Sight Words for Reading Success

Reading well can be accomplished only by becoming proficient with sight words.  These are words that should be read automatically on sight.  They typically cannot be sounded out, so they must be memorized.  Most all of these words are very common and appear often in textbooks, novels, or newspapers. For a child that is struggling, it is even more important for these words to be worked on at home.  The more often these words are reviewed, the more automatic they will become. The most common way to work on sight words is with flash cards, simply drilling the words.  For parents, this can be done easily at home - all you need is a set of cards.  In the classroom, it can be done with students pairing up and drilling each other.  I have found that students love this as long as it is not overdone. Children will tire quickly from drilling the words, so it is necessary for parents and teachers alike to find ways to make working on these words fun for them.  It is a fact, children will learn much quicker if they are excited and enjoy it. A more fun way of drilling sight words in the classroom is with powerpoint.  I do this often with my students.  Place one word on each page, and set the timer to switch pages at regular intervels.  Challenge students to read each word before the screen changes.  This turns the drill into a challenge for students. This is another game that can be played at home or at school in small groups.  All you need is a gameboard, game pieces, dice, and word cards.  Using any gameboard you choose, place the word cards facedown.  Have a child roll the dice.  Before moving a game piece, the student must draw a card and read the word on the card before moving the number of spaces rolled.  I use this with my students in the classroom on a regular basis, and students still repeatedly ask to play.  They will even ask to play with each other during recess.  At home, I have no doubt that most children love playing anything with their parents. Another idea to motivate your child to practice this is to time him for 1 minute to see how many words can be read.  Record this on a graph that you make together.  Have your child do this every couple of days or once a week to see how he is improving.  This not only works on sight words, but also gives the opportunity to practice the math skill of creating and reading graphs.

Sight Words List

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