‘The’, ‘said’, ‘was’ \u2014 some words appear everywhere and don’t always play by phonics rules. Here is how to teach them well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A small set of words \u2014 the, and, said, was, is \u2014 makes up a huge share of everything your child will ever read. Knowing them instantly makes every sentence easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sight words are not a replacement for phonics \u2014 they are a small supplement. Most ‘sight words’ are actually mostly decodable; only the odd part (‘the’) needs memorising. Teach the regular parts with sounds and point out the tricky bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Practise five to eight words at a time, a few minutes a day. Games work best: word snap, treasure hunts, spotting the word in a storybook. Once a word is instant, retire it and add a new one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our lessons weave high-frequency words into every grade at the right CAPS moment, with audio support so children hear each word as they learn it. See how they appear in Grade 1<\/a> and Grade 2<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nKey takeaways<\/h2>\n\n\n\n