Sichtwort
Sight words, often also called high frequency sight words, are commonly used words that young children are encouraged to memorise as a whole by sight, so that they can automatically recognise these words in print without having to use any strategies to decode.[1]
Sight words account for a large percentage (up to 75%) of the words used in beginning children's print materials.[2] The advantage for children being able to recognise sight words automatically is that a beginning reader will be able identify the majority of words in a beginning text before they even attempt to read it; therefore, allowing the child to concentrate on meaning and comprehension as they read without having to stop and decode every single word.[3] Advocates of whole-word instruction believe that being able to recognise a large number of sight words gives students a better start to learning to read.[4]
Recognising sight words automatically is said to be advantageous for beginning readers because many of these words have unusual spelling patterns, cannot be sounded out using basic phonics knowledge and cannot be represented using pictures.[5] For example, the word 'was' does not follow a usual spelling pattern, as the middle letter 'a' makes an /o/ sound and the final letter 's' makes a /z/ sound, nor can the word be associated with a picture clue.
A number of sight word lists have been compiled and published, among the most popular are the Dolch sight words, and the magic 100 words. These lists have similar attributes, as they all aim to divide words into levels which are prioritised and introduced to children according to frequently of appearance in beginning reader's texts. Although many of the lists have overlapping content, the order of frequency of sight words varies and can be argued depending on contexts such as geographical location, empirical data, samples used, and year of publication.[6]
The term sight words is often confused with the recognition of words by sight, or otherwise called sight vocabulary, which is defined as each person's own bank of vocabulary that the person recognises instantly without having to decode.[7]
See also
- Phonics
- Whole language
- Literacy
- Most common words in English
- Reading (process)
- Reading comprehension
- Reading education in the United States
- Subvocalization
- Teaching reading: whole language and phonics
- Writing system
- Dolch 220
- Fry readability formula
External links
Dolch Sight Word Lists - http://www.mrsperkins.com/dolch.htm
Sources
Further reading
- ↑ Ravitch, Diane. (2007). EdSpeak : A Glossary of Education Terms, Phrases, Buzzwords, and Jargon. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.
- ↑ Kear, D. J., & Gladhart, M. A. (1983). Comparative study to identify high-frequency words in printed materials. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 57(3), 807-810.
- ↑ Kear, D. J., & Gladhart, M. A. (1983). Comparative study to identify high-frequency words in printed materials. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 57(3), 807-810.
- ↑ Ravitch, Diane. (2007). EdSpeak : A Glossary of Education Terms, Phrases, Buzzwords, and Jargon. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.
- ↑ ABC Reading Eggs. (2013). What are sight words?. Retrieved from http://readingeggs.com.au/articles/what-are-sight-words
- ↑ Otto, W., & Chester, R. (1972). Sight words for beginning readers. The Journal of Educational Research, 435-443.
- ↑ Rapp, S. (1999). Recognizing words on sight; activity. The Sun. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/docview/406438437?accountid=14543