The Complete List of Sight Words by Grade Level (Dolch & Fry)

Published March 5, 2026 • 12 min read

A list of sight words is one of the most useful tools you can have when teaching a child to read. Sight words are common English words that children need to recognize instantly, without sounding them out letter by letter. Words like the, was, said, and have show up so often in everyday reading that memorizing them frees up a child's mental energy for harder, less common words.

Below you will find every word from both the Dolch sight words list (220 words across 5 levels) and the Fry sight words list (1,000 words across 10 groups of 100), organized by grade level. Scroll to any section or use the tables to look up specific words.

What Are Sight Words? (Sight Words Meaning)

Sight words are high-frequency words that readers need to recognize automatically, as whole units, rather than by decoding each sound. Many follow irregular spelling patterns. Take the word said. It does not follow the typical rules for the letters S-A-I-D. A child trying to decode it phonetically might say "say-id" instead of "sed." These words appear in nearly every sentence a beginning reader encounters, so the fastest path to fluency is memorizing them.

Two well-known sight word lists are used in schools and homeschool programs across the United States: the Dolch list and the Fry list. Both serve the same purpose. They were compiled at different times using different research methods, and they cover different amounts of vocabulary.

Key Takeaway Sight words are not the same as phonics words. Phonics-decodable words (like "cat" or "ship") follow predictable spelling rules and can be sounded out. Sight words often break those rules and need to be memorized as whole units. A strong reading program teaches both.

Dolch Sight Words vs. Fry Sight Words: What Is the Difference?

Teachers and parents often ask which list to use. Here is a side-by-side comparison to help you decide.

	Dolch List	Fry List
Creator	Edward William Dolch (1936)	Edward Fry (1957, updated 1980)
Total words	220 service words + 95 nouns	1,000 words
Organization	5 levels: Pre-Primer, Primer, 1st, 2nd, 3rd Grade	10 groups of 100 words each
Source	Children's books from the 1930s	Adult and student reading materials, updated
Includes nouns?	Separate 95-word noun list	Yes, nouns are mixed into the main list
Coverage	~50-75% of words in typical children's texts	~90% of words in typical reading materials
Best for	Pre-K through 3rd grade focused practice	Broader vocabulary through elementary school

Most schools use one list or the other, not both at the same time. The Dolch list is more common in pre-K and kindergarten because it is shorter and targets the youngest readers. The Fry list is popular in 1st through 5th grade because it covers far more vocabulary.

Many words overlap between the two lists. No matter which one you choose, your child will be learning the right words.

Practical Tip Ask your child's teacher which list their school uses. If you are homeschooling, start with the Dolch Pre-Primer and Primer lists for preschool and kindergarten. Once your child masters those, switch to the Fry list for a larger pool of words to work through.

Complete Dolch Sight Words List (All 220 Words)

Edward William Dolch compiled the Dolch sight words from the most common words in children's books of the 1930s. The words have barely changed in relevance since then. The list splits into five levels that roughly correspond to grade levels. Below is every word.

Dolch Pre-Primer Sight Words (40 words)

The sight words list for preschool and early kindergarten. Start here.

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

Dolch Primer Sight Words (52 words)

The Primer level targets kindergarten students who have finished the Pre-Primer words. Many kindergarten spelling lists pull directly from this set.

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

Dolch First Grade Sight Words (41 words)

First Grade — 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

Dolch Second Grade Sight Words (46 words)

Second Grade — 46 words

always, around, because, been, before, best, both, buy, call, cold, does, don't, fast, first, five, found, gave, goes, green, its, made, many, off, or, pull, read, right, sing, sit, sleep, tell, their, these, those, upon, us, use, very, wash, which, why, wish, work, would, write, your

Dolch Third Grade Sight Words (41 words)

Third Grade — 41 words

about, better, bring, carry, clean, cut, 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

Practice These Sight Words with Free Flashcards

Turn any Dolch or Fry word list into printable flashcards. Choose by grade level and print in seconds.

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Dolch Sight Words by Grade Level: Quick Reference Table

A snapshot of how the Dolch list breaks down by grade. Use it to see how many words your child should know at each stage.

Level	Typical Grade	Word Count	Cumulative Total
Pre-Primer	Preschool / Pre-K	40	40
Primer	Kindergarten	52	92
First Grade	1st Grade	41	133
Second Grade	2nd Grade	46	179
Third Grade	3rd Grade	41	220

Complete Fry Sight Words List (First 300 Words)

Dr. Edward Fry created the Fry sight words list: 1,000 words that make up roughly 90% of everything a person encounters in everyday reading. The full list is divided into 10 groups of 100, ordered by frequency. Below are the first three groups, covering the words most commonly used in kindergarten through 2nd grade.

