Why is this skill important?
One of the key skills in reading any language is the ability to read quickly. The more we can read, the more text we can review in a short period of time. At Shooting Star we practice the sight words skills to help students to spend less time thinking about the word that they are saying, and more time thinking about what it means.
What are Sight Words and Fluency Phrases?
Sight words are common words and phrases that students might see in any given text. Starting with the most common words; ‘a’, ‘an’, ‘and’ etc in the beginner level. These are words that are commonly met by every reader. The sight words help students to spend less time thinking about how a word is pronounced as they should recognise the word and be able to immediately say the word without hesitation.
How does it work?
Students practice a set of words once a week; 10 sight words and phrases linked to those words. Students should be able to say the words that they see without thinking about how to say them. Then, they should combine these words with other words that are common and read them as fluently as possible. This can mean blending some words together, or just shortening the time between words.
How can parents help?
First of all, repetition is key. Students should be take the time to practice little by little every day. Meaning of the words is not important at this stage, but they should be able see the words and say them. As a little bonus, some students struggle with the spelling of these words, so we also practice the spelling. The worksheet attached on this page will help them to practice their spelling using the look, say, cover, write, check method. Further details can be found below.
Students can also use the audio below to help them with their pronunciation of the fluency phrases. Shadow reading (reading after the word has been listened to) as well as reading the phrase, will help your child to hear a modelled phrase, as well read the phrase they hear and then say aloud. Below are the audio files for the 6 books that your child will complete.