In this post, I share 5 tips for teaching Heart Words in the classroom, a high-frequency words scope and sequence to guide you, and my Heart Words resource and activities to help kindergarten, first and second grade students learn sight words.
Well guys, it turns out you actually CAN teach an old dog new tricks! Lately, I’ve been learning all about using the Heart Word method to teach students high-frequency words and it has changed me and the way I’d teach irregular words. And as it turns out, many of you feel the same!
Witnessing your interest and enthusiasm for learning about the Heart Word method, makes me want to do a happy dance 💃💃! I’ve also received a lot of really smart questions regarding exactly how to teach students Heart Words, so I wanted to share some more information that I hope will help to answer some of those questions.
Today I’m excited to share 5 tips for Teaching Heart Words in your classroom!
1. Pre-teach 10-15 Words
After students know all the letter names, but before they start phonics instruction, you need to teach them 10–15 very high-frequency words.
As the teacher, you can select these words based on your students and your reading material, but if you want some guidance, I think this recommended list and order is great:
10 Sight Words for Pre-Readers to Learn
| Word | Dolch Frequency Rank | Fry Frequency Rank |
|---|---|---|
| the | 1 | 1 |
| a | 5 | 4 |
| I | 6 | 20 |
| to | 2 | 5 |
| and | 3 | 3 |
| was | 11 | 12 |
| for | 16 | 13 |
| you | 7 | 8 |
| is | 22 | 7 |
| of | 9 | 2 |
Teaching these words in the order listed above helps minimize confusion for students. For example, to and of are widely separated on the list because they are both two-letter words with an o, and the t and f have similar formations..
How to Teach the 10-15 words
While some children will learn to recognize words on their own as they are read to, without any prompting, others will need explicit instruction and practice to learn the words.
Introduce your students to just one word at a time. To help them learn it you can simply use flashcards and point the word out when it appears in texts you are reading. Don’t move on until it is mastered. Continue to review the mastered words while learning the new one.
You’ll know students have mastered the word when they can 1) find the word in a list of other words, (2) find the word in a text, (3) read the word from a card, and (4) spell the word.
Once you have those 10-15 words under their belt they are ready to begin their phonics instruction!
2. Eliminate Confusions
When students learn pairs of words that are similar, they can easily get confused. The words may look the same or sound the same which can leave students feeling mixed up!
Examples of words that are predictably confusing include:
💖 where – were
💖 then – they
💖 the – a
💖 when – then
💖 of – for
💖 she – the
To help students eliminate the confusion you can start by pointing out the similarity and explaining it. Then give students an idea or little ditty to help them correct it.
For example, if I were teaching the words then and they. I would acknowledge that the words can easily get confused because they look so similar! To help them correct the confusion I would give them the ditty, “THEY like to go to the Y(MCA) so the word they has a Y.
3. Group Words with Similar Patterns
Students learn words more easily when they are grouped together than when they have to learn them one at a time. For this reason, it is smart to group words that have similar spelling patterns, even if the pattern is irregular.
Instead of teaching the flash word he in isolation as a word to be memorized, you can teach he, be, we, me, and she at the same time. Go, no, and so are also flash words that can be learned together.
The heart words his, is, as and has can all be taught as VC and CVC words because the letter s in each of those words makes the sound /z/.
Then there are words that are not easily grouped by spelling pattern. In that case you can introduce them when you teach the regularly spelled part of the word. For example, when you teach the digraph th you can introduce the words they and their.
4. Follow a Scope and Sequence
I know it takes a lot of time (and brainpower!) to map out when you are going to teach each Heart and Flash word. It can feel overwhelming. So to help you out I have created a 2 page High Frequency Words Scope and Sequence!
This scope and sequence names a phonics skill and identifies the Heart and Flash words that go along with that skill. It’s an awesome guide that will save you SOOOO much time!!
💖 DOWNLOAD this FREE HIGH FREQUENCY (HEART & FLASH) WORDS SCOPE & SEQUENCE HERE
Wondering which order to teach the phonics skills? I’ve shared a research-based phonics scope and sequence for K-2 students in this post.
A Resource to Help You Teach Heart Words
Looking for more resources to help teach Heart Words in your classroom? Take a peek at my Heart Words resource. It’s a NO PREP, science-based resource that has everything you need to successfully teach your students how to utilize the heart word method.
The resource includes information on best practices, teaching tips, EDITABLE digital teaching slides and printables for 220 high frequency sight words, and much MORE!
Feeling eager and motivated to start integrating sight words into your phonics lessons?? Take a deeper look at the resource by downloading this FREE sample that includes 5 different words!
