Kindergarten Sight Words List: 92 Dolch Words (Free Printable PDF)

A kindergarten sight words list is the common words a child is expected to read on sight by the end of the year. Dolch’s pre-K (pre-primer) and kindergarten (primer) lists together make the standard one, 40 plus 52 words. The same 92 are on our free printable kindergarten sight words list. No signup, no email.

Most lists are alphabetical. We sorted ours by what your child can already sound out, because most of these aren’t really sight words. The stages follow our order to teach letter sounds. Blends come in with the digraphs.

Once your child knows short vowels and CVC words, 17 of the 92 are readable, and 65 are by the end. Only 27 are true heart words: one part breaks the rules, and that part gets a heart.

Stage 1: short vowels

These need SATPIN, the rest of the alphabet and CVC words with short a, i, o, e, u.

in, it, up, big, can, not, red, run, a, am, at, on, but, did, get, ran, yes

Heart words to add during stage 1 (15). The heart goes on the part in parentheses.

I (whole word), the (whole word), is (s), to (o), you (ou), said (ai), come (o, e), one (whole word), two (wo), here (ere), was (a, s), do (o), into (o), have (e), who (w, o)

Our short-vowel sheets already use the and is (the pig sits, the sun is up), so teach those two first.

Most kids try “wass” first, because was looks like a CVC word. Heart the a and the s. When saw shows up, read the two side by side.

The other trap is you. Kids sound out every letter before trusting that ou says /oo/. Build the y, heart the ou. The has nothing to build. Read it with a heart.

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.

and, help, jump, black, must, went, that, this, with, well, will

Heart words to add during stage 2 (8).

where (ere), find (i), little (le), what (a), want (a), all (whole word), there (ere), they (ey)

The ere chunk says /air/ in where and there, and /eer/ in here. A five-year-old has no rule for that, so heart the chunk in all three.

A child who knows key will read they as “thee”. Here ey says /ay/, so it gets a heart.

Hearts can come off. Find and little lose theirs on our ending-patterns sheets once -ind and -le are taught.

Stage 3: a vowel at the end says its name

The vowel comes last and says its name (go, he), so nothing gets a heart.

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

Stage 4: vowel teams, bossy r, magic e and y

Hold these until vowel teams, bossy r, magic e and y working as a vowel (my, funny) are in. Make, ate, came, like, ride and white are the magic-e pattern, not heart words. The silent e is doing exactly what magic e is supposed to do.

see, three, look, play, down, yellow, blue, away, funny, my, eat, soon, too, good, say, brown, now, out, our, new, saw, for, under, make, ate, came, like, ride, white

Heart words to add during stage 4 (4).

are (e), four (ou), please (se), pretty (e)

How to teach a heart word

Build the fair part with letter tiles, then put a heart on the part that breaks the rules. For said: tiles for s and d, a heart card over ai, and say “ai says /e/ in said.”

Our free letter tiles include heart cards, and the Heart Words sheets on our printables page do the same on paper. Then use the word in a sentence the same day. The sentence building worksheets have a heart-words sheet.

How many per week

Three to five new words a week is plenty. Review old ones daily for two minutes, then read the new ones in sentences, not off a card. The full routine is in how to teach sight words. If a word won’t stick after two weeks, park it. The phonics it needs may not be in yet.

Our reading games read stories aloud and highlight each word, no ads, offline. The full sequence from letter sounds to sight words is in how kids learn to read.

“This app has lots of fun kindergarten learning games. It’s a great resource for phonics and sight words and helps improve vocabulary and basic comprehension skills.” — Tee El Bee, App Store review (US)

Your plan for this week

• Find the stage: the first group your child can’t read yet.
• Three to five new words; the rest of the stage waits.
• Heart words with tiles first, then in a sentence the same day.
• Print the free kindergarten sight words list: all 92 words by stage, hearts marked.

Questions parents ask

Dolch or Fry? Dolch’s kindergarten lists are 92 words and Fry’s first 100 overlap heavily. Either is fine. This is Dolch.

Should I use flashcards? Fine for review. Words stick faster inside sentences, so keep cards for the daily check and read the rest.