Math teachers all know that in order for elementary students to become good at math operations, it is necessary for students to learn their basic facts. Just as importantly, we know that in order to become fluent readers, it is vital for students to develop their ability to recognize words “by sight.” When the brain does not have to devote time to decoding the higher frequency words in a sentence, students can devote more time to comprehending what they are reading. Struggling readers often do not have a large sight word vocabulary so direct teaching of sight words can help develop stronger reading abilities. For students in primary grades, do an internet search for “Dolch” or “Fry” sight words. Download the words and copy each one on an index card. You can then play a game with individual students or small groups of struggling readers where you hold up the card and if the student can read the card accurately, s/he gets to keep the card. If a student cannot read the card, the opportunity passes to the next student or if you are only playing the game with one student, the card goes to the tutor. If you want, you can add a small element of competition at the end by seeing who has received the most cards during play. By showing the words over and over again, the student will learn to read the sight word. When the student has mastered the words for one grade level, move on to learning the words from the next higher grade level. For older readers, it often helps to put the words into short phrases rather than to simply show them words in isolation. The more sight words the student can recognize, the more fluent his or her reading will become.