Teaching Sight-Words to Enhance Word Recognition and Reading Fluency of Students with Specific Learning Disabilities at the Primary Level

The students with specific learning disabilities receiving tailored instructions became non-readers and developed frustration during the closure due to COVID-19. The present research aims to investigate the reasons and provide intervention solutions to improve their word recognition and reading fluency. Seven students from grade three participated in the study. The participants were assessed by presenting grade-level stories from their textbooks. The time taken by them to read the story was recorded. The errors made by them were recognised, graded, and analysed. Analysis reveals that while teaching reading, the practice of sight-words and high-frequency word recognition is a major concern. The researchers prepared an intervention program using Dolch sight-words, with a list of high-frequency words with multiple rounds of instruction and practice for a period of four weeks. The results reveal that the intervention program improved word recognition ability and fluency skill. The number of errors made by students decreased, and the time required to complete the story improved. Results indicate that training in sight-words enabled students to generalise the relationship between sounds and letters and apply it to the new word while reading.


Introduction
Most of the children with learning disabilities are primarily impaired in reading (Fletcher et al., 2007).For children with specific learning disabilities, who are impaired in reading comprehension, the most common reading disability is characterised as incorrect word reading (Torgesen, 2005).While overcoming reading difficulties has been a challenge for these children, Covid presented an additional challenge, for both the children and their parents.The children struggled with the demands of studying from home, and the parents faced the difficulty of providing assistance and more so specialised support.Parents claimed that the pandemic had a severe impact on their children's academic performance, particularly in core disciplines such as Math and English.According to the National Achievement Survey 2021, the average performance of students at the National Level in language (including English) in Classes 3, 5 and 8 had dropped, compared to 2017.There has been a slowdown in syllabus completion, and the students spent considerably less time reading during the lockdown.There were also concerns that in some grades, children fell even further below the pre-pandemic standards.The closure of schools due to public health regulations severely hampered the tailored assistance for many children with disabilities.
Children learn to read initially at the letter, word, and sentence levels during their first years of schooling, through reading processes.The children studying English, failed to engage on an equal basis in the online classrooms because they faced the twin obstacle of acquiring grade-level curriculum while also learning English.Children who struggle with reading have been found to have issues with phonological processing, processing speed, and verbal working memory, as well as challenging behaviours and/or attention deficits (Fletcher et al., 2011;Nelson et al., 2003;Otaiba et al., 2002).Many learners' struggles were exacerbated by the rapid move to learning from home in the midst of the pandemic's hardships.Schools and teachers too struggled to implement online-based learning alternatives.The educational disparities in access, opportunities, performance, and achievements, that existed prior to the pandemic for the children with specific learning disabilities, expanded and impacted their learning.Many of these consequences disproportionately affected the students.The inequalities were very concerning, especially when they impeded the students' ability to learn.
The urgency to teach reading to children with specific learning disabilities is critical, as the implications of poor reading ability are severe.According to a report by the National Centre for Learning Disabilities (2016), individuals with learning disabilities are three times more likely to drop out of school.Students who do not learn to read adequately are more likely to experience pervasive academic difficulties.In fact, the vast majority of students who do not learn to read adequately in the early elementary grades with typical instruction remain impaired in reading throughout their school careers (Francis et al., 1996;Juel, 1988;Torgesen & Burgess, 1998) as well as adulthood (Erbey et al., 2011).Early difficulties with basic reading skills usually result in limited time spent reading text.(Juel, 1988;Stanovich, 1986); because of this lack of text exposure, a decoding problem may progress to a generalised reading deficit with low fluency, poor vocabulary, and limited word knowledge, all of which contribute to impaired reading comprehension (Stanovich, 1986).
In this paper, the researchers investigated the reasons of the particular context and provided intervention solutions by teaching sight-words to enhance word recognition and reading fluency.

