Sight words themselves are not "dyslexic"; rather, they are a specific category of words that often present significant challenges for individuals with dyslexia. These difficulties arise primarily because many sight words do not follow typical phonetic rules and cannot be easily "sounded out."
Why Sight Words Pose a Challenge for Dyslexic Readers
For individuals with dyslexia, a key difficulty lies in decoding words that lack predictable phonetic patterns. Sight words, especially irregular words, fall into this category. Words such as "is," "once," "the," and "a" are frequently encountered, yet they don't conform to standard phonetic rules, making them hard to decipher using typical phonics strategies.
Furthermore, many of these challenging sight words are one-syllable words, which can make it even harder to break them down or recognize them by their parts. Readers with dyslexia often rely on phonetic cues to read new words, but when these cues are absent, as is the case with many sight words, memorization becomes the primary method of recognition. This can be particularly taxing for a dyslexic brain.
Examples of Challenging Sight Words
The words that pose challenges for individuals with dyslexia are typically those that appear frequently in text but don't follow regular spelling-sound correspondences. These are often referred to as "irregular sight words" or "high-frequency words."
Here are some common examples of sight words that can be challenging:
- Words with unexpected spellings:
- is
- once
- said
- of
- was
- they
- where
- two
- does
- Words with common but non-phonetic spellings:
- the
- a
- I
- you
- have
- from
- some
Common Irregular Sight Words
The following table highlights some common irregular sight words that often require direct memorization due to their unpredictable spelling patterns:
| Word | Phonetic Challenge |
|---|---|
| a | Pronounced with a short 'uh' sound, not a long 'a'. |
| the | 'th' sound can be voiced or unvoiced; 'e' is a schwa. |
| is | 's' sounds like 'z'. |
| was | 'a' sounds like 'o', 's' sounds like 'z'. |
| said | 'ai' sounds like a short 'e'. |
| of | 'f' sounds like 'v'. |
| once | 'o' sounds like 'wuh', 'ce' sounds like 's'. |
| have | 'a' is short 'a', but 've' doesn't sound like 'v' + 'e'. |
| do | 'o' sounds like 'oo'. |
| are | 'ar' sound is irregular for its spelling. |
Strategies for Learning Challenging Sight Words
While these words are difficult, there are effective strategies to help individuals with dyslexia learn them. These often involve multi-sensory approaches and repeated exposure:
- Trace, Copy, Cover, Write, Check (TCCWC): A tactile method where the student traces the word, copies it, covers it, writes it from memory, and then checks their work.
- Arm Tapping: Tapping out each letter of the word on their arm while saying it, then saying the whole word.
- Sky Writing: Using large arm movements to "write" the word in the air while saying each letter and the whole word.
- Building with Letter Tiles: Physically arranging letter tiles to form the word helps kinesthetic learners.
- Flashcards with Context: Using flashcards that present the word both in isolation and within a simple sentence.
- Regular Review: Consistent, short review sessions are more effective than infrequent, long ones.
By understanding why these specific words are challenging and employing targeted, multi-sensory teaching methods, individuals with dyslexia can develop the necessary recognition skills for these essential sight words. Learn more about how dyslexia impacts reading at Understood.org.
