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Complete Dolch Sight Word List (220 Words) — Free Printable List & Flash Cards

There are 220 Dolch sight words. They are his service words across all five levels: 40 pre-primer, 52 primer, 41 first grade, 46 second grade and 41 third grade. The 95 Dolch nouns are a separate list.

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Flash cards open in the maker with all 220 words loaded — the word on the front and again, printed light, on the back for whoever holds the card up. The word search takes the first 30 words of three letters or more, and bingo gets the whole list to shuffle.

All 220 Dolch sight words

Each list in the order it is usually taught. Words numbered within their list.

Dolch Pre-Primer40 wordsJust this list →

  1. 1a
  2. 2and
  3. 3away
  4. 4big
  5. 5blue
  6. 6can
  7. 7come
  8. 8down
  9. 9find
  10. 10for
  11. 11funny
  12. 12go
  13. 13help
  14. 14here
  15. 15I
  16. 16in
  17. 17is
  18. 18it
  19. 19jump
  20. 20little
  21. 21look
  22. 22make
  23. 23me
  24. 24my
  25. 25not
  26. 26one
  27. 27play
  28. 28red
  29. 29run
  30. 30said
  31. 31see
  32. 32the
  33. 33three
  34. 34to
  35. 35two
  36. 36up
  37. 37we
  38. 38where
  39. 39yellow
  40. 40you

Dolch Primer52 wordsJust this list →

  1. 1all
  2. 2am
  3. 3are
  4. 4at
  5. 5ate
  6. 6be
  7. 7black
  8. 8brown
  9. 9but
  10. 10came
  11. 11did
  12. 12do
  13. 13eat
  14. 14four
  15. 15get
  16. 16good
  17. 17have
  18. 18he
  19. 19into
  20. 20like
  21. 21must
  22. 22new
  23. 23no
  24. 24now
  25. 25on
  26. 26our
  27. 27out
  28. 28please
  29. 29pretty
  30. 30ran
  31. 31ride
  32. 32saw
  33. 33say
  34. 34she
  35. 35so
  36. 36soon
  37. 37that
  38. 38there
  39. 39they
  40. 40this
  41. 41too
  42. 42under
  43. 43want
  44. 44was
  45. 45well
  46. 46went
  47. 47what
  48. 48white
  49. 49who
  50. 50will
  51. 51with
  52. 52yes

Dolch First Grade41 wordsJust this list →

  1. 1after
  2. 2again
  3. 3an
  4. 4any
  5. 5as
  6. 6ask
  7. 7by
  8. 8could
  9. 9every
  10. 10fly
  11. 11from
  12. 12give
  13. 13going
  14. 14had
  15. 15has
  16. 16her
  17. 17him
  18. 18his
  19. 19how
  20. 20just
  21. 21know
  22. 22let
  23. 23live
  24. 24may
  25. 25of
  26. 26old
  27. 27once
  28. 28open
  29. 29over
  30. 30put
  31. 31round
  32. 32some
  33. 33stop
  34. 34take
  35. 35thank
  36. 36them
  37. 37then
  38. 38think
  39. 39walk
  40. 40were
  41. 41when

Dolch Second Grade46 wordsJust this list →

  1. 1always
  2. 2around
  3. 3because
  4. 4been
  5. 5before
  6. 6best
  7. 7both
  8. 8buy
  9. 9call
  10. 10cold
  11. 11does
  12. 12don't
  13. 13fast
  14. 14first
  15. 15five
  16. 16found
  17. 17gave
  18. 18goes
  19. 19green
  20. 20its
  21. 21made
  22. 22many
  23. 23off
  24. 24or
  25. 25pull
  26. 26read
  27. 27right
  28. 28sing
  29. 29sit
  30. 30sleep
  31. 31tell
  32. 32their
  33. 33these
  34. 34those
  35. 35upon
  36. 36us
  37. 37use
  38. 38very
  39. 39wash
  40. 40which
  41. 41why
  42. 42wish
  43. 43work
  44. 44would
  45. 45write
  46. 46your

