Words with Heart: Why Consistent Review Matters

In Part 1 of this series on heart words, we talked about how to teach heart words step by step—helping students notice the regular parts of the word, identify the tricky (heart) part, and anchor it in their memory. But teaching heart words is just the beginning! To make sure students actually master these words, consistent review is key. Without ongoing practice, these challenging words are quickly forgotten. In this blog post, we’ll explore simple, effective ways to keep heart words fresh—both at home and at school. 

Ways to Practice Heart Words at School

As teachers, we understand how precious time is, and how there never feels like enough time in the day! Instead of adding one more thing to your already packed schedule, we're sharing some ways that you can weave heart word review into your classroom routine  (without adding more prep or stress!) Here are a few ideas that you can easily implement:

1. Small-Group Warm-Ups

Begin your small-group reading lessons with a quick review of 1-3 heart words. Instead of just flashing the words to your students on flashcards, have your students practice spelling them without looking! We like to pass out these heart word mapping mats to each student (you can also use laminated Elkonin boxes), and then follow this routine:

1. Say the heart word aloud and have students repeat it
2. Tell students to segment the sounds with counters
3. Have them write the letters for each sound
4. Remind students to color in the heart part
5. Finally, have them practice writing the word a few times.
    

This quick warm up covers many skills (phonemic awareness, encoding, decoding) and is a great review for learned heart words.

2. Interactive Word Wall

An interactive word wall is a powerful tool for helping students practice and remember their heart words. Instead of simply posting words on the wall, make it engaging by involving students in hands-on activities. Choose a student to be the heart word leader for the day and give them a pointer stick. Have that student point to the learned words while the entire class reads them aloud. Reference the heart words wall often, especially during interactive writing times. Students need to see you modeling how to use the wall as a resource.


Another fun idea is to have a heart word graduation at the end of each month or grading period. At the end of the grading period, have students go through the heart words on the wall and identify the words that contain heart parts that are no longer a heart part. For example, the word "look" may be a heart word for your students before you teach the <oo> vowel team. However, once you've explicitly taught this vowel team, the word "look" is fully decodable. This word has graduated from being a heart word! After you've identified all of the graduated heart words (make sure students are involved in this process), get creative with your graduation celebration. Print out little graduation caps and add them to the graduated word cards. Have students take turns carrying the graduated words across a stage. Have fun with it!

3. Review Games

Games are always a hit with students, and are a great way to keep your students reviewing. Use games during your literacy stations or centers, or play whole group games like "I Have, Who Has?" or Heart Words BINGO. We recommend having a designated literacy station that is just for heart word review. Rotate the games at this center often to keep it fresh and fun!

If you're looking for editable heart word games (where you can swap out the words for review) be sure to check out our Editable Heart Words Games bundle below (also included in our Launching Literacy membership)!

4. Embed in Daily Routines

During morning meetings, transitions, or line-up time, review a few words together. For example: “Before you line up, read the heart word I’m holding!” (Hold up a different word for each student or group of students.) You could also tell students you have a mystery heart word that you want them to guess. Give them a clue like, "I'm thinking of a heart word that has <oo> as the heart part." Have students guess while they're waiting in line. Whoever guesses the word gets to be the next one to choose a mystery heart word!

Ways to Practice Heart Words at Home

Parents often ask, “How can I help my child with heart words at home?” Next, let's talk about some simple and fun ways to practice at home.

1. Flashcard Practice

Keep flashcard practice short and fun—just 5 to 10 minutes a day is plenty. Show your child a card and have them read the word, then flip it over and ask them to spell it out loud, tapping the sounds on their fingers as needed. To make it more engaging, turn it into a game—try “Memory Match,” where they pair words, or “Swat the Word,” where you lay out several different word cards and they quickly swat the correct card when you call it out.

Another easy way to use flashcards at home is by using them with board games you already own. For example, before each player gets to roll the dice, or place their Connect 4 chip, or spin the spinner, they have to flip over a heart word flashcard and read the word. Revisit the same words often to build automatic recognition, and mix in a few new words once your child shows mastery.

2. "Password" Post-It Practice

Post heart words on sticky notes in different rooms. As your child walks through the house, challenge them to read the words aloud when they see them. It's especially fun to put the post-its on doors, cabinets, drawers, etc... so that children have to "unlock" it by reading the word first!

3. Build with Magnetic Letters or Letter Tiles

If you have LEGOs, magnetic letters, or letter beads at home, put them to use! Encourage your child to build each word, say the letters aloud, and then sweep their hand under it while reading the word smoothly. This reinforces both spelling and recognition.

4. Multisensory Practice

Multisensory practice can get a little messy, but kids love it! Make a DIY sand tray using sand, salt, or rice on a cookie sheet. Say a heart word aloud and have your child practice spelling it with their finger. To erase, give the cookie sheet a gentle shake back and forth so it all gets spread out evenly. If you're really brave, spread some shaving cream on the cookie sheet instead! To erase, your child can just smear the shaving cream with their hand. We guarantee this activity will be a hit with your child!

Final Thoughts

Consistent heart word review doesn’t need to be complicated or time-consuming. Whether at home or at school, a few minutes each day helps students master their heart words, making reading smoother and more enjoyable. When students can instantly recognize heart words, they can then focus their brainpower on decoding new words and truly begin to see themselves as confident, capable readers!

If you're looking for an entire heart words curriculum, including teacher guide, heart word slides, flashcards, and booklets for 200 heart words, check out our Words with Heart resource. Click the image below to learn more!

We understand that purchasing resources one by one adds up fast—and as teachers, we know every dollar matters. That’s why our K-2 membership, Launching Literacy, is a smarter and more cost effective option. Our membership gives you everything you need for small group instruction—all in one place—so you can save time, money, and stress.

No more weekends wasted hunting for Science of Reading–aligned heart word resources, phonics lessons, and decodable texts. With Launching Literacy, you simply log in, choose the skill you want to teach, and instantly download detailed, ready-to-use lesson plans and activities.

In just a few clicks, your small group lessons are prepped and ready to teach—so you can spend less time planning and more time making an impact in your classroom. It’s planning made simple, effective, and affordable.

We hope that you found this blog post helpful! Whether you choose to join the membership or not, we are always here to help you in any way we can. Send us an email at: [email protected] with any questions you have!