First Grade Sight Words List: 41 Dolch Words by Stage (Free Printable PDF)

A first grade sight words list is the common words a child is expected to read on sight by the end of the year. Dolch’s first grade list is the usual one. Those 41 words are all on our free printable first grade sight words list. No signup, no email.

If your child is still on the kindergarten sight words list, start there. That post covers how to teach a heart word and how many to add a week.

By first grade the list is really a phonics check. Most of them are decodable. Teach the patterns below and 25 of the 41 read by rule. The other 16 are heart words, with a heart on the part that breaks the rules. A missed word shows which pattern to teach.

Stage 1: short vowels

Four of them read on short vowels alone.

an, had, him, let

Heart words to add during stage 1 (12). Hearts mark the part in parentheses.

as (s), has (s), his (s), of (whole word), give (e), live (e), some (o, e), once (whole word), could (oul), put (u), were (ere), again (ai)

The s says /z/ in as, has and his, as in is. Teach those three as a set.

Give and live only look like magic-e words. The e is there because English words don’t end in v, same as have.

Were is a third sound for ere. You get /eer/ in here, /air/ in there, and /ur/ in were.

Stage 2: digraphs, blends and doubles

Once sh, ch, th, wh, ck and ng (digraphs), consonant blends and doubled endings like -ll are in, eight more read by rule.

ask, just, stop, then, them, when, think, thank

Heart words to add during stage 2 (2).

from (o), walk (al)

Kids read think as “thin” and then stop. The -nk is what’s missing. Teach -nk and thank comes with it.

In from, the o says /u/, as in some. In walk, al says /aw/ and the l is silent. Read it beside all and talk.

Stage 3: a vowel at the end says its name

These come after go, so, he, we and the -ing ending.

open, going

Open is o-pen. The o ends its syllable and says its name.

Stage 4: ending patterns and bossy r

Hold these until the -old family is in, y saying /ee/ at the end (happy), then bossy r: ar, or, er, ir, ur.

old, her, after, over, every

Heart words to add during stage 4 (1).

any (a)

Her is bossy r doing its job, not a heart word. Every usually stalls after ev-. Split it ev-er-y. The er is bossy r, and y says /ee/. In any the a says /e/, same trap as many.

Stage 5: vowel teams, magic e and y as a vowel

The last six need ay, ow and ou (vowel teams), magic e, then y saying its name at the end of a short word.

may, how, round, take, by, fly

Heart words to add during stage 5 (1).

know (k)

Take is plain magic e. The silent e is doing exactly what it should, so no heart. Know hearts only the silent k (its ow says /oh/, as in snow), and that heart comes off when kn is taught.

The pattern behind each stuck word

• then, when, them: th, wh. Digraphs.
• ask, just, stop, think, thank: sk, st, -nk. Blends.
• her, after, over, every: er. Bossy r.
• may, how, round: ay, ow, ou. Vowel teams.
• take: the silent e. Magic e.
• of, once, were, could, from: nothing is missing; heart them and move on.

Read it, then spell it

In first grade this list is also a spelling list. Spelling is the better test. Kids can guess a word from its shape, but they can’t write one that way.

Say the sounds, write the fair part, heart the tricky part. For could: c, a heart over oul, then d.

Dictate one short sentence a day with two of the week’s words, I think we can walk. The sentence building worksheets use cut-out words for the same work, and our printables page is sorted by pattern.

“It covers essential reading curriculum topics. I like the different levels for all elementary-aged children. Suitable for both kids just learning the ABC’s and those moving on to sight words.” — Glflehar, App Store review (US)

Your plan for this week

• Start at the first group your child stumbles on.
• Three to five new words, read then spelled the same day.
• One dictated sentence a day with two list words.
• Print the free first grade sight words list: all 41 words by stage, hearts marked.

Questions parents ask

My first grader reads the kindergarten words but not these. Why? Usually it isn’t a pattern. Twelve of the first sixteen words here are heart words, and after and again need splitting into syllables. That’s where kids stall: the s that says /z/, then the second syllable. Heart the s set, then split the long words out loud.

My child reads these but can’t spell them. Is that a problem? Not at first. Spelling lags reading and catches up once the pattern is taught. If take won’t spell, go back to magic e.