Sight Words by Grade: Free Dolch and Fry Lists to Print

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Most sight word lists online are a single PDF you cannot change. The new sight words pages put every list on its own page as plain text, so you can read it, print it, or send the same words into a flash card, word search or bingo maker with one click.

Here is how the lists are organized, which one fits each grade, and five easy ways to practise them at home or in class. Everything below works on a phone, so you can pull up tonight's list at the kitchen table without printing a thing.

Which sight words by grade should you start with?

Start with the grade page, then drop down to a single list if you want a smaller set. The grade pages mark words that appear on both the Dolch and Fry lists, so nothing is taught twice.

These pairings are common practice, not an official standard. Your school or reading program may use a different order, and every single list has its own page if you need to mix and match.

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What is the difference between Dolch and Fry sight words?

Both lists name the words beginning readers meet most often, but they are organized differently. Dolch groups words by reading level, while Fry ranks them by how often they appear in print.

• Dolch sight words

  Edward Dolch published his list in 1936. It holds 220 service words (the, and, said, because) in five levels from pre-primer to third grade, plus a separate list of 95 common nouns such as apple, bird and school.

• Fry sight words

  Edward Fry's list ranks 1,000 words by frequency in groups of 100. Fry reported that the first 100 words make up about half of all the words in a typical text, which is why first grade classes often start there.

• Where they overlap

  Many words appear on both lists. The first grade page, for example, shows the 18 Fry 1 to 100 words that are also on the Dolch first grade list, so you can see them once instead of twice.

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What is on each sight word list page?

Each page opens with the exact count and the full list in alphabetical order, then a row of buttons that all use the same words.

• Print flash cards

  Opens the flash card maker with every word loaded, one word per card. Choose 2 to 9 cards per page and download.

• Print this list

  A clean one-page word list for the fridge, a take-home folder or a reading binder.

• Make a word search

  Sends the words of three letters or more to the word search maker, since very short words hide too easily in a grid.

• Make bingo cards

  Loads the list into the bingo generator with the sight words template picked. Bingo needs at least 24 words, and every list has more.

• Study online

  Opens the matching deck in the online flash card player for flip-through practice on a tablet.

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How do you teach sight words at home?

Short, frequent practice beats long sessions. Five minutes a day with a small pile of cards is plenty for most early readers.

1. Three-pile sort: read each card and sort it into know it, almost and not yet. Practise the not yet pile.
2. Word ring: punch a hole in the cards you are working on and keep them on a ring by the door.
3. Sound out what you can: many sight words are partly decodable, so point out the letters that do follow the rules.
4. Sight word hunt: look for this week's words in a picture book together.
5. Game day: play bingo or a word search with the same list to end the week.

The history and full contents of the Dolch list are summarized on the Dolch word list article on Wikipedia.

For more early-reader practice, the word scramble maker turns any list into jumbled-letter spelling practice, and the bingo card generator makes a unique card for every child. The post on kindergarten sight word scramble worksheets has ready word lists too.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many Dolch sight words are there?

There are 220 Dolch service words plus 95 Dolch nouns, 315 in all. The 220 are split into five levels: pre-primer (40), primer (52), first grade (41), second grade (46) and third grade (41).

What sight words should a kindergartener know?

Many schools start kindergarten with the Dolch pre-primer and primer lists, 92 words together. The PuzzlePage kindergarten page prints both lists as one set of flash cards, a word search or bingo cards.

What is the difference between Dolch and Fry sight words?

Dolch groups 220 common words by reading level, plus 95 nouns. Fry ranks 1,000 words by how often they appear in print, in groups of 100. The two lists overlap a lot, so the grade pages show which words appear on both.

Can I print sight word flash cards for free?

Yes. Each list page has a Print flash cards button that loads every word into the flash card maker, where you choose cards per page and download the PDF. Larger decks ask for your email once, and free prints carry a small PuzzlePage.app mark on every card.