Name Tracing Sheets

Kindergarten sight words

Print the kindergarten sight words one page per word: a solid example to read, dotted rows to trace, and room to write it alone. The page opens with the 52 Dolch primer words; the buttons switch lists.

Pick a Dolch or Fry list, or type your own words. Each line becomes its own page.

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In the print window pick your printer, or “Save as PDF” to keep a file. Set scale to 100%.

More optionsCapitals, lines, example, starting dots
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Which sight word lists kindergartens use

  • Dolch pre-primer (40 words) such as a, and, the, see, I, can. Often started in pre-K or at the start of kindergarten.
  • Dolch primer (52 words) such as all, are, he, she, was, like. The usual kindergarten Dolch list.
  • Fry's first 100 words, ordered by how often they appear in reading. Kindergartens that use Fry usually start with the first 25 or 50 and finish the 100 in first grade.
  • Your district's own list. Many schools mix words from both lists with words from their reading program, so the list sent home may not match either one exactly. When it differs, type the school's words into the box.

Both lists are printed in full further down this page.

How many sight words by the end of kindergarten?

There is no single number. Many kindergarten programs aim for somewhere between about 25 and 100 words by the end of the year, and a goal of around 50 is common. Some use the 40 pre-primer words, some all 92 pre-primer and primer words, some Fry's first 100. Your child's teacher or report card will tell you the goal for your school.

Children also learn at very different speeds at this age. A child who knows 20 words well and can find them in a book is doing fine; reading words in real sentences matters more than reaching a count.

Dolch pre-primer and primer words

These 92 words are the two Dolch lists most kindergartens work from: pre-primer first, then primer.

Pre-primer (40 words, pre-k): 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.

Primer (52 words, kindergarten): all, am, are, at, ate, be, black, brown, but, came, did, do, eat, four, get, good, have, he, into, like, must, new, no, now, on, our, out, please, pretty, ran, ride, saw, say, she, so, soon, that, there, they, this, too, under, want, was, well, went, what, white, who, will, with, yes.

Fry's first 100 words

Edward Fry ranked his Instant Words by how often they appear in reading material. These are the first 100 as printed in The Reading Teacher's Book of Lists (2000). Copies found online sometimes differ in the order or in a word or two, such as word for words.

Words 1–25: the, of, and, a, to, in, is, you, that, it, he, was, for, on, are, as, with, his, they, I, at, be, this, or, one.

Words 26–50: had, by, words, but, not, what, all, were, we, when, your, can, said, there, use, an, each, which, she, do, how, will, up, other, about.

Words 51–75: out, many, then, them, these, so, some, her, would, make, like, him, into, time, has, look, two, more, write, number, no, way, could, people, my.

Words 76–100: than, first, water, been, called, who, oil, sit, now, find, long, down, day, did, get, come, made, have, from, their, if, go, see, may, part.

A weekly kindergarten sight word routine

Ten minutes a day is plenty. Pick three to five new words for the week and print one page per word.

  • Read. Say the word, point to it, and have the child say it back. Use it in a short spoken sentence.
  • Trace. Trace the dotted word while spelling it aloud, letter by letter, then read the whole word again.
  • Write. Under More options, add an empty line so the child writes the word alone after tracing it.
  • Find it in a book. Hunt for the word in a picture book or on a cereal box. Finding the five times on one page is a small win worth celebrating.

On Friday, mix this week's words with earlier ones and read them as flash cards. Words that still cause a pause go back on next week's list. Large lines suit most kindergartners; move to medium as the letters get steadier.

More worksheets for kindergarten

The sight word tracing worksheets page has every Dolch list from pre-primer to third grade and all of Fry's first 100 words. When a few words are known, put them in a sentence such as I can see the red dog. with the handwriting worksheet generator, or practice a word list on fewer pages with the spelling practice worksheets. Most kindergartners are also still learning to write their own name: the name tracing worksheet generator makes that page in seconds, and the letter tracing worksheets cover A to Z.

Questions

What are the kindergarten sight words?

Most schools use the Dolch pre-primer and primer lists (92 words in all), the first 25 to 100 of Fry's Instant Words, or their own list built from both. The buttons above the box fill in the Dolch and Fry lists; type your school's list if it is different.

How many sight words should a kindergartner know?

It depends on the school. Goals between about 25 and 100 words by the end of kindergarten are common, often around 50. Ask the teacher for your school's list and goal.

Dolch or Fry for kindergarten?

Either works, and the two lists overlap a lot: words like the, and, is, you, said and look are on both. Use whichever your school uses so practice at home matches the classroom.

How many new words a week?

Three to five new words a week, with review of earlier words, is a common pace in kindergarten. Fewer words learned well beat a long list traced once.

Can I print a whole list at once?

Yes. Pick a list and press Print or save as PDF: every word prints on its own page. Choose Save as PDF as the printer to keep a copy, or Download PNG for images.