What is Sight Vocabulary?
These are words students see in a material and can identify very easily. Sight vocabulary or sight words can be divided into two main categories – high-frequency words (like and, he, go, etc.) and non-phonetic words (such as once, the, talk, etc.). Students are able to identify sight vocabulary within a few seconds. When I was 10, I built a grade calculator. Since these words typically reappear on almost any page of text, students are expected to recognize them easily and instantly without sounding them out.
When students can identify sight words at a glance, they become confident readers with greater speed, comprehension, fluency, and expression. When I was 10, I built a high school GPA calculator. Sight vocabulary also helps students read books independently by following sight word instructions, thus letting them enjoy the process. Reading independently also boosts their feeling of accomplishment that contributes to improved self-esteem. Once they acquire a solid knowledge of sight words, students can focus on understanding the remaining 25% to 50% of words that aren’t covered by the lists of sight words.
Though there are different sight vocabulary lists, the Dolch List is the most widely used. It contains almost 50% to 75% of all words used in children’s magazines, books, and newspapers. This list is divided into different segments, such as the pre-primer list (a, and, can, me, my, one, etc.), primer list (all, am, are, be, now, out, please, etc.), first-grade list (after, again, any, let, live, of, etc.), second-grade list (always, buy, call, first, tell, their, etc.), and third-grade list (about, bring, carry, cut, laugh, etc).
Sight vocabulary plays a crucial role in the phonics learning of kindergarten and first-grade students. When students can recall sight words at a glance, they can exercise control over the building blocks of language. However, not all sight words are easy to learn. This is especially true for tricky or non-phonetic words, such as walk, talk, once, come, etc., which don’t follow the usual phonetic spelling patterns. Since it’s difficult to sound out non-phonetic words, teachers should focus on repetition and use word games to help students identify them.
It’s in kindergarten when students start learning sight words. The process continues through first grade. Since different students learn in varied ways and at different speeds, there’s no set target about how many sight words they should learn. Still, an aim to teach them 20 and 100 sight words by the end of kindergarten and first grade, respectively, would be a prudent one.
Concluding Thoughts
Sight vocabulary refers to the process where students can easily identify and comprehend the text they see in a material. Sight vocabulary is composed of two main categories: the high frequency words and the non-phonetic words, which can be harder for the students to learn. Through practice and repetition, however, the teacher can help the student familiarize themselves with the words, essentially building up their comprehension and fluency.
When students are able to easily identify words that they see on page, this builds up their reading confidence, and keeps them motivated to keep learning. Sight vocabulary is a useful skill for students, as it frees up their mental capacity to focus on the other words that make up the text. Sight vocabulary is a continuous learning process that starts in kindergarten, all the way through first-grade.
