Essential Sight Words
Children start learning to read by recognizing words without having to sound them out. These words are often called sight words or high-frequency words. There are two lists of essential sight words. The first was created by Dr. E.W. Dolch in the 1930s, and the second list came from Dr. Edward B. Fry 1993. There are several ways to help a child learn these words.
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Importance of Essential Sight Words
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More than 50 percent of words in textbooks, newspapers and magazines are made up of sight words. Sight words are recognized by memory. Oftentimes these words are obscure and cannot be represented by a picture; some may also not follow phonetic rules, making it impossible to sound out. Young children can get a start in reading by learning to recognize essential sight words early.
Dolch Sight Words
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Dolch Sight Words are named after Dr. E.W. Dolch. He created the list by surveying several children's books. The list consist of the 220 most common words and 95 nouns. Dolch discovered that 50 to 75 percent of all children's book are made up of these words. The most common words Dolch found are "the," "to," "and," "he," "a," "I," "you," "it," "of" and "in."
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Fry Sight Words
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In the 1990s Dr. Edward Fry expanded on Dolch's word list and created a list of 1,000 words. His research shows that 25 words make up more than a third of all published works, and 100 words are common in more than half of all publications. The top 10 most common words from Fry's list are "the," "of," "and," "a," "to," "in," "is," "you," "that" and "it."
Teaching Essential Sight Words
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Fry suggests using flashcards to teach children how to recognize essential sight words. Write a word on each flashcard and go over the cards repeatedly with your children. Soon they will start to memorize the word and able to read it in books and other print. Lay the flashcards out to make short sentences, and have your child read it back to you.
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References
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