Standard 2: Reading Foundations

Students will develop foundational skills for future reading success by working with sounds, letters, and text.

FLUENCY: Students will recognize high- frequency words and read grade-level text smoothly and accurately, with expression that connotes comprehension.

Student Actions 

Teacher Actions 

• Students will quickly recognize and read regular and common irregularly spelled grade-level sight words.

•  Teachers introduce common regular and irregular high-frequency sight words to students, modeling how to analyze words for decodability or memorization.

• Teachers provide practice reading, spelling, writing, and using decodable and irregular sight words that are common, grade-level words.

• Teachers provide opportunities for students to identify and read sight words in context.

• Teachers monitor the acquisition of sight words and provide opportunities for students to receive feedback and interventions (e.g. sight word games or centers).

Supporting Resources 

Teacher Insights 

FCRR: Fluency Activities (webpage)

TPRI:  Fluency Activities (webpage)

FCRR:  High Frequency Words (PDF)

What Word Am I?High Frequency Word Game (PDF)

Team Race (PDF)

Around the World - HFW Game (PDF)

Word Ping Pong - HFW Game (PDF)

HFW Bingo (PDF)

Dolch Words (PDF)

Fry Words(PDF)

Why Are Sight Words Important (webpage)

• Many sight words do not follow basic phonics principles, thus cannot be sounded out.

• If students can read high-frequency words with automaticity, their fluency will increase and they can focus on the more challenging task of comprehension.

• Automaticity is the ability to do things without having to think about them at a conscious level.

Due to recursive nature of the standards, it is essential that teachers are aware of how all objectives within and between strands work together for optimal instruction.