Stop Teaching Your Child to Memorize Sight Words

[@kmb2879]

Totally agree! I used to teach 7th grade ELA and I had kids who could not sound out words at all. They would guess at what a new word said based on the first and last letters. They were never taught each letter’s sounds! So I’m making it a point to teach my own kids differently!

[@toddlerscanread]

Yes! Exactly right and I've done the same thing too but am trying to do better now!

[@mturner6767]

I'm sure you're thinking that's what you're doing, but you can't teach how to read the English language without teaching sight words, period.

[@v_lh109]

I actually got on here and saw this thinking I'd be able to send my daughter's second grade teacher this video and be like look you're not supposed to be teaching her sight words 🤔 but she was taught the sounds of each letter in kindergarten and first grade. So just curious, are there some schools that are not teaching them the sounds of their letters, first? If so, that is just crazy!!!

[@mturner6767]

@@v_lh109 They are actually teaching both, you can't read or write the English language without knowing a majority of sight words.

[@v_lh109]

@@mturner6767 ohhh, the way teachers are teaching now is so different than back when I was in school. My daughter's 2nd grade teacher was showing me how she was teaching them some new way of carrying the one and showing their work that just had me confused.

[@Jackiesdaughter84]

"When you teach a kid the shortcut before you teach them the path, they're gonna want to take the shortcut every time"---a word👏👏👏👏👏

[@jezreellaruan]

I'm Filipino and I'm teaching my 3 year old to read English. She can already read two letter words together because I have taught her the sound of each letter of the Alphabet. I am currently making her read three letter words and she can read seamlessly thanks to the sound words. I was planning to teach her sight words by making her memorize them, but when I came across your video I changed my mind. I totally agree with you. It may take us a lot of time and effort to explain to our children each rules of how to read certain words, but once they know the rules, they will be able to actually read without guessing it and they won't have to memorize hundreds of sight words. I will watch more of your videos because I find this one helpful. Thank you!

[@MrsGetOverYourself]

My son is in Kindergarten and I’m a new pre k teacher. As my son is coming home with sight word homework I’ve felt like they were icky, I wasn’t sure right away why I didn’t like them. I love reading, teaching reading, but sight words seemed like cheating. I’m doing my homework now about why I feel that way. Thank you for giving me a way to explain to the teachers I work with why I don’t like them!

[@athomewiththedavises3457]

You might check out sounding out the sight words from Logic of English. It's a program to help learn the rules to sight words as you get them instead of just memorizing them. Unfortunately they didn't have this with our first child but Before we pulled our kids out of school & started homeschooling/taking classes at a homeschool academy, my oldest child would come home with these sight word lists. I HATED it but didn't know what to do because she had to do it. So I treated it like a spelling words list instead and made her learn to spell and read them. To keep her from memorizing the shape of the words; I got a dry erase board and these magnetic letter squares (squares with letters and combinations of letters) and we would go through the list and learn how to blend each sound and how to spell each word. So she didn't just know how to read it but how to spell it. It's not ideal and we ended up taking her out of public school largely because the sight word method isolated from actual reading practice caused her a lot of issues with reading when she got to first grade. But she at least was not just memorizing the whole shape of the word and was getting some level of education in how to blend sounds to read.

[@sewcandid599]

From kinder-2nd my oldest was forced sight words. I always questioned the teachers about it and why they didn’t teach the phonics. He clearly wasn’t getting it or loving reading. He was put on a IEP and we Finally got a teacher who listened. He jumped 8 levels in 4 months! Now my 3yr old at home and my 2 oldest back in school I’m teaching him phonics. I will not have him fall victim to the sight word craze. I found you on TikTok today I’m definitely going to follow along.

[@wisebookspub]

Spence, thanks for this video. I'm an Academic Interventionist-Reading in the Detroit Public Schools. I appreciate you enlightening me about how to effectively teach sight words. Until now, I was teaching my students just like I was taught and learned sight words (by chunking and memorization). However, you have given me a more effective way. Thanks again!

[@toddlerscanread]

Glad it was helpful! Appreciate the work you’re doing in the classroom!

