Sight Word Lists

*Roadmap · Plato's Blog

The first 100 sight words make up about 50% of the text we read. Crazy, isn’t it? That’s why these handy sight word lists are so helpful – they make it easy for students to keep track of the words they know AND the words they still need to practice.

Snag your free set below and then hop over and grab our pre-sorted sight word lists so you can help students learn these words quickly and easily!

Dolch Sight Words

The Dolch list is a set of 220 words Dr. Edward William Dolch pulled together in 1948 after tallying the most frequently occurring words in children’s books published in the 1930s and 40s.

Many of those words (“said” for instance) cannot be sounded out easily so memorizing them can significantly increase children’s fluency and accuracy.

But, interestingly, Dolch intentionally left out nouns like “bed” and “mother” because he said they were too specific to the characters included in the books.

Fry Sight Words

In 1980, several decades later, Fry published a list of 300 must-know words.

Unlike the Dolch sight words list, this new option included ALL parts of speech – including nouns that Dolch left out of the mix.

Citing the The American Heritage Word Frequency Book (Carol, Davies, & Richmond, 1971), Fry explained that about half of the words written in English text were composed of the first 100 words on his list – either in their original form or with an ending like -ed, -er or -s.

Comparing the Lists

If you compare the top 100 sight words from both lists side-by-side, there are a total of 130 words. Only 70 are the same.

Most of the differences in the two popular options can be explained by the different sources the men used to create their suggestions.

Dolch used children’s books from the 1930s and 40s while Fry used a research team’s tally of just over 1,000 texts written for third to ninth graders.

All of this got me thinking…

What if we combined BOTH Dolch and Fry’s suggestions into one ultimate list?! A power packed combo that would help kids master the most popular words in one spot.

And voila! The Ultimate Sight Word List was born.

It includes 140 words divided into seven stages.

Stage One works on the top 20 words from both the Dolch and Fry lists.

Stage Two works on the next 20 words and so on.

Free Sight Word Lists

To make it easy for you to keep track of the words students are working on (Dolch, Fry OR combo), I pulled together a batch of printable checklists.

You can copy them on white or add a pop of fun by printing on color.

You can even make two sets so kids can keep one copy at school and one at home!

Snag Your Sight Word Lists

Ready to snag your sight words lists?! Click the blue download button below and then hop over and grab our pre-sorted sight word lists so you can help students learn these words quickly and easily!

48 Comments

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stacy says:

at 12:04 pm

im having trouble downloading the sight words,

Reply
1. Ashley says:
  
  at 1:00 pm
  
  Hi Stacy,
  Thanks for reaching out. I’m sorry you’re having trouble downloading. We never want that.
  Please check to be sure you’ve enabled pop-ups from our site. Even if you’ve been able to download before, the site was recently updated and you may need to do so again. We also recommend using the Chrome browser. For instructions on how to enable pop ups in Chrome, you can check out THIS ARTICLE.
  You can also check out our troubleshooting video HERE for help. If you still can’t get it to work, you can email me at hello@www.playdoughtoplato.com and I will get it to you.
  Warmly,
  Ashley // Happiness Ambassador
  
  Reply
2. Shriya mankar barde says:
  
  at 9:59 pm
  
  Y
  
  Reply
michelle says:

at 2:28 pm

Thank you so much for this freebie!

Reply
1. Malia Hollowell says:
  
  at 12:46 pm
  
  You’re very welcome, Michelle! I hope they’re helpful!
  
  Reply
2. Lusweti Ednah says:
  
  at 4:27 am
  
  I appreciate the good work you are doing.
  
  Reply
  1. Malia Hollowell says:
    
    at 11:55 am
    
    Thank you, Lusweti! I’m thrilled that the sight word lists are helpful. 🙂
    
    Reply
  2. Jacqueline says:
    
    at 6:54 pm
    
    Thank you for your time and work, I from Mexico and I’m teaching to my kid English language and this was very helpful.
    
    Reply
KIA says:

at 9:26 am

Thank you Malia for this wonderful resource.

Reply
lisa says:

at 6:44 am

Thank you for this list. As a Grandmother helping with homeschooling during this difficult time, this is very helpful for me to help him stay on course.

Reply
1. Kaylee says:
  
  at 1:03 pm
  
  SO happy to hear that these were helpful for you! What lucky grandkids you have, someone dedicated to helping them! ♥️
  Kaylee // Playdough to Plato
  
  Reply
Pingback: Sight Words vs. Phonics: What Parents Need to Know
Beth says:

at 6:35 pm

This list will be nso helpful for me and my students. Thank you so much!

