Development of Sight Word Reading: Phases and Findings

The hallmark of skilled reading is the ability to read individual words accurately and quickly in isolation as well as in text, referred to as “context free” word reading skill (Stanovich, 1980). For a skilled reader, even a quick glance at a word activates its pronunciation and meaning. Being able to read words from memory by sight is valuable because it allows readers to focus their attention on constructing the meaning of the text while their eyes recognize individual words automatically. If readers have to stop and decode words, their reading is slowed down and their train of thought disrupted. This chapter examines theories and findings on the development of sight word reading. Sight word reading is not limited to high-frequency or irregularly spelled words, contrary to the beliefs of some, but includes all words that readers can read from memory. Also sight word reading is not a strategy for reading words, contrary to some views. Being strategic involves choosing procedures to optimize outcomes, such as figuring out unfamiliar words by decoding (Gough, 1972) or analogizing (Goswami, 1986, 1988) or prediction (Goodman, 1970; Tunmer & Chapman, 1998). By contrast, sight word reading happens automatically without the influence of intention or choice. Reading words from memory by sight is especially important in English because the alphabetic system is variable and open to decoding errors.