At Brundall we have divided the first 100 words into 5 groups of 20 words. We have checked to see if your child can read these words fluently without sounding out and they have brought home a set of words. They may be able to read some of these words but this is the column where they have words they need to practice. Recognising and being able to read high frequency words gives children more confidence. If a child can already recognise a quarter of the words in a text, they are more likely to want to keep reading. Being able to read and recognise these words can begin to make reading and writing less daunting to children during the early stages of their educational journey. They should be able to read and recognise these words without sounding out.
High frequency words are one of the main types of sight words and are those words which occur most frequently in written material, for example, “and”, “the”, “as” and “it”. They are often words that have little meaning on their own, but they do contribute significantly to the meaning of a sentence as a whole. Some of these words are difficult to sound out, most of these high frequency words have a rather abstract meaning which is hard to explain to children. It’s easy to learn words like “cat” and “house” because they can easily be related to a real object or a picture, but representing the words “the” or “of” is tricky. Teaching children high frequency words in the first place is just one part of the process. To completely consolidate their learning, children need practice.
There are two copies of each word this is so that you can play games etc. You can cut them out and use them for a variety of games and activities which focus on repetition and boosting pupils’ memory of high frequency words. Also check out our website for some games that will support your child’s learning.
We really appreciate your support with this and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask a member of staff.
With thanks,
The Brundall Team
