In the context of early literacy development, high-frequency words, crucial for fluent reading, are sometimes referred to by educators as words learned “by heart.” These are commonly used words that young learners are encouraged to memorize visually, enabling them to recognize them instantly without needing to decode them sound-by-sound. Examples include common articles, prepositions, and conjunctions such as “the,” “a,” “and,” “of,” and “to.” Mastering these fundamental vocabulary elements builds a foundation for reading comprehension.
Rapid recognition of these frequently occurring vocabulary items allows the reader to focus cognitive resources on understanding the meaning of less common or more complex words and the overall structure of the text. This improved automaticity unlocks smoother, more expressive reading and, importantly, facilitates the development of overall reading comprehension. Historically, emphasis on these core words evolved from observations about the distribution of words in texts and the understanding that rapid recognition frees cognitive load for higher-level thinking processes.
