Do your kids have difficulty with those pesky irregular spelled sight words? You know the ones that don’t follow any phonic rule!
Only 50% of all English words can be spelled accurately by using the sound symbol correspondence patterns alone.
So seriously, how are kids supposed to learn how to read and spell these words?
What Are Irregular Spelled Words?
Irregular spelled sight words are words that cannot be decoded and don’t follow traditional English spelling rules. There may be reasons the words are spelled that way, but it’s usually because of an unusual rule or it has been passed down over the years.
Many students struggle with memorizing these sight words because they cannot be sounded out using regular spelling rules. For example, the word “put” is an irregular spelled word. If you try to sound this word out based on our spelling rules you would get, /p/ /u/ /t/ which would rhyme with the word “cut”. However, this is not how we read this word.
Irregular spelled words do not follow phonics patterns that are normally taught in school. Some reading curriculums, however, have come up with a variety of names to indicate to a student that this is an irregular spelled word. Here are some examples:
- Red Words
- Unfair Words
- Heart Words
- Irregular Words
How Do You Teach Irregular Spelled Sight Words?
I find it is best to just be up front with kids and tell them, some words just don’t follow those darn rules I have taught you! (you may not want to use the word darn; they may think it’s a bad word)
The best approach I have found to learn those irregular sight words is a multisensory approach. Bombard them with as many learning channels as possible:
- They need to see it
- They need to speak it
- They need to hear it
- They need to touch it
- They need to think it
Some kids will only need one channel and they will have it. But for others, especially those ones who need those rules to follow, they will need every learning channel you have. They must have a chance to practice and almost overlearn these words.
The important thing is that we offer kids whatever approach they need to make them successful at learning these most difficult words.
Multisensory Techniques
Using a multi-sensory approach helps students who struggle with memorizing irregular spelled sight words. This approach activates students muscle memory to remember how to spell and read the words. Here are some suggestions:
- Arm tapping: With your writing hand tap out each letter of the words down your arm. Read the word again while sliding your hand from shoulder to wrist. Repeat 3 times.
- Vocalize: Use words in a sentence and discuss why the word is not phonetic.
- Finger Sliding: While holding the word with your nonwriting hand, slide writing hand pointer finger under word while reading the word. Repeat 3 times.
- Finger Tracing: Lay word on a flat surface and trace the letters while spelling word at the same time. Repeat 3 times
- Finger Tracing with Glued or Textured Letters: Lay textured word on flat surface and trace the letters while spelling word at the same time. Repeat 3 times
- Writing: Write words with different writing and textured materials. Write on paper, white boards, chalkboard. Write in sand trays, shaving cream, whipped cream, Jell-O. Repeat 3 times
In conclusion, irregular spelled sight words are words that do not follow the normal spelling rules. Because of this, students need find a way to memorize these words. This is not always easy to do, so multisensory activities can be used to help students remember how to read and spell these irregular spelled sight words.
Find some more literacy and extension activities in my store, The Teaching Scene by Maureen.
To read more blog topics check out my blog, “A Guide to Using Literature-Based Units of Study.”