Review of the Literature
According to Anderson et al. (1985), reading is a basic life skill.It is a cornerstone for a child's success in school and, indeed, throughout life.Without the ability to read well, opportunities for personal fulfilment and job success inevitably will be lost.Reading is needed everywhere.Billboards, signages, product labels, logos of fast food and storybooks are a few examples.Good readers may recognise familiar print in the environment and their eyes may read the print around them automatically.Fostering foundational academic skills in a diverse range of students became extremely difficult.Not every student learns to read at the same rate.Learning to read begins with acquiring pre-literacy abilities such as learning the alphabets and gaining phonemic awareness.Followed by phonological learning, which helps children map sounds to letters and blend out words.As beginner reader becomes more familiar with additional words, the process accelerates through sight-reading and proceeds towards complete word recognition.This can be aided by direct training in high-frequency words.
Reading is an interactive process comprising inferring, knowing correct sounds and comprehension (Kamhi & Catts, 2008).There are numerous reasons sight-words should be explicitly taught to learners.Several words lack sound-to-letter correspondence.There are many silent letters in the English language, as well as unexpected sounds.In other words, there are several ways to spell the same sound.This can cause a load of issues for children when reading in written form.Students can only read these words if they memorise and develop the ability to recognise them by sight.
Decoding, also known as sounding out words, occurs when children are able to associate sounds with letters in an attempt to sound out written text.Beginner readers frequently struggle when they encounter new or unfamiliar terms, but decoding usually becomes simpler with phonics instruction and reg-ular repeated drills while reading aloud.According to Johnston (1998) when words can be recognised quickly by sight, the meaning is not lost and the reading improves.The ability to recognise sight-words improves reading ability, which is another reason, students should be trained for sight-words.A student who has automaticity with the most commonly used words will be a faster and more fluent reader.
Reading is a lifelong skill needed in school as well as in everyday life.Approximately 70-80 per cent of readers struggle with accuracy and fluency in word recognition, which stems from phonological processing deficiencies, which are frequently combined with fluency and comprehension issues.These students clearly struggle with sound-symbol correspondence, word-sounding, and spelling.They struggle to establish automatic word identification by sight and are likely to spell phonetically, but incorrectly.Many children with specific learning disabilities have trouble recognizing how separate sounds combine to form words also, hence they fail to sound out a word or spell it correctly when writing.The lack of automatic word recognition is regarded as a significant contributor to poor word reading, which leads to poor reading comprehension (Laberge & Samuels, 1974).
Continuous exposure to high-frequency words from children's books and workbooks can help students save their mental energy for understanding more difficult and less frequent words.Ehri (2014) proposes that developing readers gradually make connections which are based on their understanding of grapheme-phoneme correspondences as a part of the "connection-forming process."They progressively increase their sight-vocabulary in memory by focusing on the words' sub-lexical features on multiple occasions.Many research studies, particularly those related to reading instruction, have been successfully implemented, providing teachers with numerous ideas regarding the best practices for teaching children to read.One aspect of reading interventions that can be concluded is that, by developing strong foundational skills, teachers can build the foundation for enhancing reading fluency and comprehension (Solari et al., 2017).Sight-words help readers find a reason to read.Simmons (1992) recognized the significance of sight-words in beginning readers.Simmons observed that recognition of these words can make a significant contribution to increasing comprehension and motivation.Without the knowledge of sight-words, reading might become slow and discouraging.
Edward William Dolch compiled the Dolch sight word list.In 1948, he published the list in his book "Problems in Reading."The list contains a total of 220 words.The Dolch list is a widely used word list.He included a combination of sight-words and high-frequency words which he believed should be learned in order to improve reading ability.Many research studies confirm that these words could be flounderish to new readers.Students may become more proficient if they memorise them rather than decoding them every time, they read them.
According to Musti-Rao et al. (2015) "Instruction in sight-words may not only result in a significant increase in reading fluency and comprehension, but it may also improve the students' confidence and may decrease their frustration with reading".Some students with specific learning difficulties learn better when they start with sight-words and high-frequency words.Most students naturally become more efficient readers and learn to recognise complete words by sight, instead of decoding each word.On the other hand, some students with specific learning disabilities may have a more difficult time developing this skill than their other agemates.Acquisition of sight-words and high-frequency words is a habitual component.When readers learn to identify words by sight, their reading fluency improves, which aids in the development of new words and their meanings.They understand the meaning of other words in the context of sentences.Some words in the English language are termed "sight-words" since the idea is to recognise them instantaneously, at first glance.Sight-words are words that can be recognised and identified without the use of conscious efforts.These words do not follow syllable or spelling rules.Each grade level has its own set of sight-words.Each set of words builds on the previous one, so once a student learns the sight-words, he/she will be required to recognise those words when learning new words in the following grade, and so on.Many sight-words do not adhere to basic phonics rules, and hence cannot be sounded out.Good readers require effective practice for decoding unknown words, and familiarity with sight-words is one such way.

Research Objectives
The present research study aims to investigate the reasons for the particular context and provide intervention solutions by teaching sight-words to enhance word recognition and reading fluency.The following objectives were formed for the research study: • To find the impact of intervention on the word recognition ability of students with specific learning disabilities.
• To find the impact of intervention on the reading fluency of students with specific learning disabilities.

