Sight word
Sight words, also referred to as high-frequency words, are commonly encountered terms in written texts, particularly those aimed at children. These words are often taught to be recognized instantly, allowing children to read more fluently without needing to decode every word. The concept gained traction in the 1920s and became prominent in the 1930s with the work of Edward William Dolch, who developed a list of 220 essential sight words for early readers, emphasizing a "look-say" method. Another influential educator, Edward Fry, published his own list of frequently used words for slightly older readers in the late 1950s.
Sight word lists, which commonly include words like "the," "and," and "is," make up a significant portion of reading material, often accounting for roughly 50% of text. Mastery of these words aids in vocabulary expansion and reading comprehension, as children can focus on understanding context rather than decoding individual words. While traditional methods often relied on memorization, many educators now advocate for a blended approach that incorporates phonics, which allows students to recognize sight words and develop skills to tackle new words with similar structures. Various teaching techniques, including flashcards and games, are employed to engage students in learning sight words, tailored to their reading levels.
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Sight word
Sight words, sometimes called high-frequency words, are words that occur most often in written works. Children are sometimes taught to recognize them by sight, without applying phonics or other methods of identifying the word. Instantly recognizing these words builds reading vocabulary and makes it easier for children to read by freeing them of the need to decipher the meaning of each combination of letters. The words can be taught by simple memorization, but many educators believe it is better to incorporate them into other reading strategies such as phonics.
Background
The idea of sight words goes back to the 1920s, when a number of educators began exploring the vocabularies used by pre–first grade children. Several of these educators put together lists of high-frequency words that included as many as 2,500 words. The idea of sight words came to prominence in the 1930s, when writer and reading expert Edward William Dolch developed a list of the words found most commonly in the vocabulary and written material for young children.
Dolch endorsed a "look-say" method of reading instruction, sometimes known as the whole language method, in which children are taught to recognize words by appearance without trying to sound them out through the technique known as phonics. He developed a list of 220 words that he said were most important for beginning readers to know by sight and a more specific list of 100 of the most frequent words that were to be learned first. Like his predecessors, Dolch also studied hundreds of kindergarteners to identify the most commonly used words. His list includes words from all parts of speech except nouns; however, some words can be both a verb and a noun, such as walk and play. Dolch later created a separate list of about 95 frequently used nouns.
In 1957, educator Edward Fry published a list of what he called instant words. Fry also believed in the whole language method and developed a list of words found most frequently in the written material published for children in third through ninth grade. He later revised this list in 1980. His complete list included about 300 words, which he listed in order of frequency in groups of five as a reminder to teach them in small groups. Fry proposed teaching the first 100 in the first year of reading instruction and 100 each of the two following years. His list included nouns.
The Dolch and Fry lists are the two sight word lists most commonly used by educators in the twenty-first century. The lists are not identical; about 70 words appear on both lists. However, contemporary educators also often combine the use of the sight word lists with phonics so that a child who can read a word such as had, which is on both lists, can also read a word like lad, which is not on either list.
Overview
The term sight words often refers to the list of words that occur frequently in any written work, but especially in works written for children. Different curriculums for reading instruction might use different names for similar lists; these names include core words and popcorn words. The latter term refers to how easily the child can pop out the word when it is encountered. Sight word lists include words such as a, an, the, he, is, were, their, does, first, and which. Some of these words represent concepts rather than things that are easily illustrated, and others do not follow the general rules of phonics, making them difficult to sound out, as children are often taught to do when reading.
As a reader gains experience with the sight words, the words' sounds and meanings come into mind without conscious thought. This process can happen with any word. However, Dolch, Fry, and other experts who promoted the use of sight words noted that learning the sight words would help children develop a larger reading vocabulary and a sense of mastery that would promote overall literacy.
Sight words make up about 50 percent of all writing material, and as much as 75 percent of the material for young readers. A child who knows these words does not need to invest mental energy into decoding them and can concentrate on sounding out other unknown words. The child will also be able to use what is known about these words to help make sense of the sentence. This is necessary for a child to develop reading fluency and full comprehension of what is being read. For instance, a child who knows the word and, and understands that it connects two or more things, will have an easier time putting the rest of the sentence into context. This allows the child to make better guesses about the meaning of unfamiliar words and to read more easily with greater understanding.
Dolch and Fry recommended teaching children to memorize these words so they could be recognized on sight. Teachers who follow this approach use a variety of techniques to help familiarize students with the sight words. Flash cards with individual words have traditionally been used, along with various games that require a child to recognize sight words to play. Many classrooms are now equipped with computer games that serve a similar purpose.
Sight words are often taught according to a reader's level of competence. For example, the most basic and common words will be taught to new readers. Once those words are mastered, instruction will concentrate on a new list of the next most common words, and so on, until all the words have become part of the reading vocabulary.
However, some reading experts do not believe in teaching sight words solely by memorization. They support teaching them as part of an overall approach that also integrates phonics. This theory is based on what these experts say is additional information on how children learn that has become available since Dolch and Fry proposed their lists. These experts say that by using an integrated approach that includes phonics, students will not only learn to recognize and understand the meaning of the sight words but will also be able to read words that are similar in construction. Educators propose that this builds greater overall reading competency and fluency.
Bibliography
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Blank, Marion. "Top 100 Sight Words and How to Teach Them." Reading Kingdom, 20 Apr. 2011, readingkingdom.com/blog/2011/04/20/how-to-teach-kids-sight-words/. Accessed 27 Oct. 2017.
"Core Knowledge Language Arts and the Dolch and Fry Words Lists." CoreKnowledge.org, www.coreknowledge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DolchFryLists.pdf. Accessed 27 Oct. 2017.
Farrell, Linda, et al. "Comparing the Dolch and Fry High Frequency Word Lists." Readsters, www.readsters.com/wp-content/uploads/ComparingDolchAndFryLists.pdf. Accessed 27 Oct. 2017.
Johns, Jerry L. "The Dolch Basic Word List—Then and Now." Journal of Reading Behavior, vol. 3, no. 4, Fall, 1970–71, journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/10862967009546963. Accessed 27 Oct. 2017.
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"What Are Sight Words?" K12 Readers, www.k12reader.com/what-are-sight-words/. Accessed 27 Oct. 2017.
"What Are Sight Words and Why Are They Important?" Speech Buddies,6 Oct. 2014, www.speechbuddy.com/blog/language-development/what-are-sight-words/. Accessed 27 Oct. 2017.