the think tank: Why Should Students Master Sight Words?

I must admit, I never really thought about the importance of a child "mastering" their sight words. I took it for granted that sight words are something that kids just innately know... okay, not innately but pretty darn close! As I reflected on the end of this semester, I focused on three areas -

self
my pedagogy
what my students need more of to be successful

I checked off the first two boxes (to be discussed later) and laser focused on my students and what they needed. I have an amazing class filled with a rainbow of personalities and abilities. They tackle most assignments with a zeal that only 7 and 8 year-olds can have. Sometimes in their zest, they forget that little things are important. That brings me back to the beginning, sights words are an area where some of my students really struggle. They seem to ignore that these words require memorization in order to spell them correctly. I assumed that as the year progressed this area would organically improve with input from me. It has not been the case. So I started doing some research. I'm sure you know the basics:

sight words account for up to 75% of the words used in early readers
most sight words do not follow the basic phonics principles, they can't be sounded out
the first 100 sight words represent over 50% of English text
sight words build the foundation for reading comprehension and writing fluency

When a student recognizes his/her sight words with proficiency, their reading and writing confidence sky rockets! My goal is to ensure that each of my struggling students become sight word experts by the end of the year. I searched for sight word practice sheets and activities to get me started, however, most of those focused on beginning learners. I didn't want my students to feel that their skills were somehow inadequate. You know me... I created sight word packets for my students! So far, I have four resources. One each for grades 1-3 and a sight word bundle. In my class we are starting with 2nd grade sight words and moving either up or down from there. First I looked at their sight word data and created individual plans for each student who needs additional practice. In some cases I introduce the word in guided reading with one of my practice sheets and they finish it for seat work follow-up. Celebrations are important no matter how small. So each student has a check list to circle words as they are mastered.

Take a look at at what we've done so far. Also, check out a sample of my Sight Resource on my FREEBIE page.