Key Words, (sometimes called Sight Words or High Frequency Words) are the most frequently occurring words in the English language and research has shown that very few of these key English words form a very high proportion of the words in everyday use – for both children and adults. For example, just 12 words make up ¼ of the words we read and write every day and only 100 words make up ½ of the words we read and write every day. So the idea behind the Key Words reading scheme is that if children are taught these 100 Key Words first, then they will find it easier to learn to read. Exposure to Key Words beginning in Nursery and reinforced throughout the primary school years builds reading skills and promotes reading comprehension.
Teachers will often make a daily message for the class, written on a white board, and read it aloud to everyone. This message may contain words that children are not expected to read, but the Key Words included in the text may be highlighted or underlined to draw attention to these words. A sentence written on an easel or on a whiteboard with Key Words omitted will encourage the class to seek the appropriate word. The children are encouraged to fill in the blanks with index cards pre-printed with Key Words.
This useful website allows you to download FREE learning materials appropriate to your child’s age and make them into flash cards, or fun games to encourage the recognition of Key Words. Games that involve finding the specific word or counting the number of times it appears within the text provide children with opportunities to sharpen their observation skills and to correctly identify the Key Word.
There are more resources you can download for FREE here,
or here on the BBC website.
Herok Educational Furniture hopes you found the above information informative and useful.
