When I first started teaching students, we taught students a list of 100 sight words or high frequency words. They words that appeared often in text and we wanted students to memorize them. Now we know, if teach kids to memorize 100 words, they can read 100 words. If we teach them to read the 44 phonemes, they can read 1000’s of words. Now, when I teach heart, we map them like any other word, but talk about what makes them a heart word.
Today, I am sharing 5 ways to build fluency with heart words. We do these activities after I have introduced the heart words so they understand why it doesn’t follow the rules. All of these activities can be used with any word. If you are working on short vowels, you can write own short vowel words. If you are working on long vowels, write down long vowels.
https://amzn.to/4rEM1zzThe crocodile game is ALWAYS a class favorite. You put the words in a pile upside-down. A student draws a word. If they read it correctly, they get to push down a tooth. Then the next student goes and repeats the whole process. If the crocodile “bites” you, you win. Yes, you could do lose too, but in our room, you always win. He bites down randomly. Sometimes after one tooth, sometimes its all the teeth. It DOES NOT hurt at all. The top teeth are rubber. I have played this games with 100s of students. Some are scared the first time or three, but then they realize it does not hurt. I bought it off of Amazon. You can use my link here. I have recently seen it at target too.
This next game we call the sticker game. I put the words in a pocket chart. I hide a few stickers behind the words. Students take turns coming up to the pocket chart and read a word. If they read it correctly, they get to take it out and check to see if there is a sticker behind it. They keep the word, and, if there is a sticker, they keep the sticker. The heart word cards that I am showing come from my Read, Write, Build Heart Word Mats. I designed these to grow with your students. If you have not taught a certain sound, it is marked with a heart. For example, the word card the has a card with a heart above the th and the e, as well as one with a heart only above the e. That way, once you have taught the th, it is no longer a heart sound.
This next game is called 4 corners. I like to play this one whole group and put my board under a document camera. if you don’t have a document camera, you can also write on a board. The point is for students to write the word 5 times before me. This is the only game where I do not write the hearts. These are words we have hopefully practiced the word enough that they know why it is a heart word. I have found that their boards get a little messy because they are trying to write the words with hearts so fast, but you definitely can have students mark it with hearts, if you want. I will say the word first so they can get started right away. then, I write it in the middle and the four corners. I write it slow hoping most kids will beat me. Teacher Tip: Before you play it, you need to model where to start the words on the right side. That can be a challenge, especially for younger kids. they struggle with placement and make it to close or to far from the edge.
Read Write Build Heart Words was one of the first activities I posted on TeachersPayTeachers 12 years ago! It has been a top 3 seller of mine since then. It did get a BIG makeover a few years ago when we shifted from teaching sight words to heart words. I created this for Kindergarten- Second grade teachers. There is a set of word cards specific to Kindergarten and a set for 1st-2nd. As I mentioned above, if I haven’t taught a sound, I consider it a heart sound until I teach it. The word cards reflect that. There is also a mat where students only write the word, not a sentence for younger students. I use these mats every single day in my intervention group. It has made such a difference in my students reading fluency. I have also used these in literacy rotations. I got the heart erasers at target one year. You can also have student use a dry erase marker. You can buy these mats and word cards HERE.
I love Elkoin boxes. This is a MUST HAVE for any reading group. I use them for our daily lesson, but I also them with heart words. I give students a word, they tap it and write one sound in each box. that means for digraphs and vowel teams, students write both letters in one box, two letters, one sound. For X, since it is 2 sounds, they write it in between two boxes. For silent e, they write it very small next to the last box. For heart sounds, they write the correct sound, then mark it with a heart. You can use a mini eraser or a dry erase marker. Then, have students slide their finger across the arrow as they say the word. You can get the Elkoin boxes FREE HERE. yes, there is a black and white version.
I hope you have some fresh ideas for working on heart words. if you have any questions, please reach out to me. You can find me on Facebook or Instagram @myfabulousclass Send me a DM and i would love to answer any of your questions.
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