How do you teach High frequency words to reception child..?

[Macbeth8]

Is there a trick to teach them/help them with it?
I get the phonics sounding out and blending but is there a fun way to help with the HQ words. Dc seems quite frustrated when I tried today..

Lots of reading together is the simplest way

1. getting my DS to read Oxford tree, songbirds books, etc
2. when I’m reading books out loud to DS asking him to read the HFW we encounter

We also have a sight words bingo game from learning resources which has a spinner which he enjoys. It still doesn’t beat a book and a cuddle for effectiveness though.

Draw chunky bubble writing for DC to colour in of a small number of words at a time, grouping where possible (he, be, me) (want, what) (this, the). Fun to do on paper, or chalk in the garden, bubbles in the bath, or paint, or playdough.
Notice key words in print in your surroundings, cut them out of headlines in magazines and stick on a poster to collect them.
Limit HFWs to a few at a time, on 2 flashcards at a time, match them up (against the clock when DC might enjoy that).
Try sticker charts - sticker when DC has recognised words on a few occasions.
Keep it fun! Teachers can do a certain amount, but the confidence in learning and ultimately the attainment of each child will always be hugely enhanced by supportive parents who value education and who share this passion with their DC. It's a joyful journey for many - when it's not, take a step back and check in with teacher.

More generally, I found that reading with my older DS when he was in early years and reception was absolutely vital - when he could confidently read himself, he could follow instructions in maths, etc and start to work more independently- building that self esteem in reading was key .

I really miss reading with him now - it feels like biff, chip and kipper take over your life for a while, and then poof they’re gone!

And yes to the tricky words song suggested by the PP!

We just did the flash cards each night. I think we had 7 per week and as they were added we just kept the old ones in. Both my dds were willing to do it. And they were reading independent chapter books by Christmas of reception (having not been able to read at all before they started). They need to learn to read before they can read to learn. But I appreciate that my dds were engaged and happy to do it. Not all children are.

Flashcards and a Nerf gun. They shoot at the ones you say!

Loads of reading together. Start by showing them a word and getting them to find the word in their books. Then they read the word when you point at it as you read through. Then add more words. Eventually you take a sentence each as they learn to read. Then read a page each in turn. And then they're reading to you. But it's a long process and it starts with you reading to them nightly (pointing to the words as you read them)

Teacher here.
If a child picks up words quickly it's fine to leave it to the teacher but if they struggle learning the high frequency sight words is a must. And teachers can introduce them but if extra drill is needed it's vital the parent takes this on. Start with a few on flashcards and just keep adding in one or two new ones while revising the old ones.
Some times l would add a card with their own name, maybe dogs name and make up silly sentences. They usually enjoy it when their name is there. Or print a photo of the dog/ granny and write a little story underneath..Look at Granny. I can see Granny etc.
Lay all the cards out on the table and get them to pick the ones they know. Mountains of praise and encouragement.

Practice in short bursts..never overdo it. Can't stress that enough.

I made word jigsaws, the sound like th then the vowel & then the consonant, sounds like th, dr, tr, ch on a single piece, then vowels on a single piece & then consonants on a single piece. We did a different group of words every week, one week it would be words starting with th & tr, start with easy ones like that & tree, then move on to they, them & so on building on what they learned, adding letters to build up to 5 letters & learning that ugh was silent in though & made the f sound in trough. I bought some second hand duplo bricks & wrote the letters & sounds on the side of the bricks in sharpie so he could stick them on the base. I also did the same with numbers for easy addition & subtraction but built them up vertically which came in handy for teaching hundreds, tens & units addition & subtraction.

Yes I’m a professional.

I wouldn’t be teaching HFW as sight words. I wouldn’t teach any words as such.

Yes, you’d probably teach the alternatives of wh/w and o later than you’d teach the SATPIN etc but if you’re going to expect children to read words you’ve got to teach them how to do that. I suppose I hope that most schools are sticking to the NAt C and only expecting children to read words that they can decode. If schools are sending home sight words or HFW that’s not happening.

Sounds-Write is very good on this Ingrained as it’s evidence based. Debbie Hepplewhite’s scheme is too. Aren’t RWI good too? I don’t think they do HFW but I’m prepared to be told I’m wrong.

I wish we could edit posts!

2016 HFW this is what I mean, explained much better than I did. This is from 2016 when schools may have been using the original Letters and Sounds. I’d like to think no state schools are doing so anymore but from this thread it looks as if they may be.

Read books to her and see if she can "spot" the tricky words.

I also recommend the app "teach your monster to read" which my daughter really enjoyed

I fed mine a very health high fruit and veg diet which meant by reception they would attempt almost anything for a chocolate button. Then I took a bag of chocolate buttons, some flash cards and a pen and paper and practiced with them 5 min per day.

untitled

Genius.

Bribery all the way

moverofpaper

That's interesting, thank you.

In practice, I haven't come across teaching all words through phonics. The technical aspects of what, swan, squash are not revealed until they're taught as spelling words later on. The alternative is having so much potential text filled with 'word blocks' at an early stage that are really frequently used but not covered by the early phonics stages. In practice I'm only familiar with teaching phonics diligently but laying it aside to explain that some words are different and don't follow our rules. So we learn them a few at a time by sight. We call them silly words and try to ensure children don't get discouraged from decoding other words by drawing a clear distinction and learning them in families if there are any. So when the letter o has only been taught as making the short vowel sound, they can still read no, go, so. The drawback (for me) to breaking up 'where' into the phonics sounds is that we need to read it before we're ready to move on from the air sound being recognised in fair, pair etc.

It's interesting to know this isn't the only approach, thanks.

paper Just to respond to your first post:

RWI do teach 'tricky words' separately.
Hepplewhite is similar in that ere for example isn't taught until unit 6 which is long past the time for learning where and there so it's the same problem.
Sounds Write are closer but even then there is an acknowledgement that some words have to be learnt, admittedly fewer. Specialist dyslexia interventions using Sounds Write would get into it more.

Your link speaks more of to me of adult ESOL. I really like this kind of phonics but IME it appeals to speakers of other languages who already speak English but want to improve their pronunciation with a native speaker. For most children conquering exception words are not too difficult especially if home support is there. But I don't know how every school teaches and your approach may be more familiar to others.

Have never done anything like this and have taught three children to read!

Most high frequency words are decodable and shouldn't be taught as 'sight words' - just sound them out.

Some 'tricky words' (hard for a Reception age child to sound out with their current phonic knowledge or just exception words) like said or the you can just point out as you read stories.

I really dislike the whole idea of drilling sight words to be honest.