| Aspect | Fountas & Pinnell | Traditional Dolch/Fry | Science of Reading (explicit phonics) | |--------|------------------|----------------------|----------------------------------------| | Emphasis | Meaning + phonics | Memorization | Decoding + irregular word study | | Instruction | In texts, writing | Flashcards, worksheets | Phoneme-grapheme mapping | | Word selection | From authentic children’s lit | From frequency counts | Frequency + decodability | | Irregular words | Taught as exceptions | Memorized by shape | Taught using “heart words” (parts to remember) |
The Fountas & Pinnell sight word list is a widely used and respected list of high-frequency words that are commonly recognized by readers by sight, rather than sounded out. These words are often referred to as "sight words" or "high-frequency words." fountas and pinnell sight words
“Memorizing lists of words does not ensure that children will read them in text. The brain stores words as patterns, not pictures.” — Fountas & Pinnell (2017) | Aspect | Fountas & Pinnell | Traditional