[@Pinkpanda0000]

Hi Spence, I am also an interventionist and I have always wondered why kids guess words when they are reading instead of sounding out the words. 🤔 Your videos are so helpful and insightful. 😅 I’ve started using your strategies, and my kids are really learning how to READ. THANK YOU!🙏🏾 This makes sense😊

[@carrimacf]

You're a great guy Spencer! I love teachers getting excited about phonics and who teach it RIGHT!!!

[@Mum_and_LizzyLark]

Thank you for this video. English is not my native tongue, but I taught myself how to read at 3 because i loved hearing the letter sounds. They were teaching Filipino phonics too but I could read it until I was 7, because we were taught many sight words. My cousins with 3 year olds are bragging about their kids reading/memorizing sight words. I felt like my daughter is so left behind (especially with her speech delay). I’m glad that I found this video and I will not start teaching my Lizzy to memorize words, and start from sounding it out. Thank you.

[@lindatorres-lopez8306]

Great video! Love your Instagram, this is such a great complement to your Instagram. I am a homeschooler and this has made me realize why my 2 oldest still struggle to read (they learned while in public school) and is helping me on how to teach my toddler and maybe help my middle better.

[@AwkwardWhispers]

I'm 28. I don't remember learning to read through sight words. I remember doing it exactly as you explain it. We learned the rules of spelling as we learned to read. I don't know why schools are pushing for rote memorization these days. Teachers should all remember that rote memory is the worst way to commit an idea to long term memory. It's at the bottom of Bloom's Taxonomy. Adults read by sight because they've had way more practice-- they look at the first and last letter and guess the order of the middle. Children are not adults. They should not sight read. Sight reading comes with proficiency. If a child can't understand a spelling rule than that word is above their reading level.

[@Jess-hf9me]

My son is in the first grade and they've been forcing the memorizing of sight words since kindergarten. When I had the parent/teacher conference his teacher actually told me that my son always tries to sound out words as if that was a problem. I have always taught him to sound it out. That is the way I learned to read so I get confused with the best way to help him. They test only on sight words when it comes to reading in his class. I don't like it either because it makes him not understand if he should just guess the word or sound it out.

[@toddlerscanread]

I'm so sorry to hear that's been your experience. 😕 I have a video on this page about what to do if you don't like the way the school is teaching your child that might have some helpful tips for your situation!

[@jazmineapodaca4423]

Currently in the same boat as you with my son. His is in Kinder and is expected to learn and memorize 56 sight words. 😒

[@MsEBarts]

Same here. They said, "No, she can't sound it out she has to know them by site."

[@sandraheuvel3153]

Hi Spencer. Love your teaching/reading methods. I assist children with homework. How do I explain a word like "do"...and "so". And "does" and "goes" Thank you Sandi

[@tavaresmac6620]

Great video extremely informative flawless execution Spence

[@toddlerscanread]

Appreciate it boss!

[@teeme2050]

Thank you for your video. I struggled with reading as a child, so it's very important to me to learn different reading strategies to help my kids.

[@judykranzler8074]

Yes! Spencer is so clear and engaging! I am delighted to have found him here!

[@jeffkunzeDotCom]

This is definitely a problem. My son is 10 and I can tell if he doesn't have a word memorized he will guess at it. When I tell him to try that word again, I tell him to sound it out. He get's so frustrated he quits a lot of the time. I wish he had learned the right way from the beginning like this.

[@shannonthevenin2639]

Great explanation! I’ve done a lot of blending teaching with my toddler as well as some sight words. I’d love to see videos on how to teach other tricky words. This is where I struggle because I don’t know how to explain why a letter makes a different sound.

[@toddlerscanread]

Great suggestion! I've got a lot on this in my Reading Books Course, and then some on my Instagram page as well. I'm sure I'll tackle it soon enough here too!

[@nickolespears]

I don't even have children and this was so valuable. And I'm forever grateful for learning phonics. I've pronounced words I've NEVER SEEN BEFORE. In HS I was able to take 2 English College courses in 11th and 12th grade. Love this MOVEMENT! They're changing a lot of things in education and it makes me uncomfortable.

[@Educate_Improve_Share]

I agree to some extent about the sight words. I think there is a time and a place for sight words. If the word can be blended then you should teach the pedagogy of literacy but some words even if you sound them out they won't make sense.i think if they know the origin of the words it helps them make sense on why they are spelt the way they are. Very good video!

