Adv. Word Reading	Lesson 2: Readings (1)	-

Regular, Irregular, and Sight Words

Pat Gildroy

In teaching word recognition, it is important to consider the differences among regular, irregular, and sight words in order to develop lists of example words for teaching and practicing word recognition skills. Knowing these types of words also helps with selecting appropriate passages for reading connected text. While there are general definitions for each of these types of words, as you prepare to teach specific students, you will need to use more precise criteria for identifying words for each category. Your instructional method will differ depending upon your students' prior knowledge and the types of words you need to teach.

Type of Word	General Definition	Examples
Regular Words	Have common phoneme-grapheme relationships and can be sounded out (decoded)	cat, may, outside, yellow, interesting
Irregular Words	Have uncommon phoneme-grapheme relationships and cannot be sounded out (decoded)	was, come, give, of
Sight Words	Words that are recognized automatically	the, and, this, when

In general, regular words are those words that have common phoneme-grapheme relationships and can be easily and accurately sounded out or decoded, such as the words CAT, MAY, OUTSIDE, YELLOW, and INTERESTING. Irregular words, on the other hand, often have uncommon phoneme-grapheme relationships and/or spellings. Examples of irregular words are WAS, COME, GIVE, and OF. It is difficult to accurately sound out irregular words. When these words are sounded out, an incorrect pronunciation often results: WAS might be pronounced /w/a/s/ (rather than /w/u/z/), COME might be /k/O/m, GIVE might be /j/I/v/, and OF might be /o/f/ (rather than /o/v/).

Finally, sight words are words that are recognized automatically. According to this definition, sight words can be either regular or irregular words just as long as the reader recognizes them immediately. Each of these general definitions can change, however, when considering specific readers.

Word Type Definitions Specific to Individual Students

Type of Word	General Definition	Definition Related to Individual Readers
Regular Words	Are decodable because they conform to phonetic rules	Are restricted to those words for which the reader HAS MASTERED all of the letter sounds and phonetic rules
Irregular Words	Are not decodable because they do not conform to phonetic rules	Include all words for which the reader has NOT MASTERED all of the letter sounds and phonetic rules
Sight Words	Are recognized automatically	Also includes high frequency words that the reader needs to learn to recognize automatically

In general, regular words are those words that have common letter patterns and can be easily sounded out, but the definition changes in relation to individual readers. For individual readers, regular words are those for which the reader has mastered all of the phoneme-grapheme associations and letter patterns. Words that may be considered regular for one reader may be considered irregular for the next because different readers may have mastered different phoneme-grapheme associations and phonetic rules. When working with students with reading disabilities, this is especially important to remember.

In general, irregular words are not able to be accurately decoded because they do not conform to phonetic rules; however, in relation to individual readers irregular words are any words for which the reader has not mastered the letter sounds and the phonetic rules. The result is that even though some words might be considered regular for most people, these same words would be considered irregular words for those who do not have the letter-sound or phonetic knowledge to sound them out.

In general, sight words can be either regular or irregular words that a reader recognizes instantaneously. Most readers need to be exposed to a new word over a dozen times in order to be able to recognize it automatically; however, individuals with reading disabilities may require many more exposures to learn a new word. One factor that differentiates proficient readers from poorer readers is the size of the sight word vocabulary. Proficient readers have extensive sight word vocabularies; beginning readers have small ones.

Another category of sight words is high frequency words. These are words that are used so frequently in written language that all readers need to learn to recognize them automatically. These may be decodable words or undecodable words. Some high frequency words are IN, OF, THE, THAT, IS, WAS, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, AND, HOW.



Let's use these definitions to figure out what words might be regular, irregular, or sight words for Maurice, who is a beginning reader.

Maurice's Words

TYPES OF WORDS	EXAMPLESHe has mastered the most common sounds for the letters a m t s i f d
Regular Words	am, Sam, ram, at, sat, mat, hat, dad, mad, sad, it, sit, fit
Irregular Words	stir (/st/ r) yes said was come give of
Sight Words	Words he knows by sight: Maurice, school, pizza, boys, girls, stop High frequency words such as: I, am, it, yes, no

Maurice has mastered the most common sounds for the letters S, A, T, M, I, F, and D. Regular words for Maurice would then be those words that use the most common sounds for these letters. With his knowledge, he should be able to sound out a number of words in the rime families of AM, AT, AD, and IT, as listed in the above chart.

As a beginning reader, Maurice still has a limited number of letter sounds with which he is familiar. Irregular words for Maurice would be any words that have letters or sounds with which he is NOT familiar. For instance, although Maurice knows the common sounds for most of the letters in the word STIR, it is considered an irregular word for Maurice because he has not yet learned the consonant blend sound of /st/, or the r/ sound. Another irregular word is the word YES because Maurice has not yet learned the sounds of the letters Y and E. The word SAID is always an irregular as are the words WAS, COME, GIVE, and OF. So, what words might be sight words for Maurice?

Maurice's sight words include those words he recognizes automatically, such as the words MAURICE, SCHOOL, PIZZA, BOYS, and GIRLS. His sight words might also include high frequency words that are important for all readers to learn by sight such as the words I, AM, IT, and WAS.

Knowing how to differentiate word types in relation to individual readers is an important skill. By determining what letter-sound relationships, letter patterns, phonetic rules, and words with which a student is familiar, you will be better able to identify the areas of word recognition your student needs to work with, understand how to teach the words in those areas, and identify reading materials that are suitable for your students.