Calling the words on these lists “sight words” is a bit of an aspirational misnomer. In research, a “sight” word is simply any word that a reader can recognize automatically, said Shanahan.

Words are not simply the flat, black-and-white letters as depicted in the dictionary. ... We use words to represent the sensory experiences of sight, sound, touch, taste and smell.

Chad Henderson, 5, is a viral star thanks to his reading skills. — -- The start of a new school year is still clearly on the mind of Internet users who have thrown their attention on the ...