Memorizing sight words is really important for beginning readers so I try to integrate instruction into as many parts of my day as I can. For that very reason, these 10 books to teach sight words are read often by both me and my students.
10 Amazing Books to Teach Sight Words to Beginning Readers
There are over one hundred sight words and high frequency words that are so common they show up in the text we read quite frequently.
Many of the books we read aloud to our students are full of rich vocabulary but they are also peppered with sight words and high frequency words.
I love to teach sight words and give practice in tons of creative ways. I provide hands-on practice, show my favorite videos and give them the chance to build the sight words in literacy centers.
As teachers, we know our students learn best in context. Hearing, seeing and connecting these words within a text is super powerful for our students!
I find that reading books that prominently feature sight words can help my students memorize them, too. Many of the books on this list feature repetitive text that includes common sight words.
After I read these books aloud, they find a home in my classroom library. My students love to reread them. Even if they aren’t reading words quite yet, they retell the story and often times use the exact same wording. They can remember it because of the repetition! That is one of the ways these books to teach sight words are so beneficial.
Note: Did you know there is a difference between sight words and high frequency words? I thought they were the same thing for the longest time. Now that I know the difference, I approach instruction differently. You can read more about that here!
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Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
It’s not so hard to see why this book would make the list of books to teach sight words! The question “What do you see?” is made of four sight words that we introduce at the beginning of the school year!
This question repeats over and over again in the story along with the reply, “I see a _____ looking at me.” More sight words!
My students love to reread this story in library or retell it with puppets. They are getting multiple exposures to really common words every single time they do!
Home
I absolutely love this book by Carson Ellis. The whimsical illustrations capture both me and my students so completely. The topic is one that we discuss a lot in my classroom, too, so it easily fits into our curriculum.
Home explores the many different types of homes as well as the varied places they can be. It includes the sentence frame “A home is a…” as well as “Some homes are…” These phrases repeat through the book.
I love that we can dig deeper into this simple story by exploring the new vocabulary and broadening our world view, too!
Where Is the Green Sheep?
This adorable book uses the phrase “Here is the…” and the question “Where is the…?” as we search for the green sheep.
The book explores opposites like thin and wide as well as colors like red and blue. Most of these are also sight words or high frequency words!
My students enjoy the cadence of this read aloud as they listen and often help with the words to describe the different sheep. It is a really popular one to reread in the library.
The Bus for Us
Tess is waiting for the bus for her first day of school. She has never ridden one before. Her brother stands with her as she waits and asks “Is this the bus for us, Gus?”
We see all sorts of vehicles like taxis, fire engines and tow trucks. They peek their nose in on one page so students can guess! They absolutely love this!
The repetitive text is perfect for rereading and recognizing those common sight words.
From Head to Toe
This book introduces different animals and what they do. For example, the penguin says, “I can turn my head. Can you do it?” On the next page a child says “I can do it.”
This book is super engaging because they can do the actions the animals are doing. The text is really repetitive so they actually start to answer with the words written in the book: I can do it.
We read this book many times throughout the year and it is also one of my most popular library books.
Jump, Frog, Jump
Jump, Frog, Jump follows the same kind of pattern as the “There was an old lady who…” style books. Frog is trying to escape being eaten by the different animals in the pond.
The simple, repetitive text is a favorite of my students. Each new animal fills this sentence frame: “This is a ____ that ____ after the frog.” Then the following page says “Jump, Frog, jump!”
My students love to warn Frog to jump! Will he escape? You’ll have to read it to see!
Five Trucks
Five Trucks is about five different trucks (obviously ?). You read about their different characteristics and jobs.
The adjectives used to describe the trucks include tons of great sight words and high frequency words, like large and small. The book also refers to the trucks as first, second, third, fourth and fifth, which are all words I want my students to learn as well. #ordinalnumbers #yay
We read this book when we talk about communities. It is especially appealing to my students who are fascinated by different forms of transportation.
I Want My Hat Back
I Want My Hat Back is about a bear who has lost his hat. He asks the animals he sees if they have seen his hat. There are a lot of opportunities to inference where the hat has gone.
It will leave your students laughing, I PROMISE.
The text in this book is SUPER simple. In fact, I would venture to say that almost all of the words are sight words!
This book is one of my favorites of all time. Including it in this list is a must for me! I love reading it aloud to my students and they love rereading it in the library.
If you haven’t read this one to your class, you NEED to. (Seriously!)
Frog and Toad
Frog and Toad books are well-loved classics for a reason. Students find the stories really engaging and relatable.
The text is simple and accessible and full of the sight words we start our year learning. Those are just a few reasons students come back to this series over and over again.
I love to introduce Frog and Toad toward the beginning of the year. My students are fascinated by the chapters and Frog and Toad’s friendship.
Elephant and Piggie Books
I have saved my absolute FAVORITES for last. You cannot find better, more engaging sight word books to read aloud to your students than Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems.
Elephant and Piggie are friends who work through important issues like friendship, waiting and sharing. They do it in a really funny way that students relate to. Honestly, I enjoy the banter between the characters, too!
I own every single one of these books because they are just THAT GOOD. They are some of the first books my students read on their own in the library because they text is really simple and predictable. In addition to that, they are super engaging.
I chose these 10 books to teach sight words because they are ones both my students and I choose to read over and over again. I truly believe the repetition has helped them memorize more words!
How do you use books to encourage students to learn new sight words and practice familiar ones? I would love to know! Let me know below.?
If you’re looking for printable sight word practice, check out these Sight Word Sentences! Each page targets a sight word for tons of explicit practice.
