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Is there a list of red/tricky words for reception level

7 replies

3duracellbunnies · 08/11/2011 07:05

Dd2 is in reception, she is doing really well reading cvc words, and when the reading book is more phonetically based (e.g. Songbirds) she is doing really well, but she found ort harder due to all the red words. At school they have only done 'the' and 'I' so far which she moans are much too easy, so think she can cope with more and make reading books a bit smoother for her. Ideally something can do on the move when waiting for dd1 at afterschool activities.

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HauntedLittleLunatic · 08/11/2011 07:07

Google reception high frequency words. There is a list of 45. Sorry I'm on my phone so tricky to link.

CocktailQueen · 08/11/2011 14:32

The 45 HF words are out - we now have a list of 100 words that all reception children muist know by the end of the year. Gulp. try googling that?

maizieD · 08/11/2011 17:58

This is the complete list of the 100 'high frequency words' taught over the course of the government Letters & Sounds guidance;

www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/Letters%20and%20Sounds-7.pdf

Note that they are not expected to be taught all in one go; if you scroll down, you will see that a few are taught during each 'phase'. Note also that some are perfectly straightforward to decode and blend (providing the child has the requisite phonic knowledge) and only a few are taught as 'tricky words', i.e words that are decodable but with a 'tricky bit', i.e a rare or unusual letter/sound correspondence.

This is the teaching guidance for 'Phase 2' of L & S. If you go to page 64 you will find guidance on how to teach the 'tricky words'. This is good advice and the best way to teach them.

www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/Letters and Sounds-2.pdf

(sorry, even though I have copied and pasted it straight from the address bar I cannot get that link to work - you'll have to copy & paste it!)

If your child is getting decodable books to read (which the Songbirds are) then the tricky words will be introduced gradually over the course of the reading scheme. If you want her to be reading more than decodables from school (which isn't the best idea until she is secure with the phonics) then words with unfamiliar correspondences can be approached in a similar way, decode the bits that she knows and explain the 'code' which she doesn't yet know as "this is the code for the 'x' sound which you will be taught later." What you are aiming for is always keeping to the principle that unfamiliar words have to be decoded and blended.

ORT is really not the best thing to be reading as it introduces a large number of 'advanced code' correspondences at a time, which is a big load on memory, while not even giving sufficient practice in using them! They are not written to support phonics teaching at all.

I would advise take it very steady, and don't overface her. Some children are a whizz at picking up new correspondences and 'getting' the principle of decoding and blending, others need to work at a slower pace. If she shows signs of getting confused, and/or guessing and memorising instead of decoding and blending , STOP and take it more slowly. Early 'advanced' reading is not a sign of much except a facility in learning to read. The 'slower' to learn get there just the same in the end.

SenoritaViva · 08/11/2011 18:00

www.letters-and-sounds.com is where DD's primary teacher recommended, it's not the official government site but has some useful looking flashcards/lists etc. (I say looking because as yet we haven't actually used them). They're free and printable.

SenoritaViva · 08/11/2011 18:01

oops, forgot to link correctly

www.letters-and-sounds.com

3duracellbunnies · 08/11/2011 18:49

Thank you for all the links, I will look at them later, and MaizieD I wish they were all decodable like songbirds, but these are the random assortment of books sent home in bookbags by the school. The last one half the words seemed to be red words, I just thought as she is being exposed to them, she might as learn them, I think she would make faster progress with mainly phonics, but hey, that's life.

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MayDayChild · 08/11/2011 18:59

I have worked out that the seemingly random order we are being given tricky words is in direct relation to ORT purple level 1
This
Away
Dog
Come
I suppose if you get the dc to learn these words, they might stand a chance at reading 20 year old books.

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