Sight Words/ High Frequency Words

When I was 6 I remember walking, skipping, running home with the first book I had mastered reading. My teacher let me take it home to read to my parents. My Mom was not home so, clutching my book; I went to the field near my home and climbed a steep ladder to sit on a billboard waiting from my Mom to return home. I could not sit at home. I was too excited. From the top of the billboard, I could see far down the road and I watched all approaching cars. One had to be my Mom’s. I could not wait to read to her.

Reading sparks excitement in children. We can add to their pleasure and cheer and congratulate them. We can also help them with the process. When children first start reading it is a chore to be patient and listen to them read. If you will take six months, grit your teeth, and listen to them as they slowly put sentences together, it will pay off. After that you will have a reader.

As your child begins to sound out and read simple words it is time to begin to memorize sight words or high frequency words. What exactly are sight words/high frequency words? With beginning phonics these words cannot be sounded out.

Your child’s teacher will send home a list of sight words for your child to memorize. Usually teachers within the school make up these lists. There is no state regulation on these words. Teachers usually work as a team to pick out the best words for their classrooms. These words generally come from a list of words known as the “Dolch List”.

If you want to make a list of your own words, google: “dolch words.” Edward Dolch identified a list of 220 words that represent one half to 75 percent of all words found in children’s books. Many of the “Dolch words” cannot be sounded out through the use of conventional phonics rules or easily represented through the use of pictures. This is why they need to be memorized as “sight “ words.

On the Dolch web site you can find games to help you with teaching your children the sight words. Some ideas are:

1) Flash cards

2) Concentration or matching games

3) Sound out the initial consonant sound then they can memorize the rest of the word.

4) Look for these words in books, stories, magazines and newspapers. Hi-light the words or cut them out. Make collages with the words.

5) Start with “the”. It is the most common word in the English language. When a child learns “the” he/she feel successful. As he/she looks through books he/she will find the word and point to it.

Memorizing sight words leads to more success. We will have successful children if we partner schools with parents, families, and communities. Let’s keep working together. Our goal is to make ALL children successful! Success breeds success!