Kindergarten Sight Words List - Free Printable Checklist
Kindergarten sight words are the first words children learn to read instantly - “the”, “a”, “I”, “see”, “my”. This checklist covers all 92 words from the Dolch pre-primer and primer lists, the two lists most US kindergarten classrooms work through. Tap each word your child reads on sight to save progress, or print the list and put it on the fridge.
Why kindergarten sight words matter
A handful of words does most of the work in early books: “the” alone shows up in nearly every sentence a kindergartner will ever read. When these first {count} words are instant, a child can finish their first little books without stalling - and that early “I can read this” feeling carries more motivational weight than anything else you can give a five-year-old.
The list runs in rough teaching order: the pre-primer words (the first 40) come first, then the primer set. Kindergarten and 1st grade share these early lists - most classrooms expect the pre-primer words by spring of kindergarten and the rest across 1st grade, so don't treat all 92 as this year's quota.
The checklist - 92 kindergarten sight words
Tip: print this page and check off each word once your child reads it instantly (under 2 seconds). Games beat drills at this age - hide words around the room, not flashcards at a desk.
Tap each word your child reads instantly, without sounding it out.
64 to sound out · 28 to learn by heart
How to use this list
- ✓Start with 3-5 words per week. Kindergartners need smaller batches than older kids. Three known words that stay known beat ten that wash out by Friday.
- ✓Keep sessions under 5 minutes. Attention is the limit at this age. A short pass at breakfast and another at bedtime beats one long sitting.
- ✓Make it a game. Tape words to the wall and call them out. Hide them in the couch. Let your child be the teacher and test you - and get some wrong.
- ✓Point them out in books. After a word clicks on the card, hunt for it during read-alouds. Finding “the” on a real page is the moment it sticks.
- ✓Stop while it's fun. If your child pushes back, shelve the list for two weeks. A kindergartner who decides reading is a chore loses more than five words gained.
A note on the research
The National Reading Panel report (2000) found that phonemic awareness and letter-sound knowledge are the strongest kindergarten predictors of later reading. Sight words support that work rather than replace it: most early words are partly decodable, and recognizing them frees attention for the sounding-out that still needs to happen. If it's ever a choice between letter sounds and word cards, choose letter sounds.
Common questions
How many sight words should a kindergartner know?
Most US classrooms aim for the 40 Dolch pre-primer words by the end of kindergarten, and many children pick up a chunk of the primer list too. The full 92 words here typically span kindergarten and 1st grade. Pace matters less than mood: 3-5 comfortable new words a week is plenty.
What are the first sight words to teach?
Start at the top of the list: “the”, “a”, “I”, “see”, “my”, “can”, “go”, “like”. They're the highest-frequency words in early readers, so every one your child masters pays off in the very next book you open together.
My kindergartner can't remember sight words. Should I worry?
Usually not - kindergartners in the same class can be a full developmental year apart. Check letter-sound knowledge first: sight words stick much better once a child knows most letter sounds, because even “irregular” words are mostly decodable. If letters and sounds are solid and words still won't stick by spring, mention it to the teacher.
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