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Sight Words for Kids in English with (PDF)

Imagine if your child could read sight words for kids smoothly without stopping to sound out every word. That’s the magic of sight words! These are the most common words kids see in books, stories, and daily reading. Learning sight words early helps children read faster, build fluency, improve spelling, and develop strong phonics skills. In this blog, we’ll explore what sight words are, why they matter, and how they support learning to read. Plus, we’ll share fun, engaging activities to teach sight words in a way that makes reading enjoyable and effortless. Whether you're a parent or a teacher, get ready for exciting tips that will help kids become confident readers!

Sight Words for Kids

What Are Sight Words?

Sight words are commonly used words that young readers are encouraged to recognize instantly, without needing to sound them out. These words often don’t follow regular phonetic patterns, making them tricky to decode using standard phonics rules. Dolch sight words and high-frequency words are essential for building reading fluency and confidence.

Examples include "the," "was," "you," "said," and "where." By memorizing these words, kids can focus their energy on understanding the story rather than spending too much time decoding each word. Learning high-frequency words early helps improve reading speed, comprehension, and overall literacy skills.

Glossary

  • Sight Word: Sight words are common words that children recognize instantly without sounding them out, helping to build reading fluency and comprehension.

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Characteristics of Sight Words

Sight words for Kids often appear frequently in texts and are essential for developing reading fluency. Here are the key characteristics of sight words:

1. High Frequency : Sight words are words we see often in reading and writing. Examples include "the," "and," "is," "it," and "in." Since these words appear so much, learning them helps kids read faster and understand better.

2. Irregular Spelling and Pronunciation : Many sight words don’t follow normal spelling rules, so they are hard to sound out. For example:

"said" – The letters "ai" don’t make their usual sound.
"was" – The letter "a" sounds like "uh."
"one" – It doesn’t sound the way it looks.

Because of this, kids need to memorize these words to read them easily.

3. Short and Simple : Most sight words are short and have one or two syllables. Examples include "to," "he," "she," "we," and "go."

4. Essential for Sentence Structure : Sight Words often include important words that help make sentences :

Articles : “a”, “The”, “an”

Prepositions : “in”, “on”, “at”

Conjunctions : “and”, “but”, “or”

5. Dolch List : Contains 220 high-frequency words, including pronouns, adjectives, and verbs.

6. Fry List : Includes 1,000 words, divided into sets of 100, based on frequency.

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What Are The Types Of Sight Words?

1. Dolch Sight Words : The Dolch Sight Words list is a set of 220 common words created by Edward William Dolch in the 1930s. These words are grouped by grade level to help young readers learn step by step.

  • Pre-K (Pre-Primer) – Easy words like "a," "and," "big," "come," "for."

  • Kindergarten (Primer) – Words like "all," "am," "are," "but," "came."

  • First Grade – Words like "after," "again," "ask," "by," "fly."

  • Second Grade – Words like "always," "because," "best," "cold."

  • Third Grade – Words like "about," "better," "clean," "drink."

There are also 95 common nouns in the Dolch list, such as "apple," "baby," "ball," "cat," and "dog."

2. Fry Sight Words : The Fry Sight Words list was created by Dr. Edward Fry and includes 1,000 common words used in English. These words are grouped into sets of 100, based on how often they appear in reading.

  • First 100 Words – Basic words like "the," "of," "and," "is," "you."

  • Second 100 Words – Words like "over," "new," "work," "place," "year."

  • Third 100 Words – Words like "high," "food," "own," "country," "plant."

3. High Frequency Sight Words : Some words appear very often in reading and writing. These are called high-frequency words.

  • Examples: "the," "and," "to," "of," "in," "is," "it," "you," "he," "was," "for," "on," "are."

4. Non- Phonetic Sight Words : Some words don’t follow normal spelling or sound rules, making them hard to read by sounding them out.

  • Examples:
    1. "the" – The "e" is silent.
    2. "come" – The "o" sounds like "uh."

40 Dolch Sight Words

Grade Level  Dolch Sight Words
Pre-K (Pre-Primer) a, and, away, big, blue, come, down, find, for, here
Kindergarten (Primer) all, am, are, ate, be, black, brown, but, came
First Grade after, again, an, any, as, ask, by, could, every, fly
Second Grade always, around, because, been, before
Third Grade about, better, bring, carry, clean

Glossary

  • Dolch Sight Words are a list of 220 common words and 95 nouns that young readers should recognize instantly. These words help build reading fluency as they frequently appear in texts and often don't follow phonetic rules.

Benefits Of Learning Sight Words For Kids

  • Improves Reading Speed – Recognizing sight words instantly helps kids read faster.

  • Boosts Reading Comprehension – Kids can focus on understanding the story instead of decoding words.

  • Enhances Fluency – Smooth reading without stopping to sound out every word.

  • Builds Confidence – Reading becomes easier, making kids feel more confident.

  • Supports Spelling Skills – Exposure to common words helps with correct spelling.

  • Makes Learning to Read Fun – Games and activities with sight words make reading enjoyable.

Sight Words for Kindergarten

Sight Words Sight Words Sight Words Sight Words
all am are at
ate be black brown
but came did do
eat four get good
have he into like
must new no now
on our out please
pretty ran ride say
she so soon that
there they under want
was well went what
white who will with
yes


250+ Sight Words for First Graders

Here’s a comprehensive list of sight words for first graders, including Dolch and Fry sight words to help improve reading fluency.

