Pre-k sight words: the Dolch pre-primer list
The Dolch pre-primer list is the first set of 40 sight words, including a, the, I, you and said. It is often used as the pre-k and preschool sight words list. Hear every word, read the sentences and play the game at the bottom.
Pre-k sight words list (40 words)
Tap a word to hear it.
Group 1 (a to for)
Group 2 (funny to little)
Group 3 (look to said)
Group 4 (see to you)
Pre-k sight words game: listen and find
Hear a word from the list and pick it from four look-alike words. Eight rounds, about two minutes.
Short answer
What are pre-k sight words?
Pre-k sight words are usually the 40 words of the Dolch pre-primer list, including a, and, the, I, you, see, can, look, said and where. They are among the most common words in children's books, so recognising them helps a young child read simple sentences. Many of them can be sounded out, like can, big, up and jump, and most of the rest have one irregular part, like the ai in said, that is learned by heart.
- The Dolch pre-primer list has 40 words, from a to you.
- Fully regular pre-primer words include and, big, can, help, in, it, jump, not, red, run and up.
- Heart words on this list include the, said, to, one, two, come, you and where.
- Pre-k children are usually introduced to a few words at a time alongside letter sounds, not all 40 at once.
About pre-k sight words
The pre-primer list is the first of Edward Dolch's five service word lists. Its 40 words are the glue of the simplest books: I, a, the, is, can, see, look, go, and. With these words and a few nouns a child can read a whole page such as I can see a big red ball. That is why many pre-k and preschool classrooms, and some kindergartens, start here.
It helps to know that many of these words are not irregular at all. And, big, can, help, in, it, jump, not, red, run and up follow the same letter-sound rules as CVC words. Go, me and we are short words where the vowel says its name, and in my the y says /ฤซ/. Look, play, three, see and down use common vowel teams, make ends in silent e, and funny and little use endings children meet early. Only a handful are true heart words: the (the e usually sounds like /uh/), said (ai says /e/), to, one and two (none is spelled the way it sounds), come (o says /u/), you and where. For a heart word, the child still decodes what they can, such as the s and d in said, and learns only the odd part by heart.
Pre-k children are still learning letter sounds, so these words work best a few at a time, mixed with sound practice. Choose five words, including two or three regular ones the child can sound out and one heart word. Blending c-a-n into can, and then seeing can again in a sentence, is exactly how the spelling gets stored for instant recall later (share1995). Little and often matters more than long sessions.
Pre-k sight words in sentences
Practice sentences built from words on this list.
- I can see a big red one.
- Come and play with me.
- Look, it is a little yellow ball.
- Where is my blue one?
- We can run and jump.
- You can help me find it.
- Come here and look, I said.
- It is not for me. It is for you.
Common mix-ups with pre-k sight words
Said read as sad or sayd
Said looks like it should rhyme with paid. Show your child that s and d are regular and only ai is odd here: it says /e/, so said rhymes with red. Draw a heart over the ai.
To, two and the number 2
To and two sound the same. Keep two with number work (two cats, two hands) and to with sentences like go to bed. Reading them in different sentences helps more than looking at them side by side.
Where and here
Where contains here, so children often read one as the other. Point to the wh at the start: where begins with the /w/ sound and asks a question, like when and what later on.
Pre-k sight words activities
Heart word tapping
Say a word like said and tap once for each sound: /s/ /e/ /d/. Then write the letters under the taps. Put a small heart over the letters that do not match the usual sound, here the ai. Your child now knows which part to remember and which part to read.
Build it with letter tiles
Say a word from the list, and have your child build it with magnetic letters while saying each sound. Scramble the tiles and build it again. For regular words like can and jump, swap one letter to make a new word: can, cap, cat.
Sight word hunt
Pick one word, such as the or can, and look for it in a picture book together. Your child points to it every time it appears and reads the whole sentence with you. Finding a word in real text shows why it is worth learning.
Rainbow writing
Write a word in large letters. Your child traces it three times in different colours, saying each letter sound aloud, then writes it once from memory. Linking the movement, the sounds and the letters helps the spelling stick.
Pre-k sight words: frequently asked questions
How many pre-k sight words are there?
The Dolch pre-primer list, which many pre-k and preschool classrooms use, has 40 words. Some schools use a shorter list of 10 to 25 words for pre-k and save the rest for kindergarten.
Should preschoolers learn sight words?
A few, once they know some letter sounds. Letter sounds and hearing sounds in words matter more at this age. Sight words taught by linking letters to sounds build on those skills instead of replacing them.
Is the pre-primer list the same as preschool sight words?
Usually, yes. Pre-primer is Dolch's name for the level before the first reading book. Many websites and teachers call the same 40 words pre-k or preschool sight words.
Which pre-k sight words should we learn first?
Start with I, a, the, and, can, see and is. With those seven you can read many simple sentences, and and, can and is can be sounded out.
Practise next
- Kindergarten sight wordsThe Dolch primer list is the second set of sight words, 52 words such as are, was, they, have and what. It is the list most often used for kindergarten. Hear every word, read the sentences and play the game at the bottom.
- First grade sight wordsThe Dolch first grade list has 41 sight words, such as after, could, every, of, once and were. Hear every word, read the sentences, and play the listening game at the bottom.
- Short a wordsShort a is the sound in cat, map and bag, and it is usually the first vowel children blend. Hear every word, try the sentences, and play the game at the bottom.
- Dolch nounsAlongside the 220 service words, Dolch published a list of 95 common nouns, such as apple, bird, house, mother and water. Here they are grouped by topic, with audio for every word, sentences and a listening game.