Why are sight words so tricky?

Why are sight words so tricky?

Some words just refuse to play by the rules.

said. does. was. the.

They're everywhere, but they don't always sound the way you'd expect from the letters.

Instead of trying to memorise the whole word, help your child work out the bits they can work out, and remember the bit that's being tricky.

Because said isn't completely tricky.

The s makes /s/.

The d makes /d/.

It's that pesky ai making an /e/ sound that needs a little extra attention.

So rather than memorising the whole thing...

s ai d

...you're helping your child understand the word and remember the bit that doesn't follow the usual pattern.