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Sight Words | Sight Words: Teach Your Child to Read
Learn the history behind Dolch and Fry sight words, and why they are important in developing fluent readers.
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Follow the sight words teaching techniques. Learn research-validated and classroom-proven ways to introduce words, reinforce learning, and correct mistakes.
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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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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
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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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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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.
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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.
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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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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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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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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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The Best Sight Word Videos that will Engage Every Student
Videos are a truly engaging way to teach and reinforce skills that require a ton of repetition and practice to master. When I think lots of repetition: I think SIGHT WORDS.
Can we ever have enough practice? I rounded up the best sight word videos so that you don’t have to!
Quickly recognizing and reading sight words and high frequency words is such an important skill for new readers. The most common 100 sight words make up 50% of any text! For our new readers, that percentage is much, much higher.
Teaching sight words and high frequency words can be challenging because it requires so much repetition. We practice and practice (and practice some more), and even then, some students still don’t quite grasp it.
Then one day, as if a switch has been turned on, they remember them! It’s kind of a magical process. 🦄
But I know it can be exhausting (and frustrating), too. These videos are meant to supplement other sight word instruction to add another layer to your instruction. No matter what list you use, there are videos here to help you out. 👏
Note: Did you know there is a difference between sight words and high frequency words? You can read more about that here!
Miss Molly’s Sight Word Videos Playlist
I think of Miss Molly as the queen of sight word videos. ? This playlist has SEVENTY ONE sight word songs! 😳🥳
Each one covers a different sight word. Each video says the word and spells it several times. It also puts the word into several sentences with visuals.
I especially love these videos because the music is very calming so it won’t hype kids up. 😅 Miss Molly is a go-to for me in my classroom!
Heidi Songs Sight Word Videos Playlist
Like Miss Molly, Heidi Songs has a ton of sight word videos.
This playlist has 32 sight words songs that students enjoy to sing and dance along with.
The videos spell the word, say the word alone and in a sentence several times. There are fun actions that go along with the words and they are very catchy. (So catchy, you may find yourself lying awake at night with them running through your head. 🤪)
Meet the Sight Words
Preschool Prep Company has several sight word videos on YouTube that my students really enjoy. The one I have linked is a 30 minute video that I show in pieces as we learn new words in my classroom. It introduces and reinforces several of the most common sight words.
Each word has a short video that lasts about 45 seconds.
The letters of the word make up part of the picture and are characters in the shorts story. While the word is said over and over again, it is never spelled out verbally or put into a sentence.
I build understanding by asking my students why the word is doing that action or in that place. In that way, this video is more of an interactive experience in my classroom.
For example, the word “play” is playing baseball. Students can make the connection between the word and what it is doing. I also ask them to look at the word and spell it.
The Sight Word Song
Harry Kindergarten’s sight word song is a favorite for many. The song is catchy, it spells the word and reads it.
This song covers many of the most common sight words so students get the repetition that will help them memorize the words. My kids love, love, love to sing along with this song.
New Sight Words with Jack Hartmann
This Jack Hartmann videos shows the letters, says them and then says the word. It pauses the second time through so that students have the chance to read the word on their own.
Kids love this silly video and it’s catchy tune. They will have the words in it memorized in no time!
Sight Word Rap with Jack Hartmann
This Jack Hartmann video is similar to the previous one but with a different tune and different words! He says the letters and then reads the words.
It says the word several times as the word flashes on the screen giving great repetition.
If you students are like mine, they will think Jack Hartmann “rapping” is HILARIOUS and super silly. They’ll also pick it up really quick and rap it back and forth to each other. 😅
Kindergarten High Frequency Words
I think this video is a.dor.a.ble. It is a teacher made video with students reading a word and then saying it in a sentence. The words are on the screen as well so students can see them.
My students LOVE hearing other kids reading to them. The first time we watched this video, they were in awe. When I told them we could make a video just like it, they were super excited.
We made our own video in the spring once we had a good handle on many sight words. Each student chose a word and created a simple sentence for them. I typed each word and sentence on it’s own slide in a powerpoint.
If you want to make a video like this, it is really easy! All you have to do is create a powerpoint, video the powerpoint and let the students read the words.
This list of videos includes many of my student’s favorite videos as well as channels that have tons of videos for individual sight words. Did I include your favorite? Let me know below! 👇
Do you need hands on practice for your students, too? I know the lists of words and number that need to be memorized varies hugely from district to district and from state to state.
That’s why I created this super magical resource! These Editable Sight Word Printables can be customized to any list without any formatting or special fonts downloaded. All you do is type your words and 10 different activities are immediately generated! Like I said: magical! 🦄
VZGLYAD / London's hostile actions require new approaches from Moscow :: In the world
There is more and more evidence that Britain took an active part in two terrorist attacks, undermining the Nord Stream and organizing an attack on ships of the Black Sea Fleet in the waters of Sevastopol.
Moreover, in the first case, former British Prime Minister Liz Truss, according to media reports, after the explosions, wrote the US Secretary of State a telephone message with the words "everything is done." What can Russia oppose to the hostile behavior of London?
