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10 printable sets · answer key on every set

Sight Words: Pre-Primer Worksheets

  • CCSS RF.K.3.c
  • 20 items per set
  • Answer key included

What this skill is

Recognizing the ~40 most common words instantly, without sounding them out.

When it comes up: Kindergarten. These words appear so often that decoding them every time slows reading to a crawl.

The mistake to watch for

Trying to sound out words like "the" or "said" phonetically — many sight words don't follow regular phonics rules, which is exactly why they need to be memorized by sight instead.

How to help

Practice in short, frequent bursts (a minute, several times a day) rather than one long drill. Recognition speed is what's being built, not understanding.

Next: Short vowel sounds and blends, the phonics skills sight words deliberately skip.

A worked example

Circle the word 'is' in: it is in. Sight words are words we learn to know at a glance, so we do not have to sound them out each time.

Words to know

sight
A word you learn to know at a glance, without sounding it out.
word
A group of letters that has a meaning.
letter
One of the symbols we use to write words, like a, b or c.
read
To look at words and say or understand them.
sound
What you hear when you say a letter or a word.

Practice

Circle the word that matches.

Showing Set 1 · 20 items

  1. Circle the word: 'me' — run / me
  2. Circle the word: 'is' — can / is
  3. Circle the word: 'go' — go / look
  4. Circle the word: 'up' — up / look
  5. Circle the word: 'here' — here / red
  6. Circle the word: 'and' — and / play
  7. Circle the word: 'one' — run / one
  8. Circle the word: 'blue' — for / blue
  9. Circle the word: 'not' — not / where
  10. Circle the word: 'said' — funny / said
  11. Circle the word: 'we' — red / we
  12. Circle the word: 'red' — it / red
  13. Circle the word: 'jump' — jump / where
  14. Circle the word: 'to' — where / to
  15. Circle the word: 'not' — see / not
  16. Circle the word: 'down' — go / down
  17. Circle the word: 'go' — go / I
  18. Circle the word: 'for' — for / my
  19. Circle the word: 'down' — is / down
  20. Circle the word: 'my' — my / three

Download this set20 items · answer key included PDF

Answer key
  1. me
  2. is
  3. go
  4. up
  5. here
  6. and
  7. one
  8. blue
  9. not
  10. said
  11. we
  12. red
  13. jump
  14. to
  15. not
  16. down
  17. go
  18. for
  19. down
  20. my

All 10 sets

Each set is a different list of 20 items with its own answer key. Use the buttons above to look at one on this page, or download any of them as a PDF.

How these sheets were made
  • Problems are generated for each set and checked against RF.K.3.c before the sheet is built — no duplicates, and every problem falls inside the standard's number range.

Common Core State Standards © 2010 National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.