In kindergarten, children begin being exposed to commonly used words. Seeing, reading, and remembering the most common words used in grade-level texts is essential to their reading skills in the future. That’s why words are broken down by grade level.
Below are words generally introduced in preschool or pre-k. Finding different ways to practice expose students to these sight words will ensure students can quickly and easily read them when they encounter them.
There are two sets of sight word lists most often used in schools. These are the Fry word lists and Dolch word lists. The Fry words are broken into sets of 100. The first 100 sight words on this list should begin being introduced in preschool and mastered by the end of 1st grade.
The Dolch list breaks words into grade levels and includes 40 words on the preschool list. Kids should learn these words by sight and be able to recognize them when they appear in grade-level texts.
Fry’s First 100 Sight Words
| a | down | is | other | to |
| about | each | it | out | two |
| all | find | its | part | up |
| am | first | like | people | use |
| an | for | long | said | was |
| and | from | look | see | water |
| are | get | made | she | way |
| as | go | make | so | we |
| at | had | many | some | were |
| be | has | may | than | what |
| been | have | more | that | when |
| but | he | my | the | which |
| by | her | no | their | who |
| called | him | not | them | will |
| can | his | now | then | with |
| come | how | number | there | words |
| could | I | of | these | would |
| day | if | on | they | write |
| did | in | one | this | you |
| do | into | or | time | your |
Dolch Pre-k Sight Words
| a | funny | look | see |
| and | go | make | the |
| away | help | me | three |
| big | here | my | to |
| blue | I | not | two |
| can | in | one | up |
| come | is | play | we |
| down | it | red | where |
| find | jump | run | yellow |
| for | little | said | you |
Teaching sight words as early as preschool will give children a head start on reading as they enter kindergarten and beyond. Even if the words aren’t mastered at this young age, exposure helps set them up and get them comfortable with recognizing the shapes of letters, words, and helps them understand that books are made up of words which tell stories.
Reading to kids and pointing out some of these common words within books and other written materials will give them confidence as they become readers. Start slow and remember that repetition is key for young kids. Thanks for checking out these lists! Stop by again soon.
