Sight Words: Words You Just Know

Some words do not play fair. "The" does not sound like t-h-e. "Said" does not sound like s-a-i-d. Sounding them out takes forever and still comes out wrong. So readers do something different: they learn to know these words on sight, the way you know a friend's face without sounding out their name.

Sight words are the little words that show up everywhere: the, and, said, was, are, you, they. In most storybooks, these few words fill half the page. When you know them on sight, reading gets faster and smoother all at once - the page stops feeling like work.

The way to learn them is friendly repetition: see the word, say the word, spot it in a book, celebrate. Flashcards are made for exactly this. A few minutes a day turns a strange word into a word you just know.