Fry Sight Words: The First 100 in Order (2026)

Last updated: September 2026 · Written by the Spelly team

Short answer: The Fry sight words, also called Fry's Instant Words, are the 1,000 most common words in written English, ranked in order of how often they appear. Reading specialist Edward Fry built the list and published an updated version in The Reading Teacher in 1980. The first 100 alone make up about half of all written material, which is why schools start there. Below are the first 100, in Fry's order, as ten lists of ten.

What are Fry's Instant Words?

Edward Fry first put the list together in the 1950s and updated it in 1980 from newer research on word frequency. The words are ranked: word 1 is "the", the most common word in English, and every word after it appears a little less often than the one before. Fry called them Instant Words because a fluent reader needs to know them instantly, without sounding them out.

The frequency order is the useful part. Fry noted that the first 100 words, with their common endings like -s and -ed, make up about half of all written material. So a child who can read and spell the first hundred has most of every page covered, and each further hundred adds less than the one before.

Many of these words do not follow the phonics rules a child is learning ("said", "were", "could", "their"), so they have to be learned as whole words, for reading and for spelling.

Fry vs. Dolch: what is the difference?

The other famous list is the Dolch list, which we cover in full on our Dolch sight words by grade page. The two overlap a great deal, since both are built from the most common words, but they are organized differently:

Size. Dolch has 220 words plus 95 nouns. Fry has 1,000.
Order. Dolch groups its words by level, from pre-primer to third grade. Fry ranks every word by how often it appears, so the list is taught in order, a hundred or so at a time.
Nouns. The main Dolch list leaves nouns out. Fry includes them where they are common, such as "water", "people" and "day".
Age. Edward Dolch compiled his list in the 1930s. Fry's list is newer and goes much further, which makes it useful beyond the early grades.

Neither list is better. If your child's school sends home Dolch words, practice Dolch words; if it follows Fry, practice Fry. The words at the top of both are largely the same.

Where these words fit in school

The Common Core State Standards expect kindergarteners to "read common high-frequency words by sight", and give examples such as the, of, to, you, she, my, is, are, do and does. In first grade, children are expected to use conventional spelling for words with common spelling patterns and for frequently occurring irregular words. That is where lists like Fry's come in: the first hundred are the words children read and write most often in these years.

Schools and children move at different speeds. Some classes start the Fry words in kindergarten, some in first grade, and a child who reads early may know many of them already. Use the lists below as a sequence, not a deadline. For grade-level spelling words beyond sight words, see 1st grade spelling words and spelling words by grade.

The first 100 Fry words, in order

These follow the order printed in "Edward Fry's 1000 Instant Words", a chart based on Fry's list and hosted by California State University, San Bernardino. Printings of Fry's list differ slightly: some add "its" after "oil", which moves "over" to word 101, and some use "words" instead of "word". We have followed the one chart throughout so the positions stay consistent.

Fry words 1-10: the, of, and, a, to, in, is, you, that, it Practice these words in Spelly ▶

Fry words 11-20: he, was, for, on, are, as, with, his, they, I Practice these words in Spelly ▶

Fry words 21-30: at, be, this, have, from, or, one, had, by, word Practice these words in Spelly ▶

Fry words 31-40: but, not, what, all, were, we, when, your, can, said Practice these words in Spelly ▶

Fry words 41-50: there, use, an, each, which, she, do, how, their, if Practice these words in Spelly ▶

Fry words 51-60: will, up, other, about, out, many, then, them, these, so Practice these words in Spelly ▶

Fry words 61-70: some, her, would, make, like, him, into, time, has, look Practice these words in Spelly ▶

Fry words 71-80: two, more, write, go, see, number, no, way, could, people Practice these words in Spelly ▶

Fry words 81-90: my, than, first, water, been, call, who, oil, now, find Practice these words in Spelly ▶

Fry words 91-100: long, down, day, did, get, come, made, may, part, over Practice these words in Spelly ▶

The list continues for another 900 words, from "new" and "sound" onward, in the same frequency order. Once a child is solid on the first hundred, the second hundred is the natural next step.

How to practice a list in a week

Ten words is a good weekly amount for a young child, and short sessions beat long ones.

Little and often. A few minutes a day, most days, works better than one long session the night before a test.
Test from memory. Say the word, have your child write or type it without looking, then check. Copying a word from the page feels productive but is much easier than recalling it.
Go back to the misses. Put the words your child got wrong at the front of the next session, and keep the ones they know for a quick check at the end of the week.
Use each word in a sentence. Words like "which", "their" and "there" make more sense in a sentence than on their own.
Say it, spell it, write it. Have your child say the word, spell it aloud, then write it. Tricky parts ("the ai in said") are worth pointing out.

For more ideas, see how to help your child with spelling.

Practicing Fry words in Spelly

Every list on this page has a "Practice these words in Spelly" link that opens it as a short spelling test: each word is read aloud, and your child types it. It is free, and no account is needed. Typed answers are checked letter by letter, and Spelly's own keyboard keeps autocorrect from spelling the word for them. If your child's school sends home its own list instead, you can type it in or take a photo of the worksheet and Spelly turns it into a practice list. Spelly is for ages 6 to 12, on the web, iPhone and iPad, and Android. Try Spelly free.

Frequently asked questions

What are the Fry sight words? They are Edward Fry's Instant Words: the 1,000 most common words in written English, ranked by how often they appear. The first 100 make up about half of all written material.

What is the difference between Fry and Dolch sight words? Dolch has 220 words plus 95 nouns, grouped by grade level from pre-primer to third grade. Fry has 1,000 words, includes common nouns, and is ranked by frequency rather than grouped by grade. The most common words appear on both.

How many Fry words should my child learn at a time? Ten a week is a comfortable pace for most young children, which is why the first 100 are split into ten lists here. Move on when your child can spell a list from memory, not just read it.

Why do different Fry lists have slightly different orders? The list has been reprinted many times, and some versions differ by a word or two, for example adding "its" after "oil". This page follows one chart, "Edward Fry's 1000 Instant Words", throughout.

What comes after the first 100 Fry words? The list continues for another 900 words in the same frequency order, starting with "new" and "sound". The second hundred is the natural next step.

How we checked this

The word order comes from the chart "Edward Fry's 1000 Instant Words", hosted by California State University, San Bernardino, which states it is based on Edward Fry's list. We compared it with another published version and noted where they differ. The date and title of Fry's updated list come from its ERIC record (The New Instant Word List, The Reading Teacher, 1980). The school expectations are quoted from the Common Core State Standards. The Dolch figures are the same ones on our Dolch page.

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Last updated: September 2026.