🌱 High-Frequency Words: Building Stronger Readers & Spellers at My Learning Farm

If your child has ever struggled to memorize words like said, does, was, have, or because, there may be a better way than simply handing them another stack of flashcards.

At My Learning Farm, I teach students to understand how and why words work. The High Frequency Word Projectis one of the resources I use to bring deeper word investigation into reading and spelling instruction.

🌻 What Are High-Frequency Words?

High-frequency words are simply words that appear very frequently in written English. In fact, the 100 most frequently occurring words account for approximately half of the words students encounter in text.

High-frequency words and sight words aren't quite the same thing. A high-frequency word appears frequently in print, while a sight word is any word a reader recognizes automatically without needing to consciously decode it.

Our goal is to help students build a large, automatic sight vocabulary—but that doesn't mean children need to memorize words as unexplained strings of letters.

🔎 There Is Usually a Reason!

One of my favorite things to tell students at My Learning Farm is: English isn't as random as it sometimes looks!

The High Frequency Word Project encourages students and teachers to investigate words through their sounds, spelling, meaning, structure, grammar, and history.

Instead of telling a student, “This is a tricky word. Just memorize it,” we can ask:

🌱 What sounds do you hear?

🔤 How are those sounds represented?

🔎 Are there meaningful parts inside the word?

🌳 Is it related to other words?📖 Can the word's history help explain its spelling?

Suddenly, spelling becomes an investigation rather than a memory test.

🧠 Anchor. Analyze. Practice.

The High Frequency Word Project uses a wonderful framework: Anchor, Analyze, Practice.

⚓ Anchor: We make sure the student understands the word, its meaning, and how it is used.

🔎 Analyze: We investigate its sounds, spelling, structure, related words, and—when helpful—its history.

✏️ Practice: Students read, write, spell, and use the word repeatedly so that it can become increasingly automatic.

This approach fits beautifully with the structured literacy and word inquiry instruction we use at My Learning Farm.

🐴 What This Looks Like at My Learning Farm

At My Learning Farm, I don't simply hand every child the same list and ask them to memorize it.

We look at the student in front of us.

Which words can they already read automatically? Which can they spell? Where are the gaps? What phonics patterns do they understand? What word connections haven't they discovered yet? Then we investigate, explicitly teach, read, write, practice, play—and build those connections together. This can be especially helpful for students who have spent years trying to memorize “sight words,” only to forget them again and again.

Sometimes a child doesn't need to try harder to memorize a word. They need

someone to teach them why the word works.

💚 Growing Word Detectives at My Learning Farm

My goal isn't simply for students to memorize more words.

I want them to become curious word detectives who understand that words have sounds, structure, meaning, relationships, and history. The High Frequency Word Project is another evidence-informed resource I am excited to incorporate into individualized reading, writing, and spelling instruction at My Learning Farm in Penryn, California. Because when we help children understand the why behind words, we aren't just helping them learn today's spelling list.

We're growing stronger, more confident readers and writers. 🌱

Learn more about The High Frequency Word Project:https://www.thehfwproject.com

Learn more about literacy support and programs at My Learning Farm:https://www.mylearningfarm.com