Change the numbers, layout and number of problems, then download a new PDF with its answer key.
These free pre-primer sight words worksheets cover all 40 words on the Dolch pre-primer list. 11 of the 40 words are action words that a child can act out, so this list is a good place to practice with movement.
Pre-Primer sight words worksheets to print (PDF)
These four pages are the printables for the pre-primer sight words: a word of the day page for “jump”, flash cards, a bingo card and the checklist. Click a picture for the PDF.
Word of the day“jump”, with six boxes.PDFFlash cards12 cards on a page.PDFBingo cardsWith a caller list.PDFChecklistTick each word known.PDF
The Dolch pre-primer sight words list
The Dolch pre-primer sight words list has 40 words. Edward William Dolch, an American education professor, made the lists in 1936 from the words that appear most often in children’s books, and they are still used in classrooms today. The pre-primer sight words are:
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
For the history of the lists, see Wikipedia’s Dolch word list article. Most of these words are “service words” that do work in a sentence, such as a, look and you, and not names of things, so a child cannot learn them from a picture.
Pre-Primer sight word worksheets: what is in the PDF
The generator prints four kinds of pre-primer sight words worksheets. This table shows the number of pages for this list, counted from the real PDFs:
What you print
Pages in the PDF
Details
Sight word of the day
40 pages (one for each word)
Six boxes: read it, trace it, write it, color it, find it and circle it, use it in a sentence
Flash cards
4 pages
12 cards on a page, in 3 columns and 4 rows, with dashed cut lines
Bingo cards and caller list
3 pages for 4 cards
2 cards on a page, with a caller page to cut apart. Each card is 5 by 5 with a free space
Assessment checklist
2 pages
26 words on a page, with four date columns to tick when a child reads the word right
Pre-primer sight words by length and first letter
The shortest pre-primer sight words have 1 letters, such as a, I, and the longest is little with 6 letters. The average length is 3.3 letters. Here is how the 40 words divide by length:
Letters in the word
Words
Examples
1
2
a, I
2
9
go, in, is, it, me, my
3
12
and, big, can, for, not, one
4
12
away, blue, come, down, find, help
5
3
funny, three, where
6
2
little, yellow
The most common first letters are i (4), t (4), a (3), f (3), m (3), b (2).
Dolch pre-primer sight words that do not follow the rules
Many of the pre-primer sight words can be sounded out, but some break the usual rules. These are the ones to teach by sight, with attention to the tricky part:
Word
What is tricky
said
The ai makes an “eh” sound
one
It starts with a “w” sound, but is spelled with an o
two
The w is silent
where
The ere sounds like “air”
you
The ou says “oo”
come
The o says “u”
Start with “said”: the ai makes an “eh” sound. Ask the child to write it three times, saying it aloud, then find it in a sentence.
The pre-primer sight words sorted by job
Sorting the 40 words by what they do in a sentence turns a long list into 7 small groups. The biggest group is the action words, with 11 words, so most of the pre-primer sight words can be acted out or used in a sentence the child already says.
Job
Count
Words
How to teach them
Colors
3
blue, red, yellow
Match each word to a crayon or a real object of that color.
Number words
3
one, two, three
Count out that many buttons next to the card.
Action words
11
come, find, go, help, jump, look, make, play, run, see, said
Act each word out: jump, run, look. These are the quickest to learn.
Describing words
3
big, little, funny
Pair with two objects, one big and one little.
Place and direction words
6
away, down, here, in, up, where
Use a toy and a box: put it up, down, in, away.
Words for people
5
I, me, my, we, you
Say the word, then point to the person it means.
Small connecting words
9
a, and, can, for, is, it, not, the, to
These have no picture, so teach them inside a short sentence.
Sight word flash cards: a 12-week plan for the pre-primer sight words
Four new cards a week, with a review week after every fourth, teach all 40 words in 12 weeks. Look-alike words never share a week, and the sight word flash cards print from the generator above.
Week
New cards
Words known by the end of the week
1
a, I, go, in
4
2
is, me, my, to
8
3
it, up, we, and
12
4
big, can, for, not
16
5
Review week: read all 16 cards, two piles
16
6
red, run, see, away
20
7
blue, come, down, find
24
8
help, here, jump, look
28
9
make, play, funny, three
32
10
Review week: read all 32 cards, two piles
32
11
where, little, yellow, one
36
12
the, two, you, said
40
Sight word bingo: look-alike words in the pre-primer sight words list
These are the 5 groups in the pre-primer sight words list that cause the most mix-ups at the bingo table.
Look-alike words
What to notice
me, we
Only the first letter differs, and both end in e. Say the sound before choosing.
in, is, it
Three words that all start with i. Look at the last letter and read it aloud.
a, and
One letter or three. The long one is “and”.
see, three
Both end in ee. “Three” starts with th and is the number.
can, come
Same first letter. “Come” has the silent e at the end.
Practice sentences with the pre-primer sight words
These ten sentences use 38 different words from the 40 on the list, shown in bold. Read them aloud, then write a sentence of your own for any word that was hard.
Icanseeabigred ball.
Look at thefunnyyellow duck!
Canyouhelpmefindmyblue hat?
Weplayandrunandjumpupanddown.
Comehere, littleone. Where are you?
“Goaway!” saidthebigred dog.
One, two, three, go!
Imakeafunny hat foryou.
Isitabigyellow bus? No, itisnot.
Lookup! Iseethreeblue kites.
How long does it take to teach the pre-primer sight words?
Three to five new words a week works well for most children. For the 40 words on this list, that means the following time, with or without a review week after every fourth week:
New words each week
Weeks to teach the list
With a review week after every 4 weeks
3
14
17
4
10
12
5
8
10
It is the first of the five Dolch lists, so it is the place to start with a child who is just beginning to read. The five lists together hold 220 words. With this one a child has met 40 of them. After this list, the primer list adds 52 words, including colors such as black, brown and white, the number four, and action words such as ate, eat, ran and ride.
Pre-primer sight words worksheets: frequently asked questions
How many words are on the pre-primer list?
There are 40 words, from “a” to “you”. The longest are “little” and “yellow”, with 6 letters each.
Which pre-primer sight words should I teach first?
Start with short, regular words such as a, I, go, in. Leave the trickier ones (the, said, you, two) until the child is reading the easy words with confidence.
Which pre-primer sight words do children mix up?
The groups that cause most mistakes are me/we; in/is/it; a/and.
What comes after the pre-primer list?
After this list, the primer list adds 52 words, including colors such as black, brown and white, the number four, and action words such as ate, eat, ran and ride.
How do I print a sheet for just the hard words?
Open the generator at the top of the page, choose “My own words” and type the words you want, for example the, said, you, two, one.
