Preschool Sight Words List: 40 Pre-K Dolch Words (Free Printable PDF)

A preschool sight words list is the 40 Dolch pre-primer words, the same pre-K list preschools send home. You’ll find all 40 on our free printable preschool sight words list, sorted by stage. No signup, no email.

If your child is already in kindergarten, use the kindergarten sight words list. It has these 40 plus the 52 primer words.

Do preschoolers need sight words?

No. Nothing here needs memorising at four, and a child who starts kindergarten knowing none of them is not behind.

I’d rather see a four-year-old who knows a handful of letter sounds and can push two together. That’s where reading starts, and it’s as much as our kindergarten readiness checklist asks for.

Drilling 40 words by shape before the letter sounds teaches guessing, and some kids keep guessing for years.

The list below is sorted by what your child can already sound out, following our order to teach letter sounds. Nine of the 40 are readable after short vowels. Only 13 are heart words, with a part that breaks the rules and gets a heart.

Stage 1: short vowels

Once your child knows SATPIN, the rest of the alphabet and how to blend CVC words, these read themselves.

a, big, can, in, it, not, red, run, up

Heart words to add during stage 1 (10).

I (whole word), the (whole word), is (s), to (o), you (ou), said (ai), come (o, e), one (whole word), two (wo), here (ere)

Is catches most four-year-olds. They know s says /s/, so they read “iss”. Heart the s and say “s says /z/ in is” every time. It stops on its own.

One and two barely match their sounds (one gets a heart on the whole word, two keeps only its t), so the heart does most of the work. A child who counts knows them by ear. Leave them for last.

Stage 2: digraphs, blends and doubles

Three more arrive with consonant blends. The stage also brings sh, ch, th, wh, ck, ng and -ll. Only where uses one of them: its wh.

and, help, jump

Heart words to add during stage 2 (3).

where (ere), find (i), little (le)

And comes out as “an” for a while. The d gets swallowed. Tap the three sounds on the table (a, n, d) and the d comes back.

Stage 3: a vowel at the end says its name

The vowel sits at the end and says its own name, so no hearts here.

go, we, me

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). That’s kindergarten and first grade work. Make is the magic-e pattern, not a heart word.

see, three, look, play, down, yellow, blue, away, funny, my, for, make

Twelve of the 40 sit here, and none of them are readable until well into school. That’s why I don’t drill the list at four.

The handful worth knowing by heart before kindergarten

If your child learns any of the 40 by heart, make it these five: I, the, to, you, is.

They show up in almost every picture book, so a child who knows them can join in on every page. The and is are on the first short-vowel sheets your child will read (the pig sits, the sun is up), one more reason to start with those two.

The other 35 can wait. See what a child should know before kindergarten for what matters more.

How to practise at four

Point at the word during a read-aloud. Read the sentence, go back, say “that one says the”, and move on.

Next night, ask them to find the on the page. One word per book is plenty.

Outside books, you is on the cereal box, to and I inside most birthday cards. Their own name counts too. It’s usually the first word they read on sight.

Two minutes, then stop.

The kindergarten post covers the heart-word method and how many words a week once school starts.

Our reading games read a story aloud and light up each word as it’s said. That’s the point-at-the-word habit without a parent holding the book. The full sequence from letter sounds to sight words is in how kids learn to read.

“This is a great learning app for preschoolers! I am an early childhood educator, and the stories captivate the attention of young learners.” — Early Childhood Specialist, App Store review (US)

Your plan for this week

• Letter sounds first: if your child doesn’t know SATPIN yet, start there, not here.
• Pick one of the five and find it in tonight’s book.
• Two minutes, then stop.
• Print the free preschool sight words list: all 40 words by stage, hearts marked.

Questions parents ask

Preschool sent home all 40 words. Do we have to learn them? Do the five above and let the rest sit. Stage 1 arrives on its own once your child can blend. Start with the short-vowel sheets on our printables page instead.

Is a pre-K sight words list the same as this one? Usually. Most preschool and pre-K lists are these 40 words, the Dolch pre-primer. Extras are often the 52 primer words on the kindergarten list, or colour and number words.