Research Questions
The research questions for the present study are: 1) Does intervention with sight-words improve the word recognition ability of students with specific learning disabilities?
2) Does intervention with sight-words improve the reading fluency of students with specific learning disabilities?

Sample for the Study
Initially, fifteen students were selected using the purposive sampling method.However, due to a lack of parental consent, only seven of the fifteen students took part in the study.
The participants identified were studying in an inclusive school and were from grade three with specific learning disabilities.All seven participants had dyslexia.However, two out of seven had co-morbidities with dysgraphia while one had co-morbidity with dyscalculia.All these participants faced reading challenges.All the participants were in the age range of 8-10 years.The sample included four male and three female children.The participants belonged to a low to middle socio-economic background.The educational qualification of the parents of the participants ranged between a minimum of high school and a maximum of graduate.
The names of participants are not used for reporting, instead, they are referred to by the letters A to G.

Research Methodology
Pre-test and post-test same subject design were used in this experimental research study.
During the initial planning stage of the research study, the researcher went through the Class III textbook, "Treasures of English -A skill Based Course in Communicative English", based on the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) Guidelines.After going through the textbook, a list of four stories was selected.The researcher consulted two experienced English language experts, with a concern about the stories containing a number of words to be presented to the participants for the pre-test and post-test procedure.
The concern was that using too many words would be overwhelming and inappropriate, while using too few words would also be ineffective.As a result of the research and consultation with language experts, a story with 150 words was selected for the pre-test and post-test process.
To conduct the study permission and consent were sought from the school as well as the parents/guardians.

Pre-T est
The selected story was presented individually to the participants.The researcher encouraged the participants to read the story aloud.The words read correctly and the time taken was recorded while they were reading.The participants had three seconds to recognise a word from the story.The words read correctly by the participants were marked with a "+" and if he/she hesitated or sounded out the word incorrectly for more than three seconds, it was marked with a "-".
On assessing the participants with the pre-test procedure, it was noted that: • The participants had reading difficulty with word decoding and phonics.This suggested that they were having trouble applying their knowledge of letter-sound relationships, particularly letter patterns, to accurately pronounce written words.This also implies that they struggle with letter-sound relationships as well as how to sound out words.
• The participants struggled while reading with speed, accuracy, and right prosody.They lacked confidence and their reading was sluggish and lacking in expression.
• The participants had trouble comprehending and interpreting what they read.This implies that they had inadequate vocabulary and their knowledge of word meanings is insufficient.

Intervention Program
After analysing the difficulties, it was decided that when teaching reading, the practice of sight-words and high-frequency word recognition is of major concern.Hence an intervention program was developed using the Dolch sight-wordlist, with a list of high-frequency words.The intervention activity involved multiple rounds of instructions and practice for teaching sight-word recognition.Research studies have shown that repeated reading is a technique that has significantly proven to improve reading fluency.The students read the same words so many times and they become familiar and can recognise them in other contexts.Aside from assisting students in achieving word mastery, repeated reading alters students' perceptions of themselves in connection to the reading process and fluency.Hence, they were given repeated reading interventions with sight-words, as fluent readers need to build a vast base of common sight-words.For the intervention program, the researcher used 41 sight-words from the list of high-frequency words for a four-week period of time.Every day, the students were taught two new sight-words.The researcher employed the "present-practise-repeat" strategy along with fun activities, creative activities, and games using flashcards, magazines and newspapers.During the intervention phase, the students were given two cards, and two crowns (of sight-words) to be taught every day.The balls were placed in a tub with sight-words written on it for that day.
• The researcher held the flashcard saying the word aloud and instructing the students to repeat it along with her.
• Then she instructed the students to write it in the air with their fingers while reading aloud.
• Then she said the word and told the participants to find it on the crown and wear it while displaying the card.
• The researcher asked the students one by one to find the ball from the tub which has the same word on the crown and card while saying it aloud.
• Sight-words learnt were applied immediately to text-related reading.The students were asked to make sentences with the word learnt.
• The researcher distributed a story, poem, or written passage amongst the students that contained multiple occurrences of the sight-words.Students were instructed to circle the word.Then it was read aloud to the students while they followed along, and then they were asked to read it on their own.
• The researcher repeated the procedure for each sight word.This activity involved multiple rounds of instructions and practice till the students got mastery of that word.
• This procedure was repeated every day for four weeks in 35-minute session, each.Every day, instruction took place at the same time and followed the same procedure with two new sight-words.The researcher modelled all the sight-words for the participants throughout the intervention program.
Every week, participants were motivated and were instructed to look for at least two to three unfamiliar words.They were instructed to learn to spell and pronounce them correctly, as well as encouraged to find the meaning of those words so that they could use them in their own phrases and sentences.

