Retired teacher Lysa Sassman, who volunteers with Sight Word Busters, helps six-year-old Julian practice his letters as a prelude to sight word work Nov. 13 at Sierra Hills School in Meadow Vista.

As ubiquitous as colored pencils and alphabet posters, lists of “sight words” have long been a fixture in kindergarten and 1st grade classrooms. These inventories identify some of the most commonly ...