---
title: What are sight words?
description: What are sight words? Sight words (star words, popcorn words) are common words we recognize without sounding them out. See examples of sight words for different grades.
slug: what-are-sight-words
author: Julie Rawe
reviewer: Ginny Osewalt
published: '2019-08-30T20:18:57.595Z'
thumbnail: https://cdn-images.understood.org/p0qf7j048i0q/1WNEiHhFGqgPuIuGCF4ysS/befd5a9c7eecc3f8e77fbf21d54751f7/G533978369.jpg
source_url: https://www.understood.org/en/articles/what-are-sight-words
lang: en
---

# What are sight words?

Sight words are common words that schools expect kids to recognize instantly. Words like *the*, *it*, and *and* appear so often that beginning readers reach the point where they no longer need to try to sound out these words. They recognize them by sight.

Building up a large base of sight words helps kids become faster, more fluent readers. When kids master a sight word, they no longer have to pause to blend its letter-sounds together. And they don’t have to think about spelling rules. 

Some schools call sight words high-frequency words. Other terms for sight words include star words, core words, and popcorn words. Why popcorn? Because these words “pop up” so frequently in reading and writing. 

Learn more about [reading fluency](https://www.understood.org/en/articles/why-isnt-my-child-reading-fast-enough) and why it’s important.

---

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