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Dolch First Grade Sight Words (41 Words) — Free Printable List & Flash Cards

There are 41 Dolch first grade sight words. The first-grade level is the third of Dolch's five and brings in words that are hard to sound out, like of, could, once and know.

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Flash cards open in the maker with all 41 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 41 Dolch first grade sight words

In alphabetical order, as Dolch listed them.

  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

Flash cards per page

Pick the size in the flash card maker. Sheet counts are for the 41 words on this page, fronts only — printing the backs doubles them.

Cards per pageSheets for 41 wordsWord sizeBest for
2 per page — extra large2160 ptWhole-class flashing from the front of the room.
4 per page — large1144 ptSmall group work and pocket charts.
6 per page — standard734 ptThe usual choice. Fits a rubber band.
8 per page — compact628 ptFact decks and word rings.
9 per page — small524 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.

37 of these 41 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 first grade sight words are there?

There are 41. 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 first grade sight 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.

What grade are the Dolch first grade sight words for?

They are commonly taught in first grade. 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 41 words make?

At 6 cards per page, the standard size, the 41 words print on 7 sheets. At 9 per page it is 5 sheets, and at 4 large cards per page it is 11. Printing the backs as well doubles the sheet count.

Are the Dolch First Grade words also Fry words?

37 of the 41 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.

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Dolch Primer Sight Words52 words · KindergartenSee the listDolch Second Grade Sight Words46 words · Second gradeSee the listFirst Grade Sight Words123 words · First gradeSee the listComplete Dolch Sight Word List220 words · Pre-K to grade 3See the list
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