What are sight words?

Sight words are foundational vocabulary that children are encouraged to recognize immediately and effortlessly in order to enhance their reading fluency. These words often do not follow typical phonetic rules, making them tricky to sound out. Consequently, by learning to identify these words by sight rather than phonetic decoding, children can achieve smoother and faster reading experiences. This recognition supports overall reading comprehension, allowing readers to focus on understanding the meaning of sentences rather than pausing to decode each word.

While other options refer to aspects related to language and literacy development, they do not capture the essence of sight words, which is specifically about the instant recognition that fosters fluent reading.