Reply
1. Kaylee says:
  
  at 9:29 pm
  
  Hooray! I am so happy to hear that!
  Kaylee // Playdough to Plato Team
  
  Reply
monette says:

at 5:11 pm

Thank you , this really an amazing resources that will benefit my students.

Reply
Carol Ginty says:

at 3:33 pm

I love your Lists for Fry words – 1 through 4. I’d like to make more as I tutor some 3rd and 4th graders so I’d like to go on to the 2nd hundred words. Could you sell the template to just that page? They are so useful!

Reply
1. Kaylee says:
  
  at 1:02 pm
  
  Hi Carol! I am so happy to hear that they are helpful! We do not have the template for sale, but I am happy to add that to our wishlist for teachers! Are you thinking words 100-200 on the new lists?
  Chat soon,
  Kaylee /Playdough to Plato Team
  
  Reply
Tara says:

at 8:44 am

Do you have an editable version I could buy? I have to follow my school’s list but love this!

Reply

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Playdough to Plato

3 days ago

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5 days ago

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🧠 ORTHOGRAPHIC PROCESSING involves translating words on a page to spoken language. Although you may not have noticed it before, when you’re reading, your brain actually reads the words you see out loud in your head like an audiobook narrator so you can use your natural human superpower for spoken language to understand what you are reading.

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6 days ago

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BRAIN

Brain

1 week ago

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Jessica Walker

2 weeks ago

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I LOVE THIS! I work with 2 schools in Haiti & after I read this, I will appraise. If needed, is it available in French?

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3 weeks ago

It’s empowering to realize that we have DECADES of research, brain scans, and case studies that pinpoint what teaching tools & strategies actually help brains learn to read so we can keep doing them…

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Spring break is coming......🤔

Wobble chairs for my classroom.

Craft materials for my Kindergarten students. What a wonderful giveaway!

Use at DISNEY!

Quick!!!

👀 You have to take a look at this kid-approved way to memorize words!

Sound mapping!

Teachers may already know it’s a fantastic way for kids to practice hearing the sounds in words, so they can successfully spell them..

And they may also know that it’s a faster and more effective way to learn sight words…

But what do kids know?

A lot!

They know that with themes like LEGO bricks, slime, bubble gum, and rockets, they’ll want to run over to your literacy center and practice again and again.

This magnificent bundle of sound mapping mats contains over 100 pages that’ll set you and your students up for the entire year.

That’s over 100 pages of word cards for 3, 4, or 5 sound words PLUS 27 different sound mapping sets of themes your students will love…

And all YOU have to do is hit PRINT!

So, if you’re ready to motivate your struggling readers with hands-on, playful learning…

Just comment below or DM us the words “Sound Mapping” and our friendly Plato-Bot will send you the link to grab it.

#SOR #soundmapping #orthographicmapping ... See MoreSee Less

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It’s great to have these.

Sound mapping

I thought it was free😁🤭

Sound mapping! Thank you!

Sound Mapping

sound mapping! Thanks!!

Sound Mapping. Thanks!

4 weeks ago

✨Have you been hearing all the BUZZ about sound mapping? 🐝

It’s a more effective and science of reading-aligned way to teach kids to read. 👍

It helps struggling readers memorize words more quickly by focusing their attention on HEARING each sound in a word and then attaching those sounds to their SPELLING.

And with this fabulous sound mapping MEGA pack, you’ll find everything you need in one easy download!

Your students just pick a mat and then:

✅ TAP the sounds
✅ SLIDE a manipulative for each sound
✅ GRAPH (write) the sounds
✅ WRITE the word
✅ READ the word

And with engaging themes like matchbox cars, leprechaun pots, and bunny rabbits, they’ll also be sounding out the word /f/ /u/ /n/!)

Don’t miss this opportunity to quickly memorize words all year round.

➡️Just comment below or DM us the words: “Sound Mapping” and our friendly Plato-Bot will send you the link.

#SOR #soundmapping #orthographicmapping ... See MoreSee Less

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Would love more info please.

Yes please

Sight Word Lists

Dolch Sight Words

Fry Sight Words

Comparing the Lists

All of this got me thinking…

Free Sight Word Lists

Snag Your Sight Word Lists

Free Digraph Clip Cards

Cut and Paste Shape Game for Kids

Valentine Counting Cards

Spin a Word Family

Snowball Digraph Puzzles

Christmas Tree Counting Cards

48 Comments

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Dolch Sight Words

Fry Sight Words

Comparing the Lists

All of this got me thinking…

Free Sight Word Lists

Snag Your Sight Word Lists

Similar Posts

48 Comments

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Be Insta-Friends

Pin with Me

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