Learning and mastering high-frequency words is key for students to be able to read. Exposure to, practice, and mastery of high-frequency words can help students with not only reading words, but also understanding patterns in words, and developing reading comprehension skills because students are able to read with more fluency.
Over the last three months, I have been developing a special set of high-frequency word bundles specifically for use with young, struggling, or new readers. These bundles are perfect for kids who are just beginning to read, so parents can definitely download these files and work on them with their children as well.
Here is what is included in these bundles and, more importantly, why they work!
Cut and Spell
This is an activity I created for my non-writers. Each word for them to spell is on the paper and they then have to cut out and sequence the letters to spell the words correctly.
Box Spelling:
Students learn to spell one letter at a time. The point behind this activity is that students are writing the words beginning with only the last letter. Then as they write them they will write the last 2 letters, then the last 3 letters and so on until the word is spelled out. This an effective strategy because students learn to spell by repetition and gain confidence through a series of quick wins.
Flashcards:
Used while assessing, teaching and reviewing, flashcards are an easy way to assess to find out which words students already know.
Word Scramble:
Students will place a letter on each picture. Then they will use the letters and unscramble them to spell the target word. For students who can write I then have them write the correct word out. If they can not write then I just have them place the letters on the blanks in the correct order.
Word Search:
This activity I created for my higher-level learners for a challenge. There are 25 words per search, and they have to be able to spell correctly the words to find them in the puzzle.
Spelling Practice:
There are four opportunities for tracing and four opportunities for writing the target word. There also is a word scramble at the bottom of each page that requires students to find the word that is spelled correctly.
Reading Discrimination:
Reading discrimination practice is a way for students to practice fluency and word recognition. The other words included on each strip are spelled similarly or pronounced closely to the target word to help students differentiate the words.
Word Find:
This activity is used to assess if my non-vocal students can identify a given word.
This series is designed as a one-stop-shop for learning, practicing, and assessing the words on each list. The assessments and activities vary in difficulty, and students are able to grow and still be challenged.
In full, this series includes 800 high-frequency words for students to study and learn over the course of the year.
If you are interested in seeing these activities in action download this FREEBIE to use all activities with the first 10 words.
HERE you can check out the list of 800 high frequency sight words.