I hope the information and resources I’ve shared today help to answer some of your questions about how to teach students high-frequency words using the Heart Word Method. More questions on your mind? Drop me a comment below and I’ll do my best to find you an answer!
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Free Heart Words – Teaching High Frequency ( sight words )$0.00 -
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–PIN for LATER–
Hi there. Just discovered your blog and have been spending time reading about sound walls and heart words. I think I’m about to transform my teaching practice! I am very interested in the high frequency word scope and sequence mentioned in this blog as I think it will be so helpful for my planning but it is not available. Any chance you would be willing to share this file with me? I’d be very grateful. Thanks!
Hi Jen,
Thanks for reaching out. I was revising the heart words scope and sequence to be even better! Here is the direct link to download. Enjoy! -Christina
Have you looked into Arkansas’ R.I.S.E. Initiative? I live in Arkansas and went through the K-2 RISE training through the state 3-4 years ago, but the school that I am at now began their training this year. Since I had already completed my training, I attended two courses this summer over how to teach using the sound wall, and how to work with students in small group. Heart words are new for me, so your resources have been a huge blessing! I bought your set to use in my classroom. I also greatly appreciate your input on the Scope and Sequence! I think I am the most nervous that I am going to make a mistake on the instructional end because there have been a few words that I would have done less sounds than what the students are still needing. I have also been using the “Heart Word Magic” videos from http://www.reallygreatreading.com
They don’t have a huge library of words yet, but my students have connected really well with the videos they do have…
Hi Makayla,
A huge round of applause for your courage in trying to do the best that you can for your students. Your students are lucky to have such a dedicated teacher. The heart word method has brought on so much success for so many students, it’s ok to be nervous we can learn right alongside our students. I hope the teaching slide teacher notes will help guide you, please reach out if I can help clarify! I have heard great things about the Arkansas’ R.I.S.E. Initiative, thanks for the reminder to take another look!
Have a great week!
-Christina
Hi Jen. I am a retired Bilingual Special Education teacher (28 years) and am starting a tutoring program using volunteers in area churches. We use an intervention model of focusing on Phonics, Sight Words, Fluency, and Reading Comprehension. I have seen other Ortho gillingham programs develop a combined scope and sequence that structures Sight Words with Phonics. This one is clear, intuitive. That’s really important as my volunteers are not teachers – thank you for this resource and your faithfulness to produce it.
Hi AmyJo,
Thank you so much for your kind words! What a wonderful contribution you are making to help students! Wishing you the best, -Christina
Christina,
Thank you so much for all your blog posts. Your posts have been a great resource after taking a course on the science of reading. I am interested in your FREE HIGH FREQUENCY (HEART & FLASH) WORDS SCOPE & SEQUENCE but the link is not working. I click the link and it takes me to a blank screen white screen. The tab says Dropbox-Heart Words. Would you be able share the link another way. My teammates and I are beginning to look at next years plan to introduce words in this way.
Hello! I have a couple of questions for you:
1)How many words would you recommend teaching *per day* for first grade? Would you recommend teaching all of them up front at the beginning of the week and then having students work on activities with the words throughout the rest of the week?
2) Do you have any recommendations for a weekly sight word assessment?
Thanks!
Hi Brittany, I would integrated your hign frequency words to match the phonics skills you are teaching- Check the scope and sequence that I have provided, all 220 words are matched up with phonics skills. So when you teach short e, you’ll review the “flash” decodable words red, let, get, ten..and only have to teach the heart word “said”. And yes at the beginning of the week is a great idea so you can build in review during the week. I hope this is helpful! -Christina
I have learned so much about sound walls and heart words. I’ve always taught the traditional sight words through memorization. I want to implement both the sound wall and heart words this upcoming year. I have purchased both of your resources. I have a designated area for my sound wall. Do you have any examples of what the Heart Word Wall/Hub could look like? As I introduce the words, would I set it up like a traditional word wall with words going under the alphabet? Or should it look different?
Hi Tonya,
Thank you so much for your purchases! 🤗 There is an example of a Heart Word bulletin board in the preview images Here. Words are added after they’ve been explicitly taught, and would not need to stay up forever, just for a few weeks to review. Research shows a typical student only needs 1-4 exposures to learn the words.
Approximately 80% of words are fully decodable and there’s another large percentage of words that are decodable except for 1 phoneme.
Of the Dolch sight word list, only 20 total words are not fully decodable.
The word wall list, if needed, should be minimal. If you switch to a sound wall, maybe you could have an irregular word list for them at their desks as a tool to take out during writing. Hope this is helpful!-Christina