A sight words list is a set of common words children learn to read instantly, like the, and, said and was. The best-known lists are the Dolch list, sorted from pre-primer to third grade, and Fry's 1,000 Instant Words. Teach a few at a time, connect each to its sounds, and practice five minutes a day.
This guide explains what sight words are, gives example words by level, and shows a simple daily routine and games you can use at home, plus how sight words fit with phonics.
"Sight words" gets used in two ways, which is why parents sometimes hear different advice.
High-frequency words: common words children are taught to recognize quickly, such as the, was, said, and, can and you. Some have unusual spellings that basic phonics doesn't fully explain, like was and said.
A reader's sight vocabulary: any word a person recognizes instantly, without sounding it out. For a fluent reader, almost every familiar word is a sight word in this sense.
The goal of practicing a sight words list is to move common words into that instant-recognition group, so a child's attention is free for meaning. In England, schools call the tricky ones "common exception words," with examples such as you, could, many and people.
Dolch words. Edward William Dolch published his list in a 1936 journal article and later in a 1948 book. It has 220 "service words," split into pre-primer, primer, first, second and third grade levels, plus a separate list of common nouns. In 1936, Dolch estimated that these basic words made up between 50% and 75% of the words used in schoolbooks, library books, newspapers and magazines.
Fry words. Edward Fry, a professor of education, prepared a longer list of 1,000 "Instant Words," ordered by how often they appear in texts for beginning readers.
Which should you use? Whichever your child's school sends home. The two lists share many of the same everyday words, and consistency between home and school matters more than the list's name.
Here's a sample from each Dolch level, from the easiest (pre-primer) to the hardest (third grade). Start with the level your child is working on, and add only a few new words at a time.
Pre-primer: a, and, away, big, blue, can, come, down, find, for, go, help, here, I, in, is, it, jump, look, me, my, not, play, said, see, the, to, we, you
Primer: all, am, are, at, be, but, came, did, do, eat, get, good, have, he, like, no, now, on, out, please, saw, she, that, there, they, this, was, went, what, with, yes
First grade: after, again, any, ask, by, could, every, from, give, going, had, has, her, him, how, just, know, of, once, open, put, some, them, then, think, were, when
Second grade: always, around, because, been, before, both, buy, does, don't, first, found, gave, many, read, right, their, these, those, very, which, why, would, write, your
Third grade: about, better, bring, carry, clean, done, draw, drink, eight, far, full, grow, hold, hurt, keep, kind, laugh, light, myself, never, only, own, show, start, today, together, try, warm
The grade labels are a rough guide, not a deadline. Children move through these words at different speeds.
Sight words work best alongside phonics, not instead of it. The U.S. Department of Education's What Works Clearinghouse practice guide on foundational reading skills for kindergarten to 3rd grade recommends teaching students to decode words, analyze word parts, and write and recognize words. Within that, it advises teaching both regular and irregular high-frequency words so students can recognize them quickly.
Regular words follow normal letter-sound patterns, such as and, did, him, then and with. The guide suggests having children use their letter-sound skills to work these out first, then practice until they're quick.
Irregular words have exceptions to the usual patterns, such as the, was, said, of and friend. The guide suggests teaching these as whole words.
Even irregular words are usually only partly irregular. England's national curriculum asks pupils to read common exception words while "noting unusual correspondences between spelling and sound and where these occur in the word." In practice: in said, the s and d sound just as expected, and only the middle is tricky. Point that part out, so the word becomes a puzzle with one odd piece rather than a shape to memorize.
Many Dolch words, like can, big, jump and help, can simply be sounded out once a child knows those letter sounds.
Minute 1, review: flash three to five words your child already knows. Quick wins build confidence.
Minute 2, teach one new word: show it and say it. Your child repeats it, spells it aloud, then says the whole word again. This mirrors a flashcard routine in the practice guide.
Minute 3, map the sounds: tap or underline each sound. For an irregular word, circle the tricky part.
Minute 4, write it: your child writes the word while saying each letter, then uses it in a short spoken sentence.
Minute 5, find it: hunt for the word in a picture book, a cereal box or a sign.
Keep two piles: "know it" and "still learning." Move a word to "know it" only after your child reads it quickly on three separate days.
Beat the clock: show cards and give three seconds per word, then two, then one. Words that aren't read in time go in a "teach again" pile. This is adapted from a small-group activity in the practice guide.
Star words: put three to five words on cards on a ring. Each time your child reads one correctly, add a star. Three stars on every card means new words can join the ring.
Fridge word wall: stick learned words on the fridge and ask your child to read one each time the door opens.
Memory match: make two cards for each word, turn them face down and read each word aloud as you flip.
Swat it: spread cards on the floor, call out a word and let your child swat it with a fly swatter or a rolled-up sock.
Word hunt: pick one word and count how many times it appears on one page of a favorite book.
For more ways to build reading at home, see our guide to reading practice at home for kids.
There's no single official number. It depends on your school and its reading program; England's curriculum notes that the number, order and choice of exception words varies by phonics program. Ask your child's teacher which list and pace they use.
Dolch is a shorter list of 220 service words grouped by grade level. Fry is a longer list of 1,000 words ordered by how often they appear in beginning readers' texts.
Mostly, yes. Sight word lists are lists of high-frequency words. Some of those words are regular and easy to decode, and some are irregular.
Both, depending on the word. Sound out the regular parts, learn the tricky parts by heart, and practice until reading the whole word is quick.
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