Dolch Sight Words
The Dolch list is 220 of the most common words in children's books, collected by Edward William Dolch and published in 1936. Many are hard to sound out, so children learn to recognize them - and spell them - by sight. They're grouped into five levels, roughly Pre-K to 3rd grade.
All 220 Dolch sight words by level
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
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
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
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
From reading them to spelling them
Recognizing said or because when reading is one step; writing it correctly from memory is another. Spelling.Live lets your child practice sight words by choosing, typing, saying and writing them, and brings back the ones they miss. All five levels are ready-made lists in the app - set your child to US English, open Browse Spelling Lists and add a level in one tap.
In US English, with an American voice. Free to start, no card needed.
Start practicing freeFry sight words · Kindergarten · 1st grade · 2nd grade · 3rd grade Spelling.Live for US families and schools →
Common questions
How many Dolch sight words are there?
220, in five levels: Pre-primer (40), Primer (52), First grade (41), Second grade (46) and Third grade (41). A separate list of 95 common nouns is sometimes added.
What is the difference between Dolch and Fry sight words?
Dolch is 220 words from 1930s children's books, grouped by level. Fry is 1,000 words ranked by how often they appear in reading, published in the 1950s and updated in 1980. They overlap heavily at the start.
Should children spell sight words or just read them?
Both. Reading them fluently comes first, but being able to write the most common words from memory makes everything else children write easier.
Are the Dolch sight words ready-made in the app?
Yes. All five Dolch levels are ready-made lists in Spelling.Live (one list per level). Set your child to US English, open Browse Spelling Lists, choose the Sight words tab and add one in a tap.