Sight Words by Grade: The Complete Dolch Lists (2026)
Last updated: September 2026 · Written by the Spelly team
In short: Sight words are the most common words in English, and many of them break the usual spelling rules, so children learn them by recognition rather than by sounding them out. The Dolch lists are the standard set: 220 words across five levels from pre-primer to third grade, plus 95 nouns. All 220 are below, by grade. Our own practice data then shows which ones children actually get wrong, and it is not the ones most parents expect.
What a sight word is, and why it matters for spelling
Most English words can be worked out from their letters. You see c-a-t, you sound it out, you get "cat". Sight words are the ones where that fails. Said should rhyme with "paid". Two has a silent w. Their gives no clue that it is not there.
Because sounding them out does not work, they have to be stored whole, by sight. And because they are the most common words in the language, they turn up constantly: the Dolch 220 make up a large share of the words in a typical children's book. A child who has to stop and decode because every time loses the thread of the sentence.
For spelling, the consequence is simple. Phonics practice will not fix a sight word. They need to be practised as themselves.
Who Dolch was, and why these lists
Edward William Dolch was an American professor of education who compiled the list in the 1930s and 40s by studying the words that appeared most often in children's reading material. He deliberately excluded nouns from the main 220, because nouns vary by subject, and published 95 common nouns as a separate list.
The lists are old, and one word has dated: shall has largely dropped out of everyday use. They remain the standard reference in primary classrooms because the underlying fact has not changed. The commonest words in English are still the commonest words in English.
The complete Dolch sight word lists, by grade
All 220 words, in Dolch's own five levels. The grade labels are a guide to sequence, not a deadline: children meet them at different times.
Pre-primer (40 words)
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
Primer (52 words)
all, am, are, at, ate, be, black, brown, but, came, did, do, eat, four, get, good, have, he, into, like, must, new, no, now, on, our, out, please, pretty, ran, ride, saw, say, she, so, soon, that, there, they, this, too, under, want, was, well, went, what, white, who, will, with, yes
Grade One (41 words)
after, again, an, any, ask, as, by, could, every, fly, from, give, going, had, has, her, him, his, how, just, know, let, live, may, of, old, once, open, over, put, round, some, stop, take, thank, them, then, think, walk, were, when
Grade Two (46 words)
always, around, because, been, before, best, both, buy, call, cold, does, don't, fast, first, five, found, gave, goes, green, its, made, many, off, or, pull, read, right, sing, sit, sleep, tell, their, these, those, upon, us, use, very, wash, which, why, wish, work, would, write, your
Grade Three (41 words)
about, better, bring, carry, clean, cut, done, draw, drink, eight, fall, far, full, got, grow, hold, hot, hurt, if, keep, kind, laugh, light, long, much, myself, never, only, own, pick, seven, shall, show, six, small, start, ten, today, together, try, warm
Which sight words children actually get wrong
Lists tell you what to teach. They do not tell you what is hard. So we looked at our own data.
The table below is drawn from 15,051 first-attempt answers by children practising in English in Spelly between 20 August and 22 September 2026. First attempt only: a retry is a separate answer, and counting both would double-count every word a child missed. The percentage is how often the first try was wrong.
| Word | Got it wrong | Attempts |
|---|---|---|
| their | 71% | 28 |
| always | 50% | 28 |
| where | 41% | 37 |
| would | 38% | 21 |
| because | 36% | 33 |
| any | 35% | 17 |
| around | 34% | 32 |
| could | 30% | 23 |
| before | 27% | 26 |
| right | 27% | 30 |
| about | 23% | 35 |
| there | 22% | 36 |
| again | 18% | 22 |
| of | 17% | 24 |
| said | 15% | 27 |
Read this as indicative, not definitive. These are modest samples, between 16 and 37 attempts per word, from one month of one app. The ranking would move with more data. What it is good for is the shape of the problem.
What it shows
The homophones are the hard part. Their was missed on 71% of first attempts, far more than any other word on the list. It is not a hard word to spell in isolation. It is hard because there and they're exist, and a child has to choose. There itself was missed 22% of the time, and where 41%.
Length alone does not explain it. Across all the words we see, longer ones are harder: words of two to four letters were missed 11% of the time, words of seven or eight letters 47%. But inside the sight words that pattern breaks down. Their and today are both five letters and were missed 71% and 6% of the time. Any, at three letters, was missed about as often as because at seven. What separates them is not length but whether the spelling can be reasoned out at all.
The words parents drill are often already fine. two (3%), one (5%), made (5%), once (6%), today (6%) were all close to perfect. They are famous sight words, so they get practised the most, and it shows. The practice is going to the words that no longer need it.
How to practise sight words so they stick
Little and often beats a long session. Five or ten minutes most days will do more than an hour on Sunday. These words are being moved into instant recognition, and that is a function of repetitions spread over time.
Practise the ones that are wrong, not the whole list. This is the single biggest saving. A child who knows 38 of 40 pre-primer words does not need the 38.
Say the word, do not show it. If the child can see the word, they are copying, not recalling. Say it aloud and let them produce it. That is also how the test will work.
Separate the homophones deliberately. Do not teach their and there in the same session. Teach one until it is solid, then introduce the other and contrast them.
Turn off autocorrect. On a phone or tablet, a keyboard that suggests the word removes the entire exercise.
Come back the next day. A word spelled right once is not learned. A word spelled right on two separate days usually is.
Frequently asked questions
What are sight words? Sight words are the most common words in English, many of which do not follow normal spelling rules, so children learn to recognise and spell them as whole words rather than sounding them out. The Dolch lists are the standard set: 220 words plus 95 nouns.
How many Dolch sight words are there? There are 220 Dolch service words, split into five levels: pre-primer (40), primer (52), first grade (41), second grade (46) and third grade (41). There is also a separate list of 95 common nouns, making 315 in total.
What age should a child know sight words? The Dolch levels run from pre-primer, around ages 4 to 5, to third grade, around ages 8 to 9. The labels are a sequence rather than a deadline, and children reach them at different times.
Which sight words are hardest? In our own data the homophones are much the hardest. Their was missed on 71% of first attempts, far more than any other word. Length is a weak guide inside this list: their and today are both five letters and were missed 71% and 6% of the time.
Are sight words the same as phonics? No, and they solve different problems. Phonics teaches a child to work a word out from its letters. Sight words are the words where that does not work, so they are learned whole. Children need both.
How do I practise sight words at home? Short sessions most days, only on the words the child is actually getting wrong, with the word spoken aloud rather than shown, homophones kept apart, autocorrect off, and a return visit the next day.
Where these lists came from
The 220 words are Edward Dolch's, compiled in the 1930s and 40s and long in the public domain. We took them from the Complete Dolch Word List published by the Florida Department of Education and CEESA, and checked every level against the published counts: 40, 52, 41, 46 and 41, totalling 220. The difficulty data is Spelly's own, described above. Spelly is our product; the lists are not, and they are free to use.
Related
Practise these words in Spelly, free · Spelling words by grade · How to help your child with spelling · Why is my child struggling with spelling?
Last updated: September 2026.