This list of 600 words compiled by Edward Fry contain the most used words in reading and writing. The words on the list make up almost half of the words met in any reading task. Good readers decode words so that they are said "instantly", therefore, assuring the automaticity essential to comprehension. The words are divided into six levels, roughly corresponding to grade levels; then into groups of twenty-five words, according to difficulty and frequency. Each level should be taught and assessed sequentially, with the goal of increasing fluency on these high frequency words to the point that parallel processing can occur.

To determine where to start instruction, administer a word recognition test. Have the student read the underlined words aloud, and continue until s/he makes five or more errors in a group of 25 words. This indicates a frustration level, and instruction should begin on the previous list. Note the kind of errors the student makes when s/he mispronounces words so that there can be instruction on specific skills. Teach decoding the unknown words by phonic, structural, or sight analysis. Continue teaching and testing until both rate and accuracy are at "instant" recognition level. The criteria for this is being able to read 100 words in ONE minute with 95% accuracy in the primary grades, and 200 words per minute in intermediate grades.

It should be noted that a "ball-park" estimate of independent, instructional, and frustrational reading levels could be determined by where the student begins to make errors in reading the word lists--using the general criteria for word recognition levels as 95% is independent, 90% is instructional, and less than 90% indicates frustration level.

Being able to decode individual words is essential to fluency in reading, but teachers must follow up with phrase and sentence reading. When words are used in meaningful context, fluency is improved as well as comprehension. Because of the high utility of the words in print, the words can also be used as basic spelling lists AFTER reading is mastered. For application in both decoding and spelling, patterns in words have been noted at the bottom of the first levels of first levels of words lists, so extended practice on rimes and other generalizations can occur.

For the purpose of increasing fluency beyond individual word recognition, these high-frequency words have been underlined and put into short three-word phrases. Students can improve both speed and accuracy as they practice reading these phrases. There are words in tow columns with a 95% accuracy and within ONE minute. In phrase reading, 150 words pretest should be given to make sure students CAN read the phrases correctly before emphasizing fluency.

Students can have their own individual word/phrase lists at their desks and time built into the schedule for them to practice reading them aloud to another student who monitors both the reading and notes the time. It is important that ALL students begin on the first level so success is established before moving on to more difficult words/phrases. When the student has had his/her accuracy and rate validated by two students, s/he is ready to pass off the level with the teacher.

Two extension activities might include having students select several phrases and write complete sentences with them, being held for good penmanship, punctuation, and content. Students could also find phrases that tell where (by the house), when (in the morning), who (a tall girl) , what (a big box), as well as other comprehension tasks.

FRY PHRASES LEVEL 1	GROUP 1	FRY PHRASES	GROUP 3
1. the little boy	14. it was over	1. to go home	14. a little dog
2. a good boy	15. work on it	2. see the dog	15. he has it
3. is about me	16. can come here	3. then they went	16. sit by them
4. then you give	17. they will go	4. look at us	17. how do you
5. was to come	18. are so long	5. yes and no	18. like the book
6. old and new	19. three of them	6. play with him	19. in our car
7. what we know	20. before this one	7. by the house	20. what do you
8. that old man	21. your little boy	8. he was going	21. do you know
9. in and out	22. as long as	9. come to me	22. make a book
10. get the cat	23. but not me	10. get the cat	23. which one is
11. good for you	24. be here again	11. in or out	24. this much is
12. down at work	25. have been good	12. one, two, three	25. about his frog
13. with his cat	Total 75 words	13. to the man	Total 75 words
Rimes and Patterns	and, at, in, ot, it, an, ill, ut, to, do, is, this, we, be, he, me, she	Rimes and Patterns	ee, en, et, ow(how), ow(know), ake, ike, as, has, some, come, is, his, or, for

 

