LANGUAGE:
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How Reading Works / Knowing the Most Common Words
KNOWING THE MOST COMMON WORDS
Teachers Call This Skill:
HIGH FREQUENCY (SIGHT) WORDS
High frequency words will make up 50-75% of the books your child will begin reading. High frequency words are often called “sight words"" because students were expected to memorize them, or know them by sight. However, a sight word is actually any word that can be read effortlessly. For example, the word 'in' might be a sight word for a kindergartener, while the word 'phenomenon' may be a sight word for an adult.
We now know that rote memorization of whole words is not an effective teaching strategy. By integrating high-frequency words into phonics instruction, we can help children understand the spelling patterns within these words, which will help map them and store them in their sight word memory.
High frequency words should be grouped based on whether their spellings are regular or irregular. Regular high-frequency words such as 'and', 'get', 'in', and 'yes' follow typical phonics patterns and can be decoded using common phonics knowledge and letter-sound relationships and the letters make the sounds that we would expect them to. The good news is that ~85% of high frequency words are regularly spelled!
Irregular high-frequency words such as 'said', 'the', and 'from' don't follow typical phonics patterns - they have at least one letter that doesn't make the sound we'd expect it to. The rest of the word actually follows normal phonics rules. So, most irregular words can still be sounded out, at least partly. Many programs now call irregular high frequency words ""heart words"", highlighting that children need to learn parts of them "by heart". When teaching an irregular word, show students which part of the word doesn’t follow the usual sound rule. That irregular part is the piece they’ll need to remember “by heart,” while the rest can be decoded as usual.
Children who can recognize these words quickly will strengthen their reading fluency and comprehension. When children can read these words effortlessly, they can spend their energy on sounding out more difficult words or understanding the story’s meaning.
Resources
10 Sight Words for Pre Readers
Kindergarten UFLI Heart Word Lists
Heart Words List
Printable UFLI Heart Word Cards
1st Grade UFLI Heart Words
SIPPS Challenge Irregular Syllables
WATCH & LEARN
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TRY THESE ACTIVITIES
Start Easy
Focus on practicing a few new words at a time, and reviewing previously learned words that could use more practice.
Keep track of words your child already knows, and words they are just learning using a sight word list.
Teach 10 Sight Words to Pre-Readers
When your child knows the names of the letters, but hasn't learned their letter sounds yet, you can teach some heart words that will help them read and write decodable sentences when phonics instruction begins.
Try alternating between these strategies: 1. Have your child find the word in a list or row of other words, (2) find the word in a book, (3) read the word from a card, and (4) spell the word.
Check out this list of 10 words or use these words: the, a, I, to, and, was, for, you, is, of.
Teach the Tricky to Make it Sticky
Write the irregular heart word on paper. Have your child highlight the part of the word that is “tricky" (the part that doesn't follow the usual phonics rules. For example, for the word "said", they would highlight the "ai". Review what sound the tricky part does make, and have your child read each sound in the word, then read the whole word.
Dissect a Word
Choose a set of irregularly spelled high-frequency words to
practice with and write them where your child can see them. Give your child a piece of paper or a white board divided into 3 columns. Read each word aloud for your child, or have them read the words with you.
Column 1: Have your child write the word to be dissected.
Column 2: Have them say the individual sounds in the word, then write the letters that spell that sound. Have your child draw a heart below the tricky part of the word (the part they have to learn by heart).
Column 3: Have your child write the tricky part again in the final box for the row.
Click here for more information and a printable activity
Memory Game
Create two sets of word cards and play a game of “Memory.” Lay the cards face down on the floor or the table. Take turns trying to match identical words. The person with the most pairs wins.
Highlight
Look at magazines, newspapers, cereal boxes, etc. and highlight and read the high-frequency words.
Spotlight
Post sight words or letters on the walls or floor, or around the room. Give students a flashlight and have them hunt for words. As they shine their light on the words, ask them to read them.
Snowball
Set up a waste-paper basket 3 or 4 feet from a table. On scrap paper, write the high-frequency words you are practicing. Have the student say the word and if correct crumple the paper and toss it for a basket.
Teach Similar Irregular Words Together
Introduce similar irregular words together. For example when you teach the word ‘any’, you could draw your child's attention to the tricky part ( the a makes the sound of short e instead of a). Then you can teach the irregular word ‘many", and point out that the tricky part is the same in both words.
Other examples: could, would, and should
where, there
some, come
