Mrs. Merri Owen

Mrs. Merri Owen
LDT/C

Mrs. Merri Owen
Learning Disabilities Teacher/Consultant

The cold weather is fast approaching and with it comes the end of the first marking period. Please make plans to meet with your child’s teacher or teachers on the times set aside for parent conferences. If you would like for me to attend the conference with you, please let me know and I will make every effort to be there.

I would like to continue with some helpful reading tips found at reading-tutors.com on the importance of teaching high-frequency words. Even though there are more than 600,000 words in the English language, only a small number of these words appear frequently. Studies have shown that there are only 13 different words that make up 25% of the words we read. There are 100 words that make up 50% of the words we read, and these words are called high-frequency words.

Children should be explicitly taught high-frequency words. Many of these words do not follow commonly taught phonics rules and cannot be sounded out. The only way the child can read these words is to readily recognize them. Knowing the most commonly used words by sight will make a child a faster and more fluent reader. While many of these words do not carry much meaning alone, they do affect the meaning of a sentence and help make it understandable. The following is a list of games for practicing high-frequency words:

Line up several word cards on a tabletop or desk. Say one of the words then have the child point to the word and remove it from the row. Repeat the activity with another word.

Laying the words on a desk or tabletop, provide some clues to a word and have the child find the words, for example: This word starts with v and rhymes with merry (very).

Use a flashlight to highlight one of the words in a group of high-frequency words spread out on a tabletop. Have the child read the word. Then give the child the flashlight and have her or him highlight a word for you to read.

Make high-frequency words using letter cards. Have the child close her or his eyes while you remove one of the letters. Have the child open his or her eyes and tell you the letter that is missing.

Place several high-frequency words on a tabletop. Challenge the child to use as many words as he or she can use in one sentence. Have the child take the cards as the words are used in the sentence.

Write on a piece of paper a sentence using several high-frequency words. Read the sentence with the child as you point to each word. Then have the child cover his or her eyes while you cover one of the words. Have the child read the sentence and tell you what word is missing. Add the words and have the child read the sentence again to check. Alternatively, write the words on cards and have the child hold up the card that shows the missing word in the sentence.

Place several flash cards face down in a stack. Have the child draw a card, read the word, then roll a dice. If correct, the child can move along a game board that you can make.

Make two sets of the flash cards and spread them face down on a table. Have the child turn over two cards, read the words, and tell whether the words are the same. If the words are the same, the child can keep the words.

Place a flash card on the table. Give the child some letter card and have him or her make the word using the letter cards.

Give the child a set of flash cards. Have the child arrange the words in alphabetical order then read the words.

Using a set of flash cards, have the child put the words into groups, for example: according to the first letter, last letter, the number of letters in the words, etc. Once the child has made the groups, have him or her read the words in each grouping.

Reading-tutors.com provides letter cards and game boards for games and activities. These suggestions were taken from a handout on teaching high-frequency words at reading-tutors.com

If you wish to contact me, please call 629-9500 ext. 3, or use the e-mail address below.

Other Places to go:

Learning Disabilities OnLine
Franklin Township Library

Email: Mrs. Merri Owen

	Mrs. Merri Owen Learning Disabilities Teacher/Consultant
	The cold weather is fast approaching and with it comes the end of the first marking period. Please make plans to meet with your child’s teacher or teachers on the times set aside for parent conferences. If you would like for me to attend the conference with you, please let me know and I will make every effort to be there.
	I would like to continue with some helpful reading tips found at reading-tutors.com on the importance of teaching high-frequency words. Even though there are more than 600,000 words in the English language, only a small number of these words appear frequently. Studies have shown that there are only 13 different words that make up 25% of the words we read. There are 100 words that make up 50% of the words we read, and these words are called high-frequency words.
	Children should be explicitly taught high-frequency words. Many of these words do not follow commonly taught phonics rules and cannot be sounded out. The only way the child can read these words is to readily recognize them. Knowing the most commonly used words by sight will make a child a faster and more fluent reader. While many of these words do not carry much meaning alone, they do affect the meaning of a sentence and help make it understandable. The following is a list of games for practicing high-frequency words:
	Line up several word cards on a tabletop or desk. Say one of the words then have the child point to the word and remove it from the row. Repeat the activity with another word.
	Laying the words on a desk or tabletop, provide some clues to a word and have the child find the words, for example: This word starts with v and rhymes with merry (very).
	Use a flashlight to highlight one of the words in a group of high-frequency words spread out on a tabletop. Have the child read the word. Then give the child the flashlight and have her or him highlight a word for you to read.
	Make high-frequency words using letter cards. Have the child close her or his eyes while you remove one of the letters. Have the child open his or her eyes and tell you the letter that is missing.
	Place several high-frequency words on a tabletop. Challenge the child to use as many words as he or she can use in one sentence. Have the child take the cards as the words are used in the sentence.
	Write on a piece of paper a sentence using several high-frequency words. Read the sentence with the child as you point to each word. Then have the child cover his or her eyes while you cover one of the words. Have the child read the sentence and tell you what word is missing. Add the words and have the child read the sentence again to check. Alternatively, write the words on cards and have the child hold up the card that shows the missing word in the sentence.
	Place several flash cards face down in a stack. Have the child draw a card, read the word, then roll a dice. If correct, the child can move along a game board that you can make.
	Make two sets of the flash cards and spread them face down on a table. Have the child turn over two cards, read the words, and tell whether the words are the same. If the words are the same, the child can keep the words.
	Place a flash card on the table. Give the child some letter card and have him or her make the word using the letter cards.
	Give the child a set of flash cards. Have the child arrange the words in alphabetical order then read the words.
	Using a set of flash cards, have the child put the words into groups, for example: according to the first letter, last letter, the number of letters in the words, etc. Once the child has made the groups, have him or her read the words in each grouping.
	Reading-tutors.com provides letter cards and game boards for games and activities. These suggestions were taken from a handout on teaching high-frequency words at reading-tutors.com
	If you wish to contact me, please call 629-9500 ext. 3, or use the e-mail address below.