Free Printable Dolch Sight Word Lists by Level

About these dolch sight words handouts

Edward Dolch built his sight word lists in the 1930s by studying the words that turned up again and again in the children's books of his day. The 220 service words are the small words that hold sentences together: the, was, because, would. None of them are nouns, which is why the 95 most common nouns have their own list. Together they cover a large share of the words a young reader meets in a primary-grade book.

The service words are sorted into five levels: pre-primer (40 words), primer (52), first grade (41), second grade (46) and third grade (41). The levels are a rough guide to when children tend to meet the words, not a test they must pass. A kindergartner may know a few third grade words, and a second grader may still be shaky on the primer list. That is why each page here has a check box beside every word, so you can mark what a child can read at a glance and see what is left.

Many of these words cannot be sounded out cleanly. Said, was and the break the usual rules, so children learn them best by seeing them often, in print, in a short daily dose. Print the level that matches your group, laminate it, and keep it near your reading table. When a child can read a word instantly, check the box and move on to the ones that are not yet automatic.

How to use them

1. Choose the level that fits your reader, not the child's grade.
2. Print the list on card stock, or in color if your school allows it.
3. Have the child read down the columns while you listen.
4. Check the box beside each word read at once, with no sounding out.
5. Re-test the unchecked words a few times a week and add the new checks.
6. Move to the next level when nearly every box is checked.

Classroom tips

• Work five or six unchecked words at a time; a full list at once overwhelms most K-2 readers.
• Cut a copy into strips for a quick flash-card game in a center, then keep the checked sheet in the student's folder.
• Pair each new word with a short sentence the child writes; reading and writing a word together fixes it faster.
• The nouns list works well as a word wall source because the words are easy to illustrate.

Notes on this page

• Dolch word counts: pre-primer 40, primer 52, first grade 41, second grade 46, third grade 41, nouns 95. Each list was checked against more than one published copy.

Where the facts come from

• sightwords.com: Dolch lists by level and the 95 nouns (counts 40, 52, 41, 46, 41, 95)
• Wikipedia, Dolch word list: Level lists; matched the others except one extra word (left) in second grade and a longer noun list, which we did not use
• GreatSchools: Second grade list of 46 words
• Kuraplan: All five level lists, word for word
• K12Reader: The 95 nouns

Last reviewed 2026-10-03. Handout Hero designs are original and made for this site. They are general reference material; check your own school, district or tradition where it matters.