Fry Words 1–100 (First Hundred)

The first 100 Fry sight words are the most common words in English. A child who masters this group alone can read a large portion of any simple text. Many overlap with the Dolch preschool and kindergarten lists.

1–25	26–50	51–75	76–100
the	or	will	number
of	one	up	no
and	had	other	way
a	by	about	could
to	words	out	people
in	but	many	my
is	not	then	than
you	what	them	first
that	all	these	water
it	were	so	been
he	we	her	called
was	when	would	who
for	your	make	oil
on	can	like	its
are	said	him	now
as	there	into	find
with	use	time	long
his	an	has	down
they	each	look	day
I	which	two	did
at	she	more	get
be	do	write	come
this	how	go	made
have	their	see	may
from	if	number	part

Fry Words 101–200 (Second Hundred)

Typically taught in late kindergarten through 1st grade. Once a child knows these 200 words, they can recognize most of the words in early readers.

Fry Words 101–200

over, new, sound, take, only, little, work, know, place, years, live, me, back, give, most, very, after, things, our, just, name, good, sentence, man, think, say, great, where, help, through, much, before, line, right, too, means, old, any, same, tell, boy, follow, came, want, show, also, around, form, three, small

set, put, end, does, another, well, large, must, big, even, such, because, turn, here, why, ask, went, men, read, need, land, different, home, us, move, try, kind, hand, picture, again, change, off, play, spell, air, away, animal, house, point, page, letter, mother, answer, found, study, still, learn, should, America, world

Fry Words 201–300 (Third Hundred)

These words round out the foundation. A child who knows the first 300 Fry words can read about 65% of all written English.

Fry Words 201–300

high, every, near, add, food, between, own, below, country, plant, last, school, father, keep, tree, never, start, city, earth, eyes, light, thought, head, under, story, saw, left, don't, few, while, along, might, close, something, seem, next, hard, open, example, begin, life, always, those, both, paper, together

got, group, often, run, important, until, children, side, feet, car, mile, night, walk, white, sea, began, grow, took, river, four, carry, state, once, book, hear, stop, without, second, late, miss, idea, enough, eat, face, watch, far, Indian, real, almost, let, above, girl, sometimes, mountain, cut, young, talk, soon, list, song, being, leave, family

Fry Sight Words: Groups 4 Through 10

The remaining 700 Fry words (groups 4 through 10) are best introduced gradually from 2nd grade through 5th grade. Here is a summary of what each group covers.

Group	Words	Typical Grade	Sample Words
4th Hundred	301–400	2nd–3rd	body, music, color, stand, sun, question, fish, area, mark, dog
5th Hundred	401–500	3rd	done, English, road, half, ten, fly, gave, box, finally, wait
6th Hundred	501–600	3rd–4th	become, whole, front, boat, himself, toward, five, step, morning
7th Hundred	601–700	4th	figure, certain, field, travel, wood, fire, upon, complete, stood
8th Hundred	701–800	4th–5th	decided, contain, course, surface, produce, building, ocean, class
9th Hundred	801–900	5th	machine, age, fraction, Africa, covered, trouble, length, weight
10th Hundred	901–1000	5th+	process, determine, supply, operation, section, prepared, describe

The later Fry groups include content-area vocabulary (words like fraction, Africa, operation, and surface) that students encounter across science, social studies, math, and language arts. These words go well beyond basic reading and build overall academic fluency.

Sight Words for Preschool and Kindergarten

Looking for a sight words list for preschool? Start with the Dolch Pre-Primer list (40 words). These words are short and appear constantly in picture books. They give a beginning reader instant success. Words like I, a, the, is, and my show up on every single page.

For kindergarten, add the Dolch Primer words (52 more) and the first 100 Fry words. Significant overlap between these lists means your child does not need to learn completely separate sets. A kindergartener who finishes the year knowing 75 to 100 sight words is right on track.

A suggested sequence for preschool and kindergarten:

Stage	List to Use	Goal	Words per Week
Preschool (ages 3–4)	Dolch Pre-Primer	20–30 words	2–3 new words
Pre-K (ages 4–5)	Dolch Pre-Primer + Primer start	40–60 words	3–4 new words
Kindergarten	Dolch Primer + Fry 1–100	75–100 words	4–5 new words

How Many Words Per Week? Introduce 3 to 5 new sight words each week. Review old words daily. A child who learns 4 new words per week during the school year will master about 150 words by June. That puts them ahead of most grade-level benchmarks.

