What are Red Words?
We incorporate the Orton Gillingham approach in our building. Red Words are words that are not phonetically spelled, but are the high frequency words we all need to know.
Do you expect students to memorize sight words? Memorizing is fine for some words, but I highly recommend to map out the words and discuss explicitly why each word doesn’t follow typical phonetic patterns. The chart above shows the words that my class finds most tricky. We underlined the parts of the word that do not follow the phonics skills we have learned this year. Some words might not be Red Words forever! For example, the word “down” will not be a Red Words in 2nd grade…they will explicitly learn the /ow/ spelling.
This chart is used all of the time in our classroom.
The students use it to independently practice their red words. It helps keep them in track.
Bonus… it has pictures of their classmates following the steps.
I’ve been using this chart for 2 years now…and it still comes in handy! The students refer to the chart on their own as they practice their Red Words (high frequency words).
I have created this multi-sensory practice sheet for the students to use when practicing independently.
The students choose a Red Word, then follow the steps, checking off with an Expo marker. If you would like to try this out with your students, click here.
Red Words are part of the Orton Gillingham method of teaching phonics…incorporating multi-sensory techniques. Read more about it here.
Some of the Red Words are so tricky, the helpful acronyms are perfect! The students get the biggest kick out of these and hopefully help them hold onto the words for years to come.
How do you practice high frequency words in your classroom?
