Sight words
First grade sight words
The Dolch first-grade list adds 41 new high-frequency words on top of the kindergarten pre-primer and primer sets. Here's the first-grade list — taught the Science-of-Reading way, most are decoded, not memorized.
Word lists
Dolch first grade · 41 words
Don't memorize them — map them.
Most words on this list are decodable with regular phonics (can, go, red, up, see) — they should be sounded out, not memorized by shape. Only the genuinely irregular ones (the, said, you, was) need special handling, and the Science-of-Reading way to teach those is as heart words: decode the regular letters, flag the irregular part to "know by heart," and let repeated reading bond the word through orthographic mapping.
Full method on the sight words hub, and the science behind it in the Science of Reading guide.
More sight word lists
Frequently asked
First grade sight words: questions.
What sight words should a 1st grader know?
By the end of first grade, students typically know the Dolch pre-primer, primer, and first-grade lists — about 133 high-frequency words cumulatively. The first-grade list itself is 41 words (after, again, could, from, know, of, were, when…). Many follow regular patterns; the irregular ones are taught as heart words.
How many sight words by the end of first grade?
Roughly 130 cumulative Dolch words (pre-primer + primer + first grade), or the first ~200 Fry words. The number matters less than the method: decode the regular words, and map the truly irregular ones (of, were, could) as heart words so they bond permanently.
Turn the list into real reading.
Storytime AI tags heart words in every decodable book, models the irregular part, and scores them as students read — the Science-of-Reading way. Free classroom, no credit card.