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Kindergarten Sight Words
Print the kindergarten sight words list: 92 Dolch words (pre-primer and primer) as a checklist, word cards or a numbered list. Free, no sign-up.
KindergartenRead common high-frequency words by sightCCSS RF.K.3.c
Name: ____________________ Date: ______________
Kindergarten · Read common high-frequency words by sight · CCSS RF.K.3.c
Answer key
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Grade levels and Common Core standards for this tool
The grade and standard on each sheet follow your settings. Here is every combination this tool can make:
| Grade | Skill | Common Core |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | Read common high-frequency words by sight | RF.K.3.c |
| Grade 1 | Read irregularly spelled words | RF.1.3.g |
| Grade 2 | Read irregularly spelled words | RF.2.3.f |
| Grade 3 | Read irregularly spelled words | RF.3.3.d |
| Grades K–3 | Read high-frequency and irregular words | RF.K.3.c, RF.1.3.g, RF.2.3.f, RF.3.3.d |
- CCSS RF.K.3.c
- Read common high-frequency words by sight (e.g., the, of, to, you, she, my, is, are, do, does).
- CCSS RF.1.3.g
- Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.
- CCSS RF.2.3.f
- Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.
- CCSS RF.3.3.d
- Read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.
Standards text quoted from corestandards.org. K5Print is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
© Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.
Kindergarten sight words are the short, very common words a child learns to read on sight, such as the, and, I, see, can and like. This page prints a kindergarten list of 92 words, the Dolch pre-primer (40 words) and primer (52 words) levels together, as a checklist, a set of word cards or a numbered list. It runs in your web browser, it is free, and nothing is uploaded.
Schools and reading programs use different kindergarten lists, so check what your child’s teacher sends home. The Dolch lists are a widely used starting point, and each level is on its own in the Word list menu if you want to split the year in two.
You can use what you make here in class or in things you sell, such as Etsy printables and Teachers Pay Teachers, with no credit needed.
How to print the kindergarten sight words list
- Check Word list. It starts on Kindergarten: Pre-primer + Primer (92 words). Choose Pre-primer (40 words) or Primer (52 words) to print half of the list.
- Choose Print as: Checklist (a box beside each word), Word cards (big words in dashed boxes to cut out) or Numbered list.
- Set Order: Dolch order keeps the words in their grade groups, and A to Z puts them in one alphabetical run.
- Set Columns (2 to 5) to fit the page. Three is the default; the checklist reads comfortably in three or four columns and word cards in three.
- Change Title on the sheet if you want your own heading, such as a child’s name or a week number.
- Select Print or save as PDF.
- To split the school year in half, print Pre-primer (40 words) now and Primer (52 words) a few months later, each as its own checklist.
Choose US Letter or A4 in the print dialog. On the checklist, tick a word only when the child reads it at once, without sounding it out. The page address stores your settings, so a bookmarked or shared link opens the same list again. If a child already reads the first few words easily, tick them off and move on. There is no need to work through the list in order.
What are the kindergarten sight words?
The 92 words on this page are the first two Dolch levels. Pre-primer has 40 words, among them a, and, can, go, I, is, it, me, my, see, the and you. Primer has 52 words, such as all, are, at, did, he, like, no, on, she, they, was and what. Many of them are the words that appear most often in the first books children read.
The two levels include the color words red, blue, yellow, black, brown and white and the number words one to four. The list is short, so you will also want to teach words your child meets in their own books and at home.
How many sight words should a kindergartner know?
There is no single number that every school uses, and programs choose different lists. The 92 words here are one common choice: pre-primer first, then primer. Follow what your child’s teacher sends home, and use this page to make a clean checklist of those words. If the school gives you its own list, paste it into the sight word worksheets tool instead.
How do you practice kindergarten sight words at home?
Keep it short: five to ten minutes, a few words at a time. Cut out the word cards, read each one, and put the ones the child reads at once in one pile and the others in a second pile. Add one or two new words each week and keep reviewing the old ones. Writing the words helps too, and the sight word worksheets tool turns a list into tracing and writing sheets.
Reading the word in a sentence helps it stick, so point out the words on the checklist when you read a book together.
Should kindergarten sight words be taught by memory or by sounds?
Both ideas are used. Many of these words, like the, was and said, have irregular spellings, so children learn to recognize them as whole words. Others, like can, big, did and not, can be sounded out, and sounding them out is a good way to learn them. Many teachers combine the two: sound out the regular parts of a word, then point out the part that is tricky.
A word is learned when the child reads it at once, in a list and in a sentence. The checklist makes that easy to track week by week.
Questions teachers and parents ask
What is the difference between pre-primer and primer?
They are the first two Dolch levels. Pre-primer has the 40 simplest words and primer has the next 52. Kindergarten usually uses one or both of them.
Is this the official kindergarten list?
No single kindergarten list is official. The Dolch pre-primer and primer levels are one commonly used choice. If your school gives you a list, paste it into the sight word worksheets or flash cards tool to practice those exact words.
Can I print only the first 40 words?
Yes. Choose Pre-primer (40 words) in Word list, or Primer (52 words) for the second part.
What size are the word cards?
Each word sits in a box in a grid of two to five columns, so the cards are as wide as the page allows. Use fewer columns for bigger cards.
Can I use the cards for a game?
Yes. Print two copies and match the pairs, hide the cards around a room and read each one that is found, or flip them over for a memory game. The printable cards have no pictures, so the child sees only the word.
Can I sell the worksheets I make here?
Yes. The sheets you make here are royalty-free for personal, classroom and commercial use, including Etsy printables, Teachers Pay Teachers and Amazon KDP workbooks. You do not need to give credit. The only limit is that you may not copy the generator itself to run a competing service; see the [terms](/terms/).
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