What are sight words, and what is the difference between Dolch and Fry lists?
Sight words are high-frequency English words that beginning readers learn to recognize instantly, "by sight," instead of sounding out. The Dolch list (220 words plus 95 nouns, grouped from pre-primer to grade 3) and the Fry instant-words list (1,000 words ranked by frequency, usually taught in groups of 100) are the two standard lists used in US elementary classrooms. LexiClash works with either: you paste whichever list your school uses into a custom word list, and every practice mode runs on exactly those words.
How do I practice Dolch or Fry sight words with LexiClash?
Create a free teacher account, open the word-list editor in the teacher dashboard, and paste or bulk-import your sight-word list — Dolch pre-primer, Fry first 100, or your own. Assign it to your class, and students practice it through flashcards, word matching, spelling challenges, warm-up rounds, and timed blitz drills. Parents can do the same at home for one child.
Do students need accounts or downloads to play?
No. Students join a classroom session with a 6-character code and play instantly in any browser — Chromebooks, tablets, phones, or desktops. There is no app to install and no student login to manage. Only the adult creating the word list needs an account.
Which LexiClash game modes help with sight-word recognition?
Sight words demand instant whole-word recognition, so the best fits are the list-driven modes: flashcard review for rapid exposure and recall, word matching for recognizing word shapes at speed, and the spelling challenge for moving from reading to writing each word. The daily Word Hunt grid adds scan-and-spot practice under time pressure, and 1v1 duels keep reluctant readers repeating words voluntarily.
Is LexiClash free for sight-word practice?
The word games are free to play — open the browser and start, with no per-student cost. The free teacher tier is not a trial: it covers 3 classes of 50 students each, with custom word lists, the classroom dashboard, and assignments. Teacher Pro is $9/month and adds unlimited classes plus progress analytics and printable reports.
What ages and grades is sight-word practice for?
Sight-word instruction typically runs from pre-K through grade 3 (roughly ages 4-9), which matches the Dolch pre-primer-to-grade-3 groupings and the first few hundred Fry words. Because you control the word list, the same modes also work for older struggling readers, ESL students, and intervention groups who need the same high-frequency words at a different pace.
Can I use it for at-home sight-word practice or homework?
Yes. Everything runs in the browser, so a list assigned in class can be practiced at home the same evening — no printing, no photocopied flashcards, no app install on a family device. A parent can also build their own list directly and skip the classroom flow entirely.
Does it work for ESL and English-language learners?
Yes. LexiClash ships with separate dictionaries for English, Hebrew, Swedish, Japanese, Spanish, and Russian, and every list word carries audio pronunciation — useful when a student is still mapping English sounds to English spellings. High-frequency-word practice is a standard early-literacy step in ESL programs for the same reason it is in first-language classrooms.