How to Teach Sight Words (6 Methods That Work)

Having the list is step one. Getting the words to stick in a child's memory is the real work. Six tested approaches that teachers and parents use daily:

1. Flashcard Drill

The classic method. Show the word, have the child say it aloud, move to the next. Keep sessions to 5 to 10 minutes and review old words before introducing new ones. Flashcards build speed. When a child can say a word within one second of seeing it, that word is truly "on sight."

2. Read, Write, Say

The child reads the word, writes it on paper or a whiteboard, then says it aloud in a sentence. Engaging visual and motor memory at once makes the word stick faster than flashcards alone. Hand-writing is especially helpful for children who struggle with visual-only learning.

3. Word Wall

Post sight words on a wall or refrigerator where the child sees them every day. Group by first letter or by grade level. During reading time, point to words on the wall when they appear in a book. Passive exposure throughout the day reinforces recognition without any extra effort.

4. Rainbow Writing

The child writes the same sight word multiple times using different colored crayons or markers, tracing over the word each time. Popular in kindergarten classrooms and effective for kinesthetic learners. Repetition builds muscle memory. The colors keep children engaged.

5. Sight Word Games

Turn practice into play. Sight word bingo, memory match, "swat the word" (call out a word and the child slaps the right card), and simple board game adaptations all work. Games lower the pressure and increase the number of repetitions a child gets in a single session.

6. Contextual Reading

Have children read decodable books and simple readers that use the sight words they are learning. Seeing a word in the context of a real story helps the child understand what the word means, not just what it looks like. Pair sight word practice with phonics worksheets for a complete approach.

Build Custom Sight Word Flashcards

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Sight Words vs. Phonics: Do You Need Both?

Yes. You need both. They are not competing strategies.

Phonics teaches children to decode words by sounding out each letter or letter combination. It works perfectly for words that follow regular patterns: cat, ship, flame, drip. But English has hundreds of common words that break the rules. The word the does not sound like "tuh-hee." The word of does not sound like "off." These irregular words need to be memorized as whole units. That is what sight word instruction does.

A phonics-only program leaves children stumbling over high-frequency irregular words. A sight-words-only program leaves children unable to sound out anything unfamiliar.

The strongest readers get both. Research consistently shows that systematic phonics instruction combined with sight word memorization produces the best outcomes for beginning readers.

If you are working on phonics alongside sight words, our sight word flashcard generator pairs well with our phonics worksheets and tracing worksheets for a complete early literacy program.

Frequently Asked Questions About Sight Words

How many sight words should a kindergartener know?

Most kindergarten programs expect 50 to 100 sight words by end of year. Some advanced programs aim for 100 or more. The Dolch Pre-Primer and Primer lists (92 words combined) are the standard benchmark.

What age should a child start learning sight words?

Many children begin around age 4, during pre-K. Some start at age 3 with the simplest words like I, a, the, and my. No harm in starting early as long as sessions stay playful and last just a few minutes per day.

Should I use the Dolch list or the Fry list?

Either one works. For preschool or kindergarten, the Dolch list is a good starting point because it is smaller and organized into clear grade levels. For 1st grade and up, the Fry list gives you more words to work through. Many of the core words appear on both lists.

Are there printable Dolch sight words PDFs?

Yes. You can use our free sight word flashcard generator to create printable flashcards for any Dolch or Fry word list. Choose the grade level, and the tool generates a PDF you can print at home. No account or email required.

How do I know when my child has mastered a sight word?

A word is mastered when the child reads it correctly within one second, without sounding it out, in different settings: on a flashcard, in a sentence, on a page in a real book. Hesitation or guessing means the word needs more practice. Review mastered words every few weeks to confirm they stick.

Putting It All Together

A simple plan for teaching sight words at home or in the classroom:

Pick the right list. Dolch Pre-Primer and Primer for preschool through kindergarten. Switch to the Fry list for 1st grade and up.
Introduce 3 to 5 words per week. Write them on flashcards and post them on a word wall. Practice daily.
Review constantly. Spend 2 minutes reviewing old words before introducing new ones. Cumulative review is what makes them stick.
Mix methods. Rotate flashcard drills, writing practice, games, and contextual reading. Variety keeps children engaged and strengthens different types of memory.
Track progress. Keep a simple checklist. Mark each word as "new," "learning," "almost," or "mastered." Gaps become obvious fast.
Pair with phonics. Practice both every day. That combination is the fastest path to fluent reading.

Every Dolch and Fry sight word is on this page. Use it to guide a child from their first word to independent reading.