The first words of all: short, mostly decodable, and everywhere. 30 words, 4 tricky.
Sight words app, ages 4 and up
The first hundred words, one tap at a time.
Flashcards for the words children meet most. Each one sits in a sentence they can read, and each one reads itself aloud, so five minutes of practice does not need you hovering.
Free on iPhone and iPad. No ads.
Tap a card to hear it, the way your child will.
The words in the app
Four stages. Every word is here, and every word speaks.
These are the actual cards. Tap any word to hear it with its sentence. A star marks a tricky word: one a child cannot fully sound out yet and has to know by sight.
More of the glue words, and the first real run of tricky ones. 22 words, 10 tricky.
Words with adjacent consonants, and the tricky words stories lean on. 19 words, 13 tricky.
The last of the first hundred, with the past-tense words books use. 23 words, 9 tricky.
Sight word lists by grade · All the tricky words · What are sight words?
How it works
Five minutes, three taps
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Pick a stage, or the tricky deck
Four stages, a tricky-words deck, a nouns deck, all words, and your child's own favourites. Start wherever school has got to.
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One word, in a sentence they can read
Each card shows the word large, then a short sentence built from sounds a beginner already has. Tap either one to hear it.
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Heart the ones that need another go
A tap on the heart puts the word in the favourites deck, so tomorrow's five minutes start with the words that slipped today.
What is in the app
Paper flashcards, minus the cutting out
The same practice a teacher sends home, with a voice built in. 94 staged words and 95 nouns.
Four stages
The first hundred words, in teaching order
94 high-frequency words across four stages that follow the order of the UK Letters and Sounds phases, so the app keeps step with phonics lessons.
Tap to hear
Every word and sentence reads aloud
A clear voice for the word, then the sentence. Your child checks themselves without waiting for you to look up.
Tricky words
The words that will not sound out
Words like said, was and they get their own deck, because they have to be learned by sight before the phonics catches up.
Nouns
95 everyday nouns
Apple to wood: names of things a child already says, so reading practice is not only function words.
No ads
Nothing on screen but the word
No adverts, no characters selling coins, no timers. One card, one word, one sentence.
Favourites
A deck that is just their hard words
The heart builds a personal practice list, which is what a teacher would ask you to do with paper cards.
Questions parents ask
Before you download
What age is it for?
From about four, when a child starts meeting these words in school reading books. The cards carry no pictures or games, so older children who need to catch up are not made to feel they are using a baby app.
Which word list does it use?
The 94 staged words follow the order of the UK Letters and Sounds high-frequency word phases 2 to 5, including the tricky words taught at each phase. Most of them also appear in the Dolch and Fry lists American schools use; the lists pages show where they overlap.
Does it replace phonics?
No. Most of these words can be sounded out, and the sentences are written so a beginner can do exactly that. The app gives the repetition that makes common words instant, alongside the phonics your child's school teaches.
Is it free?
Free to download, with no adverts.
Tonight's five minutes, sorted.
Free on iPhone and iPad. Open it, pick a stage, tap a word.
Free to download