Activity Objective

The goal of High Frequency Words Review: Promoting Reading and Writing Fluency is to help students to commit irregularly spelled high frequency words to memory so that they can read and spell them fluently.

What You Need

Prep Time:

10 minutes
- Prepare flashcards

Task Time:

10-20 minutes
- Teacher presents flashcards
- Students read and discuss words

Materials Required:

Teacher:
- Cardstock
- Markers

What You Do

Teacher Role:

Facilitator:
- while presenting flashcards and having students read and discuss words

Student Grouping:

Whole class:
- while presenting flashcards and having students read and discuss words

Assessment Ideas:

- Use a checklist to track students' ability to spell each word

- Record any patterns across all students and focus on these words during whole class word work activities

- Assess students' ability to correctly spell a set of high frequency list words during an oral dictation

- Assess students' ability to correctly read a set of high frequency list words during a one-on-one conference

Quick Tips

Activity Extensions:

- Have students orally share and record sentences containing high frequency words

- Create personal dictionaries and have students add new high frequency words to their dictionaries on a regular basis

- Turn this activity into a partner game
      a. Have students take turns presenting flashcards and reading or spelling the given words

- Use letter cards to make high frequency words

- Investigate the history of words and their origin

Additional Comments:

- High frequency words are the words that appear most often in printed material. Direct students' attention to these words during read-alouds and shared readings. These words are often found in lists such as the "Fry" list. Special attention should be given to irregular high frequency words, since students are not able to read or spell these using their knowledge of letter-sound correspondences.

- This activity is mainly intended as a review of high frequency words that have already been learned. Students should have extensive practice with high frequency words before they are expected to know them. Consult some of the word wall activities on the website for more ideas about how to do this.

- Discuss the importance of recognizing high frequency words by sight and the direct impact of this recognition to reading fluency.

- Keep these words displayed on a word wall for students to refer to during writing tasks. The more often students' are exposed to high frequency words the more likely they will be able to commit the spelling of these words to memory.

Other Adaptations/Modifications:

- Strategically seat students who may require cues to refocus