Kids generally start learning how to read in kindergarten, and there’s no better way to teach reading skills than through a systematic, research-backed, phonics-based curriculum. However, some words just don’t play by the rules.
There are certain irregular words that crop up at the earliest levels that can’t be sounded out. Children can improve their reading fluency when they commit these words to memory.
Here, we will help you understand what irregular words are, determine whether your child is ready to learn them, and, most importantly, make this learning experience fun for your kindergartener.
What Are Irregular Words?
Irregular words do not follow the phonics “rules,” meaning their letters don’t correspond predictably with sounds. For example, in the word “do,” you would expect the O to make its short /o/ sound (like in the word cot). But in this case, it says /oo/. Other examples of irregular words include: “do,” “are,” “you,” “be,” “was,” etc.
Is My Child Ready to Learn Irregular Sight Words?
Most children are ready to start learning to read in kindergarten. It’s important to make all aspects of learning to read fun and engaging–including sight word mastery.
Isn’t This Hard?
Although the name “irregular” implies difficulty, you and your child will have encountered irregular words in every book you have ever read together. Your child is probably more familiar with these words than you might think.
And rote memorization doesn’t have to be a drag. There are a lot of ways you can mix up sight word mastery to keep it light and fun.
How Do I Teach Irregular Words?
1. Start with the Most Common Words
A great place to start is with simple, single-letter examples of common irregular words. Words such as ‘I’ or ‘a’ appear often and are an easy foundation to build on. Then, work up to multi-letter irregular words like “to,” “do,” “of,” “so,” “from,” “you,” etc. You can check how well your child remembers these words each time you read together and increase your word bank at their pace.
Need help getting an age-appropriate list? Contact our Atlanta reading teachers at The Academy of Scholars for helpful resources.
2. Make a Small List of Irregular Words
When practicing irregular words, looking at a huge list might feel overwhelming to a grown-up, and it certainly is to a kindergartener. Start with a manageable mini-list of several words. This will save both of you from feeling frustrated and keep learning fun. After your child has mastered this list of words, you can add more.
You can also chunk words by similar spelling patterns such as “was, has, as” and “would, could, should.” Then, have student students master all words of the same pattern before moving to the grouping.
3. Point Out Irregular Words
You will see irregular words everywhere in the books you read with your child. Point them out when you spot them. Allow your child to pick the book based on their interests so they are already engaged.
This works for more than just books. You could point out irregular words you spot on a cereal box over breakfast or on signs you see while out and about together. Little tasks like this help build your child’s learning through everyday activities.
4. Embrace Repetition
Many kids love reading the same book repeatedly. You can leverage this to reinforce learning irregular words. In step 3, you learned how to point out irregular words. Take it a step further when you read the book a second time. Stop at the end of the page and ask your child to find the irregular words you have been learning.
The more your kids read a familiar story, the easier it will be for them to spot the irregular words.
5. Play Word Games Together
Children of any age learn well through play, but this is exceptionally true for kindergarteners. They may not be able to participate in games like word searches or crosswords yet, but there are loads of games you can adapt to their level to help them learn all the irregular words.
You could do a matching pair memory game with irregular word flashcards or use two sets of flashcards to play irregular word Go Fish. You could lay flashcards out on the table, call out a sight word, and have your child turn over the matching word as fast as possible.
6. Engage All of Their Senses
Vary the methods you use with your kindergartener to engage more of their senses. They will be using sight and sound almost all the time, but if you bring their other senses in, it will deepen their learning. This can be messier play, like using a finger to write the word in sand or shaping shorter words out of play dough.
Or it could be a more straightforward task—even saying the word aloud as they trace its letters in the air.
7. Finally, Keep It Fun
The most important idea for teaching irregular words is the simplest: Keep it enjoyable. No one fully understands something the first time they try it, and kindergarteners are learning so many new things at this stage. To keep their learning fun, do activities for a small amount of time, and as soon as they, or you, are getting irritated, take a break.
Your kindergartener does not need to learn all the irregular words simultaneously or the first time they try. You can build on their prior learning every day, and even a tiny amount of progress will be a step closer to their goal.