Pre-K to 3rd grade

Sight Words by Grade

A simple map from grade to Dolch list. Schools vary, so treat it as a guide and use your child's real list if you have one.

Pre-K: Pre-primer list

40 words

a, and, away, big, blue, can, come, down, find, for, funny, go, help, here, I, in… All 40 pre-primer words and the game →

Kindergarten: Primer list

52 words

all, am, are, at, ate, be, black, brown, but, came, did, do, eat, four, get, good… All 52 primer words and the game →

1st grade: First grade list

41 words

after, again, an, any, as, ask, by, could, every, fly, from, give, going, had, has, her… All 41 first grade words and the game →

2nd grade: Second grade list

46 words

always, around, because, been, before, best, both, buy, call, cold, does, don't, fast, first, five, found… All 46 second grade words and the game →

3rd grade: Third grade list

41 words

about, better, bring, carry, clean, cut, done, draw, drink, eight, fall, far, full, got, grow, hold… All 41 third grade words and the game →

Going by the child, not the grade

A grade is only a starting point. A child who reads a word instantly has it; a child who stops to work it out doesn't, whatever their age. The assessment checklist takes a few minutes and shows you where to begin.

For kindergarten, there's also a page just for kindergarten sight words.

Questions

Do all schools use the same sight words?

No. Many use Dolch or Fry, others use their reading program's own list. If you have a school list, the list maker makes a game from it.

My child is behind the list for their grade. Should I worry?

Children move at different speeds. Start where your child is successful and practice a little often. If you're worried about reading, talk to their teacher.

An app is on the way

We're building a Wordburrow app for iPhone. The plan is everything you can play here, plus offline play and a parent view of the words that have stuck. It isn't out yet. The whole game is free here in the meantime.

Coming soon on theApp Store