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100 wordsFirst grade, often started in kindergartenFree to print

First 100 Fry Sight Words (100 Words) — Free Printable List & Flash Cards

The first 100 Fry sight words are Instant Words 1 to 100 from Edward Fry's list of 1,000 — 100 words in all. Fry ranked the words by how often they appear in print, so these are the hundred most common, in that order, starting with the, of, and, a and to.

Watch how it works (video: Print sight words by grade)0:58
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Flash cards open in the maker with all 100 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 100 first 100 Fry sight words

Numbered by Fry rank — the most common word first.

  1. 1the
  2. 2of
  3. 3and
  4. 4a
  5. 5to
  6. 6in
  7. 7is
  8. 8you
  9. 9that
  10. 10it
  11. 11he
  12. 12was
  13. 13for
  14. 14on
  15. 15are
  16. 16as
  17. 17with
  18. 18his
  19. 19they
  20. 20I
  21. 21at
  22. 22be
  23. 23this
  24. 24have
  25. 25from
  26. 26or
  27. 27one
  28. 28had
  29. 29by
  30. 30word
  31. 31but
  32. 32not
  33. 33what
  34. 34all
  35. 35were
  36. 36we
  37. 37when
  38. 38your
  39. 39can
  40. 40said
  41. 41there
  42. 42use
  43. 43an
  44. 44each
  45. 45which
  46. 46she
  47. 47do
  48. 48how
  49. 49their
  50. 50if
  51. 51will
  52. 52up
  53. 53other
  54. 54about
  55. 55out
  56. 56many
  57. 57then
  58. 58them
  59. 59these
  60. 60so
  61. 61some
  62. 62her
  63. 63would
  64. 64make
  65. 65like
  66. 66him
  67. 67into
  68. 68time
  69. 69has
  70. 70look
  71. 71two
  72. 72more
  73. 73write
  74. 74go
  75. 75see
  76. 76number
  77. 77no
  78. 78way
  79. 79could
  80. 80people
  81. 81my
  82. 82than
  83. 83first
  84. 84water
  85. 85been
  86. 86call
  87. 87who
  88. 88oil
  89. 89its
  90. 90now
  91. 91find
  92. 92long
  93. 93down
  94. 94day
  95. 95did
  96. 96get
  97. 97come
  98. 98made
  99. 99may
  100. 100part

Flash cards per page

Pick the size in the flash card maker. Sheet counts are for the 100 words on this page, fronts only — printing the backs doubles them.

Cards per pageSheets for 100 wordsWord sizeBest for
2 per page — extra large5060 ptWhole-class flashing from the front of the room.
4 per page — large2544 ptSmall group work and pocket charts.
6 per page — standard1734 ptThe usual choice. Fits a rubber band.
8 per page — compact1328 ptFact decks and word rings.
9 per page — small1224 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.

91 of these 100 words are also in the Dolch lists (220 service words and 95 nouns), so a child working through either list is practising most of the other.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Fry sight words are there?

Edward Fry's Instant Words run to 1,000, ranked by how often they appear in print and taught in hundreds. Fry reported that the first 100 make up about half of all the words in typical reading material. This site covers the first 300. This page lists words 1 to 100.

What are the first 100 Fry sight words?

the, of, and, a, to, in, is, you, that, it, he, was, for, on, are, as, with, his, they, I, and 80 more. The full list of 100 is on this page.

What grade are the first 100 Fry sight words for?

They are commonly taught in first grade, often started in kindergarten. 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 100 words make?

At 6 cards per page, the standard size, the 100 words print on 17 sheets. At 9 per page it is 12 sheets, and at 4 large cards per page it is 25. Printing the backs as well doubles the sheet count.

Are the Fry 1–100 words also Dolch words?

91 of the 100 also appear in the Dolch lists (220 service words and 95 nouns). 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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More sight word lists

Second 100 Fry Sight Words100 words · Second gradeSee the listFirst Grade Sight Words123 words · First gradeSee the listKindergarten Sight Words92 words · KindergartenSee the listComplete Dolch Sight Word List220 words · Pre-K to grade 3See the list
Every sight word list, by grade