Writing that is phonetically irregular or critical to learn early is often taught as what?

The correct answer is sight words. These are words that children are encouraged to recognize by sight rather than by sounding them out phonetically. Sight words often include phonetically irregular words that do not follow typical spelling rules, making them challenging for new readers. Teaching these words early is crucial since they frequently appear in texts, aiding in the development of fluency and confidence in reading. Recognizing sight words allows young readers to focus on comprehension rather than decoding each individual word, which strengthens their overall reading skills.

High-frequency words, while related, refer to the words that appear most often in written language; however, not all high-frequency words are phonetically irregular. Contextual vocabulary focuses more on words learned through specific contexts or experiences, and compound words are formed by combining two or more words into one, which is a different concept altogether.