Second Grade Sight Words List: 46 Dolch Words to Spell (Free Printable PDF)

A second grade sight words list is the common words a child is expected to read on sight by the end of the year. Dolch’s second grade list is the usual one, 46 words, and all of them are on our free printable second grade sight words list. No signup, no email.

If was and they are still shaky, start with the kindergarten sight words list. That post shows how to heart a word.

By second grade this is a spelling and fluency list, not a reading list. Most second graders can read these. The job is speed inside a sentence and spelling from dictation. Only 17 are heart words. The part that breaks the rules gets a heart.

Stage 1: short vowels

These need short vowels and CVC words. Upon is only up + on.

sit, us, its, upon

Heart words to add during stage 1 (4).

been (ee), buy (uy), does (o, e, s), would (oul)

Does isn’t do plus s. The o says /u/, the e is silent and the s says /z/, like was. Expect “dus” for weeks. Would, could and should share the oul.

Stage 2: digraphs, blends and doubles

These come in with digraphs, the glued -all and -ull, consonant blends and doubles like -ll. All loses its kindergarten heart once -all is taught. Call comes with it.

best, fast, tell, off, sing, wish, which, pull, call

Heart words to add during stage 2 (4).

wash (a), both (o), don’t (o), their (eir)

Don’t is do plus not with the o dropped. The apostrophe marks the gap. Their keeps getting spelled “there”. Heart the eir and read it beside there (ere).

Stage 3: magic e

Hold these until magic e. The pattern gets no heart. An s that says /z/ does, and so does the silent w.

made, gave, five

Heart words to add during stage 3 (4).

use (s), these (s), those (s), write (w)

These is the rare e_e pattern. Its s says /z/, as in is. Expect “rite” until wr is taught, then the heart comes off.

Stage 4: ending patterns

These need -old and y saying /ee/ at the end of a word.

cold, very

Heart words to add during stage 4 (1).

many (a)

Many rhymes with penny. The a says /e/.

Stage 5: bossy r

After bossy r: ar, or, ore, er, ir and ur.

or, first, before

Heart words to add during stage 5 (2).

work (or), your (ou)

The or in work says /er/ after w, as in worm. Your comes out “yor”. Heart the ou like four.

Stage 6: vowel teams and diphthongs

After the vowel teams, then igh, ou, au and y as a vowel.

green, sleep, read, right, found, around, why, goes

Heart words to add during stage 6 (2).

always (al), because (se)

Goes ends in -es. That s says /z/ by rule, like dogs. The al in always sounds like -all but is a different chunk. Because is be + cause. The au says /aw/, so the heart goes on se, as in please.

Reading them is only half the job

A second grader who reads because off a card can still stall on it mid-sentence. You’re done with the list when the words go by without a pause.

Pick a short passage with a few of the week’s words. Read it together once, then let your child read it twice alone. By the third read it should sound like talking.

A dictation routine that takes five minutes

Say the sentence, then one word at a time. Your child taps the sounds, writes each word and hearts the tricky part.

Four words a day, then one sentence with two of them: They found it around the house. The sentence building worksheets use cut-out words for the same work.

The ones that are still tricky in second grade

On this list, only write and work lose their hearts, once wr and w+or are taught. The rest stay. Does and would never sound like their letters. Their and there still get mixed up. By now it’s about which one means what.

Many and wash are hearts for good. Been, with ee saying short i, trips up good readers.

Our printables page has a sheet for every pattern above, and how kids learn to read covers the whole sequence. Our reading games are built for kindergarten and first grade, so they suit a second grader still catching up.

“My 7 year old son enjoys these kids math games and logic puzzles in the stories. Not all reading apps for kids track the word, we like that feature in this one.” — ThomasTThomas, App Store review (US)

Your plan for this week

• Find the stage: the first group your child can’t spell yet.
• Four words a day in dictation, then one sentence.
• One short passage, read three times.
• Print the free second grade sight words list: all 46 words by stage, hearts marked.

Questions parents ask

My second grader reads all of these. Are we done? With reading, yes. Dictate ten. The misses point at a pattern.

Should second graders still get heart words? Fewer, and for less time. Only two on this list come off as the pattern is taught (write, work). The rest are above.