K2 · English · Literacy
High-frequency words
Learning to read common words such as 'the', 'I', 'is' and 'to' quickly, including those with spellings that are not yet fully decodable.
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These lessons were written around Australian Curriculum strands and matched to Singapore levels by age (Primary 1 is the first year of primary school). They are not aligned to MOE syllabuses or the PSLE, so check them against the syllabus your child is working towards.
Learning goals
Learners will
- Read a small set of high-frequency words quickly and without sounding out.
- Notice which letters in a tricky word follow the usual sounds and which part must be remembered.
- Find and read high-frequency words in a short sentence or book.
Success looks like
- I can read 'the', 'I', 'is' and 'to' as soon as I see them.
- I can point to the tricky part of a word like 'the'.
- I can find my words in a book we are reading.
The big idea
A small group of words turns up in almost every sentence we read. Words like the, I, is, to, a and and are called high-frequency words. When children can read these words in a flash, reading becomes much smoother and they can save their energy for the new words on the page.
Many high-frequency words can be sounded out with the letter sounds your child already knows. 'Is' is /i/ /z/ and 'can' is /c/ /a/ /n/. Encourage your child to sound these out a few times, then read them quickly as a whole word.
Some high-frequency words are tricky words. Part of the word does not make the sound we expect. In 'the', the t and h work together to say /th/, but the e says a quick 'uh'. In 'to', the o says /oo/. We call the unexpected part the heart part because we learn it by heart.
- Say the word and count its sounds on your fingers.
- Write the word and match each sound to its letters.
- Find the part that is unexpected and draw a small heart above it.
- Read the word three times, then use it in a spoken sentence.
Learn only two or three new words at a time. Keep a small stack of word cards and play quick games with them each day. Then go 'word hunting' in a picture book so your child sees that these words really are everywhere.
Worked examples
Finding the heart part in 'the'
Help your child learn to read the word 'the'.
- Say 'the' slowly. It has two sounds: /th/ and 'uh'.
- Write the word. The letters t and h together make /th/, which follows the usual pattern.
- The e does not make its usual /e/ sound here, so it is the heart part. Draw a small heart above the e.
- Read 'the' three times, then say a sentence: 'The cat is on the mat.'
Answer: 'the' has two sounds; the t and h make /th/ and the e is the heart part to remember.
Sounding out a regular word
Read the word 'is'.
- Look at the letters: i and s.
- Say the sounds: /i/ and /z/. (The s in 'is' sounds like /z/, just as it does in 'his'.)
- Push them together: 'is'.
- Read it again quickly and use it: 'The sun is hot.'
Answer: The word is 'is'.
Word hunting
How many times can you find 'the' in this sentence: 'The dog ran to the park.'?
- Point to each word in turn while reading it aloud.
- Stop each time you see 'the' or 'The'. A capital letter at the start of a sentence is still the same word.
- Count them: 'The' at the start and 'the' before 'park'.
Answer: 'the' appears 2 times.
Practice check
Have a go, then check your answers. Each answer comes with an explanation.
Answer guide for parents
Which of these is a high-frequency word that we see in almost every book?
the — 'The' is one of the most common words in English. 'Volcano' and 'elephant' are much less common.
Which word is always written with a capital letter, even in the middle of a sentence?
I — When we talk about ourselves, the word 'I' is always a capital letter.
Which word is a tricky word with a part you cannot sound out the usual way?
the — In 'the', the e does not make its usual /e/ sound. 'Cat' and 'sit' can be sounded out.
How many times do you see the word 'the' in: 'The cat sat on the mat.'?
2 — 'The' at the start and 'the' before 'mat' make 2.
Which sentence uses the word 'is'?
The dog is big. — 'The dog is big.' has the word 'is' in it.
Fill the gap with a two-letter word: 'I want ___ play.' Type the word.
to — 'I want to play.' The word 'to' fits.
Fill the gap with a two-letter word: 'The dog ___ big.' Type the word.
is — 'The dog is big.' The word 'is' fits.
Fill the gap with a one-letter word: 'I can see ___ cat.' Type the word.
a — 'I can see a cat.' The word 'a' fits.
Watch out for
- Thinking every high-frequency word must be memorised as a picture. Most of each word follows the usual sounds; only the heart part needs to be remembered.
- Guessing a word from its first letter (reading 'the' as 'that'). Ask your child to look at every letter in the word.
- Thinking a word with a capital letter ('The') is a different word from 'the'. Show that it is the same word starting a sentence.
Tips for parents
- Stick two or three word cards on the fridge or the bathroom mirror and read them together each day.
- Play 'snap' or 'memory' with two copies of each word card.
- When reading together, let your child read the high-frequency words while you read the harder ones.
Go further
- Write a word with a finger in sand, flour or on a steamy window while saying its sounds.
- Go on a word hunt in a picture book and keep a tally of how many times you find 'the'.
- Make a simple sentence with word cards (I can see a cat) and swap one word to make a new sentence.
About 20 minutes
You'll need
- Small cards or sticky notes with one word written on each (the, I, is, to, a, and, can, see)
- A simple picture book or early reader
- A red pencil or crayon for marking heart parts
Key words
- high-frequency word
- A word we see and use very often, such as 'the', 'is' and 'to'.
- tricky word
- A word with a part that does not sound the way the letters usually do, such as the 'o' in 'to'.
- sound out
- To say each sound in a word and push them together to read it.
- heart part
- The tricky part of a word that we learn 'by heart' because it does not follow the usual sounds.
Still tricky?
For parents
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