Final answer:
Bill used sight word recognition to read the word 'WILL', a strategy where words are recognized by their appearance without sounding them out. This is a key early reading skill that allows for quicker reading and comprehension.
Step-by-step explanation:
Six-year-old Bill said he could read the word WILL because it looked like his name. The strategy Bill used is sight word recognition. When readers recognize words by their appearance without having to sound them out, they are using sight word recognition. This skill is fundamental in early reading development as it allows for faster reading and better comprehension since common words can be recognized instantly.
Children, like Bill, often learn to read employing a mix of methods including phonics, decoding, and sight words, which is part of a balanced approach to reading instruction. Phonics involves mapping the sounds in words to their corresponding letters, while decoding involves breaking words down into their individual sounds and blending them to read the word. In contrast, sight word recognition involves the immediate identification of words without the need to break them down.