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How do you teach tricky words?!

Discussion in 'Early Years' started by funkydante, May 19, 2011.

  1. I have been thinking about the way I teach tricky words.
    Personally I say the word to the children and ask them to sound it out, then I write it on the board. For example, 'have' they say 'h-a-v'. I then show them the tricky word and ask them which bit is tricky, they all say 'the e is pretending he's not there!' and we go from there. But basically they are learning them by just memorising them and going over and over until we get them.
    Is this right, or is there an easier way for the children to remember them?! Most have got them but a few are struggling.
    Any ideas?!?
  2. With my kinders as we are introducing such words as a group we clap and count the syllables then articulate the sounds by stretching the word and I demonstrate how to record the sounds using elkonian boxes ( 3 boxes as "have" has only 3 sounds but 4 letters). first sound, last sound, middle sound.
    When the word is recorded we say the word again and I tell them that the word "have" sounds right but will need an e on the end to make it look right. (but we cant hear it)
    The word is then recorded and displayed on a heart flashcard on a word wall and children know that these are the tricky words we need to learn by heart. They can then look for the word they need when writing by finding the rword with the right sounds and are reminded about the tricky part.
    The same process and the message that the word needs something on the end to make it "look right" is quickly picked up and you begin to see them transfer this sound and look approach to their writing.
    Hope this helps.
  3. I could send you many posters of pictures and mnemonics for some these words. Children have often come up with their own ways of remembering other words after seeing the different methods - words within words, silly sentences, conecting words with similar spellings [ e.g. pull, bull, full could would should] with a picture cue etc
    email: margaret2612@btinternet.com
  4. I am puzzled as to which 'tricky words' contain more than one syllable
  5. Obviously none but the process is the same in our class when studying words. We start with how many parts or syllables, This is part of the memory patterning process for the chldren.
    Was simply outlining the process of introducing all words including tricky words.
  6. Msz

    Msz Established commenter

    people... looked ... little ... into ... [​IMG]
    say the phonemes they know and introduce the "tricky" one they don't know yet and look at other words with the same "tricky" (for now) part
  7. Am I misunderstanding something? Do you introduce the concept of a syllable very early (i.e before words with more than one syllable are introduced)?
    What is a 'part' as opposed to a 'syllable'?
    I knew you'd come up with a few [​IMG] Are 'into' and 'little' really tricky, though?
  8. The concept of Syllables or " parts" (the alternative lable) is introduced and established as one of the first phonemic awareness activities in Kinder. We start with their own names clapping and stamping as they say their names and counting how many claps needed. Explained initially as parts and then later correct lable of "syllables' is introduced.
    Then as we move onto introducing HF words we use the same process. Listening for parts or syllables before recording sounds we hear.

    Also don't consider into a tricky word however little would work well with the:
    clap syllable/sound out in boxes / check if sound right?- look right? process outlined.
  9. Msz

    Msz Established commenter

    into is in the list of tricky words published by the DfE which I assume is what the OP is interested in (but I agree it isn't tricky)
  10. I'm interested you consider looked to have more than 1 syllable.
    We clap and stamp words in nursery. I think it's as much about understanding words as units, and encouraging children to listen to the units that are words as collections of sounds, as anything. The other useful thing is that it encourages them to listen with attention to the sounds they are uttering.
  11. Msz

    Msz Established commenter

    I don't (not sure why I typed it ) [​IMG]

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