On Tuesday, Kim Dotcom, the founder of Megaupload and Mega, asked on his Twitter page (the social network is blocked in Russia) how "the Russians knew that Britain had blown up the Nord Stream pipelines together with the United States." According to him, this happened because former British Prime Minister Liz Truss used her iPhone to send a message to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
The message, according to Dotcom, said: "It's all done." He clarified that the message was sent a minute after the explosion on the pipeline and before anyone else knew about it. At the same time, the entrepreneur claims that the information came from the wrong Truss phone, which, according to media reports, was hacked by hackers.
However, he does not explain where he got the information from.
Dotcom claims are being discussed on the Reddit platforms and on the 19fortyfive portal. At the same time, the mainstream Western media does not cover this at all. There has been no official confirmation of this information. In turn, the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, called on the British authorities to answer the question about the correspondence between Truss and Blinken.
At the same time, the day before, President Vladimir Putin emphasized that the state of emergency at Nord Stream is an obvious terrorist attack, since we are talking about the special economic zone of Denmark, Sweden, Germany. According to Putin, in Europe "they have shut their mouths, they are silent, as if it is the way it should be, despite the fact that this really undermines their interests at the root."
At the same time, relations between Moscow and London escalated once again in connection with the terrorist attack in the waters of Sevastopol, which was carried out, according to preliminary data, by Ukrainian militants with the support of British specialists.
It is known that Russia will work out practical measures in connection with the role of Britain in the October 29 terrorist attack.
The Russian Embassy in London also stated that British intelligence no longer considers it necessary to hide that it generously shares operational intelligence data with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In addition, the British military-industrial complex is actively involved in the supply of weapons to Ukraine, which are used by Ukrainian punishers and Nazi formations to kill civilians and destroy civilian infrastructure.
Thus, only in recent months, Britain, as experts believe, has been implicated in several major terrorist attacks at once. “As far as we know, now Russia is considering the involvement of the British intelligence services in the terrorist attacks on the Nord Stream as the main version. So, speaking about the likelihood of such a development of the event, first of all, it is worth starting from the position of Moscow, ”Timofei Bordachev, program director of the Valdai Club, told the VZGLYAD newspaper.
“Besides, I believe that the degradation of many Western politicians, including in Britain, has reached such a level that they could indeed write about the commission of a terrorist attack in ordinary messages. Moreover, we all see the professional level of these politicians. So there is no reason to believe that the message with the text “everything is done” is such an invention,” the expert emphasized.
“I also fully accept the version that the British intelligence services were involved in blowing up gas pipelines. Actually, the British trace was initially obvious in other terrorist attacks committed on the territory of Russia”,
, State Duma deputy Andrei Lugovoy told the VZGLYAD newspaper. “The Krymsky Bridge, the murder of Daria Dugina, and many terrorist attacks on the territory of Donbass could not do without the “Englishwoman”. The faces and nationalities of performers and accomplices are changing, the participation of Great Britain remains unchanged,” the parliamentarian continued.
“As for 'It's done', it was more of a demobilization chord by Liz Truss. And yet she managed to report to her accomplices on the successful completion. She knew that this operation would be a crown number for her. In the agony of premiership, it was necessary to commit an act in order to go down in history not only as the most “perishable” prime minister. It would even be a shame if the world never found out about her participation in this terrorist attack, ”Lugovoy ironically.
Kyiv politician and blogger Anatoly Shariy, in turn, drew attention to Maria Zakharova's call to London to comment on the data on Liz Truss' SMS messages. “The trick is that no one got access to the phone. We got to the virtual storage, it's easy if you know how. This topic is now trying to kill other topics. Anything, even a war with Albania,” notes Shariy in his Telegram channel, hinting at the plot of the cult film “The Tail Wags the Dog.”
“But if the power of Russia does not get off Britain, if it is possible to rattle Germany, which has come to terms with the fact that something is being undermined and insulted there, it will be difficult for the States and Britain to lie.
Very hard. This is international terrorism. These are not jokes,” added Shariy.
Experts interviewed by the VZGLYAD newspaper also agree that London's behavior towards Russia requires a change in some of Moscow's foreign policy approaches, which should become more active. At the same time, Russian politicians and diplomats should systematically demand that international organizations put pressure on the British authorities on key issues. Including - in matters of sponsoring, supporting and organizing acts of terror.
“The very fact that such a version of Truss' behavior is being voiced speaks of how deplorable the state of international relations is,” said Andrey Kortunov, a political scientist and director general of the Russian International Affairs Council. According to the interlocutor, Moscow should launch an "information counteroffensive."
“If Russia has an evidence base that it is the UK and the US that are involved in the terrorist attacks on Nord Stream, then it must be made public and further very active work should be carried out on international platforms, including the UN and other organizations.
These issues need to be raised literally everywhere,” Kortunov said.
At the same time, the Kremlin has already promised not to leave unanswered Britain's participation in the attacks on the Black Sea Fleet and Nord Stream. “There is evidence that Britain is related, in Russian, to a terrorist act against vital energy infrastructure, and not Russian, it is very important to take into account here, but international energy infrastructure,” said Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov.
