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Kindergarten Sight Words List

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The 50 kindergarten sight words in teaching order, a pre-K starter list, a 1st grade list, word wall cards and a can-read, can-write tracker.

Download the sight words list worksheets

Sight word lists

The kindergarten list in teaching order, a pre-K starter list and a 1st grade next-steps list.

Word wall cards and trackers

Big word cards for the classroom wall, and two ways to track the words each child can read and write.

Print at 100% (actual size) for the cleanest tracing lines.

About these sight words list worksheets

Here is our list of sight words for kindergarten, in the order we teach them: I, a, the, to, and, is, it, in, you, we, can, see, my, like, go, at, he, she, me, look, said, for, up, down, here, are, was, of, have, they, this, play, come, little, big, one, two, three, red, blue, yellow, green, do, no, on, with, what, where, be, that. These are the small, common words children meet on almost every page of an early reader, and most kindergartners learn to read them on sight by the end of the year.

Print the list as one page with the words in five sets of ten, so you always know which words come next. Each word has its own page of worksheets, linked from the sight word worksheets page.

For younger children there is a pre-K starter list of 20 first words (I, a, the, to, and, is, it, in, you, we, can, see, my, like, go, me, look, up, big and no). For children who know all 50, the 1st grade list has 40 next-step words, from after and again to were, when, who and will.

To use the list in class, print the word wall cards (big print, A to Z, ten to a page) and the sight words tracker, which has a Can read and a Can write box with a date line for every word.

Standards

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.CRead common high-frequency words by sight (e.g., the, of, to, you, she, my, is, are, do, does).
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.4Read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.1.BRecognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters.

How to use them

  1. Teach the words in list order, two to four new words a week, and keep reviewing the words already learned.
  2. Read the list together for a minute a day: point to each word, read it, and move on quickly. Go back to any word that makes your child stop.
  3. Check off Can read on the tracker when your child reads a word fast, without sounding it out, and Can write when they write it from memory.
  4. Put the word wall cards up under their first letter as each word is taught, so children can find a word when they need to write it.

Teaching tips

  • Start with the words children meet most in early books: I, a, the, to, and, is, it and in. Many of them are short and easy to sound out, which builds confidence.
  • Teach look-alike words apart, not on the same day: was and saw, on and no, the and they, here and her.
  • Group words that share a pattern: he, me, we, be and she all end with an e that says its name; go and no end with an o that says its name.
  • If a child is stuck on a word for weeks, put it in a short sentence they say a lot, like “I like you,” and read it every day.

Questions teachers and parents ask

What sight words should a kindergartner know?

A good kindergarten list covers the most common words in early books. Ours has 50: I, a, the, to, and, is, it, in, you, we, can, see, my, like, go, at, he, she, me, look, said, for, up, down, here, are, was, of, have, they, this, play, come, little, big, one, two, three, red, blue, yellow, green, do, no, on, with, what, where, be, that.

How many sight words should a kindergartner know by the end of the year?

It depends on the school, but many kindergarten classrooms aim for somewhere between 25 and 50 sight words by the end of the year. The 50 words on this list are a full year of practice.

In what order should sight words be taught?

Start with short, very common words (I, a, the, to, and, is, it, in), then add a few new words each week. Our list is in that teaching order, in five sets of ten.

What are good sight words for pre-K?

Start with 20 or fewer: I, a, the, to, and, is, it, in, you, we, can, see, my, like, go, me, look, up, big and no. The pre-K list prints in big type, four words to a row.

What sight words come after kindergarten?

The 1st grade list has 40 next-step words, including after, again, all, an, any, as, ask and by. Start it once your child reads all 50 kindergarten words.

Is the sight words list free?

Yes. Every list, card set and tracker is a free PDF to print for your classroom or home, with no account or email sign-up.