6. Student Practice Activities for Irregularly Spelled High-Frequency Words
Irregularly Spelled High-Frequency Words Skill Explainer
6. Student Practice Activities for Irregularly Spelled High-Frequency Words
Students need lots of opportunities to practice reading and spelling irregular words so that they can build accuracy and automaticity on the way to fluent reading. We've included free printable student practice activities below. Please download and share them with your colleagues!
Before your students begin the activities, make sure that they understand how to complete them. You can model the activities in a whole-group setting or in a small group.
Once students are familiar with the activity, they'll be ready to work on the activities independently, either at their seats, in a center, or in a small group.
Keep an eye out for students who may need extra support and be ready to step in and scaffold as needed. It's helpful to have a recording sheet or another way for students to show their work so you can monitor their understanding. Some students may need quick, explicit, and positive corrections, while others may benefit from additional instruction.
Heart Word Flash Cards with Sentence Generation
Heart Word Flash Cards is a fun activity in which students create their own flash cards to help them read and spell high-frequency words with irregular spellings. Students write the word, mark the "heart part" or the part that doesn't follow regular spelling rules, and then practice reading and spelling the words on the cards. You can extend this activity by having students use the heart word in a sentence.
Teacher Tip
Have students add their heart word flash cards to a binder ring so that they can practice their irregular words.
Trace and Try
Trace & Try is a hands-on way to help students practice reading and spelling high-frequency words. Students trace and copy irregular words several time and then practice writing them from memory.
Trace and Try with One Irregular Word
Trace and Try with Irregularly Spelled Words
Roll & Read Practice Activities
Roll & Reads are a fun, game-like way to practice reading and spelling words in isolation. Students roll dice and read the corresponding word or practice spelling it. After you've modeled how to do Roll & Reads, students can do them with partners or in centers on their own. Use this student activity to build accuracy and fluency in reading and spelling words with blends. Students can play with partners or in small groups.
Roll and Read for Irregular Words
Roll, Write, and Read with Common Irregular Words
More Practice with Heart Words
Heart Words with Dictation
After introducing heart words, dictate them during your daily phonics instruction and have students write them in the heart word section of their dictation sheet (opens in new window). Once students are ready, begin including them into phrase and sentence dictation.
Photo by Fanny Texier
Air Writing Heart Words
Have students use their fingers to "air write" irregular high-frequency words in large motions in front of them. As they write, they should say each letter out loud, then read the whole word. Repeat this two or three times. Students can also trace the word on their desks, a sand tray, or on their heart word flash cards.
Heart Word Pyramids
Each heart word pyramid begins with one irregular word and adds new words on each line to build a complete sentence. Model how to read the pyramid using appropriate pacing, expression, and phrasing. Then, have students read each line from top to bottom, repeating the full pyramid three times to build fluency. This structure allows students to practice reading heart words and supports sentence-level fluency and prosody.
To create your own word pyramid, start with an irregular high-frequency word and build a simple sentence by adding one or two words per line. Make sure to keep the vocabulary decodable.
Heart Word Decodable Sentences and Passages
We want to give students many opportunities to read irregular high-frequency words in meaningful sentences and texts. After introducing heart words, provide plenty of chances to practice reading them in decodable sentences or short passages.
You can use sentences or passages during your whole-group instruction or during small-group instruction. In small groups, students can read and reread passages three to four times, highlighting heart words as they read.
To create your own decodable sentences or passages, include words that follow phonics patterns your students have already learned. Limit the number of irregular words to those you've explicitly taught.
