Which instructional strategy would benefit a student struggling with irregularly spelled high-frequency words?

Focusing on learning high-frequency words with irregular spellings directly addresses the specific challenge that the student is facing. Irregularly spelled words often do not adhere to standard phonetic rules, making traditional phonics strategies less effective for them. By concentrating on these high-frequency words, students can develop recognition and fluency with the vocabulary they encounter frequently in reading and writing. This approach helps them to memorize the unique spellings of these words, which is crucial for improving their overall literacy skills, enhancing their reading confidence, and facilitating better comprehension.

While other strategies such as practicing phonics, focusing on sight words, or reading aloud can help with different aspects of literacy, they do not specifically target the irregular nature of the words that are causing difficulty for the student. This makes learning irregularly spelled high-frequency words the most effective strategy in this scenario.