Dolch list · 40 words · usually kindergarten

Dolch pre-primer sight words

The pre-primer list is the first of the five Dolch levels: 40 tiny words such as a, and, the, see and you. They are usually the first words a child learns to read by sight, often in preschool or early kindergarten, and they turn up on nearly every page of an early reader.

Because the words are so short, it is easy to assume they are easy. In practice they are hard to picture: a child can imagine a dog, but not a "the". That is why this level rewards little and often, with plenty of play.

All 40 pre-primer sight words, A to Z

  • a
  • and
  • away
  • big
  • blue
  • can
  • come
  • down
  • find
  • for
  • funny
  • go
  • help
  • here
  • I
  • in
  • is
  • it
  • jump
  • little
  • look
  • make
  • me
  • my
  • not
  • one
  • play
  • red
  • run
  • said
  • see
  • the
  • three
  • to
  • two
  • up
  • we
  • where
  • yellow
  • you

Printable list and flash cards (PDF) — page 1 is all 40 words as a checklist with three tick boxes each; the next pages are flash cards to cut out. Free to print, no sign-up.

About this list

Most of the pre-primer words are regular enough to sound out once a child knows letter sounds: big, can, in, it, jump, not, red, run, up. Learning them by sight still helps, because a reader who has to sound out every "and" and "it" loses the thread of the sentence. A few words do not follow the early phonics rules at all. "Said", "one", "two", "the", "you" and "where" have to be remembered, and they are worth extra practice.

The list also hides some small families that make practice easier. There are three color words (blue, red, yellow), three number words (one, two, three), and a handful of action words (come, find, go, help, jump, look, make, play, run, see) that children can act out. Teaching a family together gives the words something to hang on.

Your child does not need to spell these words yet. At this level the aim is reading them: seeing the word and saying it. Spelling them comes later, usually in first grade.

How to practice at home

  • Act it out: write jump, run, look and play on cards. Your child reads a card and does the action. Swap roles so they get to boss you around.
  • Colour hunt: write blue, red and yellow on cards and ask your child to read one and find something in the room that color.
  • Count and read: put out one, two or three spoons and have your child pick the number card that matches.
  • Word of the day: tape one word to the fridge in the morning and ask your child to read it every time they walk past.
  • Point while you read: in a bedtime book, let your child read every "the" or "I" on the page while you read the rest.

Words that trip kids up

  • "To" and "two" sound the same; teach "two" with the number and "to" in a phrase like "go to bed".
  • "Said" often gets read as "sad" or "say-ed". Point to the middle letters and say that this word is just one you remember.
  • "I" is always a capital letter, even in the middle of a sentence, which can surprise a child who has just learned lowercase.
  • Little look-alikes such as in/is/it and me/my get mixed up. Put the pair side by side and talk about the last letter.

More sight word lists