified without conscious effort. High-frequency words are the words most commonly used in the English language.
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What are the similarities that they have?
They both are highly used words and play a huge role in English and sometimes they are crossly referred to each other. They are both like the backbone of the English language and help in making all kinds of sentences and paragraphs.
Some of the most highly used ones are
| You | Which | I | A | We | Be | By | Do |
| Each | Know | Just | Time | Too | That | Their | That |
| Your | Will | Down | Can | Would | Although | She | He |
| Very | Be | Did | Over | Only | On | What | When |
| Up | Been | People | Said | So | See | Water | Way |
| Little | Long | Like | Many | Most | Make | How | Had |
Some Sight Words that You Need to Learn
Mentioned below are some basic sight words classified into different groups and will help you in understanding them better. They are also supported with examples so that you can learn them better:
Single Letter Sight Words
Single letter sight words are words that have only one letter to them. And its only examples are ‘A’ and ‘I’. They might have only a letter in them and appear small but are two of the most highly used words in the whole English language. Some of the examples are:
- I am a boy and study in Delhi Public School.
- He is working as a chef these days.
- I am not habitual of speaking in French language.
- There is a place named snake island and there are millions of snakes in it.
- She is a very talented girl.
Two Letter Sight Words
These are made with the combination of two words. They are small and hence very simple to learn and remember. And the best part is that they help in properly conveying the message. Some two lettered ones are: an, at, as, at, be, by, do, he, in, if, is, it, no, or, on, to, we. Sentences to understand them better are:
- An Apple fell on the head of Einstein.
- It is not easy to be a hard working person.
- He will arrive at the metro station in ten minutes.
- Study well now or you will regret it later.
- He was unable to perform his best in the internal exams.
Three Letter Sight Words
Sight words made with the combination of three letters fall in this category. There are a huge number of three-lettered sight words some of its examples are: and, all, but, can, did, for, his, had, how, has, her, him, its, may, not, now, one, out, she, see, the, two, use, was, who, way, yes. Examples are:
- He studied hard for the exam but still didn’t pass.
- The two of them make a really good team.
- She is the smartest girl in her class.
- I was unable to reach the class in time.
- Who was the girl driving the car?
Four Letter Sight Words
Then some sight words are made with the combination of four letters. Some of its examples are: been, down, each, from, find, have, into, just, know, like, long, made, make, more, many, most, over, only, said, some, they, this, them, then, time, than, that, very, with, what, were, when, your. Sentences to understand them are:
- She is very hardworking and smart at the same time.
- When is my order going to arrive?
- School days are some of the best days of your life.
- The only way to learn is to practice.
- You will not understand the value of something till it is lost.
Five Letter Sight Words
Sight words that are made with the combination of five letters fall in this category. They can get a little complex but are still easy to understand. Some of its examples are: about, after, could, first, there, words, water, would, which, etc. Sentences for best understanding are:
- There are different types of living organisms on this planet.
- Water is the most important thing for survival.
- Life should be more about happiness and less about sadness.
- Which is your favorite book to read?
- Words are the best way to convey feelings.
Words Above Five Letters
Many words are made with a combination of more than five words. Remembering them can get difficult and that is why they should be the last tier while learning. Some of its examples are: although, called, etc. Sentence to help you understand them better are:
- They are talking in a good way although they are not very fond of each other.
- The big cats are also called Tigers.
- Although I disliked the detective heartily, I nevertheless was secretly impressed.
- Although there is nothing too extraordinary about her but one or two of her accomplishments are invaluable.
- The teacher called the boy to the front.
The video mentioned below will help you learn the basics.
Fun games that will help you understand Sight Words better
Aren’t games the best way to teach something to kids as it makes the thing fun and learnable at the same time? So why not inculcate them while teaching them these words. Here are some fun games that you can make kids play while teaching the basics :
Sight Words Bingo
Bingo is a game that we all know how to play. You just need to modify it according to yourself. Take a sheet and then get some of these words printed on it. And then start playing it like you generally play the game. Ask every person in the round to call out one word and the one who has words cancelled in a line will win the game. By this, they will be able to remember these words properly.
Play Four in a Row with These Words
This game will not only help your child in learning these words but also improve their reading ability. The rules of the game are similar to the popular game Connect4. To play this game they must read a sight word correctly before they can place a marker on the game board. You can use different flashcards in it. Hence, it is a perfect game to be played by four to six people.
