Montessori Science of Reading: Blue Heart Words

Heart Words Activity Instructions (Blue Set)

Learning high-frequency words that aren’t spelled “phonetically correct” helps students gain fluency and confidence in both reading and writing. This Heart Words pack makes irregular word practice fun, meaningful, and effective!

✅ Preparation

• Print all pages.
  
• Cut the individual cards along the lines.
  
• Laminate or place in plastic sleeves for repeated use.
  
• Provide whiteboard/dry-erase markers.
  

Before You Begin

• This pack includes two sets: Blue 1 and Blue 2. Begin with Blue 1, then progress to Blue 2.
  
• Introduce only a few words at a time, adding more as the child shows fluency. Continue revising previously learned words.
  
• Show students the “heart part”—the portion of the word they must remember “by heart” because it doesn’t follow standard phonics rules.
  
  • Example: In the word “be,” the e has a heart because students have only been taught the short /e/ sound, but here it makes the long /e/ sound.
    

• A heart above a sound signals that it’s either irregular or represents a phonics concept the child hasn’t yet learned.
  

Activities

Use a variety of engaging, multi-sensory activities with the word cards:

• Trace and write the words, adding a heart above the tricky part.
  
• Build the words with a moveable alphabet, using the included page of hearts.
  
• Hide the cards around the classroom for a Word Hunt, then have students write the words.
  
• Write the words with colorful paints.
  
• Place words into Elkonin boxes (included in the Modern Montessori Reading Bundle).
  
• Use the enclosed handwriting sheets for extra practice.
  

✨ This Pack Includes the Following Words ✨

again, any, by, could, every, from, give, have, how, just, know, live, of, old, once, out, put, round, some, were, always, because, been, before, buy, does, first, friend, goes, many, orange, other, says, very, walk, which, why, would, write, your