The history of Fry words
Fry’s Words is a list of 1,000 high-frequency words collected by Dr. Edward Fry back in 1957. However, this list was a version of the Dolch Words list created in the 1930s and published in 1936 for the first time. Even now, English-speaking schools around the world still use both lists.
High-frequency words
As can be seen, the list of the most common words (also known as Fry’s Instant Words) includes all parts of speech. Dr. Fry deliberately listed them in the order of frequency.
What does this frequency mean for students?
Basically, it means students will become better and faster readers in a short period as they come across these words in every text they read. Students should recognize the high-frequency words in sentences and texts to achieve reading fluency. Summing up, that was the idea of Dr. Edward Fry.
Fry’s words in today’s classroom
However, a big group of educators finds it controversial to study each word separately as students anyway see these words everywhere and remember them by sight. With this in mind, struggling readers require sight word activities and worksheets that suit their learning style.
Without doubt, many teachers are keen on using Fry Sight Words and building their curriculum around these words. There are a lot of great educational resources featuring Fry Words, as the list isn’t copyrighted (unlike the Dolch Words).
Why so many words?
After all, Dr. Fry wisely divided the words into hundreds: 1st 100, 2nd 100, 3rd 100, etc. As a result, some educators teach First 100 in the first grade. Sometimes, teachers teach the First 100 in Kindergarten. For example, some fourth graders study 300 Fry Words during the school year! That undoubtedly depends upon the curriculum of the schools and teachers.
At the same time, Fry’s Words include lots of irregular/ non-decodable/ red words. Unfortunately, these words don’t follow the spelling and phonetic rules and may be problematic for dyslexic and dysgraphic students and children with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Even more, kids must master non-decodable words separately.
My Fry Words Worksheets
In any case, you can have a look at my Fry Words Resources here. The worksheets are created with minimum distraction elements (borders, clipart, etc.) and help struggling students trace, build, finish and visually recognize sight words. The worksheets meanwhile are ink-friendly. Because they follow the same pattern, the teacher doesn’t have to explain what to do every time! 🙂
In brief, The teacher just prints them out, and the students work on the Fry Words independently!!! These sheets are perfect for homework, revisions, pre-test, assessment, early finishers, centers, etc.
You can also read blog posts about my Orton-Gillingham Red Words worksheets or fine motor skills in early education.
Fry's Words Worksheets
