Teaching irregular high-frequency words

By the IEP Atlas editorial teamLast updated November 1, 2026

Short answer

To teach sight words, connect each word's letters to its sounds instead of memorizing its shape. Say the word, tap its sounds, match each sound to its letters, and mark the one irregular part to learn by heart. Then write it while saying the sounds, read it in sentences, and check it again the next day. Teach 3 to 5 new words at a time.

Most "sight words" on school lists are not irregular at all. "Can," "it," "and," "not" and "up" are fully decodable, and the best way to teach them is phonics. The words that need special teaching are the ones with a part that does not follow the patterns the student knows, like the "ai" in "said" or the "o" in "of." This page is about those.

The old way was flash cards and memory for shape. It works poorly for many struggling readers, because English words do not have distinct shapes. "Was" and "saw" look almost the same. What makes a word stick is linking its letters to its sounds, a process called orthographic mapping. Mapping depends on phonemic awareness and letter-sound knowledge, which is why accurate decoding is what turns words into sight words.^[2] The routine below does exactly that.

For the difference between sight words and high-frequency words, see high-frequency words vs sight words. For goal wording, see sight word IEP goals. The phonics interventions pillar guide covers the full plan.

What you need before you start

A word list. Use a high-frequency list (Dolch, Fry or your program's) to choose which words to teach first.
A sort of the list. Mark each word as decodable now, decodable later (its pattern is coming in the scope and sequence) or irregular. Only the irregular ones use this routine.
Phonemic awareness. The student needs to tap the sounds in a spoken word. If that is hard, see phonemic awareness interventions.
A whiteboard, sound boxes and index cards.

The kindergarten to grade 3 practice guide recommends teaching regular and irregular high-frequency words so students can recognize them efficiently.^[1]

Step-by-step: the heart word routine

Step 1: Say the word and use it

"This word is said. I said hello." The student repeats the word and the sentence.

Step 2: Tap the sounds

The student taps one finger per sound: /s/ /e/ /d/. Three sounds. Draw three sound boxes.

Step 3: Map sounds to letters

Write the letters under the boxes, saying each sound: s for /s/, ai for /e/, d for /d/. The student sees that s and d do exactly what they should.

Step 4: Mark the tricky part

Draw a heart above "ai." "This part we learn by heart. In this word, ai says /e/." Only that part. The rest of the word is regular, and the student should know it.

Step 5: Write it while saying the sounds

The student writes the word 3 times, saying each sound as they write its letters. Then covers it and writes it from memory.

Step 6: Read it in sentences

Read 3 short sentences with the word. "Dad said yes." "She said it was fun." Point to the word each time.

Step 7: Review tomorrow and next week

The next day, flash the word without the heart. Count it correct only if the student reads it within 2 or 3 seconds. Keep it in a cumulative review deck. The next-day check template builds a goal on this.

Mapping examples for common irregular words

Word	Sounds	Regular parts	Heart part
said	/s/ /e/ /d/	s, d	ai says /e/
was	/w/ /u/ /z/	w	a says /u/; s says /z/
of	/u/ /v/	none fully	o says /u/; f says /v/
the	/th/ /u/	th	e says /u/
come	/k/ /u/ /m/	c, m	o says /u/; e is silent but not making o long
does	/d/ /u/ /z/	d	oe says /u/; s says /z/
want	/w/ /o/ /n/ /t/	w, n, t	a says /o/
they	/th/ /ā/	th	ey says /ā/
where	/w/ /air/	wh	ere says /air/
could	/k/ /oo/ /d/	c, d	oul says /oo/

Some words are only "irregular for now." "They," "play" and "light" become regular once the student has learned ey, ay and igh. Teach them as heart words early if the student needs them, then show the pattern when it comes up.

A teaching order

Teach 3 to 5 new words at a time. Add more only when the current set is read instantly on two days in a row.
Start with the words the student meets most in their books: the, was, said, of, to, you.
Keep confusable pairs apart: was and saw, of and for, then and than, were and where, from and form. Teach one, master it, then teach the other and contrast them.

How to correct errors

Reads "saw" for was: "Touch and say the sounds: /w/ /u/ /z/. What word?" Do not say "look at the shape."
Sounds out the regular part, guesses the heart part: Point to the heart part. "This part is the tricky one. What does it say in this word?"
Slow but correct: Count it as correct for accuracy but not yet as a sight word. Add it to more sentence reading.

Worked example: one 1st grader over 6 weeks

Lila is a fictional 1st grader with a reading IEP. She knows letter sounds and reads CVC words. Of the 30 irregular words in her class's first list, she reads 6 within 3 seconds. Her teacher teaches 4 new words a week with the heart word routine, about 10 minutes a day, and runs a Friday check of all words taught so far.

Week	Words taught so far	Read within 3 seconds on Friday	Read the next Monday
Baseline	6 known	6
1	10	9	9
2	14	13	12
3	18	16	16
4	22	21	20
5	26	24	24
6	30	28	28

The Monday column matters most. It shows the words stay after a weekend. In week 2, "was" slipped because "saw" was taught in the same week. The teacher separated them, and both were stable by week 4. The numbers are illustrations, not norms. Checking retention, not just same-day accuracy, is what tells you the words are stored.^[3]

Common mistakes

Weak: Drilling 20 flash cards a day and telling students to remember the shape. Better: Teach 3 to 5 words with sound mapping, then review cumulatively.
Weak: Teaching "can" and "it" as sight words to memorize. Better: Teach decodable high-frequency words with phonics.
Weak: Marking the whole word as irregular. Better: Heart only the part that breaks the pattern.
Weak: Teaching was and saw in the same lesson. Better: Teach one, master it, then teach and contrast the other.
Weak: Counting a word as learned after one correct reading. Better: Count it after quick, correct reads on two different days.

Templates and tools

The sight words goals page has templates for heart words with the irregular part, writing heart words from memory and telling apart look-alike words. Track words on the accuracy data sheet, with a column for the next-day check. Paste draft goals into the goal checker. For spelling these words in writing, see spelling interventions.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best way to teach sight words?

Connect each word's letters to its sounds. Have the student tap the sounds, match them to letters, mark the irregular part, write the word while saying the sounds, and read it in sentences. Check it again the next day.

How many sight words should I teach at once?

Three to five new words at a time is common for students who struggle. Add new words when the current set is read within 2 or 3 seconds on two different days, and keep all taught words in a review deck.

Should students memorize sight words by their shape?

No. Many words look alike, such as was and saw. Students remember words better when they link the letters to the sounds. Shape tracing and word shape boxes add little for most struggling readers.

Use it in IEP Atlas

Sources

Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade, What Works Clearinghouse, Institute of Education Sciences
Orthographic Mapping in the Acquisition of Sight Word Reading, Spelling Memory, and Vocabulary Learning (Ehri, 2014), Scientific Studies of Reading, via ERIC
Progress Monitoring: Data & Goal Setting, National Center on Intensive Intervention

Written and checked by the IEP Atlas editorial team under our editorial policy. This guide describes general practice and federal rules. It is not legal advice; your state may add requirements, and the IEP team makes the decisions for each student.