First graders are at the first step of the stairs in the learning journey, and as they move up the stairs, they face increasingly hard words and skills. Being so young, first graders must be given guidance to broaden their vocabulary and improve their reading and spelling skills.

Sight words are milestones for the first grader that allow them to become a more fluent and a faster reader. In this article, we will discuss the meaning of sight words, their importance in the learning process, and provide a list of sight words for 1st graders along with tips to memorize them quicker. 

Sight Words Meaning

Sight words, also commonly known as Dolch words, are frequently used English words that are encouraged to be memorized by students in the early stages of education. They are crucial because they are present in 50 – 75 % of all grade school material. They include the popular sounds: “a, an, and, the” and many more essential English sounds. Numerous schools use sight words to improve the fluency of their 1st graders. 

These bullet points describe basic information regarding sight words and what you should know about them.

• Sight words often appear in text. You will encounter them frequently while reading books.
• There is no specific spelling rule for sight words. Furthermore, they do not follow any phonetic pattern, and because of this, their sound does not match their letters.
• Unlinke nouns, there’s no way to visually represent sight words. You can not show a picture of the word “an or the.”, but you can show the picture of a “bicycle”. 
• Because of the high frequency of sight words, children should recognize and learn them earlier than other words.

Why is it Important to Teach Sight Words to Your Kid?

These words are present regularly on most reading pages. If the child has an understanding of sight words, he is able to read in a more fluent and effortless manner. Learning sight words can improve reading skills and the child’s ability to recognize the sounds of the words relative to their letters.
For example, one sight word: “THE” speaks in the sound of “DA”. The sound of this word is not consistent with its spelling, which demonstrates why they are so important for a first grader to learn. While reading this article, you have also frequently encountered sight words, their importance can not be refuted.

First Grader and Words List

Almost 75% of children’s book is covered with sight words. If the child is a strong learner from an early age, he can learn sight words with little effort. But for the new learner, these words may require effort and struggle during reading.

Spelling bee ninja prepared many sight words list for first grade. The one below is helpful for first graders to get more fluency in English reading. On top of all, teachers and parents can save this list for first graders.
In the end, we will share some tips for learning sight words at home. So, stick around this article to know the pro tips of learning.

PDF, Flashcards and SBN formats

	> 1st grade sight words in PDF Format
	> 1st grade sight words FLASHCARDS in PDF Format
	> 1st grade sight words with our SBN APP

 Tips to Practice

Learning sight words is crucial for developing basic reading skills. Playing fun games and reading a book together can help the child remember these words. Here we recommend you some tips for memorizing the sight words frequently.

• At home, you can quiz your child on sight words. For instance, you can keep your child active by asking any question that sight words use frequently. Because children love to answer questions, it could be a good learning point for your kid.
• When you’re reading a book together, notice the sight words and ask your child to read aloud the sentences that contain sight words.
• Words are everywhere, whether you’re at home, on the road, or in a shopping mall. So, find the sight words on food packets, shopping bags, and even on road boards. Engage your child by asking him about sight words.
• Spelling bee ninja also arranged the Dolch words lists and many other words list for first grade. These lists are helpful to make your child master.
• Ask your child to speak aloud the sight words throughout the day.

Please also check this article for further tips on how to use the sight words for your classroom activity.

See also

Online printable kids crossword puzzle

Learn Sight Words with Spelling Bee Ninja

We have told you a few tips, you can practice at home with your child. As a parent, if you think that your child is not in your control, you can seek help from us. We are here offering you a spelling bee training system. Spelling words games and tutorials of learning the spellings can make your child a champion in a week. Moreover, you can find a words list of every grade here that could help your kid in mastering the words lists.

Spelling bee ninja brings also a lot of resources and activities for teachers! So, if you’re a teacher you might want to have a look to these classroom activities.
On top of all, spelling bee ninja offers eBooks at a reasonable price that may help kids to build a strong vocabulary and quickly improve spelling skills.

More sight words lists and resources

Along with this list, our spelling app offers many dolch words lists ready to be printed as flashcards or used in spelling test, please check our featured lists here,  also you might want to check these articles to dive more into sight words studying: