Give an example of a high-frequency word.

Give an example of a high-frequency word.

• A. gargantuan
• B. said
• C. obscure
• D. labyrinth

Answer: (B)

High-frequency words are the small set of common words that appear so often in writing that readers should recognize them instantly without sounding them out. They help reading stay smooth because you don’t have to pause to decode every word; recognizing them quickly frees up attention for understanding the text. Said fits this idea well. It’s a simple, everyday verb that shows up in lots of books and sentences that beginning readers encounter, especially in dialogue. Because it’s so regularly seen, students learn to recognize it by sight rather than sounding it out each time. The other options represent words that are not used as often in early-reading texts: gargantuan describes something very large but isn’t a word young readers encounter frequently; obscure means not well known and is generally uncommon; labyrinth is a specific term for a maze and also not commonly found in beginner material.

High-frequency words are the small set of common words that appear so often in writing that readers should recognize them instantly without sounding them out. They help reading stay smooth because you don’t have to pause to decode every word; recognizing them quickly frees up attention for understanding the text.

Said fits this idea well. It’s a simple, everyday verb that shows up in lots of books and sentences that beginning readers encounter, especially in dialogue. Because it’s so regularly seen, students learn to recognize it by sight rather than sounding it out each time. The other options represent words that are not used as often in early-reading texts: gargantuan describes something very large but isn’t a word young readers encounter frequently; obscure means not well known and is generally uncommon; labyrinth is a specific term for a maze and also not commonly found in beginner material.