[@bigchief7040]

I came from TikTok! Love your videos glad you are doing KZbin now! Should we be teaching our young ones the letters first, Sounds or both at the same time? My son is 18 months and knows his shapes, colors and some animals. I haven't actually sat down and tried to teach him the letters yet so I'm not sure where to start. Thank you! I love your content!

[@toddlerscanread]

Thanks for hopping over here (it's better than my TikTok lol.) I personally recommend teaching the sounds first because that's what kids use to actually read the words on the page. Check the description though bro: I've got a 30 min training that will help you get started with your little guy!

[@sugerless20]

@bigchief7040 How did you teach colours & shapes? One of my nieces is around that age. My older niece is pretty good at reading now. I got a book that taught reading by learning the sounds.

[@bigchief7040]

@@sugerless20 I bought a basic shape sorter and had him first figure out how to do it on his own. Then I would do it and say the shape name as I did it. Once he knew the names then I would ask him to grab one and sort it by only using the name of the shape. While he in that stage I would ask him to repeat it. After he had the shapes down, I repeated the same process with the colors because the shapes were also different colors.

[@Jackiesdaughter84]

Thank you for this valuable information.❤

[@toddlerscanread]

Glad it was helpful!

[@pranitaagrawaljain2411]

Will definitely try this method for the sight words thanks a lot for sharing this 👍🏻👍🏻🙏🏻

[@katinajenkins9233]

Absolutely I’m 52 years old and we were taught using phonics and it helped. When did the school system start teaching the kids to memorize sight words? It doesn’t help

[@anniewilliamson8343]

Merci . Everything you explain make sense,surely when a child is going to learn how to read in different languages.

[@beautifulwork3556]

Wowwww just wowwwww❤I wish we had such an awesome master in Iran😢god bless you 🌹🌹🌹❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@emmaa6889]

So glad I found your content before starting to work with my children on reading skills

[@toddlerscanread]

I'm so glad it's helpful as well!

[@NayShea7]

Great explanation. What are your thoughts on The Good and Beautiful booster Reader cards. They seem to focus on mostly Phonics but have a select few sight words.

[@Sabedoria1023]

Thanks for these videos! I'm getting ready to start teaching my 2.5 year old to read.

[@nabilaakrouche9262]

Great explanation. Thank you!

[@toddlerscanread]

You're welcome!

[@frozenflo4724]

While i understand your clear and logical explanation/reason to teach reading and not memorizing, how would you suggest teaching a toddler sight words as they wont be able to understand the grammar rules as yet.? Thanks!!

[@flownez1111]

11:37 - 11:48 I couldn't agree more. Sometimes they push the children to read even though the children still difficult to memorized the letter sounds.

[@BabyChris17]

That shutting down scares me honestly. I’ve worked with all grade levels k-12 and those that know sight words will read a page very fluently then come to a word they don’t know and completely go blank. It is very scary because they are being taught what they want them to know. We are going to have grown ups that can’t truly read and the system knows every word you know cause that ode are the only words they taught you. Brainwashing!

[@eileensullivan4924]

Hey. . .but if you have taught analogous words like "light, bright, fight, night" is it a bad idea to shuffle them in with other types of words they are learning to see if they can get them out of context? And the

[@princessg4100]

So well explained! 👏🏾

[@toddlerscanread]

Thank you! That's the goal : )

[@lorrithzanelson1068]

Wow! I Subscribed✔ Thank you for all the helpful information.

[@toddlerscanread]

You're very welcome!

[@chey6557]

So I live in Germany I have a two year old I want to teach her how to read. She speaks both languages English and German. I read to her almost every night before bedtime in English or German. Just a little side note my German isn't the best so I speak to her mostly in English. I want to teach her the englich letter sound but I'm scared she will be confused when she starts school here. Do you have any tips

[@toddlerscanread]

Hi there- it is honestly up to you. Kids can learn to read in both, or you can choose one to focus on at a time. In terms of letter sounds- I have a pronunciation video on here as a preview to my Learning Sounds course but your pronunciation doesn't have to be 100% perfect to get started! Here is the link to my free training if you want to see this in action- www.toddlersread.com/free-workshop?

