We live in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Our 6

Answer

No — your son is not on a learning-disability track. Forgetting irregular words like **said**, **they**, **where**, **was** in the first month of 1st grade is exactly what 6-year-olds do. Those four words are called *irregular* for a reason: you can't sound them out letter-by-letter. Forcing whole-word memorization by flashcard is the wrong tool — it skips the phonics he just learned and turns reading into a memory test he can't pass. The crying is reading anxiety, not dyslexia.

US K–1 expectations (CCSS ELA) cover letter–sound, CVC words, and *some* high-frequency words — not weekly whole-word drills of every irregular on a list. None of the IDA red flags are showing from what you've written: he's sounding out regular words (so phonemic awareness is in place), and you haven't described hearing loss, speech delay, or family dyslexia history. ([CCSS ELA](https://corestandends.standards.org/english-language-arts-standards/) · [IDA testing & red flags](https://dyslexiaida.org/testing-and-evaluation/))

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### Heart Words, in plain English

A **Heart Word** is one you sound out — except for the small part that doesn't follow the rules. You draw a little heart around that part. He learns *only* the heart; the rest stays phonics.

| word | sound it out | heart this |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **said** | /s/ + /ĕ/ + /d/ | **ai** |
| **they** | /th/ + /ay/ | **ey** |
| **where** | /w/ + /air/ | **ere** |
| **was** | /w/ + /ŏ/ + /z/ | **a** |

The heart means "this part is just what it is — memorize this little piece; the rest you can read."

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### Tonight: 5 minutes total, no flashcards

Set a phone timer to **5:00**. When it rings, you're done — even mid-word. Done is done.

**1. Heart Hunt — 2 min.** Write the four words above on sticky notes. For each, say the regular sounds out loud: *"/s/ … /ă/ … /d/ … wait, that 'ai' says /ĕ/."* He draws the heart on the sticky. If he forgets which part is the heart next round, say *"show me where the heart is"* and he points — no quizzing.

**2. Boss of the Words — 2 min.** He's the teacher; you're the student. He holds a sticky, you try to read it. Sometimes mess up the heart on purpose: *"/s/-/ā/-/d/ … 'saaad'?"* He catches you: *"No, the heart is /ĕ/!"* If he doesn't catch you, say *"huh, that didn't sound right, did it?"* and let him fix you.

**3. Sentence Chef — 1 min.** Pick one word. Both of you use it in a sentence about the same thing — the dog, dinner, the park. Say it, don't write it. Don't grade.

Then stop, no matter how it's going. A clean ending tonight matters more than finishing.

- Don't re-test a word he just missed — switch to another.
- Don't say "remember this" — say "show me the heart."
- Don't keep going past 5 minutes.

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### One email you can send the teacher tonight

> *"Our son started 1st grade at [school] in late August. He had kindergarten but no formal sight-word drilling at home, so the weekly list is new for him. This week he cried for about 20 minutes after his nightly practice because he forgets words he 'knew' the night before, and whole-word flashcards are turning reading into a memorization test. We've shifted at home to Heart Words — sound out the regular parts, mark the irregular one — for 5 minutes a night, no flashcards. Could you tell us which of this week's 10 words you expect him to recognize by sight versus which he can sound out, and whether the list is a required check or a stretch goal?"*

Three parts: what he came in with, what you're doing at home, one concrete ask the teacher can answer in her reply. ([eading ockets — parent engagement](https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/parent-engagement))

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### When to check back, and with whom

- **Watch for 4 more weeks.** If Heart Words + 5-minute games have him learning 1–2 new words a week and not crying, the homework format was the problem and you've already fixed it.
- **Hearing first, if you haven't checked.** TV volume creeping up, "what?" more than once a day, recent ear infections → get a hearing check before more reading work. ([ASHA — speech & hearing](https://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/))
- **School reading screen, if it stays stuck.** If after ~6 weeks he still can't recognize any list word by sound-out and you see IDA red flags (family dyslexia history, rhyming trouble, letter-sound confusion despite teaching), ask the school in writing for a reading-screening referral through their MTSS / Title I process. Not because he has dyslexia — because the homework isn't moving the needle.

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**Honest limits.** I can't see the school's exact reading curriculum or your son's full picture. The above assumes English deep orthography and a US 1st-grade context (Minneapolis public or private school both fit CCSS in spirit). If your son has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) already, or you've been told by his teacher there's a specific concern beyond the homework format, that goes to the school's reading specialist directly — don't wait the4 weeks.