Too-to-tw

o

Could-would-should

By: J. Syverson

Irregular Word Reading

Chapter 7

their-there

What?Irregular Words

cannot be decoded by sounding out.

Permanent~ Low frequency sounds/spellings not pronounced typically through the use ofphonics and are uniqueto that word or a few words. Temporary~Early on, students haven’t been taught a particular sound/spellingsin a word. When taught ALL the sounds/spellings the words have now become wholly decodable words.

Reasons: • Contains one or

more sound/spelling that students do not know.

• Students have to learn to identify these words as wholes or by sight..

Two types of irregular words

What?High-Frequency Irregular Words in

Printed Text

About 25 percent from a list of 100 high-frequency words are permanently irregular.

Appear often in printed text. Crucial for comprehension. Grammatical glue that holds sentences together. Cues a reader to sentence structure. (List of most frequent words in school and college text are shown on pages 244 &

245.)

What?There are two ways to catalog irregular words that have been previously taught so that students can practice them. Word Banks Word Walls

Teaching Irregular Word Reading

Chosen from the stories or passages students will be reading.

Should be consistently and clearly presented.

Students need lots of exposure to an irregular word BEFORE they can be expected to recognize it on sight.

Needs to be practiced daily. Repeated exposure helps

students to recognize them in isolation and in what they read.

When the word is challenging, the more the student needs to practice it.

Sequence of Introducing Irregular words: Word Frequency-Introduce

high-frequency before low frequency.

Word Similarity-Should not be introduced too close to each other.

Word Relationships–Words that have phonograms in common, should be

introduced in sets.

Why? When beginning to learn to read, children do not

learn irregular words (many which are function words) as quickly as regular words. They read irregular words more slowly and not as accurate.

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It is important that we as teachers, need to supply children with easy to understand, clear, and consistent instructions.

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In beginning texts, there are many function words (words that have little meaning) that affect the flow and understanding of the text. Students learn these irregular words as a whole.

When?When to teach

When students are able to read regular CVC words.

Waiting to introduce irregular words, strengthen students’

dependency on identifying a word by sounding it out.

One lesson before is when a new irregular word should be introduced and taught before it is seen and read in connected text.

Pace is critical when introducing them.

When to Assess and Intervene

o Often monitor progress … Above grade level - 4 to

6 weeks Slightly below grade

level - every 2 weeks Significantly below

grade level - weekly

o Monitor the students by… Asking students to read

aloud, previous irregular words.

Keep a record of irregular words that students struggle with.

Are

said

Of

How? Sound-Out Strategy~…..Students inspect all lettersin the first 15 or so irregularwords. They need to beable to show you the differences in one or more of the word’s sound/spellings.

Sample Lesson:o Introduce Irregular Wordso Practice Irregular Wordso Word Reading Practice for

frequency…using a transparency

o Provide students with plenty of reading resources

Spell-Out Strategy~Target words that may be temporarily irregular but not permanently irregular. It can beused to introduce sound/spellings that are distinct to that word or afew words.

Sample Lesson:o Introduce Irregular Wordso Practice Irregular Wordso Word Reading Practice for

frequency…using a transparencyo Provide students with plenty of

reading resources

Conclusion “If developing readers cannot instantly identify (high-

frequency) words, they are unlikely to become fluent because of the wide spread presence of these words.” –Pikulski, 2006

“Children do not learn “irregular” words as easily or quickly as they do “regular” words….Therefore, children need to be taught “irregular” high-frequency words with explicit instruction.” – Blevins, 2006