Word Recognition Interventions

This page includes intervention strategies that you can use to support your students' ability to read sight words automatically. As you read, consider which of these interventions best aligns with your student's strengths and needs in the whole learner domains.

The most basic sight word skill is the ability to identify and automatically read a sight word on a word card. This requires that students look at the shape of the word (or the letters that it contains) and name that word. 

Explicit Instruction

If you are intervening to support your students' sight word knowledge, you should start by explicitly teaching the concept. This sounds like:

• Explain the Skill/Concept. Define sight words and explain the activity. ("Sight words are words that you'll see all of the time in your books. These words are hard to decode, so you need to memorize them so that you can read them automatically." "Today we are going to learn five new sight words. Then we are going to practice them until you can read them in a snap.")
• Model Skill with Examples. Think aloud about how you memorize a sight word, by providing examples. ("This is the word 'down.' If I were memorizing this word, I would first notice what the word looks like. I would notice that it starts with a d, ends with an n, and has ow in the middle. d.o.w.n. down. I'm going to write the word 'down' with my finger on the table. d.o.w.n. down. I'm going to turn the word over and spell it without looking. d.o.w.n. down. Now, I'm going to look at it and read it automatically. Down.")
• Model Skill with Non-Examples. Think aloud about how you memorize a sight word by providing a non-example. ("This is the word 'go.' It's a sight word, so I'm going to tap it out. /g/ /o/ go. Wait a second, that doesn't sound right. That's right. This is a tricky word to decode. I'll have to memorize it. What should I do first?") 
• Practice the Skill. Engage in one or more of the activities below to practice the skill with your partner, providing feedback as necessary. ("Now you try. I'm going to show you a sight word...")

Activity A: Constant Time Delay

The following intervention strategy was sourced from O'Connor, R. (2014). Teaching word recognition: Effective strategies for students with learning difficulties (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.

Constant time delay procedures can be used to help students learn to read sight words. This type of procedure requires several learning trials on a small set of about five new words. During the first instructional trial, teachers show students words one at a time, provide the word, and wait three seconds, after which students respond by saying the word. After the first trial, teachers mix up the words, hold them up one at a time, and pause for three seconds for the students to identify the word. If the students identify the word correctly, teachers praise briefly and show the next word. If students do not respond within three seconds, teachers provide the word and point out some memorable feature (e.g., “Notice the –ey at the end of they.”). Teachers then have students wait three seconds before they say the word.

Trial 1: 
Teacher: "I'm going to tell you a word. Then I want you to look at the word and think of the word in your head. When I tap on the word, say it. This word is down." (Wait 3 seconds, tap)

Student: "Down." 

Trial 2: 
Teacher: "I'm going to show you a word. I want you to look at the word and tell me what it is." [Show the word down; Wait for 3 seconds to see if student can identify it.]

Student: "den"

Teacher: "I'm going to tell you the word. Then I want you to look at the word and think of the word in your head. When I tap on the word, say it. This word is down. Notice the ow in the middle of the word." (Wait 3 seconds, tap)

Student: "Down."

Activity B: Spelling Aloud

The following intervention strategy was also sourced from O'Connor (2014).

Children who have difficulty reading words often fail to attend to the word's medial patterns—the vowels and letter combinations that occur in the middle of the word (McCandliss et al., 2003). Saying the letter names aloud as students study the word can focus their attention on all of the letters in the sequence, which encourages students to notice the letters that are responsible for particular sounds in words (Carmine et al., 1997). To use the strategy, show students a short list of words (about three new words or two or three review words). While pointing at each word, say the word aloud for students to repeat, direct students to say all of the letters in the word as they examine it, and then say the word aloud again. Repeat for each word in the list.

Next, go back to the beginning of the list and ask students to read each word without spelling it first. If students read the word correctly, continue through the list. If students misread a word, correct the error by reading the word aloud, and direct students to spell it as they examine it and say the word aloud again... 

Last, point to the words in random order for a final quick test of reading accuracy. If students read the words correctly in random order, these words can be used as review words in future lists.

