Tricky Words, Sight Words and High Frequency Words—what are they and why are they important? In this blog, I will break down some of the jargon used in schools and help clear up confusion!
Tricky Words
Tricky words are terms used to explain to children that certain words are difficult to sound out. These words contain rare sounds and/or unusual spelling patterns, which often means that, at this stage, children do not possess the phonics knowledge to decode them. Note that sometimes these sounds are not taught because they are applicable in very few age-appropriate words, rather than because they are rare in English words in general.
In most cases, children will move on to explore these sounds and spelling patterns as they age, and thus, these words will no longer be considered "tricky words." However, children will need to use these words in their writing before they are in a position to retain all these additional sounds.
In the national curriculum, these Tricky Words are called Common Exception Words. There is a list of words that children are supposed to be able to spell by the end of Key Stage 1, and to reach the expected level, your child is supposed to be able to write 'many' of them correctly.
Sight Words
Sight words, also known as high frequency words, are common words that kids should know on sight without needing to sound them out. These words appear often in books and don't always follow the usual spelling rules. Some sight words are phonetical but children learn sight words by seeing them repeatedly until they recognize them instantly. They're important because mastering sight words helps kids become fluent readers and understand what they're reading. Examples include words like "the," "and," "is," and "to."