Change the numbers, layout and number of problems, then download a new PDF with its answer key.
These free third grade sight words worksheets cover all 41 words on the Dolch third grade list. 16 of the 41 words are action words that a child can act out, so this list is a good place to practice with movement.
Third Grade sight words worksheets to print (PDF)
These four pages are the printables for the third grade sight words: a word of the day page for “together”, flash cards, a bingo card and the checklist. Click a picture for the PDF.
Word of the day“together”, with six boxes.PDFFlash cards12 cards on a page.PDFBingo cardsWith a caller list.PDFChecklistTick each word known.PDF
The Dolch third grade sight words list
The Dolch third grade sight words list has 41 words. The third grade sight words are:
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
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 about, kind and warm, and not names of things, so a child cannot learn them from a picture.
Third Grade sight word worksheets: what is in the PDF
The generator prints four kinds of third grade 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
41 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
Third grade sight words by length and first letter
The shortest third grade sight words have 2 letters, such as if, and the longest is together with 8 letters. The average length is 4.3 letters. Here is how the 41 words divide by length:
Letters in the word
Words
Examples
2
1
if
3
8
cut, far, got, hot, own, six
4
15
done, draw, fall, full, grow, hold
5
14
about, bring, carry, clean, drink, eight
6
2
better, myself
8
1
together
The most common first letters are s (6), t (4), c (3), d (3), f (3), h (3).
Dolch third grade sight words that do not follow the rules
Many of the third grade 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
laugh
The au says “a” and the gh says “f”
eight
The eigh says “ay”
warm
The a says “o”
shall
The a is short, unlike in “ball”
kind
The i is long before nd
light
The igh says “i”
hold
The o is long before ld
today
The o says “u”
Start with “laugh”: the au says “a” and the gh says “f”. Ask the child to write it three times, saying it aloud, then find it in a sentence.
The third grade sight words sorted by job
Sorting the 41 words by what they do in a sentence turns a long list into 6 small groups. The biggest group is the action words, with 16 words, so most of the third grade sight words can be acted out or used in a sentence the child already says.
Job
Count
Words
How to teach them
Number words
4
six, seven, eight, ten
Four more number words. With the earlier lists, the child knows every number from one to ten except nine.
Pair each with an opposite the child knows, such as hot and cold, long and short, far and near.
Time, place and amount words
8
about, if, much, never, only, own, today, together
Use sentences with “never”, “only” and “together”.
Word for a person
1
myself
Myself is a compound: my + self. Cover each half and read it in two parts.
Sight word flash cards: a 13-week plan for the third grade sight words
Four new cards a week, with a review week after every fourth, teach all 41 words in 13 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
if, cut, far, got
4
2
hot, own, six, ten
8
3
try, draw, fall, grow
12
4
full, hold, hurt, keep
16
5
Review week: read all 16 cards, two piles
16
6
kind, long, much, only
20
7
pick, show, warm, about
24
8
bring, carry, clean, drink
28
9
never, seven, shall, small
32
10
Review week: read all 32 cards, two piles
32
11
start, better, myself, done
36
12
eight, laugh, light, today
40
13
together
41
Sight word bingo: look-alike words in the third grade sight words list
These are the 7 groups in the third grade sight words list that cause the most mix-ups at the bingo table.
Look-alike words
What to notice
hot, hurt
Both start with h and have three or four letters. Hot is a feeling of heat; hurt means pain.
fall, full, far
Three f words. Fall and full both end in ll.
kind, keep
Both start with k. Kind has the long i and ends in nd; keep has the double e.
long, light
Same first letter l. Light has the silent gh.
show, small
Show starts with the sh sound; small starts with s and ends in ll.
six, seven
Both start with s. Count the letters: six has 3, seven has 5.
today, together
Both start with to. Today has -day inside it; together has get and her.
Practice sentences with the third grade sight words
These ten sentences use 34 different words from the 41 on the list, shown in bold. Read them aloud, then write a sentence of your own for any word that was hard.
Today we shalldrawsixsmall birds together.
Please bring your own cup and drink some warm milk.
If you try and keep trying, you will get better.
Neverlaugh at someone who has hurt himself.
Pickseven apples and carry them home.
How far is it? The long road is full of leaves.
Our plants growmuch faster in the light.
I am done. I cuteight pieces of paper myself.
It is hottoday, so start early.
Onlyclean hands may touch the book.
How long does it take to teach the third grade sight words?
Three to five new words a week works well for most children. For the 41 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
11
13
5
9
11
It follows the Second Grade list of 46 words. The five lists together hold 220 words. This is the last of the five Dolch lists, so after it a child has met all 220 words. To keep going, open the generator above, choose “My own words” and type words from a reader or a class text.
Third grade sight words worksheets: frequently asked questions
How many words are on the third grade list?
There are 41 words, from “about” to “warm”. The longest is “together” with 8 letters.
Which third grade sight words should I teach first?
Start with short, regular words such as if, cut, far, got. Leave the trickier ones (laugh, eight, light, done) until the child is reading the easy words with confidence.
Which third grade sight words do children mix up?
The groups that cause most mistakes are hot/hurt; fall/full/far; kind/keep.
What comes after the third grade list?
The Dolch lists end here, with 220 words in all. Move on to words from the books your child reads, or type your own list into the generator.
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 laugh, eight, light, done, today.