Trial 1: 
Teacher:"Down. What word?"

Student: "Down."

Teacher: "Spell it."

Student: "d.o.w.n. down."

Trial 2:
Teacher:"What word?"

Student: "Don."

Teacher:"Down. What word?"

Student:"Down."

Teacher:"Spell it."

Student: d.o.w.n. down."

Trial 3: 
Teacher:"What word?"

Student: "Down."

Constant Time Delay + Spelling Aloud in Action

Watch this clip to see how to integrate both Constant Time Delay and Spelling Aloud. Notice how the teacher integrates a principle of specialized instruction, Increasing "At-Bats" with each sight word. 

After your student has learned to identify a sight word on a word card, you can teach that student to identify the sight word in context. This is a more complex skill because of all of the additional demands of listening to or reading and understanding a sentence. 

Explicit Instruction

If you are intervening to support your students' ability to identify sight words in context, you should start by explicitly teaching the concept. This script is designed for introducing "Did You Hear That?" It should be modified for introducing "Fill in the Blank." It sounds like:

• Explain the Skill/Concept. Define sight words and explain the activity. ("Sight words are words that you'll see all of the time in your books and that you hear all of the time in sentence. These words are hard to decode, so you memorized them so that you can read them automatically." "Today we are going to try to listen for sight words in a sentence.")
• Model Skill with Examples. Think aloud about how you identify a sight word in a sentence, by providing examples. ("These are the words I'm listening for: down, go, come, jump, and little. I'm going to listen to a sentence 'Will you come over to my house to play?' I'm going to repeat the sentence and think about which sight word I hear. 'Will you come over to my house to play?' Oh! I hear the word come. (Point to the word).")
• Model Skill with Non-Examples. Think aloud about how you identify a sight word in a sentence, by providing a non-example. ("These are the words I'm listening for: down, go, come, jump, and little. I'm going to listen to a sentence. 'I fell down at the playground and hurt my knee.' (Point to the word come). What? That word wasn't in the sentence? What should I do? I can say the sentence again. Good idea! Let me try it: 'I fell down at the playground and hurt my knee.' Oh! I hear the word down in that sentence.") 
• Practice the Skill. Engage in one or more of the activities below to practice the skill with your partner, providing feedback as necessary. ("Now you try. Here's your list of sight words...")

Activity C: Did You Hear That?

Present the student with a list of 5 to 10 sight words. Say a sentence and prompt the student to identify which sight word the sentence contains. "Read this list of sight words." "I'm going to tell you a sentence with one of these words in it. If you hear the sight word, I want you to point to it. 'My grandmother went for a walk to the store.'" (Student touches "went.")

Did You Hear That? in Action

Watch this clip to see how to execute Did You Hear That? Notice how the teacher provides the student with "Wait Time."

Activity D: Fill In The Blank 

Present the student with a close reading activity. Show the student a list of sight words and a sentence with a word missing. The student reads the sentence and selects a sight word to fill in the blank. "Read this list of sight words. Now, look at this sentence. Which word fits in the sentence?" ["My grandmother _______ on a walk to the store"] "went"

Fill In The Blank in Action

Watch this clip to see how to execute Fill In The Blank. Notice how the teacher asks the student to explain her thinking.

All 200 Dolch words by grade in alphabetical order. (n.d.). Retrieved July 29, 2016 from http://www.dolchword.net/printables/All220DolchWordsByGradeAlpha.pdf.
Sight words: Teach your child to read. (2016). Fry sight words list. Retrieved July 29, 2016 from http://www.sightwords.com/sight-words/fry.

Think about the following scenario, which takes place after a teacher has explicitly introduced a set of sight words and given students the opportunity to practice: 
     Teacher: "What word?" [Shows the word "down."] 
     Student:  "don" 

In such a case, what might you do? 

When you are planning your lessons, you should anticipate that your student will make errors throughout. Here are a series of prompts that you can use to respond to errors. Keep in mind that all students are different, and that students might respond better to some types of feedback than others.

If your student struggles to meet your objective, there are various techniques that you might try to adjust the activity to your student's needs.