Sight Words Although a lot of fuss is made over learning phonics reading, Phonics is actually not the hardest part of a student literacy program. In my opinion, sight words are much harder. Basically, a sight word is a word that is frequently used, but that bucks patterns of phonics. They are short words that can not be sounded out and must simply be memorized. Sight word lists are the bane of existence for any child with learning difficulties. Without them you cannot read even the simplest texts, yet many students never adequately master them up to grade level. Sight words lists can help a lot. Some schools take a whole language approach, refusing to really spend enough time drilling things like sight words and phonics lists. Students do not learn the patterns that make up language, and they also don't memorize these common words. Instead, they are expected to pick them up on their own by reading specially designed books. For some students this approach works well, but for other ones it is a miserable failure. It makes them feel stupid, and inspires a fear of reading that can last for a lifetime. Of course, word lists alone are not enough to get sight words. It doesn't make any sense to have a strict phonics program, or a whole language program either. You need a program that combines the best of both approaches. On the one hand, you need sight words and word lists. Students really need to make a concerted effort to study these words so they can recognize them, even without context. On the other hand, words in context are also important. Just adding a sight word it is not enough. A student needs to be able to read a story and see that word in the text. This will make it much easier for them to develop advanced reading skills. For students with difficulties, new sight words need to be added one step at a time. A first grade word list is not going to be as difficult as a second-grade list, and so on. Although some people might think that it will help to expose students to words above their level, this is not always the case. For students who are having trouble with the material, all you can do by giving them advanced words is to stress them out. You really don't want to make their lives any harder than they have to be. Summary Sight words are words that defy phonetics and must be memorized. Children with learning disabilities can have real trouble with sight words. This makes reading and building on experience and practice difficult. Take time with these special words and make sure kids can recognize them. Related Articles Students And Reference Books Effective Teaching Strategies Related Sites