Sight words — also called high-frequency words — are the little words that appear again and again in books: the, and, was, said, because. Many can't be sounded out easily, so children learn to recognise them on sight. Knowing them lets a young reader focus on the harder words and read more smoothly.
Where the lists come from
The two best-known lists are the Dolch list (220 service words plus 95 nouns, compiled in the 1930s–40s from children's books) and the Fry list (1,000 most common words, ordered by frequency). Schools use them, or their own versions, to decide which words to teach in each grade.
Kindergarten sight words
Kindergarteners usually start with the pre-primer and primer words: a, and, the, see, I, it, is, we, can, go, look, play, my, you. See the full list and games on our kindergarten sight words page — including a dotted tracing sheet.
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1st grade sight words
First graders add words like after, again, could, every, from, had, has, her, him, know, old, once, some, then, think, walk, when. Practise with the 1st grade sight words list, flash cards and bingo.
2nd and 3rd grade sight words
Second grade brings always, around, because, been, before, best, both, buy, call, cold, does, don't, found, first, goes, green, its, made, many, off, pull, read, right, sing, sit, sleep, tell, their, these, those, upon, us, use, very, wash, which, why, wish, work, would, write, your. Third graders tackle words like about, better, bring, carry, clean, done, draw, drink, eight, fall, far, full, got, grow, hold, hot, hurt, if, keep, kind, laugh, light, long, much, myself, never, only, own, pick, seven, shall, show, six, small, start, ten, today, together, try, warm. Browse 2nd grade and 3rd grade printables.
4th grade and beyond
By 4th grade most children know the core lists, and practice shifts to spelling, vocabulary and fluency. Our 4th grade word lists support spelling tests and spelling bee preparation.
How to practise sight words (5 minutes a day)
- Flash cards — a quick daily run-through; keep the "almost know" pile small.
- Tracing and writing — say the word while tracing the dotted letters.
- Games — sight-word bingo, roll-and-read and word searches make repetition fun.
- Real books — the best practice is spotting the words in stories. Try our free picture books.
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