A - E F - M N - S  T - Z
after find name take
again first never thank
all fly new that
always for no the
am funny not their
an from now them
and gave of then
any go old there
around going once these
ask good one they
at had only thing
away has or think
be here other three
because her our to
been him out today
before his over together
best how people too
better jump play try
big just put under
black know ran up
blue laugh read upon
both let right us
bring like round use
brown little run very
buy live said walk
by look saw want
call made say warm
came make see was
can many she well
carry may show went
clean me sing what
cold much sit where
come must some which
could my soon who
cut myself start why
did never stop will
do new such wish
does next sure with
don't nice tell work
down not than would
draw now thank write
drink off that yellow
eat old their yes
eight once them you
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Sight Words List

A: a, after, again, all, always, am, and, any, are, around, ask, away

B: be, because, been, before, best, better, big, black, blue, both, bring, brown, buy, by

C: call, came, can, carry, clean, close, cold, come, could, cut

D: did, do, does, don’t, down, draw, drink

E: eat, eight, every

F: find, first, five, fly, for, four, from, funny, full

G: gave, get, give, go, goes, going, good, got, great

H: had, has, have, he, help, her, here, him, his, hold, how, hurt

I: I, if, in, into, is, it, its

J: jump, just

K: keep, kind, know

L: laugh, learn, left, let, light, like, little, live, look

M: made, make, many, may, me, more, much, must, my, myself

N: name, near, never, new, next, nice, no, not, now

O: of, off, old, on, once, one, only, open, or, other, our, out, over, own

P: part, pick, place, play, please, pretty, pull, push, put

R: ran, read, red, right, round, run

S: said, same, saw, say, see, seven, shall, she, should, show, sing, sit, six, sleep, small, some, soon, start, stop

T: take, tell, ten, thank, that, the, their, them, then, there, these, they, think, this, those, three, through, time, to, today, together, too, try, turn, two

U: until, up, upon, us, use

V: very

W: walk, want, warm, was, watch, we, well, went, were, what, when, where, which, white, who, why, will, with, work, would, write

Y: yellow, yes, you, your

Z: zero, zoo

Examples Of Sentences With Sight Words For Kids

  1. I have a red ball.

  2. We go after school.

  3. Can you come again?

  4. Be kind to everyone.

  5. I went home before lunch.

  6. The sky is blue today.

  7. Can you help me?

  8. We will come to play.

  9. She could not find her toy.

  10. Do you like ice cream?

  11. We will sit down here.

  12. I did my homework.

  13. I like to eat apples.

  14. There are eight crayons in my box.

  15. I go to school every day.

  16. Can you find my book?

  17. She is my funny friend.

  18. I have five pencils.

  19. We saw a zoo animal.

  20. The sun is yellow.

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Teaching Sight Words To Your Child

Sight words are an essential part of early reading skills, and teaching them in a fun and engaging way can help your child develop reading confidence. Here are some effective methods to introduce and reinforce sight words:

1. Use Sight Word Charts & Flashcards 

  • Display colorful charts in the study area.

  • Use flashcards to help with quick word recognition.

  • Point to words and encourage daily practice.

2. Read Aloud & Repeat 

  • Say the words clearly and have your child repeat after you.

  • Incorporate sight words into story time and daily conversations.

  • Ask your child to spot sight words while reading books.

3. Practice with Writing & Tracing 

  • Have your child trace sight words with their finger or a pencil.

  • Use sand, playdough, or paint to make writing fun!

  • Encourage them to form simple sentences using sight words.

4. Play Games & Activities 

  • Sight Word Bingo: A fun way to recognize words.

  • Hopscotch Words: Jump on words while reading them.

  • Scavenger Hunt: Find hidden sight word cards around the house.

Helpful Tools for Learning and Improving Sight Words

"The Complete Book of Sight Words" is a great resource for helping kids master essential sight words through fun and engaging activities.

The Complete Book of Sight Words

Check out Jack Hartmann Kids Music Channel for fun and engaging songs that help kids learn sight words easily!

Jack Hartmann Kids Music Channel

Worksheets

Safehugs provides helpful parenting blogs with tips on homeschooling, child development, and positive behaviour, offering practical advice for raising confident and well-rounded children in a nurturing environment.

Related : 

  1. Also Read: "Th Words for Kids" It offers engaging activities, games, and worksheets to help children master voiced and voiceless "Th" sounds.
  2. Explore our "Sh Words for Kids" blog for fun activities, games, and worksheets to help children master 'Ch' sounds .
  3. Explore the "Wh Words for Kids " blog for engaging resources that make learning question words fun and easy. 
  4. Explore the "Ph Words for Kids "blog for engaging resources that make learning question words fun and easy. 
  5. Explore the "oo Words for Kids" blog for engaging resources that make learning question words fun and easy.
  6. Check out the "ee words for kids" blog for fun and educational activities to help children learn and practice ee sound words!
  7. Explore the "ng Words for Kids" blog for engaging resources that make learning question words fun and easy.
  8. Explore the "ll Words for Kids" blog for engaging resources that make learning question words fun and easy.

FAQ'S

1. What are sight words for kids?

Sight words are common words that kids learn to recognize instantly without sounding them out, helping them read fluently.

2. What words should a 5 year old read?

A 5-year-old should be able to read basic sight words like "the," "and," "it," "is," "you," "she," "he," "we," and "play."

3. How to teach basic sight words?

Teach basic sight words using fun activities like flashcards, songs, reading repetition, and hands-on games to reinforce recognition.

4. How do you explain sight to a child?

Sight means using your eyes to see things, just like you recognize words without having to sound them out.

5. Which sight words to teach first?

Start with simple sight words like "a," "I," "the," "and," "is," "it," "to," "in," "you," and "we."

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