FRY PHRASES	GROUP 2	FRY PHRASES	GROUP 4
1. he is it	14. when they come	1. who am I	14. before you go
2. I can go	15. so I went	2. an old cat	15. just one day
3. they are here	16. my little house	3. in their car	16. about this long
4. one by one	17. very good girl	4. she has some	17. here it is
5. good and wet	18. all around	5. a new school	18. get the other
6. came with me	19. would you like	6. he said it	19. our old car
7. about a dog	20. any good book	7. did not go	20. then take it
8. had a hat	21. have you been	8. a good boy	21. can use it
9. three little dogs	22. we are out	9. three little dogs	22. again and again
10. some good cake	23, here and there	10. up and down	23. would give him
11. up and down	24. from my mother	11. go to work	24. day after day
12. her green hat	25. a nice day	12. put it out	25. many of them
13. say and do	Total 75 words	13. we were there	Total 75 words
Rimes and Patterns	ad, up, all, ay, so, no, go, my, by, why, try, some, come	Rimes and Patterns	ew, old, ong, id, ust, any, many

FRY PHRASES LEVEL 2	GROUP 5	FRY PHRASES	GROUP 7
1. saw a cat	14. could I go	1. may come to	14. should we do
2. he let us	15. never would come	2. he let us	15. never would come
3. write the word	16. look at that	3. write the word	16. two books each
4. stand on the	17. is my mother	4. these big chairs	17. was the best
5. in the box	18. run out of	5. turn right at	18. at another time
6. the word is	19. at school today	6. The word is	19. it would seem
7. we should leave	20. with the people	7. we should leave	20. the pretty tree
8. came up to	21. all last night	8. her left hand	21. was her name
9. a tall girl	22. into my room	9. more people can	22. part of it
10. ¨ not make	23. begin to say	10. why not make	23. the tall oak
11. find a rock	24. I think that	11. is done better	24. next to the
12. because it was	25. on the back	12. it was under	25. please come to
13. made me mad	Total 75 words	13. while the rain	Total 75 words
Rimes and Patterns	aw, ame, ind, ade, ook, un, ink, ack, ight, could, would, other, mother	Rimes and Patterns	ore, ile, est, ame, ever, never, other, mother, another, better, letter

FRY PHRASES	GROUP 6	FRY PHRASES	GROUP 8
1. such a big box	14. much to eat	1. dog ran fast	14. near the dog
2. where it was	15. want to say	2. five blue balls	15. older than him
3. I am not	16. one year old	3. read very well	16. in the open
4. a great ball	17. the white pine	4. over the hill	17. kind and good
5. yesterday morning	18. got a cup	5. such a treat	18. must go now
6. live in a	19. wanted to play	6. on the way	19. high in the
7. four of them	20. found his dog	7. eat too much	20. far and near
8. then at last	21. that was left	8. shall sing for	21. both of you
9. color the box	22. bring her home	9. my own bed	22. end of the
10. putting it away	23. men were there	10. most of all	23. would go also
11. tall red hat	24. as you wish	11. sure am happy	24. until we see
12. friend of the	25. red and black	12. saw a thing	25. call me now
13. to look pretty	Total 75 words	13. only for fun	Total 75 words
Rimes and Patterns	ig, ast, am, ed, eat, ing, ear, ite, ish, where, there, live, give, found, round	Rimes and Pattern	ive (five), ost, oo (too), ar, end, ure (sure, cure, pure), uch (such, much)

FRY PHRASES LEVEL 3	GROUP 9	FRY PHRASES	GROUP 11
1. go ask her	14. please don't run	1. off his ship	14. around the yard
2. a small tree	15. a fast race	2. his sister went	15. close the door
3. a yellow box	16. a cold day	3. my happy mother	16. the bedroom wall
4. you may show	17. must call today	4. once I went	17. gave some money
5. it goes there	18. does come back	5. he didn't go	18. turn the corner
6. please clean this	19. a pretty face	6. set the table	19. might be late
7. buy a present	20. little green box	7. round and round	20. hard, long trail
8. say thank you	21. go to bed	8. dress the baby	21. go to bed
9. they will sleep	22. I like brown	9. fail the test	22. fine black line
10. open the letter	23. your red coat	10. wash the clothes	23. along the way
11. jump the wall	24. six people ran	11, car will start	24. sat on the chair
12. by my self	25. gave a gift	12.always ready to go	25. I hope you
13. go fly high	Total 75 words	13. anything to wear	Total 75 words
Rime and Patterns	ast, ank, ave, ump, ee (sleep, green), ea(each, leave, clean), near, dear, year	Rime and Patterns	et (get, bet, set, pet, met, wet, yet), ard, ess, ail, art, ope, ight(right, might, sight)

