First grade sight words worksheets (Dolch first grade list)
The Dolch first grade list has 41 words that show up in early readers. Trace them in groups of eight, write them again on a blank line, and use them in sentences to connect handwriting with reading.
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The 41 words on this list
Click a preset above to load a group of eight, or choose “All 41 words”. The full list:
- after
- again
- an
- any
- as
- ask
- by
- could
- every
- fly
- from
- give
- going
- had
- has
- her
- him
- his
- how
- just
- know
- let
- live
- may
- of
- old
- once
- open
- over
- put
- round
- some
- stop
- take
- thank
- them
- then
- think
- walk
- were
- when
A first-grade routine
First graders are usually reading short books, so tie the list to what they read. Pick eight words, find each in a book, then trace and write it. Words such as after, every, think, and thank have letter patterns worth noticing: the th pair, the er ending, the silent letters. Ask the child to point to the part that is tricky.
Tricky spellings on the list
Some first grade words are not spelled the way they sound: could, know, walk, once, of, were. Write the word large, say it slowly, and underline the unexpected letters. Tracing each letter of could helps the child feel the ou and ld pattern.
Copying with care
First grade is where neat letter size starts to matter. Keep the guidelines on so the child can see which letters are tall and which are small. When a word is steady, move to the spelling worksheet generator to use the same words in a weekly list, or to sentence tracing for short copywork.
A note on lists
These are the 41 first grade words from Edward W. Dolch’s basic sight vocabulary. “First grade” is a traditional label, not a standard. Your school may use another list, so paste it into the box and keep what matches your lessons.
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First grade sight word questions
How many Dolch first grade words are there?
There are 41 words on the Dolch first grade list.
What if my school uses a different first grade list?
Paste your own list into the box, one word per line, up to 100 words. The tool works with any word list.
Do these sheets teach reading?
They support handwriting and visual memory. Reading also needs sound-by-sound decoding and practice with real books.
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