The words

Tap any word to hear it. 52 of these 92 words are in the app, where each has its own sentence.

Dolch pre-primer, 40 words

Schools and districts choose their own sight word lists, so your child's list may differ. This is the Dolch level that is conventionally mapped to this grade.

Dolch primer, 52 words

The second Dolch level. Listed alphabetically, as Dolch published it.

Where the kindergarten list comes from

There is no national kindergarten sight word list. What almost every school uses is a slice of the Dolch list, published by Edward Dolch as A Basic Sight Vocabulary in the Elementary School Journal in February 1936. Dolch sorted 220 service words into five levels: pre-primer, primer, first, second and third grade. Kindergarten is conventionally mapped to the first two of those levels, which is where the familiar 92 word target comes from. Your district may publish its own list, may use the Fry Instant Words instead, or may fold in words from the reading program it bought. If the list that comes home does not match this page, follow the one from school. The words overlap heavily whichever list a district picks.

Five minutes a day at home

Short and daily beats long and occasional. Pick three to five words your child did not know, write each on an index card, and work only on those. Show a card, say the word, have your child repeat it, spell it aloud, then say the whole word again. Mix the cards and go again. A word counts as known when it comes back in about a second without hesitation. Next session, review yesterday's words first, then add three to five more. Keep the known cards in an envelope and the unknown ones clipped to the outside so progress is visible. When a word is solid, put it in a short sentence so it transfers to real reading.

How this fits with phonics

These are not a replacement for phonics, and treating them as pure memorization is the classic mistake. The federal What Works Clearinghouse practice guide for kindergarten through third grade puts high-frequency words inside its decoding recommendation: teach the regular ones by having children apply the letter sounds they already know, and teach only the genuinely irregular ones holistically. Most of the kindergarten list is regular. Can, big, red, stop and run are ordinary sounding out practice that happens to appear constantly. Save the by-heart treatment for the handful that really need it, such as the, said, was and one, and even then only the odd letters need memorizing.

Practice tips

  • Work on three to five words at a time, never the whole list. A word is learned when your child reads it in about one second with no hesitation.
  • Start each session by rereading the words from the day before, then add the new ones and read the whole stack together.
  • Put a newly learned word straight into a spoken sentence about your day, then write that sentence down and have your child read it back.
  • Use the words on the fridge, the sidewalk and the bath wall, not only on cards. Different surfaces make the word look new again.
  • Stop at five minutes even when it is going well. Daily and short is what builds instant recognition.

Related lists

  • First grade sight words: The Dolch level named for first grade holds 41 words, from after and again through walk, were and when.
  • Pre-K sight words: Pre-K and preschool word lists often borrow from the Dolch pre-primer level: 40 words including a, and, I, is, the, to and you.
  • Dolch sight words: The Dolch list is 220 service words in five levels, plus a separate list of 95 nouns, so 315 words in total.

Sources