Dolch Sight Words
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The full Dolch sight word list: all 220 service words in five levels, pre-primer to third grade, plus the 95 Dolch nouns, each level on its own page.
Edward William Dolch published his list of 220 common service words in 1936, in five levels from pre-primer to third grade, with a separate list of nouns. Each level prints here on its own page, with a check box beside every word.
Word lists: Edward William Dolch (1936, 1948).
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Download Dolch pre-primer list (PDF)
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Download Dolch primer list (PDF)
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Download Dolch first grade list (PDF)
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Download Dolch second grade list (PDF)
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Download Dolch third grade list (PDF)
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Download Dolch noun list (PDF)
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The complete Dolch list, and where it comes from
This is the reference page for the Dolch list as a whole: 220 service words and 95 nouns, 315 words in all. The table sorts the 220 service words A to Z and names each word's level, so a single word can be checked without reading through five lists.
Edward William Dolch published the service words in 1936; the journal article is linked under the table. The words here follow the ReadWriteThink (IRA/NCTE) printing.
The nouns are a list of their own: they appear below the table and as a one-page PDF. The pages that print the levels one at a time, or only the two kindergarten levels, are Sight Words and Sight Words for Kindergarten.
All 220 Dolch sight words, A to Z
Every word on the five Dolch service-word lists in one alphabetical table, with the list each word belongs to. Use the browser's find to look up a word and see its level.
220 words
| Word | List |
|---|---|
| a | Pre-primer |
| about | Third grade |
| after | First grade |
| again | First grade |
| all | Primer |
| always | Second grade |
| am | Primer |
| an | First grade |
| and | Pre-primer |
| any | First grade |
| are | Primer |
| around | Second grade |
| as | First grade |
| ask | First grade |
| at | Primer |
| ate | Primer |
| away | Pre-primer |
| be | Primer |
| because | Second grade |
| been | Second grade |
| before | Second grade |
| best | Second grade |
| better | Third grade |
| big | Pre-primer |
| black | Primer |
| blue | Pre-primer |
| both | Second grade |
| bring | Third grade |
| brown | Primer |
| but | Primer |
| buy | Second grade |
| by | First grade |
| call | Second grade |
| came | Primer |
| can | Pre-primer |
| carry | Third grade |
| clean | Third grade |
| cold | Second grade |
| come | Pre-primer |
| could | First grade |
| cut | Third grade |
| did | Primer |
| do | Primer |
| does | Second grade |
| don't | Second grade |
| done | Third grade |
| down | Pre-primer |
| draw | Third grade |
| drink | Third grade |
| eat | Primer |
| eight | Third grade |
| every | First grade |
| fall | Third grade |
| far | Third grade |
| fast | Second grade |
| find | Pre-primer |
| first | Second grade |
| five | Second grade |
| fly | First grade |
| for | Pre-primer |
| found | Second grade |
| four | Primer |
| from | First grade |
| full | Third grade |
| funny | Pre-primer |
| gave | Second grade |
| get | Primer |
| give | First grade |
| giving | First grade |
| go | Pre-primer |
| goes | Second grade |
| good | Primer |
| got | Third grade |
| green | Second grade |
| grow | Third grade |
| had | First grade |
| has | First grade |
| have | Primer |
| he | Primer |
| help | Pre-primer |
| her | First grade |
| here | Pre-primer |
| him | First grade |
| his | First grade |
| hold | Third grade |
| hot | Third grade |
| how | First grade |
| hurt | Third grade |
| I | Pre-primer |
| if | Third grade |
| in | Pre-primer |
| into | Primer |
| is | Pre-primer |
| it | Pre-primer |
| its | Second grade |
| jump | Pre-primer |
| just | First grade |
| keep | Third grade |
| kind | Third grade |
| know | First grade |
| laugh | Third grade |
| let | First grade |
| light | Third grade |
| like | Primer |
| little | Pre-primer |
| live | First grade |
| long | Third grade |
| look | Pre-primer |
| made | Second grade |
| make | Pre-primer |
| many | Second grade |
| may | First grade |
| me | Pre-primer |
| much | Third grade |
| must | Primer |
| my | Pre-primer |
| myself | Third grade |
| never | Third grade |
| new | Primer |
| no | Primer |
| not | Pre-primer |
| now | Primer |
| of | First grade |
| off | Second grade |
| old | First grade |
| on | Primer |
| once | First grade |
