Sight words, sometimes called high frequency words, are common words that readers see a lot. They see them so much that we want them to learn to read them by sight. Otherwise, much of their time reading may be spent decoding words. This can make their reading sound choppy and also have a negative affect on comprehension.
What are the sight words kids need to know? I’m so glad you asked because today, I’m sharing five sight word lists from my ebook, Printable Spelling Activities and Games. Each sight words list is printable and combines the best of the Dolch sight words and Fry’s first 200 high frequency words, two extremely popular word lists.
Printable Sight Words Lists
Now, am I saying that all readers need are sight words? Absolutely not! You can read more about where I stand on that issue in my post about why sight words AND phonics are needed to teach reading.
The two most common sight word lists, Dolch and Fry, are both copyrighted and since I don’t have permission to post them word for word, I thought I’d combine them together {since they overlap quite a bit} to make my own sight word lists.
Here is a quick “chart” to show you how I combined the lists to create my own lists.
- List A = Dolch PP + a few from Fry’s first 100 words
- List B = Dolch P + a few from Fry’s first 100 words
- List C = Dolch 1st + a few from Fry’s first 100 words
- List D = Dolch 2nd + a few from Fry’s second 100 words
- List E = Dolch 3rd + a few from Fry’s second 100 words
Only a handful of words on the Dolch list have been moved from one list to another. Words from Fry’s high frequency word lists were also added where they seemed most developmentally appropriate. Yes, I know I’m kind of “breaking the rules” by not following one list like so many do, but I feel combining the lists gives you the best of both worlds.
These lists can also be used as a quick sight word assessment. Just print 2 copies {one for you and one for the student}. Write the child’s name at the top and check off the words they can read.
Also check out our Sight Word Games App!
These printable sight word lists are included in my 700+ page ebook, Printable Spelling Activities and Games {with over 60 editable pages}. The sight word lists that you see in this post come in black and white or you have the option of color-coded lists that match sight word cards and other activities throughout the book.
Enjoy!
~Becky
Thanks for your wonderful insights on sight words. It is indeed an activity that will surely encourage children to learn reading while memorising the words. Their reading and vocabulary skills will be enhanced and grew as they learn new words at a time.
OMG! I’m so over the moon that I found this site! Thank you so much for this!
Thank you for sharing these wonderful sight word resources!
Thank you so much! It took me a while to get to a printer, that had ink, but I am thinking this will help me a lot. I have a 6-year old that I cannot tell if she cannot read, or is just pretending not to read, so I am hoping to use your word list, as a game to find out. Thank you so much, I REALLY appreciate all you are doing, it helps those of us who cannot afford material.
You’re welcome!
THANK YOU SO MUCH! Its a big help. God bless you! 🙂
Thank you!
How do you sign in as a parent? I answer the question but see no enter or submit button.
Can you send me an email at becky@thisreadingmama.com so I can better help? I’m not exactly sure why you need to sign in to anything.
Thank you for sharing these wonderful sight word resources!