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This blog is loaded with ideas for practicing heart words! Many of the activities I will share here are interactive and hands-on for students, which we ALL love. The following are also routines that you can use all year long. So let’s get to it! 😍
You’re not alone if you need clarification about the difference between sight, high-frequency, and heart words. These lists often need to be clarified because so many of the words on them overlap with one another. In my Early Literacy grad class, I teach what each of these means:
I hope this helps to identify the differences between these three types of words. You can check here if you’re looking for ideas to build fluency with sight words!
Reading research shows us that there are better ways to learn heart words than memorization alone.
I love to use the process of word mapping, also known as “phoneme-grapheme mapping.” It involves students listening to a word and then matching the sound to the letters!
This process helps students turn unfamiliar words into words they can quickly and automatically recall. Word mapping also allows students to strengthen their reading and writing skills.
How do you map heart words with your students? It’s like mapping decodable words, but there’s one extra vital step!
First, students say a word. Next, they segment or stretch the word into individual sounds. After that, students use one box to represent each sound.
Students then write the letters to match each sound. With heart words, one or more boxes do not look as you would expect. For example, the word “from” looks like we would map it with “f-r-u-m.”
Call attention to this tricky part by drawing a heart on top of that box. This unexpected spelling pattern is the part that we need to “learn by heart.”
Finally, as the last step, students read the entire word.
To help students learn and understand heart words, I love using this routine in my classroom. It’s a fun poem that engages students in mapping heart words. You can model this for students on the board or let students use their own paper to map alongside you.
I like to use this poem as a part of my morning meetings, phonics lessons, shared reading, word study, or during transitions.
The routine is fun and engaging, and students absolutely love it.
Download the FREE Heart Word Routine at the end of this post! ⤵️
My students loved this poem so much that I created 12 themes that span the entire year! Each theme comes with a printable color poem, digital poem, colorful student pages, and black and white student pages. Click the button below to check them out.
Do you know what I bet your students “heart” the most about you? That you’re always learning and trying new things! Kudos to you, teacher friend. You’re a bright light in this world. Keep shining!
I’m a teacher who believes in creating a classroom kids love and activities that keep them engaged all day!
©2019 Polka Dots Please. All Rights Reserved. Designed by Ashley Hughes.
2 Responses
I use so many of your resources in my Kindergarten classroom! Thank you!!
Thanks so much Laura! Your students are lucky to have a teacher that is excited to try new things!
Happy Teaching!
Emily