How to…teach high-frequency words

In our ‘how to…’ series we are going to delve into all things phonics instruction and give you our expert advice on developing confident readers. *** High-frequency words is another term for common words with tricky spellings, or high-frequency words with “irregular” spellings. The term “irregular” is a bit misleading because while beginner readers might […]

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What’s so great about dictation?

The verb ‘to dictate’ is not one that teachers warm to.  This is because we love to foster creativity in our children and to get them to write their own ideas.  BUT when teaching children how to read and spell we need to use all the best tools we have to instruct our beginner readers […]

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Teach high-frequency words like an incomplete puzzle

English is complex and we need to teach reading in a structured way from simple to complex.  Unfortunately, there is no avoiding high-frequency words with spellings the children haven’t learned yet because they are present in even the simplest of sentences, e.g. ‘The cat is on the mat’.  In the very first sentences children read […]

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Thumbs up for READ, SOUND, WRITE, CHECK!

So, we are resuming our campaign to change the way teachers send home spelling lists every week using the LOOK, WRITE, COVER, CHECK approach.  Why doesn’t it work with so many children? Many children have a poor visual memory and as hard as they try, they cannot remember the shape of the word.  This is […]

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300 High Frequency Word Phonic Chart

A4 High Frequency Poster Web

Do your children forget spellings from one week to the next? Many teachers issue spelling lists each week only to find that a week or two down the road the children have already forgotten them. At Phonic Books we believe that teaching children the first 300 high-frequency words in a way that links up with […]

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How to teach high-frequency words

High-frequency words are common words in our language. Many teachers believe that it is useful for children to learn to read and spell these words as soon as possible. The problem is that many of these words have complex spellings. This means that children may find it difficult to read and spell them until they […]

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Should we teach tricky words as ‘sight words’?

The new year has started and children are sent home to learn to read and spell tricky words by sight, that is by the shape of the word.  Does this make sense if they are learning to read with Synthetic Phonics? Read this thoughtful post on the Phonics Blog. http://www.phonicsblog.co.uk/#/blog/4565770755/Common-Exception-Words-and-the-Muddle-over-Tricky-Words/7631625  

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Are we teaching high-frequency words in a logical order?

Here is a post from Spelfabet on an alternative order of teaching high-frequency words which best suits a logical phonic progression. This makes sense as children can use the phonics they are already learning and apply them to high-frequency words. Very simple. Why is this important? It is important because teaching children to read words […]

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