Irregular Spelling Patterns Worksheets

If you’re looking to learn about irregular spelling patterns or find printable irregular spelling patterns worksheets, you’ve come to the right place! As you read through this page, you should have an understanding of the concept of irregular spelling patterns, why this an important skill to learn for early readers and you’ll find some activities to practice both at home and in the classroom.

Written English often breaks the rules. This means that there are exceptions to just about every phonics pattern that readers will learn. When a spelling pattern does not follow its typical rule, it is irregular and its sound and spelling must be memorized. Words with irregular spelling patterns are often called sight words, heart words, or trick words. Irregular spelling patterns are in just about every written sentence in English. Because of this, it can often be daunting when students are just starting out their learning of irregular spelling patterns!

However, the most impactful way to teach students these rule breaking patterns is to point out the parts of the word that are regular and follow patterns they can recognize. For example, when teaching the word have, identify for students that the letters h and v make the same sound we would expect them to. The only difference is we have to remember that the letter A makes a short vowel sound breaking the rule of a VCE E pattern. Teaching irregular patterns in this way help students build their strength and confidence.

Irregular spelling patterns are very common in English and require at least some level of outright memorization. For this reason, learning to read and write irregular spelling patterns in words will be a crucial skill throughout an early reader’s learning experience. There are many activities you can use to build these skills at home and in the classroom. One activity you can do is a sight word hunt. To begin, write a number of sight words your learner can recognize on sticky notes. Place the sticky notes around the room in places where students can find and grab them. Learners should read all the words they find back to you in order to win!

We hope this was a helpful introduction to irregular spelling patterns. To further your students’ skills, check out some of our printable irregular spelling patterns worksheets below!