What are High Frequency Words? And How Can I Help My Child Learn Them?

As a parent, the kindergarten school year can be very overwhelming. You have a tired kid. A million different emails from their teacher. Lots of new school rules to figure out. And you should probably also keep track of what your child is actually learning! 

One of the most talked about and least defined skills your child will need to pick up throughout kindergarten is the recognition of ‘high-frequency words’.

Yep, I bet you’ve heard that in a few parent-teacher conferences and been at least a little bit confused. Really, it’s a simple concept. But the education world likes to make things as confusing as possible for parents. Jk, not everybody in the education world does, just whoever decided we needed to call them ‘high-frequency words’ and give no actual explanation. 

So here you go! As a kindergarten teacher and a parent, a simple explanation! 

What are High- Frequency Words? 

In short, these are the most common words in the english language. They are the words your students will come across most often when reading (especially when reading in grades k-2) and also words that are difficult to sound out and blend. 

Here are a few examples: the, like, we, there, they 

Isn’t my child learning how to read? What is the difference with these words? 

In kindergarten, students learn the basics of reading. For the most part, and especially in the first few months, they’ll learn that most letters make one sound and that vowels make two. They won’t be taught other rules (such as the silent ‘e’ or digraphs like ‘th’ and ‘ch’) until they’ve first got a handle on those basic sounds and blending them (blending is a fancy way of saying smooshing all those sounds together in order). 

So when they see words such as, like, and attempt to blend them. They can’t! They end up with the word ‘lick’ instead because those are the sounds they know. This majorly slows down their reading and their ability to comprehend the sentences they do read. ‘I like the dog’ ends up as ‘I lick the dog’. Two very different things. 

Instead, we help them essentially memorize these words. We want them to look at these words that pop up frequently and be able to recognize and read it right away. Some schools also call these ‘sight words’ for that reason.

Sometimes teachers will add ‘can’, ‘a’, or other words that technically can be sounded out to the list as well. This is because these are also incredibly common words that even though they can be blended, having your student recognize them immediately is a big advantage when it comes to fluency (the speed and flow at which your student can read) and comprehension. 

Typically, your student will have a list of high-frequency words to learn in kindergarten, another in first, and more in second. 

Here is a list of some of the most common kindergarten high-frequency words: 

It seems like there are so many, and my child’s teacher says to practice at home! How do I do it? 

Practicing these words at home is an excellent way to help your child with reading! They really are important to a student’s success. Knowing them can help your child gain lots of confidence and then the desire to read more! 

Like anything school-related you do with your child at home, you want to make this engaging and fun!  Not only do you want your students to WANT to practice, but hands-on learning is how most kindergarteners learn best! 

Setting aside just 10 minutes a day to practice these words will go really far! 

Here are a few activities I love!! 

• Make the words out of play-doh, then go back and read them together
• Write the words in rainbow colors 
• Use a cookie sheet filled with  kinetic sand, rice, or shaving cream to write the words on
• Make flashcards, lay them out on the floor, and then have your student jump to the word you say
• Make flashcards and play a game of SPLAT! Lay the cards out, grab a fly swatter, and have your student swat the word you say

Practicing at home can be simple and easy! If you are looking for developmentally appropriate reading and writing resources that you can do at home with your child,  head over to my TpT Storefront! Search ‘word work activities’ to find  many different activities to do at home as well!