Practicing High-Frequency Words (aka "Tricky Words")


There are several pieces to our Guided Reading program in the Resource Classroom.  First, we practice what we call “tricky words.”  There is nothing magical about this, but it is vital.  These are simply high-frequency words.  Everything we read is comprised mostly of high-frequency words, which is why we pay a lot of attention to these in the early stages of reading.  I use the Fry Words Lists to generate my materials.  However, you can use any high-frequency words list.  A great resource is www.sightwords.com which offers several of the most well-known lists and activities.

To save you time, however, I am providing links to the specific materials I have created to use in my classroom.  For each hundred words, I have created four sets of flashcards.  The first flashcard in each set has a code on it.  The first number represents the set of hundred (First Hundred, Second Hundred, and Third Hundred).  The second number represent the quarter of those hundred words (first quarter, second quarter, third quarter, fourth quarter).  It is important to practice these words in order.  For example, you would not start with the second hundred words.  You would start with the first quarter of the first hundred words.  It is also important with students with learning disabilities to only work on 3-5 words at a time.  In my classroom we only work on three at a time.
We use a folder system to track our progress.  

The folder (any file folder will do) has 6 pockets (library pockets).  The first five pockets are numbered…1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.  The 6th pocket is labeled “Done!”.  We write their current words on index cards.  Every day the students practice their words.  To stay organized, I write their name on the back of the card and the number of the pocket the card is currently in (since students often think they can move ahead). The student must be able to read the word and spell it correctly before it can move to the next pocket.  It is only done when they have been able to read and spell it correctly for five days.  It is also important to go back and review those finished words periodically because their long-term memories tend to be a little faulty.  I usually punch a hole in the finished cards and place them on a ring for review.  (Most of these resources can be purchased at Walmart or Dollar Tree inexpensively.  I have provided links to Amazon for ease and visualization of what I am talking about).  You can also see an example of this here.

I have also started having them stay the letters as they spell the word.  I implemented this because they were having so much trouble remembering how to spell them.  I needed this to be more multi-sensory, and I recalled that my youngest son was a terrible speller.  Saying the letters aloud was the only thing that helped him memorize how to spell words.  He could write them over and over and over, but he wouldn’t remember them.  This was because he was an auditory learner, not a visual learner.
Now for the Links to the Flashcards:

First Hundred Words
Second Hundred Words
Third Hundred Words

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