Fry Sight Words List & Flash Cards: First 100 (Free PDF)

The Fry sight words list is Edward Fry’s Instant Words. They are the most common words in English reading, ranked by how often they appear. Schools start with the first 100 Fry words. Fry reported that those 100, with endings like -s and -ed, make up about half of all written English. You’ll find the same 100 on our free printable Fry sight words list: 100 cut-out flash cards in teaching order, with the full list on the last page. No signup, no email.

You’ll usually see Fry lists in frequency order, which puts the and of, two of the hardest, first. We sorted them by the phonics your child needs as well, following our order to teach letter sounds.

60 of the first 100 sound out once the right pattern is taught. The other 40 are heart words. Each has a part that breaks the rules, sometimes two, and each of those parts gets a heart. Mark the heart on the part in parentheses. In said (ai), the s and d sound out and the ai gets the heart. Two parts means two hearts. In who (w, o), the w is silent and the o says /oo/.

The first 100 in Fry order

If your school sends Fry words in groups, they arrive in this order. (Some printings swap oil and sit for am and its. Both sound out in stage 1.)

1-25: the, of, and, a, to, in, is, you, that, it, he, was, for, on, are, as, with, his, they, I, at, be, this, have, from

26-50: or, one, had, by, words, but, not, what, all, were, we, when, your, can, said, there, use, an, each, which, she, do, how, their, if

51-75: will, up, other, about, out, many, then, them, these, so, some, her, would, make, like, him, into, time, has, look, two, more, write, go, see

76-100: number, no, way, could, people, my, than, first, water, been, called, who, oil, sit, now, find, long, down, day, did, get, come, made, may, part

Stage 1: short vowels

Once your child can blend CVC words, these 17 are readable on their own.

and, a, in, it, on, at, had, but, not, can, an, if, up, him, sit, did, get

Heart words to add during stage 1 (23).

the (whole word), of (whole word), to (o), is (s), you (ou), was (a, s), as (s), his (s), I (whole word), have (e), one (whole word), were (ere), said (ai), do (o), some (o, e), would (oul), into (o), has (s), two (wo), could (oul), been (ee), who (w, o), come (o, e)

Start with the and is. They show up in almost every early sentence. The s says /z/ in is, as, has and his, so teach those four as a set.

Stage 2: digraphs, blends and doubles

These come in with sh, ch, th, wh, ck and ng (digraphs), consonant blends and doubled endings like -ll.

that, with, this, when, which, will, then, them, than, called (once -all is taught), long

Heart words to add during stage 2 (7).

they (ey), from (o), what (a), all (whole word), there (ere), their (eir), find (i)

Teach called and all together once the -all chunk is in (ball, hall). Until then all gets a heart. After that, both words sound out. The -ed is an ending, and after l it says /d/.

Stage 3: a vowel at the end says its name

None of these words needs a heart.

he, be, we, she, so, go, no

Stage 4: bossy r

These come after bossy r: ar, or, ore, er, ir and ur.

for, or, her, more, number, first, part

Heart words to add during stage 4 (5).

are (e), words (or), your (ou), other (o), water (a)

Words is the or-after-w trap. It says /er/, as in worm and work. Take the heart off once that pattern is taught. In other, the o says /u/, as in from and come. In water, the a says /o/, as in want and wash.

Stage 5: vowel teams, magic e and y

Wait on these until vowel teams (including oi, ou and ow), magic e and y working as a vowel are in.

by, each, how, about, out, make, like, time, look, see, way, my, oil, now, down, day, made, may

Heart words to add during stage 5 (5).

use (s), many (a), these (s), write (w), people (eo, le)

Make, made, like and time are plain magic e. So are use and these. Only the s is odd, saying /z/. In many, the a says /e/, and y says /ee/ at the end. In people, heart the eo, and the le as in little, until the -le ending is taught.

Fry or Dolch?

Dolch is 220 words from the 1930s, split by grade, plus 95 nouns. Fry first published his Instant Words in 1957 and rebuilt them in 1980 from a newer frequency count of school reading books. The full list now runs to 1,000 words.

The overlap is heavy. 86 of the first 100 Fry words are on Dolch’s main list of 220. Four more (day, time, water, way) are on his separate list of 95 nouns. Only ten are on neither: words, each, other, more, number, people, than, called, oil and part.

Either list is fine. Go with the one your child’s school sends home. Our grade-by-grade lists use Dolch, and the full Dolch sight words list has all 220 by grade.

Which Fry words fit kindergarten?

Schools vary. Some expect the first 100 by the end of kindergarten. Others wait until the end of first grade.

52 of the first 100 are on Dolch’s kindergarten lists. For a kindergartner, stages 1 and 3 plus the first few hearts (the, I, is, to, you, said) make a realistic first goal. If your child’s school sends Dolch, use our kindergarten or first grade list. Those are sorted the same way.

How to teach a Fry word

Tap the sounds, build the word with letter tiles, then put a heart card on the tricky part. For said, that is s, a heart over ai, d. The full routine is in how to teach sight words. Our reading games read stories aloud and highlight each word, so your child hears was and said in context.

“Spelling games help children pronounce letters correctly and blend sounds. With daily practice, kindergarten kids can start reading simple words on their own. Great support for homeschooling.”

Ss_Hh., App Store review (US)

Your plan for this week

• Match the school sheet: look up this week’s words on the stage lists to see which sound out.
• Find the stage: the first group your child can’t read yet. Three to five new words at a time.
• Heart words with tiles first, then in a sentence the same day.
• Print the free Fry flash cards: green cards sound out, pink cards are heart words, and the last page is the full list.

Fry sight word flash cards: the free PDF

The free Fry sight words PDF has 100 cut-out cards on five pages, 20 to a page, in teaching order from stage 1 to stage 5. Each card shows the word’s place on the Fry list. Green cards sound out. Pink cards are heart words, with a heart over the tricky part only, and page 6 is the full list.

The first page of Fry sight word flash cards, stage 1.

Questions parents ask

My child’s sheet says Fry 1-25. Which words are those? Those are the first line of the Fry-order list above, the through from. On the stage lists, 16 of them sit in stage 1, and 10 of those are heart words.

What comes after the first 100? The second 100, then the third, up to 1,000. Sort them the same way. Most sound out, and only the tricky part gets a heart.