Fry Sight Words: the First 100
Dr Edward Fry's list ranks the words that appear most often in reading. The first 100 alone make up around half of all the words in a typical text, which is why they're usually taught first, from kindergarten into 1st grade. Here they are in order of frequency.
The first 100 Fry words, most common first
Words 1-25
- the
- of
- and
- a
- to
- in
- is
- you
- that
- it
- he
- was
- for
- on
- are
- as
- with
- his
- they
- I
- at
- be
- this
- have
- from
Words 26-50
- or
- one
- had
- by
- words
- but
- not
- what
- all
- were
- we
- when
- your
- can
- said
- there
- use
- an
- each
- which
- she
- do
- how
- their
- if
Words 51-75
- will
- up
- other
- about
- out
- many
- then
- them
- these
- so
- some
- her
- would
- make
- like
- him
- into
- time
- has
- look
- two
- more
- write
- go
- see
Words 76-100
- number
- no
- way
- could
- people
- my
- than
- first
- water
- been
- called
- who
- oil
- sit
- now
- find
- long
- down
- day
- did
- get
- come
- made
- may
- part
Practicing them
The first 100 are ready-made in Spelling.Live as four lists of 25: set your child to US English, open Browse Spelling Lists and add one in a tap. Your child hears each word in an American voice, practices it four ways including writing it, and the ones they miss come back until they stick.
In US English. Free to start, no card needed.
Start practicing freeDolch sight words · Kindergarten · 1st grade · 2nd grade Spelling.Live for US families and schools →
Common questions
What are Fry sight words?
A list of the 1,000 most frequent words in reading, compiled by Dr Edward Fry and updated in 1980. The first 100 make up around half of the words children read.
Which grade are the first 100 Fry words for?
They're usually taught in kindergarten and 1st grade, with later hundreds following through to 3rd grade and beyond.
Are the Fry sight words ready-made in the app?
Yes. The first 100 Fry words are ready-made lists in Spelling.Live (four lists of 25). Set your child to US English, open Browse Spelling Lists, choose the Sight words tab and add one in a tap.