Sight words are the most common words in English that don't follow phonics rules β words like the, was, said, come, one. You cannot sound them out reliably, so children learn to recognise them instantly, by sight.
This matters more than it sounds: roughly 50β75% of words in early reading books are sight words. A child who knows them reads fluently; a child who has to stop and sound out "the" loses the thread of the sentence.
1. Say it, spell it, say it. "said β s-a-i-d β said." The spelling is the hard part, so say it twice.
2. Use it in a sentence. "I said hello." Meaning anchors memory far better than a flashcard.
3. Hunt for it. Circle every the and was on a picture-book page. Kids love the hunt.
4. Beat your score. Time how many your child can read in 30 seconds, and try to beat it tomorrow.
5. Keep old words warm. Re-read 5 known words for every 3 new ones, or they quietly fade.