Teaching With Terhune: DOLCH SIGHT WORD PRACTICE

What are Dolch Sight Words?

The Dolch word list is a list of frequently used English words (also known as sight words), compiled by Edward William Dolch. The list was first published in 1936 and was compiled based on children’s books of that era. The list contains 220 “service words” that Dolch thought should be easily recognized in order to achieve reading fluency in the English language. According to Dolch, between 50% and 75% of all words used in schoolbooks, library books, newspapers, and magazines are a part of the Dolch basic sight word vocabulary; however, bear in mind that he compiled this list in 1936 and it hasn’t been updated since!

The Dolch Word Lists

The Dolch sight word list is broken up into 6 different lists:

Pre-Primer (40 words)
Primer (52 words)
1^st Grade (41 words)
2^nd Grade (46 words)
3^rd Grade (41 words)
Nouns (95 words)

Dolch sorted these 220 words based on the frequency of the words in books for each grade. For example, the word “if” is on the third-grade list because Dolch did not find the word as frequency in many pre-primer through second grade books. However, the word “if” WAS in many third-grade books. On the other hand, “yellow” was found frequency in pre-primer books and therefore is on the pre-primer list. Dolch compiled this graded list to help teachers anticipate which words children were most likely to encounter when reading books at the indicated grade levels.

Why are Sight Words Important?

Sight words are common words that we expect kids to recognize instantly. Words like "the," "it," & "and" appear so often that beginning readers reach the point where they no longer need to try to sound out these words. They recognize them by sight. Building up a large base of sight words helps kids become faster, more fluent readers. When kids master a sight word, they no longer have to pause to blend its letter-sounds together.

Practicing Sight Words

Since sight words are a great way for students to begin building and improving their reading fluency, I have many different sight word activities I like for my students to do. One of my literacy centers is dedicated to sight word practice. It might include a game, worksheet, or just these simple flash cards.

Color Coded Printable Sight Word Flash Cards

I made these color-coded flash cards that align to the Dolch sight word lists.

Each flash card set is color coded based on the Dolch word list that it contains.

For example:

Blue Set: Pre-Primer Word List

Orange Set: Primer Word List

Yellow Set: 1^st Grade Word List

Purple Set: 2^nd Grade Word List

Green Set: 3^rd Grade Word List

I start my first graders off with the Pre-Primer set and we progress through the different sets throughout the school year.

There are so many different ways you can use these sight word sets in your classroom besides just at a literacy center…

you can use them as whole group practice during bathroom breaks, when there is extra class time, etc.
at guided reading groups
as a partner practice activity
in an early finisher tub
with students that need one-on-one help and/or RTI Interventions
these cards can also be easily sent home as homework or during the summer months for students to practice their sight words with.
....and so much more!

Place them in tubs or hang them up in your classroom with hooks!

They are simple to put together. Simply print, laminate, cut, hole punch, and attach the cards together using a book ring.

Dolch Sight Word Fluency Phrases and Short Sentences

Dolch Fluency Phrases and Short Sentences Flash Cards

Once I see my students mastering a set of sight word flash cards, I like to step up their practice and include these sight word phrases and short sentences flash cards.

Dolch Fluency Phrases and Short Sentences

I think it’s so important to follow up with these phrases and short sentences because the sight words are now used in a meaningful context.

Each set of cards include either a phrase or a short sentence using the words from that Dolch word list.

Many of the words are used multiple times in different sentences, which makes for great repeated practice.

The flash card sets also build on each other. For example, the orange set has words from the Pre-Primer and Primer list of Dolch sight words. The yellow set has words from the Pre-Primer, Primer, and 1^st Grade list of sight words and so on.