FRY PHRASES	GROUP 10	FRY PHRASES	GROUP 12
1. the black hat	14. sit on the	1. start the fire	14. clothes are dry
2. in his ear	15. the black dog	2. ten llittle boys	15. through he went
3. write a letter	16. can you ride	3. was an order	16. at three o'clock
4. to try it	17, hot and cold	4. part was missing	17. second not last
5. as for myself	18. grow the seed	5. the early bird	18. water is warm
6. can no longer	19. do not cut	6. the fat cat	19. the little town
7. those were clean	20. seven people came	7. a third team	20. took off his
8. hold on tight	21. the pretty woman	8. was the same	21. pair of mittens
9. full of water	22. the funny monkey	9. were in love	22. now getting dark
10. please carry it	23. yes it is	10. can you hear	23. want to keep
11. eight little ducks	24. as he ate	11. yesterday he came	24. head and neck
12. would you sing	25. stop your car	12. eyes are blue	25. warm the food
13. food was warm	Total 75 words	13. door was open	Total 75 words
Rimes and Patterns	ull (full, pull), ide (ride, side, wide)	Rimes and Patterns	ire(fire, hire, tire, wire), oor(door, poor), ead(read, head, lead), air(pair, stair, chair)

FRY PHRASES LEVEL 4	GROUP 13	FRY PHRASES	GROUP 15
1. the story told	14. across the ocean	1. said the word	14. feel the fur
2. miss the bus	15. a fenced yard	2. was almost lost	15. during the storm
3. with his father	16. a winter morning	3. he quickly thought	16. already had gone
4. the children moved	17. a round table	4. sent the letter	17. to one hundred
5. reached the land	18. a bedtime story	5. receive the gift	18. for the week
6. with an interest	19. because I'm through	6. had to pay	19. walked between them
7. in the government	20. sometimes I run	7. better than nothing	20. hard to change
8. within two feet	21. tried to run	8. what I need	21. being at home
9. the pretty garden	22. rode the horse	9. mean to cry	22. care and feeding
10. to be done	23. something for her	10. spoke too late	23. the right answer
11. the country house	24. brought the salad	11. only finished half	24. an interesting course
12. different from them	25. the dancing shoes	12. afraid to fight	25. voted against it
13. the bad men	Total 75 words	13. was strong enough	Total 75 words

FRY PHRASES	GROUP 14	FRY PHRASES	GROUP 16
1. time after time	14. a few came	1. wear your coat	14. it all began
2. has come yet	15. hit the ball	2. Mr. and Mrs.	15. clean air is
3. true or false	16. under the cover	3. in the side	16. young and old
4. above the door	17. the open window	4. the poor boy	17. was long ago
5. still, cool water	18. store the box	5. lost his book	18. around the world
6. meet me at	19. in the city	6. was cold outside	19. the airplane flew
7. since we started	20. are we together	7. the wind howled	20. without his lunch
8. a number of	21, the bright sun	8. Mrs. Brown said	21. do not kill
9. please state your	22. all my life	9. we learn by	22. ready set go
10. does it matter	23. across the street	10. held the book	23. please stay away
11. draw the line	24. at the party	11. only finished half	24. an interesting course
12. different from them	25. the dancing shoes	12. afraid to fight	25. voted against it
13. the bad men	Total 75 words	13. was strong enough	Total 75 words

