Puzzle Words

Fluent readers recognize most words instantly, without stopping to sound them out. In Scarborough's (2001) reading rope, this automatic word recognition is one of the strands that frees a reader to focus on meaning. Many of the most common words in English are irregular, so students meet them constantly in real books. Words become instant "sight words" through orthographic mapping, which means connecting a word's sounds to its letters. This works for irregular words too. When students sound out the regular parts and pay attention to the puzzle part, the word sticks. Memorizing a word as a whole shape skips that step.

1. Begin once a student is reading phonetic words, such as with our Phonetic 3-Part Cards.
2. Choose a few words. Read each one aloud, then sound it out together. Discuss which parts follow the rules and which part is the puzzle.
3. Use the three-period lesson to practice the words.
4. Place 8 to 10 words on the shelf in a pouch, basket, or small box so students can read them on their own.
5. Rotate in new words as these become easy.

Because most of it does! Sounding out shows students that even strange-looking words have phonetic clues. Have fun with it. Sometimes you'll uncover an old pronunciation. The k, g, and h in knight were once pronounced! Students love learning that spellings that seem odd today once made sense.

Typically PreK through 2nd grade (about ages 4 to 8), whenever a student can blend sounds and read simple phonetic words. Puzzle words are also helpful for:

• Older students who need reading practice
• English learners
• Students in reading intervention