Post-Test
After the four-week intervention period, the post-test procedure was employed with the participants, which was identical to the pre-test procedure.

Data Collection
The scores, i.e., the number of words read correctly in the story of 150 words and the time taken by each participant to read the story completely from the pre-test and post-test were recorded for analysis.The data was tabulated and the reading fluency rate, i.e., words-per-minute, was also calculated for each of the participants.Table 1 presents the collated data.Observations and Preliminary Findings: The observations and preliminary findings are presented below: • The lowest score on the pre-test was 47, and the lowest rate of reading fluency was approximately 10 words per minute; while the lowest score on the post-test was 92, and the lowest rate of reading fluency in the post-test is 24 words per minute approximately.
• The highest score on the pre-test is 67, and the lowest rate of reading fluency is approximately 14 words per minute; while the highest score on the post-test is 109, and the highest rate of reading fluency on the post-test is 31 words per minute.
• The overall and individual difference between the post-test scores and the pre-test scores of participants is positive.
• The overall and individual difference between the post-test and the pretest rates of reading fluency of participants is also positive.

Analysis and Results
The results of the statistical analysis were interpreted and served as the basis to answer the research questions and to determine whether the intervention of teaching sight-words helped to enhance word recognition and reading fluency of students with specific learning disabilities at the primary level in the post-COVID context.The analysis and results of the research questions are presented in the following sections:

Does Intervention With Sight-Words Improve Word Recognition Ability Of Students With Specific Learning Disabilities?
Table 2 shows that there is a statistically significant difference in the number of words read correctly.The pre-test scores are M=56.4,SD=7.2 and the posttest scores are M=99.7,SD=4.6.The results of the paired t-tests (t=21.9)for the pre-test and post-test scores after the four-week intervention period on the number of words read correctly revealed a statistically significant difference at 0.05 confidence level.The result explains that the intervention program helped the participants with word decoding and phonics.While the ability to hear and manipulate the sounds within words has been found to be an excellent indicator of reading proficiency, children with learning disabilities, especially with dyslexia are typically deficient in this area (Schatschneider et al., 2004).Therefore, special attention was given to repeating the words aloud.After the intervention, the participants were able to apply their understanding of letter-sound relationships, and pronunciation of letter-patterns in words.Their vocabulary expanded and their reading comprehension also improved.This further clarifies that the online teaching methods used in schools, during the Covid-lockdowns, as an alternative to classroom teaching were not sufficient for learning English amongst children with specific learning disabilities.Wanzek and Vaughn (2007) also found that when extensive reading interventions are delivered in very small groups, students in primary grades demonstrated greater effects than when interventions were delivered in larger groups.The intervention program was delivered in a small group; as a result, the participants received instructions specific to their needs.The participants were motivated, and their performance improved, with improved reading comprehension, increased activity, memorization, interacting with and thinking about the written text, and connecting ideas, creating a fun and challenging environment.
Therefore, the result proves that teaching sight-words made a significant contribution towards the word recognition ability of children with specific learning disabilities.The repeated implementation of the intervention to teach sight-words for enhanced word recognition ability in children with specific learning disabilities helped transmit the impact of learning the English language efficiently.The result is consistent with the studies of Alberto et al. (2013); Aldawish (2017); Denton and Otaiba (2011); Mcgrath et al. (2012); Volpe et al. (2011) and Yaw et al. (2012).
Researchers have discovered a variety of effective methods for teaching sight-words to students with disabilities (Alberto et al., 2013;Denton & Otaiba, 2011).They elaborated that the most common and basic method of familiarising students with sight-words is to present them in the form of flashcard drills and practice.Flashcards allow students to see the word multiple times in the same setting, making it easier for them to memorise the words.Mcgrath et al. (2012) and Volpe et al. (2011) also emphasised the importance of repeated sightword practice, particularly for struggling readers, to improve reading fluency.They also discussed that before a student becomes acquainted with a word, he or she must practise it numerous times in isolation to master it and transfer it to reading texts.Hayes (2016) stated that sight-word instruction is the foundation for fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.According to Yaw et al. (2012), when students begin to learn sight-words, they gain confidence in their reading abilities, which reduces the frustration associated with learning to read.As represented in Figure 3, reading fluency denoted by the number of words read correctly per minute, increased significantly.The mean of the rate of reading fluency in the pre-test is 11.81 (SD=2.4) is lower as compared to the mean of the rate of reading fluency in the post-test is 25.68 (SD=4.4).This reveals that the rate of reading fluency increased after the intervention.The analysis further revealed that for all the participants, the number of words read correctly improved as well and the time taken to read words correctly reduced, indicating better fluency; therefore, the time required to complete the story also improved.

