Red Words are irregular words that do not follow a particular pattern. Red Words can also be high-frequency words that students must learn before the specific concept has been taught. IMSE uses the term Red Word because the visual color red reminds students that these words are irregular.

What are red words in reading?

Red words are trick words. These are words that cannot be sounded out because they break the phonetic rules of the English Language.

What is the difference between red words and sight words?

Fry’s Instant Words and Dolch Words are examples of high frequency words (the, of, and, to, in, etc). Sight words are words that are recognized “at first sight”. Any word can become a sight word once a student can read it instantly.