Minds On

Word hunt

Examine the poem below. What do you notice about the words that are bolded?

Action

High frequency words

You may have noticed that the words bolded in the Minds On poem were familiar words. These words are called high frequency words and they appear very often in different texts. You have might have come across some of these words before, and can recognize, and/or read them automatically.

Consider the High Frequency Words chart below. Are you familiar with some of the words on this list?

Select a poem, article, or another text of your choice. Choose one column from the High Frequency Words chart. As you go through your chosen text, identify the ‘high frequency’ words on your column list. You may also record your list using another method of your choice.

Complete the Word Frequency chart in your notebook or using the following fillable and printable document.

Word Frequency
Word Number of Times the Word Occurs

Press the ‘Activity’ button to access Word Frequency. 

Activity(Open PDF in a new window)
Four children read a book together.

Brainstorm

Reflect on your chart

Consider the following questions:

  • What did you notice after completing this activity?
  • Did you learn anything new about the way you read?
  • Why do you think it is important to be able to quickly read these words without having to sound them out?

Consolidation

How you read

Three children read a book together

Student Success

Think-Pair-Share

Reflect on the Action activity. Think about the following questions:

  • Which High Frequency Words occurred the most in your text, passage, poem, or audio book?
  • What was different about reading to locate words rather than reading to understand content?
  • Reflect on the different reading strategies that you used while you read your passage.

If possible, share your ideas with a partner.

Note to teachers: See your teacher guide for collaboration tools, ideas and suggestions.

Reflection

As you read through these descriptions, which sentence best describes how you are feeling about your understanding of this learning activity? Press the button that is beside this sentence.

I feel...

Now, record your ideas using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.

Press ‘Discover More’ to extend your skills.

Select a non-fiction passage, text, or audio book of your choice and explore the usage of High Frequency Words.

Compare this passage to the one you previously explored. What do you notice? Are there similarities or differences between the words used? Does the topic or type of passage have an effect on the High Frequency Words being used?