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Dolch Second Grade Sight Words (46 Words) — Free Printable List & Flash Cards

There are 46 Dolch second grade sight words. The second-grade level is the fourth of Dolch's five and the second longest, with words like because, their, which and would that children meet in chapter books.

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Flash cards open in the maker with all 46 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 46 Dolch second grade sight words

In alphabetical order, as Dolch listed them.

  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

Flash cards per page

Pick the size in the flash card maker. Sheet counts are for the 46 words on this page, fronts only — printing the backs doubles them.

Cards per pageSheets for 46 wordsWord sizeBest for
2 per page — extra large2360 ptWhole-class flashing from the front of the room.
4 per page — large1244 ptSmall group work and pocket charts.
6 per page — standard834 ptThe usual choice. Fits a rubber band.
8 per page — compact628 ptFact decks and word rings.
9 per page — small624 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.

31 of these 46 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 second grade sight words are there?

There are 46. 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 second grade sight 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.

What grade are the Dolch second grade sight words for?

They are commonly taught in second 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 46 words make?

At 6 cards per page, the standard size, the 46 words print on 8 sheets. At 9 per page it is 6 sheets, and at 4 large cards per page it is 12. Printing the backs as well doubles the sheet count.

Are the Dolch Second Grade words also Fry words?

31 of the 46 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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