Sight words are words that you just have to memorize because they don’t “follow the rules”, right? Actually, wrong! Many of us, including myself, have taught this for years. In fact, I was taught this as a student. However, this is just not true. The good thing is that the truth is this: sight words actually CAN be sounded out. Well, most of them. And, the ones that do have parts that don’t follow the typical letter sound patterns? Typically parts of them can be sounded out. So, let’s take a closer look at the truth about sight words and how the science of reading can actually make teaching new words easier!
So, what exactly IS a sight word?
When you hear the word “sight word” or “high frequency word” the names Dolch and Fry might come to mind. Many teachers, myself included, were taught that sight words are the most commonly used words and that they often can’t be decoded. This means students can’t sound them out, so they just have to memorize them. Well, that’s only partly true. It is true that many of the “sight words” or “high frequency” words we teach are very frequently used in spoken and written English language. However, the idea that we just have to memorize them because they can’t be sounded out is far from true.
Actually, you know a whole lot more than 500 sight words. Adults can recognize between 30,000 and 70,000 sight words! (stat from here) A sight word is just a word that you can recognize by sight. Think about when you read. You don’t need to sound out many words at all. You probably only need to sound out new or unusual words. Just think about when you’re reading this article. I’m using very common words, and you’ve likely not needed to sound out even one. This article is most likely made up of words you can read on sight: ie sight words.
How do we gain so many sight words?
So, how has your brain acquired so many words you can read on sight? You’ve learned the sounds, rules, and patterns that make up the English language. Whether it was taught implicitly or not, you’ve developed the knowledge of how the English language which has allowed you to memorize so many words. You might be thinking “but you said you don’t have to memorize sight words. This is true. Most parts of sight words don’t need to be memorized. They can be decoded just like other words. However, once your brain understand the patterns and recognizes the word, it no longer needs to sound it out each time. This leads you to commit the word to memory.
How do we help students learn “sight words”?
Now, here’s what you’re really here for. How can we use the science of reading to teach students how to read so called “sight words”? The answer is that we teach students to breakdown the words and discover which letters represent each sound. Most high frequency words follow regular spelling patterns. Their might be parts that don’t, so we address those. In my classroom, we break it down to three steps. Tap It, Map It, and Graph It. I use a printable template like the one shown in the examples. You can download this template for free in my free resource library for email subscribers.
Tap It
First, when teaching students a new word, we can have them tap the word. Coming from a fundations background, we tap out the word touching our thumb to our pointer, middle, ring, and then pinky fingers as necessary. Let’s use the word “said” as an example. We aren’t listening for how many letters. We are listening for how many sounds. So, I will say “said”, my students repeat “said”. Then, together we tap it and break it down into how many sounds we hear: /s/ /eh/ /d/. Said has 3 phonemes or sounds. I always have my students tell me how many sounds they hear.
Map It
Next, I have my students map, or show, how many sounds they hear with counters. This is similar to elkonin boxes. They put one counter for each sound.
Graph It
Lastly, we graph it. Graphemes are the letters that make up the phonemes (sounds). We do this one sound at a time. For “said”, we start with the initial sound /s/ which is represented by the letter s. When we move to the second sound /eh/, it is not represented by the typical letter that makes that sound- e. I normally leave the counter on this sound (for now) and move on to the final sound /d/ which is represented by the letter d. As you can see, 2 out of the 3 sounds in the word are decodable! Now let’s look at how to handle that one part that isn’t decodable.
What is a Heart Part?
After we’ve graphed all of the parts that are decodable, I will go back to the parts that aren’t, In the word “said”, that middle sound, /eh/, is represented by ai. I start by asking my students what letter or letters normally represent the /eh/ sound. Once they answer, I explain that they’re correct, but in this word, the /eh/ sound doesn’t follow the normal rules and is represented by different letters. I tell them this is a heart part.
A heart part is a part of the word that doesn’t follow the normal pattern and we have to learn by heart. I will then ask if any students know what letters represent the sound, and we move the counter up and write it in the box. We draw a heart above it to remind ourselves that this part is a heart part. The beauty of this is that, instead of trying to memorize the whole word, they only have to memorize one part.
The Benefits of Learning Words with the Tap It, Map It, Graph It Method
Once we’ve written down the word in the boxes, we practice saying and spelling it. I then will have them write it underneath the boxes on their own. The amazing thing about learning sight words and any words in this way is that students will typically commit the word to memory after just practicing it a few times. When you’re trying to memorize the whole word without mapping it, it typically takes students many, many times.
It’s also great because you can tap, map, and graph any word. It allows students to learn any word in the same manner. It makes all words just words! You can use this method with decodable CVC words and longer words as well.
Click the picture below to download the Tap It, Map It, Graph It template from my free resource library for email subscribers.
You might also enjoy:
Using Syllables to Help Students Decode Words
The First 3 Minutes of Guided Reading
5 Simple Ways to Help Reluctant Readers
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