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High-frequency words are words that occur most frequently in written material and do not follow phonetic rules or, as we say in the EL Education curriculum, "don't play fair." Due to this fact, it is important that students are able to navigate these words with ease to improve their reading fluency and comprehension. While high-frequency words on their own don't carry much meaning, they are essential to sentences and help students gather meaning. Below you will find five activities for each day of the week that parents can do with their children at home as high-frequency words are being introduced cycle by cycle.
Read it, say it, write it, read it again
Use high-frequency words in sentences (oral and written)
Read a list of high-frequency words and time yourself on fluency (keep running list)
Search for high frequency words in sentences / poems and underline them
Fishing for high-frequency words (one person reads the word aloud, other students find the word in a stack of other high-frequency words)
Cycle 12:
Phonemes Introduced in This Cycle
Closed syllables in two-syllable words
High-Frequency Words
“was,” “you,” “they,” “why,” “said”
Cycle Word List
In this cycle, students are introduced to the idea that every syllable has a vowel and identify the two, three, and four phoneme words they have been working on as closed syllables. They learn how to break a word into two syllables (CV/VC) to decode efficiently (examples: "magnet," "picnic").
Cycle 13
Phonemes Introduced in This Cycle
Closed syllables in two-syllable words
High-Frequency Words
“do,” “yes,” “much”
Cycle Word List
In this cycle, students continue to work with two-syllable words (VC/CV), including compound words, to solidify students' understanding of syllables.
Cycle 14
Phonemes Introduced in This Cycle
Open syllables with long vowel sounds
High-Frequency Words
“do,” “behind,” “began,” “man,” “thank”
Cycle Word List
In this cycle, students are introduced to long vowel sounds via the spelling pattern of an open syllable. The cycle begins with single-syllable words and then moves to two-syllable words by pairing an open syllable with a closed (example: "mo-ment") or with another open syllable (example: "he-ro"). Instructing students on how to use vowels in two-syllable words to identify the syllable type and decode is begun in earnest. This opens up a large number of words that students can access in reading and writing. Inflectional endings to show plural nouns and verb action are continued.
Cycle 15
Phonemes Introduced in This Cycle
Long vowels spelled CVCe: Decoding CVCe words with long /ā/
High-Frequency Words
“like,” “they,” “are,” “make”
Cycle Word List
In this cycle, students are introduced to another spelling pattern for long vowel sounds: "silent e" (CVCe). Because this is the first of four cycles that work with this pattern, the focus in this cycle is on one-syllable words. The cycle begins with words without consonant blends, then moves to words with consonant blends. It is an "'a' heavy" cycle, in that most words are "a_e," although the pattern is applied to other vowels as well. One-syllable words with easy suffixes (example: "-s") that do not require dropping the "e" are used. The rule about adding a vowel suffix to a silent "-e" word (where the "e" must be dropped as in "bake" to "baking" or "baked") is offered as an extension, but is introduced explicitly later in the module.
Cycle 16
Phonemes Introduced in This Cycle
CVCe words with “i” and “o”
High-Frequency Words
“next,” “says,” “still,” “want,” “ways”
Cycle Word List
In this cycle, students continue to work with the CVCe pattern. While the cycle is "i_e" and "o_e" heavy, it continues to work with the CVCe pattern with all vowels. The rule about dropping the "e" when adding a vowel suffix is offered as an extension but is introduced explicitly later in the module.
Cycle 17
Phonemes Introduced in This Cycle
CVCe words with “u” and “e”
High-Frequency Words
“kind,” “many,” “these,” “too,” “your”
Cycle Word List
In this cycle, students continue to work with the CVCe pattern focusing heavily on "u_e" and "e_e." As with the previous two cycles, this begins with one-syllable words with and without consonant blends, uses the suffix "-s" (where dropping the "e" is not required) and offers extensions with two-syllable words. The rule about dropping the "e" when adding a vowel suffix continues to be offered here as an extension as well but is introduced explicitly later in the module.
Cycle 18
Phonemes Introduced in This Cycle
Long vowels spelled CVCe:
Decoding CVCe words with suffixes “-s,”“-ing,” and “-ed” (reading only)
Decoding/encoding two-syllable words using the CVCe syllable type combined with other known syllable types
High-Frequency Words
“time,” “watch,” “ago,” “long”
Cycle Word List
In this cycle, students are introduced to the "vowel suffix" rule about dropping the "e" when adding an inflectional ending (suffix) that starts with a vowel ("-ed," "-ing"). Students see that adding "-s" does not require dropping the "e" (as that suffix does not start with a vowel). Instructing students on how to use vowels in two-syllable words to identify the syllable type and decode continues.
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