Sight Words

🔤 Pre-Primer Sight Words — the First 40 Words

The Pre-Primer list is where almost every young reader starts. These 40 words are the backbone of the simplest storybooks.

The Dolch Pre-Primer list was built from the words that appear most often in children's books, and it shows: a child who knows these 40 words can already recognize a surprising share of every page in a beginner reader. The list is mostly tiny, friendly words — a, I, the, see, go, my — with a few longer ones like yellow, funny and three mixed in. Work through the five sheets in order, or jump to whichever sheet holds the words your child's class is learning this week. The words on each sheet are listed under its picture so you can find the right one fast.

a, and, away, big, blue, can, come, down, find, for, funny, go, help, here, I, in, is, it, jump, little, look, make, me, my, not, one, play, red, run, said, see, the, three, to, two, up, we, where, yellow, you

📚 Primer Sight Words — 52 More Words

Once the first 40 feel easy, the Primer list adds the words that carry first-grade stories: have, like, that, there, please.

The 52 Primer words pick up where Pre-Primer stops. They include the question and action words that make sentences interesting — did, eat, get, ride, saw, want — plus the polite heavy-lifters please and yes. Children usually meet this list in late kindergarten or first grade. It has seven sheets; the last sheet holds just four cards (who, will, with, yes), which makes it a satisfying, quick finish line. Keep mixing a few Pre-Primer cards into practice so the first list stays sharp while the second one grows.

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, saw, say, she, so, soon, that, there, they, this, too, under, want, was, well, went, what, white, who, will, with, yes

📖 How to Use the Flashcards

Flashcards work because they are small, quick and repeatable. Here is the routine that gets results without turning practice into a battle.

1. Print and cut one sheet at a time. Each sheet holds eight cards. Cut along the rounded borders — cardstock or a laminator makes them last, but plain paper works fine, and reprinting a lost card costs nothing.
2. Start with just five words. Pick five cards and only five. Say each word yourself first, have your child repeat it, then mix the cards up and let them try. A small stack they can finish is a win they will want to repeat tomorrow.
3. Keep it to five minutes a day. Short daily sessions beat long weekly ones, because recognition is built by frequent glimpses, not marathon drills. End while your child is still enjoying it, ideally right after a card they nailed.
4. Add words slowly, retire the easy ones. When a word is read instantly three days in a row, move it to the "mastered" pile and bring in a new one. Shuffle mastered cards back in once a week so they stay fresh.

🎲 Two Games That Stretch the Cards Further

Two games stretch the same cards much further. For matching pairs, print two copies of a sheet, lay the sixteen cards face down, and take turns flipping two to find a match — your child reads every card they touch. For a word hunt, hand over one card and challenge your child to find that word in a real book, on a cereal box, anywhere in the house. Spotting "the" in the wild, in a story you are reading together, is the moment the practice turns into reading.

🗺️ What's Next After Sight Words

Sight words are one piece of early reading. Pair them with letter and handwriting practice and the pieces reinforce each other: a child who can write a word remembers its shape faster. This page is part of the Older Kids section, where the bigger-kid printables live. From there you can move on to the Cursive Worksheets when your child is ready for joined-up writing, or keep building reading confidence one five-minute session at a time — that steady, small habit is what turns word recognition into a reader. The natural partner to these flashcards is the sight word practice pages — the same 92 words, sheet for sheet, to read, trace and write by hand.