Irregular Word instruction is a quick but essential part of your phonics block. During this time, students learn to read and spell words that don’t follow regular phonics rules using a heart word routine. This page offers guidance and tools to help make irregular word practice simple, effective, and engaging.
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Use letter-sound connections.
Help students learn how to decode unfamiliar words.
Meaning supports learning of sight words.
5-7 words a week.
Here are some recommendations for to do and what not to do in Irregular Words.
Whole word memorization.
Flashcards before explicit instruction.
More than 8 words a week.
Less than 5 words a week.
After each module, word cards featuring the words students have learned during instruction can be sent home. These cards are meant to support continued practice at home. Words marked with a heart are irregular words that students are learning “by heart.” Be sure to explain this to families so they understand the purpose and can make practice fun and meaningful.
A slide deck of individual sight words for grades K-2. These can be used to add words to existing slide decks for review.
A slide deck of irregular heart words with animation. The animation will uncover each spelling one at a time, starting with each decodable part, then the temporarily non-decodable, and lastly any permanently non-decodable.
This video demonstrates explicit intervention strategies to support sight word recognition in early readers. Through direct instruction, repetition, and active engagement, students build automaticity with high-frequency words—laying the foundation for fluent reading.
The Reading League Ohio. (n.d.). Do this, not that: Decoding. Arena Press. https://www.sfdr-cisd.org/media/fxfbhu22/do-this-not-that-reading.pdf
The “Do This, Not That” article by The Reading League Ohio offers side-by-side comparisons of effective vs. outdated literacy practices across areas like decoding, vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, and assessment. It emphasizes explicit, systematic instruction aligned with the Science of Reading—highlighting the importance of phonics-based strategies, complex text exposure, meaningful vocabulary work, oral reading for fluency, and data-driven assessments—while discouraging leveled texts, memorization, and cueing systems.
Simonton, K. (2019). Effective sight word methods for young readers (Starred Paper). St. Cloud State University. https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/ed_etds/39
Simonton's (2019) Effective Sight Word Methods for Young Readers explores various instructional strategies for teaching sight words to early readers. The paper reviews research-based methods, compares their effectiveness, and emphasizes the importance of incorporating phonics and multisensory techniques to support long-term word recognition and reading fluency.
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