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Learning to recognize common words that appear often in books but may not follow standard rules.
Did you know that just tiny words make up almost of everything you read? If you learn these 'secret codes,' you will be able to read almost any book in the world!
Some words are like superstars—they appear everywhere! We call these sight words or high-frequency words. Some of these words are tricky because they don't always follow the normal rules of phonics. For example, the word the doesn't sound like 't-h-e' when you try to sound it out. Because we see them so often, we want to recognize them in a 'snap' without having to stop and sound them out. Think of them as Heart Words because you have to know them by heart!
Quick Check
Why do we call these 'sight words'?
Answer
Because we need to recognize them instantly by sight instead of sounding them out.
Let's look at our first superstar words: the, of, and, a, and to. These words are the glue that holds sentences together.
1. the: The cat is big. 2. of: A bag of chips. 3. and: Mom and Dad. 4. a: A red bird. 5. to: Go to school.
When you see these, don't try to sound them out. Just say the word as soon as your eyes land on it!
Read these short phrases out loud: 1. The dog and a cat. 2. A cup of milk. 3. Go to the park.
Quick Check
Which word from our list is in this sentence: 'I want a snack'?
Answer
The word is 'a'.
You are doing great! Here are the next words to add to your collection: in, is, you, that, and it.
* in: The toy is in the box. * is: The sun is hot. * you: You are my friend. * that: Look at that plane! * it: It is raining.
Notice how you and that have special sounds. We don't say 'y-o-u', we just say 'you'!
Try to read this sentence that uses words from both lists: 1. You are in the car. 2. It is a gift to you.
Can you find all sight words in this story? 'The dog is in the yard and it is happy. You can see that dog!'
Which of these is a sight word?
How many sight words are in this sentence: 'It is a cat'?
You should always try to sound out sight words like 'the' letter by letter.
Review Tomorrow
In 24 hours, look at a page in your favorite book and see if you can point to the words 'the', 'and', and 'you' without help.
Practice Activity
Write these words on small pieces of paper and hide them around the room. When you find one, shout it out loud!