According to him, Moscow expects that the European countries will not remain silent, but will analyze London's participation in the attacks on the Black Sea Fleet and the Nord Streams. He called the silence of the EU countries unacceptable.
Watch more videos on the YouTube channel VZGLYAD
“The locomotive of reunification with Russia has already been launched and cannot be stopped.
The countdown of the last hours before the dream of millions of people has begun. This is how representatives of the liberated territories characterize the beginning of referendums on joining the DPR, LPR, as well as the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. In what conditions is the voting taking place and what hopes do local residents have for it? On Friday, referendums began on joining the Russian Federation in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, as well as in the Kherson region and the liberated territories of the Zaporozhye region. Voting will last until September 27 inclusive.
In the interests of security, during the first four days in these regions, voting will be done not only at polling stations, but also in adjacent territories and by targeted visits to residents. In addition, polling stations organized for refugees opened on September 23 in a number of Russian cities.
President Vladimir Putin announced Russia's support for the decision of Donbass, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions in referendums.
In addition, the head of state assured that Russia would do everything to ensure their safe conduct. And the head of the Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova, said, addressing the residents of these regions: “As for your fellow countrymen who ended up in Russia by the will of fate, the Central Election Commission of Russia and our colleagues in the regions will provide all necessary assistance so that each of them can also vote.”
“The Cossacks are full of hope, the mood of the citizens is inspired. We have been waiting for this vote for almost 30 years, since the Zaporozhye region was separated from the big Russia. And today, people come to vote en masse, without waiting for door-to-door detours, ”Vladimir Rogov, chairman of the We Are Together with Russia movement, told the VZGLYAD newspaper.
“We explain to everyone who comes that all votes will be taken into account, you just have to wait a little longer. There are also many questions and clarifications about the work of polling stations on the territory of Russia,” the interlocutor shared.
According to Rogov, there has been no such activity during the voting for a long time. “For people, this is not just a bulletin where you have to put a tick. This is the definition of their future, as well as the future of the next generations. Now new contours of the south of Russia are being formed. This is, without exaggeration, a great and historic day,” he notes.
“There was an attempted terrorist attack today. A car drove up to a private residential building in Melitopol, threw out an explosive device and left. Fortunately, the explosion was small and no one was hurt. Now we are looking for attackers. I think that this is not the last attempt to disrupt the referendum,” the interlocutor is sure.
“It is also restless on the front line. Artillery duels intensified there. Our army is now working very well. Literally in the morning, the barracks of the Zaporozhye 55th Artillery Brigade, which terrorized the Donbass for many years, were destroyed,” Rogov added.
At the same time, Alexei Zhuravko, ex-deputy of the Verkhovna Rada from Kherson, told the VZGLYAD newspaper about increased military security measures in the region. “The security forces are working out this issue well. We hope that the situation will be calm until the end of the voting. As for the people, they actively take to the streets and vote. Surprisingly, they are not even afraid of shelling,” Zhuravko explained.
“In general, people are in a normal mood. There is, of course, anxiety about shelling. But people are well aware of who is firing at them - and this affects the results of the vote. Right now I can hear the air defense system working. That is, the Ukrainian militants are trying with all their might to disrupt the holding of the referendum. But I think that everything will work out for us, people have long wanted peace on this earth, and only Russia can bring it. I am sure that there will be a fairly high turnout in the Kherson region. And most of the people living here will support joining the Russian Federation,” Zhuravko emphasized.
Voting is also active in Donetsk. “Today, polling stations for holding referendums have been opened, but so far in closed mode. Now members of the election commissions are bypassing the adjacent territories,” said Vladislav Berdichevsky, deputy of the People’s Council of the DPR.
According to him, the mood of the residents of the republic is upbeat. "Everyone expects that the result of the vote will be positive, and the Russian Federation will accept the republic as a member as soon as possible," the interlocutor emphasized.
“Many people remember the events of 2014. I myself then went to rallies with a single goal - that we become part of Russia. Therefore, I will take part in the referendum, and I urge everyone else to do so, including our fellow citizens who live in Russia. This is a great historic moment. We are going home!" Berdichevsky emphasized.
The LPR also hopes for the speedy implementation of the voting results.
“At the same time, most polling stations now operate in a specific format. This is due to the enhanced security regime, ”LPR Ambassador to Russia Rodion Miroshnik told the VZGLYAD newspaper.
“Personally, I took part in the voting at the Moscow polling station. There are enough people here. Voters come and, according to the established procedure, present a document, after which they fill out an application for inclusion in the list of voters, and then vote,” the diplomat explained.
The interlocutor noted: "The locomotive of reunification with Russia has already been launched and cannot be stopped." “We deliberately conduct voting in several days. This is dictated by security conditions, or rather, the danger that comes from Ukrainian militants. Nevertheless, we have time for people to pass on information to each other about the venues for the referendum. So I am sure that the turnout will be quite high,” he assured.
“We provide special security in the LPR. First, the military took their measures.
