When it comes to teaching your child to read it can be tricky to know what to focus on: phonics or sight words? The truth is, these two learning methods work hand in hand to build confidence in young readers.
What Are Phonics and Sight Words?
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Phonics is the foundation of decoding words, teaching children how letters and letter combinations represent sounds. This helps them break down new words and sound them out.
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Sight words are common words that don’t always follow standard phonetic rules and are best learned by recognition. These include words like the, said, was, and you—which children encounter frequently when reading.
By using phonics and sight words together, children develop both decoding skills and instant word recognition, setting them up for success in fluent reading.
Why Do They Work So Well Together?
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Sight Words Provide a Confidence Boost
Many beginner books include a high percentage of sight words. When children recognise these words instantly, they can focus more on the phonetic decoding of unfamiliar words, making reading less frustrating and more enjoyable. -
Phonics Helps Decode New Words
While sight words cover a large portion of beginner reading material, children will still encounter many unfamiliar words. Phonics gives them the skills to break down and decode these words independently, helping them read new texts with ease. -
Together, They Create Fluent Readers
A balance of sight words and phonics leads to smoother reading. Sight words allow for quicker reading of common words, while phonics provides the strategy to decode new vocabulary. This combination reduces pauses and stumbling, making reading more natural and enjoyable.
How to Use Them Together at Home
Start with Phonics Fundamentals
Teach letter sounds, blends, and word patterns so your child has a strong foundation for decoding words.
Our Phonics Kit is a great way to introduce and reinforce the principles of phonics in a hands-on way.
Introduce Sight Words into everyday
Rather than memorising words in isolation, point them out in books or label items around the house. Repetition and exposure help commit them to memory.
You can easily use our Sight Words Bundle to support your child's sight word learning at home. This fabulous tool incorporates tactile, hands-on play for learning sight words, featuring timber sight word discs and a learning boards for interactive engagement.
Use Interactive and Multi-sensory Methods
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Play games like sight word bingo or phonics scavenger hunts.
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Create sensory play activities incorporating phonics-based words with sight words.
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Encourage writing and spelling words to reinforce recognition.
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Read Together Daily
Choose books that include a mix of phonetic words and sight words. Let your child practice sounding out words while also pointing out sight words they already know.
Building a Lifelong Love of Reading
By combining phonics instruction with sight word recognition, children develop a balanced approach to reading. They gain confidence, independence, and—most importantly—a love for books! When kids feel successful in reading, they’re more likely to enjoy it and continue growing their skills.
Want to give your child the best start in reading? Explore our Phonics Kit and Sight Words Bundles, designed to make learning fun and effective!
Special Offer—Limited Time Only!
For a short time, when you purchase our Phonics Kit, you’ll get the Sight Words Bundle for 50% off! Give your child the ultimate reading advantage with these complementary learning tools.
Reading success starts here—let’s make it fun and frustration-free! Buy your phonics kit now! 💛