Kindergarten sight words

What is this skill?

Sight words are common words a child learns to recognize at a glance, without stopping to sound them out. In kindergarten these are the small words that fill every page: the, and, I, see, go, can, said, look, they, was. Some can be sounded out, like can and go. Others cannot, at least not by the rules a kindergartner knows yet, like said, was and they. Children learn those by connecting the letters to the word they already say.

Most questions here say a word aloud and ask a child to tap it from four look-alike choices, so "was" sits beside "saw" and "where" beside "there." Your child also answers whether a word card says a certain word, and builds a short sentence such as "We like to play" from loose words. The word is spoken in these questions, which means a grown-up reading it or the Hear it button is part of the activity.

Why it matters

A small set of words makes up a large share of any page a beginner reads. If a child has to work out the, and and was every time, a short sentence takes all their energy and the meaning is lost by the end of it. When those words come instantly, attention is free for the new words and for following the story.

There is a confidence payoff as well. Simple books are built from these words, and a child who knows a couple of dozen can pick up a beginner book and read most of it. That first experience of reading something alone is hard to overstate for a five- or six-year-old, and it makes them more willing to try the next book.

Common mistakes

• Reversing was and saw. They use the same letters in opposite order, and a child who looks at the shape of a word and not its order will swap them. Run a finger under the word from left to right and say the first sound.
• Guessing from the first letter. Where, we and want all start with w, so a child may say the first w word that comes to mind. Ask them to check the rest of the word: "Does that look like we? We is short."
• Memorizing a list and not transferring it. A child who flies through flash cards may still stall on the same word in a book, because a card has nothing around it. Point the words out in real reading, too.

How to help at home

• Learn a few words at a time. Put three or four on cards, and add a new one only when the old ones are quick.
• Have your child spot one word in a picture book: "How many times can you find said on this page?" Counting makes the search feel like a game.
• Write short sentences together using known words: "I can see the cat." Let your child read back what you wrote.
• Use our free printable lists and flash cards, linked below on this page, and tape a few words to the bathroom mirror for a week.

Worked examples

These are real questions from the Tutorsaurus kindergarten sight words practice, with the answers worked out.

1. Example 1

   Does this say 'the'?

   the

   Answer: Yes. T-h-e spells "the."

2. Example 2

   Make the sentence.

   The pieces, mixed up: run / I / can

   Answer: I can run. The sentence is "I can run." I comes first, then can, then run.

3. Example 3

   Tap the word you hear.

   The app reads this aloud: “Tap the word: pretty.”

   Choices: pretty, put, please, play

   Answer: pretty. This word is "pretty." It has two t letters in the middle and ends with y.

This practice is best on a screen, because the word is said aloud. For paper, the printable word lists and flash cards are here: Dolch pre-primer sight words, Dolch primer sight words.