Chapter 7: Irregular Word Reading

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Chapter 7 Irregular Word Reading

• Teaching Reading Sourcebook 2nd Edition

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Irregular Words

• Regular words are decodable words.
• In a beginning reading program there are two
  types of irregular words.
• Permanently irregular words These contain one or
  more sound/spellings that are unique to that word
  or a few words and are not completely decodable.
• Temporarily irregular words These have one or
  more of the sound/spellings in the word that have
  not yet been introduced. Students lack sufficient
  letter/sound knowledge to decode the word.

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High-Frequency Words

• High-frequency words (sometimes called sight
  words because students must be able to identify
  them by sight) are words that appear often in
  print.
• 100 words account for almost 50 of the words
  used in text in schools and colleges.
• Almost 25 of these 100 words are irregular.
• They include function words (e.g. articles,
  prepositions, pronouns, conjunctions) that are
  critical for comprehension.

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Teaching Irregular Words

• Students must practice to achieve automatic
  recognition of irregular words.
• Repeated exposure in lists, word walls, word
  banks, and connected text increases sight
  recognition.
• The more difficult an irregular word is, the more
  need for practice. Difficulty is based on
• the number of irregularities in the word
• whether the word is in a students oral
  vocabulary.
• It is important to teach irregular words
  systematically and explicitly and provide
  practice in text.

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When to Teach, Assess, and Intervene

• Irregular words can be introduced after students
  can read regular CVC words at a rate of about one
  word every three seconds.
• It is important not to overwhelm students by
  introducing too many words at a time.
• For students at or above grade level, monitor
  progress every 4 to 6 weeks. Monitor weekly for
  students below grade level.
• Irregular word/high-frequency word reading
  assessment includes screening and progress
  monitoring.