Why do we learn Sight Words?

   Soon after the beginning of Kindergarten most children are eager to begin reading. The first sign that you may notice as a parent is that your child can "read" a favorite story to you - all or mostly, from pure memorization. 

    This is the perfect time to begin learning sight words ... another name for these words is "High Frequency" words. High frequency words refer to a list of 100 of the most commonly used words in the English language. Many of these words follow few spelling or pronunciation rules and cause children great difficulty when they are beginning to read.

   In mid-October your child will bring home 2 sight words to practice each week. Have fun practicing the words. Look for the words in books, on posters, on signs, or even at the grocery store!
 

   At school we will be practicing our words every day. To make this more fun, we have a BIG bowl of "Alphabet Soup" and a BIG spoon to stir with. We pretend to stir our soup and find new sight words coming up each week!!
 

   If you help your child master these words and know them by sight, then he or she will be able to focus on the more important content words. Reading will be more interesting, more enjoyable and more successful as a result!

   Copy the words on slips of paper and have your child play a version of the game "Memory", picking up the words when he or she has found a match. Spell out the words using "Alphabets" cereal. Practice at the breakfast table or before bedtime, but always keep the practice quick and fun. Let me know if you have another way to practice and I'll add your ideas here!

   As you can see, helping your child practice his or her sight words on a daily basis will make a dramatic difference as he or she begins to read.