What Are Sight Words? A Parent’s Guide (with Dolch Lists)
Sight words are common words that children learn to recognise instantly, by sight, without sounding them out. Words like the, said, was and you appear so often that recognising them automatically makes reading much faster and smoother.
Why sight words matter
A small number of words make up a huge share of everything children read. The 220 Dolch sight words (plus 95 common nouns) account for more than half of the words in typical children's books. When a child knows these instantly, they can spend their effort sounding out new words and understanding the story.
Many sight words also don't follow regular phonics rules. Try sounding out “said”, “one” or “who”! That's another reason children benefit from learning to recognise them as whole words.
Sight words and phonics work together
Sight words don't replace phonics. Children still need to learn letter sounds and how to blend them. The best approach combines both: phonics for decoding new words, and sight word practice for the very common words that would otherwise slow reading down.
The Dolch sight word lists
The Dolch lists, created by Dr Edward Dolch, group the most common words by level:
| List | Typical year | Example words |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-primer (40 words) | Grade RR | a, and, the, see, I, you, play, look |
| Primer (52 words) | Grade R | all, are, came, have, like, she, they, was |
| First grade (41 words) | Grade 1 | after, again, could, every, from, know, were |
| Second grade (46 words) | Grade 2 | always, because, been, does, which, would |
| Third grade (41 words) | Grade 3 | about, better, carry, light, together, warm |
Fun ways to practise sight words at home
- Word hunts: pick a word of the day and spot it in books, cereal boxes and signs.
- Flash card games: lay cards face down and play a matching game, like our Memory Match.
- Read, build, write: read the word, build it with magnetic letters, then write it.
- Little and often: work on 3 to 5 new words at a time, and keep reviewing the ones already learned.
- Read together every day: seeing sight words in real stories is the best practice of all.
Signs your child is ready for the next list
When your child can read every word on a list instantly, in under a second each and in any order, it's time to move on. Keep mixing in earlier words so they stay fresh.
Frequently asked questions
What are sight words?
Sight words are very common words, such as the, said and was, that children learn to recognise instantly by sight. Many cannot easily be sounded out using phonics rules.
How many sight words should a child know by the end of Grade R?
Many programmes aim for children to read around 50 to 100 sight words by the end of their first year of school (Grade R), such as the Dolch pre-primer and primer lists.
What is the difference between Dolch and Fry sight words?
Dolch lists contain 220 high-frequency words grouped by grade level. Fry lists contain 1,000 words ordered by how often they appear in reading material.