Traditionally, sight words (instant words, heart words, learned words, however your curriculum labels them) have been taught as a list of words to be memorized without explicit instruction in phonics.
However, a more effective approach is to incorporate decoding into the mastery of sight words, aligning with the principles of the science of reading. This approach helps students develop a deeper understanding of the underlying phonics patterns and apply them to unfamiliar words. In David Kilpatrick's book, Essentials of Assessing, Preventing, and Overcoming Reading Difficulties, he describes that when a student is orthographically mapping sight words, the sounds stored in long-term memory act as reference points and help the brain to remember the spelling patterns, which is crucial for sight-word learning.
The Science of Reading and Sight Words: The science of reading emphasizes the importance of explicit instruction in phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, and vocabulary development. While sight words can be a valuable tool, they should not be taught in isolation. By combining sight word instruction with decoding strategies, teachers can help students build a strong foundation for reading and spelling.
Incorporating Decoding into Sight Word Mastery
Explicit Phonics Instruction: Ensure students have a solid understanding of phonics patterns and letter-sound correspondences. This includes spiral review of graphemes (symbols) and their sounds that have been taught. If a sight word can be sounded out, encourage the students to do that during their first few encounters - then work on speed and automaticity.
Varied Format Practice: It is hypothesized that for sight words to be mapped effectively in a reader’s brain, the word must be encountered in a variety of formats - not just a variety of texts. Think about the formats of flash cards, rows, columns, even phrases and sentences within contextual reading.
Word Study Activities: Engage students in word study activities that focus on analyzing the structure of words, identifying patterns, and applying decoding strategies (if applicable). If a sight word is breaking a rule, put it in jail after identifying the offending (rule breaker) sounds! For example, the word “and” is a decodable sight word, but a rule-breaker word would be “said,” where the “ai” needs to be put in jail because it is breaking the sound-to-symbol rule for the grapheme “ai.”
Contextual Reading: Encourage students to read texts or brief phrases and sentences that contain the target sight words to reinforce their recognition and understanding in context. However, we cannot simply use specific “sight-word” books in isolation to rely on reading practice! Pro Tip: Use ChatGPT or AI prompts to create short phrases and sentences containing your specified sight words.
Multisensory Learning: For profoundly struggling learners, use a variety of techniques to engage multiple senses and enhance learning. This could include tracing words, writing the words on different textures, skywriting words, and spelling words out loud.
Supporting Parents in Home Practice
Provide Clear Instructions: Give parents specific guidelines on how to practice sight words at home.
Practice Regularly: Send home exactly what you want your students to practice - keep it short and sweet! Encourage quality and accuracy, not quantity.
Keep Practice Safe: This means that if a sight word is not decodable and the student struggles with it during practice at home, instruct parents to simply say the word and have the child echo each time they encounter the sight word. No guessing allowed! Reinforcing this poor coping strategy will only transfer to other unfamiliar words.
By rethinking sight words and incorporating decoding strategies when necessary, teachers can provide students with a more effective and sustainable approach to reading. By partnering with parents, we can create a supportive learning environment that fosters a safe environment and a love of reading and lifelong learning.
Who Am I?
Hello, I'm Sarah Houser, and I've been an educator for a decade. My journey in education has been driven by a passion for understanding and teaching the foundational skills that make reading accessible and joyful for all students. As a Certified Academic Language Therapist (CALT), I specialize in the science of reading and dyslexia intervention. My goal is to equip teachers and parents with the tools they need to transform reading education and ensure that every child can achieve their potential in literacy. Join me this month as we explore practical, research-backed strategies to enhance our teaching and support our students effectively. Together, we can unlock the full potential of every learner.
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