First Grade English: Fry First 100 Words: Part 2
Mastering the first fifty words of the Fry list was a magnificent triumph. Now, it is time to conquer the second half of this legendary list: words 51 through 100. By adding these fifty high-frequency words to your mental reading library, you will complete the entire Fry First 100 master list. With all one hundred words firmly in place, you can read half of every page in any library book automatically and with joyful confidence.
Words 51 through 100 Unveiled
The second fifty words of the Fry list include essential descriptive words, time markers, verbs, and question words that give flavor and structure to English sentences.
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| FRY FIRST 100: WORDS 51 TO 100 |
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| Rank 51 - 60 : will, up, other, about, out, many, then, |
| them, these, so |
| Rank 61 - 70 : some, her, would, make, like, him, into, |
| time, has, look |
| Rank 71 - 80 : two, more, write, go, see, number, no, |
| way, could, people |
| Rank 81 - 90 : my, than, first, water, been, call, who, |
| am, its, now |
| Rank 91 - 100 : find, long, down, day, did, get, come, |
| made, may, part |
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High-Frequency Verbs in Words 51 to 100
Notice the rich collection of action and doing verbs in this half: "make," "write," "go," "see," "call," "find," "come," "did," "get," and "made." Notice also the modal helpers "would" and "could," which allow you to express wishes and possibilities.
Words with Special Phonics Rules
Notice how many of these words demonstrate the phonics rules you have studied: "Write" features the silent w (wr). "Out" and "about" feature the diphthong ou. "Day" and "may" feature the vowel team ay. "Time" and "made" feature the silent e pattern. "Water" features the bossy r (er). Seeing phonics rules at work inside sight words proves that sight words and phonics are best friends!
Tricky Irregulars in the Second Fifty
A few words in this second half have unique spelling peculiarities that you should inspect closely.
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| IRREGULAR WORD SPOTLIGHT |
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| Word: "PEOPLE" |
| Tricky Part: The "eo" sounds like a simple long e: /ee/! |
| Pronounced: /pee-pul/ |
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| Word: "BEEN" |
| Tricky Part: Spelled with double e, but sounds like |
| short i (/bin/) in everyday speech! |
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| Word: "WATER" |
| Tricky Part: The letter 'a' makes the broad /ah/ or |
| /aw/ sound instead of short a (/wah-ter/)! |
| |
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Comparing "Other" and "About"
The word "other" begins with the letter o, but sounds like a short u: /uth-er/. The word "about" begins with the letter a, but makes the gentle unstressed schwa sound /uh/: /uh-bout/. Practicing these words out loud locks their pronunciation into your speaking memory.
The Fry 100 Speed Sprint
To test your mastery of all one hundred Fry words, readers love doing a "Speed Sprint." Time yourself reading through twenty words at a time. The goal is not to rush recklessly, but to read smoothly, steadily, and with absolute accuracy.
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| THE SPEED SPRINT TRACK |
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| water -> people -> could -> many -> about -> time -> write |
| first -> find -> long -> down -> day -> call -> more |
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| Can you read them all smoothly in one breath? |
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Practice Exercises
Exercise 1: Read the following short paragraph aloud and identify every Fry word from the 51 to 100 list: Many people like to look at the water on a warm day. Two of them made a long call about the time they would go find more ways to write.
Exercise 2: Write down three sentences. In each sentence, include at least two words chosen from the Fry 51 to 100 list.
Exercise Solutions
Solution to Exercise 1: The Fry 51 to 100 words in the paragraph are: many, people, like, look, water, day, two, them, made, long, call, about, time, would, go, find, more, way (ways), and write.
Solution to Exercise 2: A student could write: Many people will come to see the show. I would like to find some cool water. We made two long paper boats on that sunny day.