New High Frequency Word Lists

Word lists based on spelling patterns

I am happy to report that my new high frequency word lists are finally ready to share. This follows many weeks of reading and researching and coming to understand why it makes more sense to teach high frequency words by spelling patterns instead of by order of frequency and then a couple months of creating the lists, testing them in my classroom, and reworking and reformatting them. It is my sincere hope that you can take the work I’ve done and use it in some way, shape, or form as you rethink your approach to teaching common words* next school year.

*I am doing my best to not call these words sight words. The term sight word implies that words are learned by sight and as a whole. We know—and need to communicate—that the science of reading tells us that readers actually process every single letter in every single word, even words that are automatic.

There are 34 lists with on average ten words per list. The lists are comprised of “regular” words, meaning that they follow common spelling rules and patterns and can be decoded if the phonics required to do so have been taught. The lists build on each other and should be used in order. However, you can change the lists and the order up any way that works for you. The lists contain only a few “irregular” words—also sometimes called heart words—so irregular words need to be taught separately and in a different manner. Most of the words on the list are also on the Dolch 220 word list. You’ll see other words that are less frequent; these are included for the sole purpose of further practicing certain spelling patterns.

The lists cover these spelling patterns in this order:

1. two-letter vowel consonant words (VC words)

2. one- or two-letter words with a long vowel (V and CV words)

3. CVC words

4. CVC words

5. VCC words

6. Vck words

7. ee words

8. words with th

9. three- or four-letter words with a long vowel (-VCC)

10. words with sh

11. words with ch

12. silent e

13. silent e

14. words ending in y

15. words ending in y

16. words ending with a double consonant (floss rule)

17. words beginning with wh

18. -ing ending

19. oo

20. ar

21. ow and ou

22. oy and oi

23. aw and au

24. bossy r

25. ai and ay

26. ea

27. igh

28. ow (long o sound)

29. ou and ew

30. rhyming words

31. -ed ending

32. words with all

33. compound words

34. words beginning with a (schwa sound)

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I’ll share a few lists now so you can see what they look like. I designed them so they’re ready to go for small group instruction, independent practice, home use, and incorporating some spelling, too. Later in the post, there will be a link to access the entire folder of lists.

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A lot of the thinking and formatting I put into these word lists comes from how I’ve taught high frequency words in the past and how I envision doing it in the future. What I used to do was pretty darn successful and so I hope to maintain some of those procedures but expect even greater results with the reorganization of the words. My students will move through these lists at their own pace. I plan to use them one-on-one, in small group instruction, in various independent word study activities, and to send home as a way to get parents involved.

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All subscribers have access to the lists. However, if you are a paid subscriber, you’ll get all future posts about what to actually do with these lists and how to get kindergartners capable and motivated enough to learn so many words and apply them to reading continuous text and to writing.

1. When do I start using the word lists?

2. How do students progress through the lists at their own pace?

3. How do I motivate students to take ownership for learning these words?

4. How do the word lists match up with my phonics scope and sequence (or yours)?

5. How do I know when students are proficient at reading a list?

6. How do I get parents involved?

7. What happens with students who aren’t learning word lists?

8. How do I track student progress?

9. How do I incorporate these word lists into daily writing?

Posts this summer will encompass year-long planning, the daily schedule, the phonics scope and sequence, and other related big picture ideas so you’re all ready to go from day one. Once school starts, there will be three or four posts per week that show how I build from ground zero in August so students can access and benefit from these word lists as the year goes on. Please consider coming along on this journey. You’ll be amazed at what your students can do!

Click on the button below to change to a paid subscription. The rate is $12/month or just $120/year. Or, continue on with your free subscription. Hopefully, all posts are valuable in some way or another.

Click here to access the 34 word lists! The lists may come to you out of order, but they are numbered so it will be easy to get them back in sequence. You’ll need to immediately make a copy (File/Make a Copy) of each list or select all of the lists and make a copy of them all at once. When you have copied them, they are yours and you can stick them in a folder and edit them as you wish.

Please let me know…

Did the link work and did the directions I gave to save your own copy make sense?

Are these lists helpful to you?

Can these word lists fit in with or supplement your required instructional program?

How do you envision using these lists?

Have you already reorganized the high frequency words yourself and if so do you see big differences in our thinking?

Thank you and good luck with the rest of the school year!