How do you use sight words?

Sight words are the most common words in beginning reading text (making up about 50-75% of the words) and are identified through several lists (Dolch, Fry, Top 150, Core Curriculum, etc.). They also make up about 50% of the words in a typical newspaper and are used often in conversational speech. It is best to teach readers to recognize these words as they are usually neither phonetically-based nor follow typical spelling patterns. Memorizing these words helps with the ease and fluency of reading so readers can recognize similar words and also concentrate on newer and more difficult ones.