Tic Tac Toe
Then comes another very popular game tic-tac-toe. You might be wondering that it is a game of ‘O’ and ‘X’ then how can you inculcate words in it. In this game before reading a sight word correctly, they will not be given a chance to place an X or O on the game board. By doing this they will be able to learn it and enjoy the game at the same time.
Play Dominoes with Sight Words
The very simple way to play this game is to replace the dots on the block with these words. And then place them accordingly. All you need to do is to build a string of domino cards by matching a word on your domino to one of the words on the domino path. To make it simpler keep the set of words small so that kids can learn them more easily.
Sight Words Bean Bag Toss
The very last game that you can make kids play with these words is a Bean Bag. The main aim of Bean Bag Toss is to provide continued exposure to a set of words, with opportunities for repetition and confidence building. Make flashcards place them on the floor and then throw bean bags on them. The physical elements of the game will also help in enhancing the fidgeting skills of kids.
This video will help in making this concept super easy and fun for the kids.
Q1. How do I teach my 4-year-old new words?
Teaching things to a kid can be very different from teaching things to adults and you need to be very simple with your approach. To begin with, you need to find simple books and hand them to them. You can support the teachings with audio. And the best thing that you can do is to inculcate them into games and teach them in different innovative ways.
Q2. How do you incorporate these words in a sentence?
You can make sentences with these words as you make them with any other words. Some of the examples in a sentence are mentioned below:
- I can see the car.
- My bike can go.
- The bus can go.
Q3. Why are sight words important to learn?
A language is not only about writing but reading as well and learning these words is important as they help in improving your reading ability. Sight words provide clues to the context of the text. Once you learn them you will be able to read sentences and paragraphs more easily. And eventually, your ability to form sentences will also get better.
Q4. What words are high frequency words and in what terms are they different from other words?
High-frequency words are commonly used words that young children are encouraged to memorize as a whole by seeing so that they can automatically recognize these words in print without having to use any strategies to decode. Both types of words are closely linked. Sight words are words that are instantly recognized and identified without conscious effort. High-frequency words are the words most commonly used in the English language.
Both categories of words help in serving different purposes and are learned in different ways.
Q5. What sight words should be taught first?
Simple sight words should be taught first and then move to complex words. Some simple sight words to be taught first are: he, was, that, she, on, they, but, at, with, all, this, will, yes, went, are, now, no, came, ride, into and few similar like that.
Q6. What is the best way to teach sight words?
There are many other ways by which you can teach sight words to your kids. Like using flashcards, using audios, giving them a lot of examples, and inculcating them in a form of games. By following all these things you will be able to make the process a lot more fun. Mentioned below are some steps you can follow to teach things properly:
- Expose your child to sight words early on.
- Make read-alouds more interactive.
- Engage all of their senses.
- Sort sight words into categories.
- Read and play with sight words daily.
Q7. Why are sight words difficult to learn and understand?
Sight words are not very difficult but can be a little complex and confusing at times. They are difficult because words are learned by their shape or picture so it can confuse you. But with practice, you can overcome it easily.
Q8. What are some of the hardest sight words to learn?
Some of the hardest sight words are although, another, caught, could, course, country, etc.
Q9. Do flashcards work for sight words?
Flashcards have been a part of the teaching process for a very long time and can play a good role in teaching sight words. Steps to follow while using flashcards a device to teach them new things:
- At first, show your child just one or two cards at a time.
- Say the word clearly, spell it aloud as you point to each letter.
- Most importantly, use the word in meaningful ways.
- Emphasize the word UP in your everyday conversations.
Q10. What mistakes should be avoided while teaching someone these words?
The only mistake that you can make is making the concept complex. You should try to keep things as simple as possible and support them with as many examples as possible. Don’t skip from one concept to another and try to keep things connected and take one step at a time. These are all the things that you should avoid doing while learning these words or any kind of words.
Final Thoughts on Sight Words
Learning English has become a necessity these days, no matter where you live. Because this language has most speakers in the world and only this language can help you in communication if you ever go to a place where your mother tongue is not spoken. It is not important to you to learn it to the very core but being clear about the basics is very important. So that you can at least convey and properly receive the message.
Sight words are so important that you must be very clear about them because they are a part of everything else and higher-level concepts. With this article you will be able to understand them properly and with little practice, you will be able to master them. So, don’t waste any more time and start your language learning journey now. To understand more such concepts, head to the Podium Blog to build and enhance your knowledge.