| one | Pre-primer |
| only | Third grade |
| open | First grade |
| or | Second grade |
| our | Primer |
| out | Primer |
| over | First grade |
| own | Third grade |
| pick | Third grade |
| play | Pre-primer |
| please | Primer |
| pretty | Primer |
| pull | Second grade |
| put | First grade |
| ran | Primer |
| read | Second grade |
| red | Pre-primer |
| ride | Primer |
| right | Second grade |
| round | First grade |
| run | Pre-primer |
| said | Pre-primer |
| saw | Primer |
| say | Primer |
| see | Pre-primer |
| seven | Third grade |
| shall | Third grade |
| she | Primer |
| show | Third grade |
| sing | Second grade |
| sit | Second grade |
| six | Third grade |
| sleep | Second grade |
| small | Third grade |
| so | Primer |
| some | First grade |
| soon | Primer |
| start | Third grade |
| stop | First grade |
| take | First grade |
| tell | Second grade |
| ten | Third grade |
| thank | First grade |
| that | Primer |
| the | Pre-primer |
| their | Second grade |
| them | First grade |
| then | First grade |
| there | Primer |
| these | Second grade |
| they | Primer |
| think | First grade |
| this | Primer |
| those | Second grade |
| three | Pre-primer |
| to | Pre-primer |
| today | Third grade |
| together | Third grade |
| too | Primer |
| try | Third grade |
| two | Pre-primer |
| under | Primer |
| up | Pre-primer |
| upon | Second grade |
| us | Second grade |
| use | Second grade |
| very | Second grade |
| walk | First grade |
| want | Primer |
| warm | Third grade |
| was | Primer |
| wash | Second grade |
| we | Pre-primer |
| well | Primer |
| went | Primer |
| were | First grade |
| what | Primer |
| when | First grade |
| where | Pre-primer |
| which | Second grade |
| white | Primer |
| who | Primer |
| why | Second grade |
| will | Primer |
| wish | Second grade |
| with | Primer |
| work | Second grade |
| would | Second grade |
| write | Second grade |
| yellow | Pre-primer |
| yes | Primer |
| you | Pre-primer |
| your | Second grade |
The table and the noun list reproduce the lists printed by Dolch Word List (315 Total Words - 220 Words and 95 Nouns), ReadWriteThink (IRA/NCTE), lesson 301. Dolch's own publication of the list: the article "A Basic Sight Vocabulary", The Elementary School Journal, volume 36, number 6, February 1936, at the University of Chicago Press page for the article.
The 95 Dolch nouns
The separate Dolch noun list, word for word. It is also a one-page PDF in the downloads above.
Dolch nouns 95 words
- apple
- baby
- back
- ball
- bear
- bed
- bell
- bird
- birthday
- boat
- box
- boy
- bread
- brother
- cake
- car
- cat
- chair
- chicken
- children
- Christmas
- coat
- corn
- cow
- day
- dog
- doll
- door
- duck
- egg
- eye
- farm
- farmer
- father
- feet
- fire
- fish
- floor
- flower
- game
- garden
- girl
- good-bye
- grass
- ground
- hand
- head
- hill
- home
- horse
- house
- kitty
- leg
- letter
- man
- men
- milk
- money
- morning
- mother
- name
- nest
- night
- paper
- party
- picture
- pig
- rabbit
- rain
- ring
- robin
- Santa Claus
- school
- seed
- sheep
- shoe
- sister
- snow
- song
- squirrel
- stick
- street
- sun
- table
- thing
- time
- top
- toy
- tree
- watch
- water
- way
- wind
- window
- wood
The table and the noun list reproduce the lists printed by Dolch Word List (315 Total Words - 220 Words and 95 Nouns), ReadWriteThink (IRA/NCTE), lesson 301. Dolch's own publication of the list: the article "A Basic Sight Vocabulary", The Elementary School Journal, volume 36, number 6, February 1936, at the University of Chicago Press page for the article.
Three examples
The Dolch pre-primer list on two guide lines. 
The second grade list in US school print. 
The third grade list in sloped print, on A4 paper.
Questions and answers
Can I trace the Dolch words instead of only reading them?
Yes. The generator at the top of this page draws any of the five Dolch levels as a tracing sheet: each word gets a solid model, two dotted copies and space to write it. Download it as a free PDF.
Is the whole Dolch list in the tracing generator?
All 220 service words are, one level per sheet: pre-primer (40), primer (52), first grade (41), second grade (46) and third grade (41). The 95 Dolch nouns are in this page's ready-made files only.
Does the Dolch tracing sheet print on A4 paper?
Yes. Under Options, choose US Letter or A4 before you download, and the rows are laid out for that paper.
Are the Dolch nouns part of the 220 words?
No. The 220 service words are the five graded lists; the 95 nouns are a separate list. Both are printed on this page.
How do I find which list a word is on?
Find it in the A to Z table on this page: the second column names its list, from pre-primer to third grade.
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