Improving Sight Word Recognition

One part of reading fluently is being able to recognize sight words automatically.  Sight words, also known as high-frequency words, are words that are commonly used in text.  When students can recognize these words automatically, it helps them to read a text in a smooth manner.

Lists of sight words are available in many forms.  Fry sight words and Dolch sight words are the most commonly used lists.  These words can be found at the following websites:

- Fry words: http://www.k12reader.com/subject/sight-words/fry-words/

-Dolch words: http://www.k12reader.com/dolch-word-list/

Please feel free to contact your teacher to find out which list of words your child would benefit from practicing the most.  We can provide you with what words they currently are struggling with and also tell you which words that they know well!

Practicing sight words does not have to be a boring task.  You can make it fun.  The following are games you can play with your child:

1. Beat the Clock: Write the words down on index cards.  Time your student going through the flashcards and see how long it takes them.  Then, see if they can beat their time the next time.  Students love trying to read all the words before the timer goes off!  You can also play a different way.  Set the time for 30 seconds or a minute (whatever time you think) and see how many words they can read in that time.  The next time, try to read more words in the same amount of time.  Students are often motivated when trying to beat their own personal bests.

2. Memory: Make 2 sets of sight word flash cards.  Use these cards to play Memory with your child's sight words.  Just make sure that as the student flips over the card, they read the word.  It is a fun way to practice your child's sight words without them really knowing you're practicing.

3. Sight Word Hangman: Using a word bank with the list of sight words you are working on, play hangman with a sight word.  This helps students pay attention to how many letters are in the word, what order the letters are in, and how the letters correspond to sounds.

4. Sight Word Shuffle: On a whiteboard or a notepad, give your child the word with the letters scrambled.  They have to unscramble the word, and then write the word themselves with the letters in the right order.

5. Sight Word Bingo:  Just like Bingo, but with sight words.  Contact us in The Learning Center if you want some blank copies of sight word bingo boards.  We would be happy to send some home!


Practicing sight words can be fun if you put it into a game-like experience.  This practice can help increase your student's decoding and fluency skills and improve their overall reading achievement.

Contact us with any questions.  As always, we are here to help!