Struggling readers often struggle to learn and recall sight words.
But what are sight words? The true meaning of “sight words” is that the child can recognise and read the word as soon as they see it.
When children start school they are often given lists of sight words to learn each week. This can be a very stressful time for the parents and the children, especially if the child is struggling to retain the words. Different schools use different sight word lists – Magic 100; Dolch; Fry etc. These sight words lists are based on the frequency that these words appear in books. For some children however, learning sight words is hard! Struggling readers and sight words often ends in tears. There are many reasons that your child may find sight words tricky. Reading is a complex task. As efficient readers, we can forget how hard it can be to learn to read. You may find it useful to refresh your memory of all the steps kids need to learn how to read.
Some kids struggle with sight words because they do not follow the letter-sound patterns they have begun learning. Letter-sound patterns is referring to the sounds that the letters refer to. It is easy to sound out and read “stand”. In contrast, “should” is a much harder sight word to learn. That’s because “should” doesn’t follow early letter-sound patterns.
Many schools are delaying the introduction of sight words. Instead, they are focussing on learning letters and sounds. This is supported in the research. In fact, a study by Stanford University on sight words found that kids were able to read words they had never seen before as long as they followed letter-sound patterns (McCandliss & Noble, 2016).
This is why letter-sounds links is an important part of our Prep Easy groups!
Our Prep Easy groups and Prep4Prep groups focus on teaching children oral language, phonological awareness, letter-sound links and vocabulary. We also show parents tips and tricks to help continue fostering a love of reading.
To secure your child’s spot, contact us today!