Dolch Third Grade41 wordsJust this list →

  1. 1about
  2. 2better
  3. 3bring
  4. 4carry
  5. 5clean
  6. 6cut
  7. 7done
  8. 8draw
  9. 9drink
  10. 10eight
  11. 11fall
  12. 12far
  13. 13full
  14. 14got
  15. 15grow
  16. 16hold
  17. 17hot
  18. 18hurt
  19. 19if
  20. 20keep
  21. 21kind
  22. 22laugh
  23. 23light
  24. 24long
  25. 25much
  26. 26myself
  27. 27never
  28. 28only
  29. 29own
  30. 30pick
  31. 31seven
  32. 32shall
  33. 33show
  34. 34six
  35. 35small
  36. 36start
  37. 37ten
  38. 38today
  39. 39together
  40. 40try
  41. 41warm

Flash cards per page

Pick the size in the flash card maker. Sheet counts are for the 220 words on this page, fronts only — printing the backs doubles them.

Cards per pageSheets for 220 wordsWord sizeBest for
2 per page — extra large11060 ptWhole-class flashing from the front of the room.
4 per page — large5544 ptSmall group work and pocket charts.
6 per page — standard3734 ptThe usual choice. Fits a rubber band.
8 per page — compact2828 ptFact decks and word rings.
9 per page — small2524 ptBig decks where paper matters.

How to teach these words

Five short activities that work in a classroom and at the kitchen table. A few minutes a day beats one long session a week.

  1. 1.Three-pile sort

    Flash each card. Words read instantly go in a Know pile, slow ones in Almost, missed ones in Not Yet. Five minutes a day on the Almost and Not Yet piles is enough.

  2. 2.A word ring

    Punch a hole in each card and put three to five words on a binder ring. Add a new word when one is read on sight for three days running.

  3. 3.Sound out what you can

    Most sight words are partly regular. Sound out the regular part together and point out the tricky bit — the ai in said, the o in of — so the word is learned, not guessed.

  4. 4.Sight word hunt

    Pick three words and hunt for them in a picture book, a cereal box or a street sign. Keep a tally and see which word turns up most.

  5. 5.Games with the same words

    Use the list for bingo, a word search or a game of slap: lay out a few cards, call a word, and the first hand on it keeps the card.

166 of these 220 words are also in Fry's first 300 Instant Words, so a child working through either list is practising most of the other.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Dolch sight words are there?

There are 220. Dolch published 220 service words in five levels — 40 pre-primer, 52 primer, 41 first grade, 46 second grade and 41 third grade — plus a separate list of 95 nouns, so 315 words in all.

What are the Dolch sight words?

a, and, away, big, blue, can, come, down, find, for, funny, go, help, here, I, in, is, it, jump, little, and 200 more. The full list of 220 is on this page.

What grade are the Dolch sight words for?

They are commonly taught in pre-K to grade 3. Neither the Dolch nor the Fry list was assigned to grades by any official body, so schools differ — follow your school's list if it has one.

How many pages of flash cards do the 220 words make?

At 6 cards per page, the standard size, the 220 words print on 37 sheets. At 9 per page it is 25 sheets, and at 4 large cards per page it is 55. Printing the backs as well doubles the sheet count.

Are the All 220 Dolch Words words also Fry words?

166 of the 220 also appear in Fry's first 300 Instant Words. The two lists were built differently — Dolch from children's books of the 1930s, Fry by how often words appear in print — but they agree on most everyday words.

How many new sight words should a child learn at a time?

Many teachers add three to five new words at a time, mixed in with words the child already knows, and only move on when the new ones are read on sight for a few days running.

Is this sight word list free to print?

Yes. The Print this list button prints the words as a neat sheet from your browser, and the flash card maker prints the cards free, with a small PuzzlePage credit in the footer.

Last updated .

More sight word lists

Dolch Noun Sight Words95 words · Pre-K to grade 2, alongside the levelsSee the listDolch Pre-Primer Sight Words40 words · Pre-K and kindergartenSee the listDolch Third Grade Sight Words41 words · Third gradeSee the listFirst 100 Fry Sight Words100 words · First grade, often started in kindergartenSee the list
Every sight word list, by grade