What are Tricky Words?

High-frequency words are the words which occur most often in a text.

Some of the high-frequency words are decodable which means your child can have a go at sounding them out e.g. a-n-d, and. 

However, some of the high-frequency words are called tricky words because they are tricky to decode.  This is either because they are phonetically irregular or contain a sound your child hasn’t been taught yet e.g. the y in my.

Your child will learn to read and spell tricky words during their phonics sessions. You might hear them referred to as something else such as red words, common exception words or sight words. I like to call them tricky for now words because once we learn the tricky part they are no longer tricky!

The tricky word flashcards packs include a second tricky word card which shows which part of the word is tricky. The tricky part is written in white with a heart above to show this is the part that needs to be learnt off by heart.

If your child is able to read the high-frequency words automatically, they can focus on sounding out and blending unfamiliar words. This will help them read more fluently and confidently.

Resources

Phonics Hub members can download printable flashcards by clicking on the images below or access the digital flashcards here.