B.2. Words With Irregularities
Irregular words contain spellings that are different from the grapheme-phoneme correspondences students may expect. Some frequently used words – of, was, do, to, what, and they – have irregularities.
Irregular words that occur frequently must be explicitly taught, but it is important to note that most irregular words can be partially decoded. An effective way to teach irregular words is to segment them into phonemes, highlight the phonemes that follow known or regular spelling patterns, and draw attention to the irregular (or not yet-known) portion of the word.
NOTE: Teaching students to memorize word lists is an ineffective and inefficient approach to teaching irregular words because it focuses only on rote memorization rather than understanding. When children memorize word lists, they may remember the words temporarily but often forget them later.
Teaching Irregular Words
This 8 minute video describes the basics of words with irregularities, the connection to the Ontario Curriculum including notes about teaching and assessment.
Heart Word Approach
Using the heart word approach to teaching irregular words emphasizes understanding and application over rote memorization. Most irregular words have only one irregular part of the word. The students are explicitly taught that part by ‘heart’, but they still also are directed to attend to the phonetically ‘regular’ parts of the word.
Example Instructional Routine for "love"
Step 1: Orally Introduce the Word
Educator Moves:
- Begin by saying, “Today, we’re going to learn about a special word: ‘love’.”
- Say the word clearly and have students repeat after you to practice saying it together.
- Explain in simple terms: “Love means really liking someone or something a lot.”
- Model using the word in a sentence.
Student Moves:
- Students listen attentively as the teacher introduces the word “love” by saying it clearly and having them repeat the word.
- Students practice saying the word to become familiar with its pronunciation and meaning.
- Students practice using the word in a sentence.
Step 2: Match Phonemes to Graphemes
Educator Moves:
- Write/display the word “love” on the board or chart paper.
- Point to each letter as you say its sound: /l/ – /u/ – /v/. Encourage students to say each sound with you.
- Show how <o> in ‘love’ makes the sound /u/ like in “cup” or “bug”, not an expected /o/ sound.
- Optional: Place a ❤ under the <o> to show that is the part they are going to have to learn by ‘heart’.
Student Moves:
- Students observe and participate by repeating the sounds (/l/, /u/, /v/) as the teacher points to each letter.
Step 3: Read and Spell Aloud
Educator Moves:
Read the word “love” together as a class several times, emphasizing how each letter makes its sound.
Have students spell the word aloud with you, sounding out each letter: /l/ – /u/ – /v/.
Student Moves:
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Students read the word ‘love’ aloud with the class, focusing on each letter’s sound.
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They practice spelling the word together, sounding out each letter (/l/ – /u/ – /v/) to reinforce their understanding of its spelling and pronunciation.
Step 4: Ask Questions about Sounds and Letters
Educator Moves:
Engage students with questions about the individual graphemes/phonemes in the word:
- What letter makes the /l/ sound in ‘love’?
- What letter makes the /uh/ sound in ‘love’?
- What letter makes the /v/ sound in ‘love’?
- What does the letter <e> do in the word ‘love’?
Student Moves:
Students listen and respond accordingly.
Pro Tip: Have students respond together, chorally, instead of asking individual students to respond. This increases exposure to the grapheme-phoneme correspondence for all students.
Step 5: Independently Spell the Word
Educator Moves:
- Give each student a whiteboard or paper.
- Ask them to write the word ‘love’ on their board or paper, remembering how each letter sounds.
- Walk around to help as needed, checking for correct spelling and understanding.
Student Moves:
Students receive individual whiteboards or paper and write the word “love” on their own.
They apply what they learned about the sounds and letters of the word, demonstrating their ability to spell it correctly independently.
Step 6: Closure
Review the word ‘love’ and its meaning: “Remember, ‘love’ means really liking someone or something a lot.”
Follow-up: Assessment
Assess students by observing their ability to read and spell the word “love” correctly during future reading and writing opportunities.
BONUS: Many irregular words provide opportunities for weaving in some morphology Instruction. For example, when teaching the word “love” you could explain that the <e> in this word is silent and that its role is to stop the word ending in the letter <v>, as no words in English end in <v>. “If you ever hear the /v/ sound at the end of a word, it will always have a silent <e> beside it!”
Suggested Resources
- Heart Word Magic from Really Great Reading is a free tool designed to help students learn to read and spell irregular words.
- Search “irregular words” in the ONlit Resource Library.
