Heart words, phase by phase

Heart words and sight words

A heart word has a part that doesn’t follow the letter sounds a child has been taught so far, so that part is learned by heart. In “said”, the s and the d sound the way they are written and the middle doesn’t. A child still reads the letters they know and remembers only the part that breaks the pattern, instead of memorizing the shape of the whole word. Some schools call them tricky words or red words.

A sight word is something else: any word a child reads instantly, without sounding it out. Most sight words can be sounded out. “And”, “it” and “big” become sight words by being read many times, and in the end almost every word a fluent reader meets is one. So the lists below are short on purpose. They hold only the words a child can’t yet sound out with the sounds taught up to that phase.

Some words are heart words only for a while. Once the spelling in them has been taught, they can be sounded out like any other word.

The words, by phase

1. Phase 1

   First letter sounds s, a, t, p, i and n

   Typically read in kindergarten, fall

   • I
   • a
   • the
   • to

   The sounds and every word this phase can read

2. Phase 2

   More letter sounds m, d, g, o, c and k

   Typically read in kindergarten, fall

   • no
   • go
   • into

   The sounds and every word this phase can read

3. Phase 3

   Short vowels e and u, with ck and r

   Typically read in kindergarten, winter

   • he
   • she
   • we
   • me
   • be

   The sounds and every word this phase can read

4. Phase 4

   H, b, f and l, and the double letters ff, ll and ss

   Typically read in kindergarten, winter

   • was
   • you
   • they
   • all
   • are
   • my

   The sounds and every word this phase can read

5. Phase 5

   The consonants j, v, w and x

   Typically read in kindergarten, spring

   • her
   • said

   The sounds and every word this phase can read

6. Phase 6

   Y, z, zz and qu

   Typically read in kindergarten, spring

   • have
   • like
   • so
   • do
   • some
   • come

   The sounds and every word this phase can read

7. Phase 7

   Consonant digraphs ch, sh, th, ng and nk

   Typically read in kindergarten, spring

   • were
   • there
   • little
   • one
   • when
   • out

   The sounds and every word this phase can read

8. Phase 8

   Vowel teams and r-controlled vowels

   Typically read in 1st grade, winter

   • what
   • oh
   • their
   • people
   • looked
   • called

   The sounds and every word this phase can read

9. Phase 9

   Silent e and other spellings of the same sounds

   Typically read in 1st grade, spring

   • asked
   • could
   • would
   • should
   • water
   • where
   • who
   • again

   The sounds and every word this phase can read

10. Phase 10

    Advanced vowel spellings augh, ough, eigh, ui, oar and oor

    Typically read in 2nd grade

    • island
    • answer
    • beautiful

    The sounds and every word this phase can read

11. Phase 11

    Word endings -tion, -sion, -cian, -ture and -sure

    Typically read in 2nd to 3rd grade

    • special
    • business
    • color
    • science

    The sounds and every word this phase can read

Grades are when most US classrooms teach these sounds. They are a guide to when, never a measure of a child, and children move through the phases at very different speeds.