[@yolandamontano3905]

Wow! This all makes so much sense. I have a 1st grader and he use to know some 3 letter words in kindergarten but now in 1st grade I'm noticing him soo confused. I feel so bad for him not only because school has sent me a note already that he is not reading as he should but because he is confused now with long vowel and short vowel sounds. Where can I continue from here?

[@kristin87425]

I taught (drilled) sight words and guess what? My kid "struggles" now in 2nd grade and we are starting over back at the basics. We have skipping words he doesn't know, we have refusal to sound out words, we have frustration, and guessing words with a similar "look" but completely random words that make no sense contextually. And the worst thing, which is a major blow to his confidence. Don't do it!!

[@toddlerscanread]

It sounds like pretty much every symptom I've seen too! hopefully some of the tips on the page will be helpful for you. I've also got a Reading Books course on my website for non-beginners that might be helpful

[@almasalazar8318]

It works because it follows the Science of Reading.

[@toddlerscanread]

Exactly! 💯

[@gabrielaramirez693]

Spencer, are you going to teach the rules on how the sounds change on different words?

[@toddlerscanread]

I have a LOT more information and detail in my courses. Feel free to check out www.toddlersread.com/store

[@nehachadha4001]

Hey I totally agree by what you are saying here about sight words…my child is 5 years old and knows the sound and blending as well….I have just one question then how to teach them sight words ???? It’s all new letter sounds and there all lots of sight words which are been taught in school

[@jpizzleforizzle]

Yes! Exactly! Adults read by seeing the whole word, because we've learned the rules!Kids and remedial learners' brains dont understand how the letters work together yet.

[@Danaiah55]

Do you have a online tutoring program

[@omarespinosa9826]

You're awesome man, my niece teacher handed a paper to my sister telling her to put my niece to learn a 100 sight words, i told my sister that theres something wrong about it then i searched and found you and realized i was right about it, im gonna show this video to my sister and make her understand the short cut way is not the proper way 👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@ashleyjohnson9607]

Thank you so much I have been struggling with my kids trying to get them to read and now, I figure it out, and thank you for your KZbin channel. I came her from tic toc.

[@brendamagadla8903]

Please do a video on ght sound

[@ayeshajamil6023]

Well said

[@katec2630]

How can i follow this while my child is in kindergarten and they follow the “memorizing sight words” can they do both at the same time? Like her memorizing and memorizing teaching her the sounds and blending?

[@kervine]

I agree with you 🎉, with everything you say

[@CochranKayla]

This is why we teach phonograms, not just letters. There are 75 phonograms that say 45 sounds in the English language. If the kid just learns the basic 26 letters with one sound, they are missing a lot. They have not been given all the tools to read. It is inevitable that they will come across words that don't follow the minimal rules they have been taught. That is what makes it seem random and complicated.

[@JORGERAMIREZ-cy2hk]

thanks

[@moniqueeltz6776]

My daughter is in kindergarten and I realized as she was coming home with set two of sight words that she was trying to sound out words and wasn't able to blend properly like in you video wit the word " Like". She is able to read sight words and some other main words. I will be going through the rest of your videos to help teach myself to work with her at home to help her at school so she is not just trying to memorize. I will say I'm a little nervous because I don't want to step on the teachers toes and need to figure out a good time and or schedule with working fulltime and her extracurricular activities. Should just working with her 5 min a day be adequate? Thank you for these videos!

[@toddlerscanread]

Consistent time is great- 5 minutes a day every day is a great place to start. Check out my free training if you're interested- it includes more info and examples. www.toddlersread.com/free-workshop

[@moniqueeltz6776]

@@toddlerscanread thank you so much!

[@roselinenhlapo7649]

love this app I can send my pictures to the email or the email 📧 😂❤

[@earlyyearstribe]

Thank you so much Spencer. This is super helpful. As an early years educator who is particularly interested in kids reading, I found your channel super helpful and amazing 👏

[@toddlerscanread]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for the work you do in education!

[@essenoko4665]

Great job u are doing 👍 Can u help with a complete parkage of blending two letter or three letter words in vowels sounds

[@toddlerscanread]

I have that in my Blending Words course!

[@backtoschool1611]

I am learning Braille and I have to relearn how to read because I was taught the whole word method/"look say". Braille is left to right feeling of the fingers! One of my stuggles is blending. If I dont know the word, I say the letter names, and see the enlish letters in my head and "translate". I know its holding me back but how do I read the Braille and get the sounds they say without doing this "translation" thing??