Does Intervention With
The result explains that the intervention program helped the participants to improve their speed and accuracy in reading with the right prosody.As their word recognition improved and vocabulary expanded, reading fluency also improved.The confidence and expression of the participants while reading also improved and they were able to comprehend and interpret better.Torgesen et al. also highlighted that fluent readers basically possess very large "sight-word" vocabularies and as students' reading abilities improve, they can recognise more and more words instantly and automatically, and their reading becomes more fluent.
Therefore, the result proves that teaching sight-words made a significant contribution towards reading fluency in children with specific learning disabilities.The implementation of the intervention to teach sight-words for enhanced word recognition ability in children with specific learning disabilities helped in improving reading fluency.The result is consistent with the studies of Bashir and Hook (2009), Chard et al. (2002), Ehri (2014), Sullivan et al. (2013), andYang (2006).Ehri;and Yang (2006) reported that if sight-words are known well enough, learners can improve their reading fluency and comprehension.Bashir and Hook (2009) regarded fluency as an important component of proficient reading because it serves as a bridge between word recognition and comprehension.

Discussion and Conclusion
According to the findings, repeated reading intervention with sight-words appeared to be effective in assisting students in learning more sight-words.The resources provided to the students in the classroom were acknowledged and used by them.This research study was a gainful learning experience for the students as well as for the researcher.This further indicates that teaching sight-words enabled students to generalise the relationship between sounds and letters and apply it to the new words.It is possible to argue that significant progress was made in the reading skills of the participants.Previous studies have also reported the association between fluency and comprehension using one measure of fluency, which is usually the speed of word recognition (De Jong & Van Der Leij, 2002;Schwanenflugel et al., 2004).
The present research study aimed to investigate the challenges faced by children with specific learning disabilities and provide intervention solutions by teaching sight-words to enhance word recognition and reading fluency.The objectives of the study were to find the impact of intervention on the word recognition ability as well as reading fluency of students with specific learning disabilities, in the context.
The researcher found that the participants had reading difficulty with word decoding and phonics and had trouble applying their knowledge of letter-sound relationships to accurately pronounce written words.They struggled with speed, accuracy, and right prosody while reading which resulted in a lack of confidence and lack of expression.The participants had trouble comprehending and interpreting the text.They had inadequate vocabulary and their knowledge of word meanings was insufficient.After analysing the difficulties, the researcher decided that the practice of sightwords and high-frequency word recognition is of relevance when teaching reading.Hence the intervention program was developed using a Dolch sight-word list, with a list of high-frequency words.The intervention activity involved multiple rounds of instructions and practice for teaching sight-word recognition.The results proved that teaching sight-words made a significant contribution towards the word recognition ability as well as reading fluency in children with specific learning disabilities and the objectives of the research were satisfied.
Sight-word recognition is an essential component of reading and achieving academic excellence.(Coleman et al., 2015;Denton & Otaiba, 2011;Mcgrath et al., 2012;Volpe et al., 2011).According to Sullivan et al. (2013), "an important part of reading instruction is teaching children to read high-frequency words and irregular words, as learning to read these sight-words will contribute to reading words fluently in connected text, which will aid in comprehension".
Learning to recognise sight-words automatically made reading fluently amenable.When students practise sight-words, they are adept at mastering the entire configuration of letters that comprise the word, then the individual letters or "chunks" which are decoded differently (Kupzyk et al., 2011;MacQuarrie et al., 2002).Chard et al. (2002) put forward in a comprehensive meta-analysis that sight-word fluency is best developed through drill and practice with repeated reading.This strategy provides students with guidance and feedback and helps them to improve their word recognition, reading fluency, and comprehension (National Reading Panel, 2000).Snyder and Golightly (2017) emphasise the importance of high-frequency Teaching Sight-Words to Enhance Word Recognition 350 words in this context and explain the importance of instructing high-frequency words so that students become aware of them and can recognise these words automatically.Since not all words simply follow phonics rules, it may be puzzling for the young children, causing them to waste time, sounding out words which don't make sense.
The researcher modelled all words for participants throughout the intervention program through flashcard drills, fun and creative activities along practice.This benefitted students in learning new vocabulary and maintaining word recognition.Their reading rate per minute was also increased using the flashcard drill when combined with fun and creative activities.The findings showed that the multisensory approach taught participants significantly more sight-words on average.It is evident from the results that repeated reading intervention with sight-words improved the participants' reading skills, as the participants had shown improvement.Aldawish (2017) asserts that using flashcards is an intervention strategy for learning words by sight.Several studies also have found that using flashcards with the incremental rehearsal (IR) technique is an evidence-based teaching intervention which provides drill exercise, and results in positive learning outcomes and high learning retention.Readers struggle to remember new words, particularly when the words cannot be spelt out.
Repeated reading intervention with sight-words provided students with ample opportunities to respond through trials.The intervention also increased students' confidence by using a significant number of known items, which resulted in positive reinforcement.Musti-Rao et al. (2015) also highlight that "instruction in sight-words not only can result in a corresponding increase in reading fluency and comprehension but also can improve students' confidence levels and reduce their frustration with reading".The researcher's observation in the classroom revealed the effect.In comparison to their pre-intervention state, the participants appeared to be more inclined to read English texts in the class.
However, the study has limitations that may be considered when interpreting the results.The limitations of this study included a small sample size, generalisation, and specific time-frame constraints.It is difficult to establish generalized conclusions from the study findings as the sample was just with the seven, third-grade students with specific learning disabilities.Due to the pandemic situation across the country, the sample size of participants was small.As a result, generalisations are limited to other settings and populations that differ from the sample size, population characteristics, participant characteristics and time frame.Another limitation is the inadequacy of follow-up data.There can be no assumptions about how stable the intervention effects were, over time.Future research should consider gathering data on long-term effects and retention.
Despite its limitations, this study provided important evidence about the repeated reading strategy for improving sight-word fluency in students with specific learning disabilities.Furthermore, during the research process, the exposure restrictions were also maintained.There were no mishaps or complications.There was no absenteeism among the participants.The well-planned processes and procedures of intervention contributed to the overall success of this study.This research concludes that intervention in sight-words is effective in improving word recognition and reading fluency among children with specific learning disabilities.Furthermore, it can also be concluded that this intervention can be used in remedial coaching of reading skills for students with specific learning disabilities, in the post-Covid context.Fluency predicts how well students in the elementary grades understand the text they read (Fuchs et al.).This emphasises the relevance of improving reading fluency at the primary level of education.Future research may focus on incorporating this strategy through a class-wise exercise in peer-tutorial settings.This strategy is simple enough even for students to use on their own.Furthermore, it is cost-effective and requires almost no training to implement.It may assist teachers in addressing the challenges of providing ways and means to help students who are part of very diverse groups and are always at risk of falling into an educational offside.

