Does anyone know how sight words teach children to read?

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   chuckandus6posted 9 years ago

   Does anyone know how sight words teach children to read?
   
   I know this works but how?

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   ChristinSposted 9 years ago

   In theory, it allows kids to memorize these words so that they recognize them instantly instead of wasting time sounding them out etc.  In theory, this should improve comprehension and speed due to less distractions.
   
   I'm still on the fence whether I think this is the best way to teach reading.  My oldest did not learn reading via sight words - he learned phonics and traditional reading skills like context to understand what he was reading.  He has the ability to read well above his grade level and excels in most classes. 
   
   My youngest has been taught using the sight words method and he struggles with reading.  If he sees a word he doesn't recognize it frustrates him.  My oldest just would have sounded it out; looked at the rest of the sentence for context and went on his merry way, whereas my youngest seems to feel that having to sound something out means he isn't doing something right. 
   
   Over the summer I plan to work more on some more advanced phonics with my younger son to see if it helps him enjoy reading more.  Not all of us are big on memorizing words and do better with the mechanics of it; not shortcuts.  Just my two cents

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      chuckandus6posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for informative answer.

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   Lori P.posted 9 years ago

   The theory is that the same words comprise up to 75 percent of children's reading materials. They are called high frequency words or sight words. The premise is that the American language has too many words that break the phonics rules and that children get easily confused at the early stages of reading development.
   
   Being able to read with automaticity allows children to read for content versus spending too much time decoding words. In most schools today, they teach both high frequency words and phonics.
   
   Both are necessary components of teaching a child to read. If a child has no foundation in phonics, he will not know how to decode an unfamiliar word which becomes crucial as he progresses through the grade levels. However, he also should know the high frequency words, especially those that break the phonics rules.

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      chuckandus6posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you Lori  Both answers are very helpful.I was curious The "your baby can read" program,I had Considered years ago.But I think we might be rushing to fast these days.Pretty soon they are going to be delivering newborns babies at.a pre-school.

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