[@riagiffney4970]

What are the rules to teach the kids , eg. in like its the e that makes the i sound now become I And in my the y sound Is there a list of rules we should teach them along with the sounds to help them apply the rules to the tricky words so that they can recognise that the rule applies and they word now sounds like this

[@kkibler1]

Thank you

[@sialee-rs2zd]

Thank you for your information. I love all your videos ❤

[@toddlerscanread]

You are welcome!

[@BabyChris17]

I’m with you 100%

[@Jameshasblueprint]

Wow 😮so true thank you 🙏🏼

[@fnb77wildfire]

When did sight words come into play in this teaching process I remember when I was in school I didn't have sight words I had cards that had my sounds to my letters on them and that's how I made my words

[@treasureabdool7108]

NOOOOOOOOOO😢😢😢😢😢

[@vareuche3481]

i’m so happy i found this channel!!!!

[@christinab9133]

Love this!

[@sarahscow397]

What about my kid is going to be starting second grade and is really struggling with reading and my friend who's the second grade teacher says to really work with him on a sight words because he only knows a bare handful and he is really behind for his grade on how many words he knows

[@fatimaullah5529]

🙏

[@studyfanatic8762]

Good one....

[@yrr7867]

Soooo my daughter is in Kinder. The teacher told us she needed to memorize her sight words”. I’ve seen your channel before but she wasn’t To that point of learning to read but I was never taught sight words I was taught to sound out the words. I get frustrated with her teaching her and I thought there has to be a better way!!! Well.. I’m back at your videos lol I wish you did like a 1 on 1 tutoring 😅

[@harneetvirk9607]

Hello, I am a third grade teacher, I have students who do not know how to read and want to help. This is my third year teaching as well and need help where to start with these students.

[@Ann-pn9or]

how many sounds in a 4 letter word?

[@12gbdoooi9]

Thank you for this video, it was really helpful but I wish you didn't use the word * hit when you were speaking maybe you could kindly avoid using words like that in your future videos because my kids sometimes watch this with me and in our culture that word is a swear or rude. Hope you don't mind the advice. Excellent videos, I started following you today. Thank you!

[@ariadrexler1021]

I disagree with this…Glen Doman’s method (The Institute for Human Potential, “Teach Your Baby To…” book series) teaches sight words to babies and toddlers and their research showed that very young children learn from general to specific. ie The alphabet has no context as an abstract concept to a toddler, but they know what a word refers to. As they gain more vocabulary they connect the patterns of letters within the word to sounds, then by the time they are 3 or 4 you can teach them the alphabet and phonics with ease. Similar concept for how a young toddler can learn a language with complete fluency without starting with alphabet or grammar. 0-5s are way more intelligent than most adults give them credit for! The Doman method has been very successful since the 50’s and I am currently using it with my toddler.

[@alisolkanu4763]

Leaning a kid to blend is also good for cognitive development. They think harder and use their brains instead of memorize

[@ingridmontanez2461]

❤

[@shomoabdokrim1563]

❤❤

[@awesomegamers9574]

I like your videos

[@namwanjelindah1140]

I think this man's videos are going to help my 2 years old sister because she is very bright but she just only doesn't know how to read i know she will do it because she never disappoints ❤🎉

[@descendantsvk4691]

How do i teach my son "the"

[@emilzeeloy]

Hi! For my kids I taught them the phonogram “th” and told them that the “e” does a different sound in this word. For a while I put a sign on the word every time they saw it and made dictation for better memorization. Good look!

[@sialee-rs2zd]

🎉❤❤

[@mturner6767]

You can't learn how to read the English language without teaching sight words, period.

[@rabidsamfan]

Malarkey I listened to a kid who was learning phonics and sight words and when she was fine with both of them independently but when she went to read sentences she struggled every time she had to switch strategies.

[@mturner6767]

@@rabidsamfan The struggle you're speaking of is exactly what I'm talking about. It's not either or. Sight words are a foundational part of learning to read the English language.

[@Hdjrrjrir]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@Hdjrrjrir]

How are you doing dis

[@user-li1tq6mp8f]

L

[@roselinenhlapo7649]

❤

[@roselinenhlapo7649]

❤️