Suggestions and Recommendations for Future Studies
Introducing sight-words to the students at the start of the school year may help them to improve their reading readiness skills.When it relates to the most effective approach for sight-word instruction, teachers and parents can learn numerous positive strategies as sight-word instruction is an essential component of reading instruction.When students receive sight-word instruction, their cumulative reading abilities and self-confidence improve.Hence, the findings of this study suggest that primary school teachers implement sightword teaching into their classroom instruction.
This study furthermore extends that the program of teaching sight-words is extremely useful in classrooms.The procedure is simple to implement and can be incorporated into daily routines.The process can be easily extended to guided reading groups.This is best completed in small groups so that students can receive more attention by identifying the exact phoneme awareness activities to focus on and choosing instructional strategies to engage them in the enjoyable activities followed by repeated drills.
According to the findings, repeated reading intervention appeared to be effective in assisting students in learning more sight-words.As students have varying levels of competence, simply teaching phonological and phonemic skills in organized teams with reinforcement and/or instructions may be required.Every day before the class, the students may be encouraged to read aloud a brief paragraph in order to improve their oral reading skills.
These observations are also represented graphically in Figures1 and 2

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Comparison of the number of words read correctly in pre-test and post-test.

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. Comparison of rate of reading fluency in pre-test and post-test.
Figure 3.Comparison of means and SDs of the rate of reading fluency in pre-test and post-test.

Table 1 Pre-Test and Post-Test Data.
Stu.: Students; WPM: Words per Minute; CWR: Correct Words Read; RF: Reading Fluency

Table 2 Pre and Post-test Results (The Number of Words Read Correctly Out of 150 Words).
* Significant at 0.05 Level