Sight words vs phonics: what's the difference?

Two camps, one truth

“Sight words” are words recognised instantly, without sounding out. Some programmes teach hundreds by rote. Phonics programmes teach decoding instead — and here's the twist: decoding is how words become sight words. Read ship correctly a few times and your brain files it for instant recall.

So do we memorise anything?

A small set of genuinely irregular, high-frequency words — the, said, was — is worth teaching directly, because they appear everywhere and don't fully follow the code. PhonicSky introduces them gradually as “tricky words”.

The bottom line

Teach the code first. Memorise the rebels. Never let flashcards replace sounding out.