TEXES Science of Teaching Reading Practice Test

Which set of words is appropriate for a teacher creating a list of high-frequency, irregular sight words?

1. Jump, sale, moon

2. Thank, mine, seen

3. Have, mother, been

4. Back, store, down

The correct answer is: Have, mother, been

The selected answer is appropriate because it includes words that are high-frequency and do not adhere to standard phonetic patterns, making them irregular sight words. High-frequency words are commonly found in various texts and typically need to be recognized by sight instead of decoded phonetically due to their unconventional spelling. In this set, "have," "mother," and "been" are examples of words that are frequently encountered in written English but do not follow typical spelling-sound correspondences, highlighting their irregular nature. The other sets contain words that are either more phonetic in nature or not as frequently used in the same context. For example, the words in the first option, "jump," "sale," and "moon," can be phonetically sounded out, which does not make them irregular sight words. Similarly, the words in the second and fourth options, while they may be high-frequency, still have more predictable phonetic patterns compared to the words in the correct answer. Thus, the choice of "have," "mother," and "been" aligns perfectly with the criteria for high-frequency, irregular sight words that require memorization for fluent reading.