What are Red Words in Project Read? How do you teach Red Words? Are they sight word? Are they high-frequency words?
There can be a lot of confusion around Project Read Red Words! First, let’s look at what is a Red Word. Next, who should learn these words. Finally, how should you go about teaching Red Words.
What is a Project Read Red Word ?
Here are some ways to describe Red Words:
- Words that cannot be sounded out
- Irregular spelled words
- Do not follow spelling rules
- “Unfair” words
- Need to be memorized
Who Needs to Learn Red Words?
To read fluently a person needs to be able to recognize and read sight words quickly. For young readers, 50% of the words they will encounter when reading a story will be these kinds of words.
Many of these sight words are considered Red Words. So many students struggle with memorizing these sight words because they cannot be sounded out using regular spelling rules.
For example, the word “put” is a red 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.
Young readers and those who are learning to read our English language can find it challenging to learn and read these Project Read Red Words.
Grab Your Free "Red Words" Irregular Spelled Practice Sheets Here!
How to Teach Project Read Red Words?
Using a multi-sensory approach helps students who struggle with memorizing Red 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 Red Word down your arm. Read the word again while sliding your hand from shoulder to wrist. Repeat 3 times.
- Vocalize: Use Red Word in sentence and discuss why the Red Word is not phonetic.
- Finger Sliding: While holding the Red Word with your nonwriting hand, slide writing hand pointer finger under word while reading the word. Repeat 3 times.
- Finger Tracing: Lay Red Word on 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 Red Word on flat surface and trace the letters while spelling word at the same time. Repeat 3 times
- Writing: Write Red 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
Try some of these Red Word practice resources!
Project Read Red Words
In conclusion, Red Words in Project Read are irregular spelled words that do not follow the normal spelling rules. Due to this fact, students need to memorize these words. Because this is not always easy to do, multisensory activities can be used to hep students remember how to read and spell these Project Read Red Words.
Find some more Project Read support materials in my store, The Teaching Scene by Maureen.
To read more blog topics check out my blog, “A Guide to Project Read Languare Arts Program.”
