Same Reading › Letters and sounds › Heart words
What are heart words?
Heart words are common words with a part that doesn't follow the rules your child knows yet, like the ai in said. Kids sound out the regular parts and draw a heart over the tricky part to learn it “by heart.”
- Regular parts sound out normally: /s/ and /d/.
- The tricky part gets a heart: ai says /e/ here.
- Kids learn just the tricky part, not the whole word as a shape.
Why schools teach it
It replaces memorizing whole words by shape
Many of us learned sight words by drilling flash cards until the shape stuck. Research suggests kids remember words best by connecting their letters to sounds, even in irregular words. So teachers point out which letters behave and which part has to be learned by heart.
Kindergartners read common high-frequency words (RF.K.3c), and first graders read words with irregular spellings (RF.1.3g). Some heart words are temporary: play is tricky only until your child learns ay, then it's a regular word.
At the kitchen table
What to say, and what to skip
Say this
Which part sounds out? Which part is tricky?
Put a heart over the tricky part.
Say the letters as you write it.
Spelling it aloud helps it stick.Can you find this word in your book?
Spotting it in real reading makes it automatic.
Skip this
- Drilling the whole word as a shape.Linking the letters to sounds sticks better than memorizing the look.
- Calling every common word a heart word.Words like can, it and big sound out. Have your child read those.
Just guess, you know this one.
Have them look at the letters, then read it.
See it in action
Learning “was”
Point to the part that sounds out
w: /w/Find the tricky part and put a heart on it
was says /uz/Read it, spell it aloud, write it
w-a-s, was
Schools mark tricky parts a little differently. Use what your child's class uses.
Free practice sheet
Make a heart words sheet
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Parents: tell your child's teacher about this guide
Parents also ask
Are heart words the same as sight words?
They overlap. Sight words usually means any word read instantly. Heart words are the ones with a part that doesn't follow the rules yet.
Where do the words come from?
Most lists use the most common words in children's books, like the, said, was, you and they.
Will my child always need the heart?
No. Once a pattern is taught, the heart goes away.
How many heart words should we practice at once?
Two or three new ones a week is plenty, mixed with ones they already know.