What are sight words?

Kids can sound out many words they see all the time because those words follow the rules of phonics, such as in, hat, and bed. 

But some words don’t sound like they’re spelled — words like of, to, and was. If kids sounded them out, they might pronounce them “off,” “toe,” and “wass.” Or if they tried to spell them, they might guess “uv,” “too,” and “wuz.” Since these words don’t follow the rules, kids need to learn to recognize them automatically. 

Sometimes sight word lists are color-coded to show which ones can be sounded out. Words that follow spelling rules might be in green. Tricky words with irregular spellings might be in red. 

Learn how phonics can help kids with reading and spelling.

Each year grade-schoolers are expected to recognize more and more words by sight. Schools set their own rules about which words kids need to know by which grade level.

Here are examples of the sight words kids learn in each grade: 

• Kindergarten: be, but, do, have, he, she, they, was, what, with

• First grade: after, again, could, from, had, her, his, of, then, when

• Second grade: around, because, been, before, does, don’t, goes, right, which, write

• Third grade: better, carry, eight, laugh, light, myself, only, own, shall, together

• Fourth grade: area, body, certain, complete, measure, notice, piece, questions, unit, usually

• Fifth grade: among, course, equation, language, machine, minutes, produce, quickly, shown, special

Learn about other reading and spelling skills kids are expected to learn at different ages.

Sight words need to be explicitly taught. And students need repeated practice with sight words to build their sight words base. This is especially true for words with irregular spellings that students need to memorize.

Learn about evidence-based strategies for:

• Teaching sight words

• Spelling regular words

• Spelling irregular words

Having trouble with reading and spelling doesn’t mean kids aren’t smart. Some kids need extra support to make progress, especially with sight words.

Families can help by creating a space to display the words kids have mastered. They can also make picture cards with illustrations on one side and sight words on the other.

Explore other ways families can help with sight words:

• Use multisensory techniques like tracing sight words in sand or shaving cream. 

• See what helps kids with dyslexia learn sight words.

• Get tips for talking with teachers to help support kids with reading and spelling.