FRY PHRASES LEVEL 5	GROUP 17	FRY PHRASES	GROUP 19
1. hour by hour	14. please talk louder	1. fry an egg	14. when you add
2. be glad that	15. when we want	2. on the ground	15. the dripping ice
3. follow directions	16. to the bank	3. a warm afternoon	16. broke the car
4. you have company	17. ship the box	4. feed the sheep	17. watch for children
5. would you believe	18. his business is	5. the boat trip	18. left all alone
6. begin at once	19. the whole thing	6. plan his work	19. to bend low
7. do you mind	20. a short stop	7. the question is	20. broke her arm
8. pass the meat	21. make certain that	8. the biggest fish	21. dinner was cold
9. try to reach	22. was not fair	9. return the gum	22. hair is brown
10, next month we	23. give the reason	10. call him sir	23. service the car
11. at this point	24. it's almost summer	11. would not tell	24. in class today
12. rest and relax	25. fill your glass	12. the huge hill	25. was quite short
13. he sent it	Total 75 words	13. The wet wood	Total 75 words

FRY PHRASES	GROUP 18	FRY PHRASES	GROUP 20
1. grade your paper	14. sing the note	1. spell a word	14. a tall lady
2. my big brother	15. time is past	2. a beautiful day	15. a treat tomorrow
3. remain there until	16. find her room	3. the sick car	16. ice and snow
4. glass of milk	17. flew overhead	4. because a teacher	17. for whom the
5. several years ago	18. at his office	5. will you cry	18. women and children
6. the long war	19. the cow stood	6. finish the work	19. among the leaves
7. are you able	20. will you visit	7. toss and catch	20. a rocky road
8. please change it	21. wait in line	8. the shiny floor	21. the farm animals
9. either you come	22. the teacher said	9. a broken stick	22. my famous cousin
10. change was less	23. is almost spring	10. great amounts of	23. bread and butter
11. train the dog	24. picture was gone	11. guess the answer	24. gave wrong directions
12. does it cost	25. the blue bird	12. paint the bridge	25. the space age
13. in the evening	Total 75 words	13. in the church	Total 75 words

FRY PHRASES LEVEL 6	GROUP 21	FRY PHRASES	GROUP 22
1. became a man	14. minute by minute	1. demand a pencil	14. a tomato plant
2. a fat body	15. a loud ring	2. however you want	15. can you suppose
3. take a chance	16. who wrote it	3. in this case	16. by the law
4. act right now	17. make it happen	4. can you figure	17. was her husband
5. it will die	18. let's appear happy	5. increase your work	18. just that moment
6. in real life	19. a big heart	6. enjoy your study	19. my favorite person
7. must speak out	20. can swim fast	7. rather than walk	20. a sad result
8. it already ended	21. a felt hat	8. sound it out	21. he could continue
9. a good doctor	22. the fourth hour	9. eleven comes next	22. the lowest price
10. please step up	23. I'll say it	10. music in words	23. to serve well
11. all by itself	24. kept a long time	11. a human being	24. the national anthem
12. had nine lives	25. a deep well	12. in the court	25. wife and mother
13. the baby turtle	Total 76 words	13. may the force	Total 75 words

FRY PHRASES	GROUP 22	FRY PHRASES	GROUP 24
1. could see herself	14. study the book	1. was my aunt	14. he rode the
2. have an idea	15. a great fear	2. her system was	15. is my uncle
3. drop the pin	16. move your car	3. he will lie	16. the labor force
4. the wide river	17. she stood outside	4. the cause was	17. in public court
5. her smile glowed	18. as for himself	5. will she marry	18. I will consider
6. son and daughter	19. the strong man	6. it is possible	19. it happened thus
7. the bat flew	20. for they knew	7. I will study	20. was the least
8. is a fact	21. every so often	8. one thousand more	21. she has power
9. sort the clothes	22. toward the end	9. in the pen	22. made a mark
10. king of hearts	23. filled with wonder	10. his condition was	23. will be president
11. the dark street	24. twenty black birds	11. she said perhaps	24. a nice voice
12. kept to themselves	25. it was important	12. she will produce	25. must ask whether
13. whose coat is	Total 75 words	13. it was twelve	Total 75 words

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