Complete Sight Word Lists: Dolch & Fry Words by Grade Level

Sight words are the building blocks of reading fluency. Here's everything you need to know.

What Are Sight Words?

Sight words are high-frequency words that children should recognize instantly by sight, without sounding them out. Many don't follow phonics rules (like "was" or "the").

Sight words make up 50–75% of all text your child will read. Mastering them is the fastest path to reading fluency.

Two Main Lists: Dolch vs. Fry

Dolch Words: 220 words organized by grade level (Pre-Primer through Grade 3). Fry Words: 1,000 words organized in order of frequency. More modern and comprehensive.

Dolch Word Lists

Pre-Primer (40 words)

a, and, away, big, blue, can, come, down, find, for, funny, go, help, here, I, in, is, it, jump, little, look, make, me, my, not, one, play, red, run, said, see, the, three, to, two, up, we, where, yellow, you

Primer (52 words)

all, am, are, at, ate, be, black, brown, but, came, did, do, eat, four, get, good, have, he, into, like, must, new, no, now, on, our, out, please, pretty, ran, ride, saw, say, she, so, soon, that, there, they, this, too, under, want, was, well, went, what, white, who, will, with, yes

Grade 1 (41 words)

after, again, an, any, as, ask, by, could, every, fly, from, give, going, had, has, her, him, his, how, just, know, let, live, may, of, old, once, open, over, put, round, some, stop, take, thank, them, then, think, walk, were, when

How to Practice

1. Start with 5-10 words at a time
2. Use flashcards
3. Play memory match
4. Find words in books
5. Write words
6. Use KarshieKids interactive sight word practice

Practice for 5-10 minutes daily. Consistency beats long sessions.

🎓 Practice sight words on KarshieKids — Dolch and Fry lists with audio, games, and progress tracking.