In the past, students have been encouraged to practice a list of "sight words."

Based on the latest research about the science of reading, instead we now encourage families to engage in a discussion and guided practice with reading heart words.

In class, we practice heart words daily!

Click on the Irregular "Heart" Words document to access a list of heart words students can practice.

The document provides many words so that students can practice at different levels of difficulty based on their needs. It is not expected that students know all these words!

To practice these words with your child, start at the beginning of the document. Continue reading through the words until you reach several words in a row that your child doesn't know. Each time your child reads a word incorrectly, make sure to give corrective feedback immediately to use it as a teachable moment.

Practice about 5 words at a time until your child can read these words automatically (within 1 second). Once your child masters these words, continue with practicing the list.

The University of Florida Literacy Institute provides an excellent overview of this concept. I highly encourage you to click here to learn more about the teaching of irregular words or "heart words."

On the UFLI Website, there is a link to a downloadable and printable file if you'd like to print heart word cards for practice, instead of using digital cards.