Sight words starter list — the 25 tricky words to teach first

Most English words can be sounded out. A small number of very common ones cannot — or not yet, with the phonics a beginner has — and those are the words worth teaching by sight. This list is the first twenty-five: words that turn up in almost every sentence a new reader meets, arranged in five short sets so they can be introduced a couple at a time next to phonics, not instead of it.

Each word comes with its tricky part marked. Most of these words are only partly irregular, and showing a child which bit is the odd one keeps their phonics intact.

How the list was chosen

These are high-frequency words that a child cannot fully decode with early phonics, in roughly the order they become useful. Set 1 goes with the very first sounds, because the, is, a, I and to are what turn three decodable words into a sentence. The later sets follow as blending gets going.

Several of them stop being tricky later on. He, she, we, me, be, so, no and go all follow a regular pattern — a vowel at the end of a short word says its name — and her and they become decodable once er and ey have been taught. They are on a sight list only because a beginner needs them long before those patterns arrive.

If your child's school sends home its own list, follow that order instead. The words will be nearly the same; the sequence varies by program.

How to use the list

Go slowly. One or two new words a week alongside the first phonics sounds. Five a week is plenty for a kindergartener; adding more does not speed things up, it just means they stop sticking.

Treat the word as a whole, then name the tricky bit. “This word is said. The s and the d do what you expect — the middle says /e/.”

Use the sentences. Each set has one sentence built from that set's words plus simple three-letter words. Reading it is a better test than a flashcard.

Tick only what is automatic. A word is known when it is read at once, in a sentence, on a different day from the one you taught it.

Where sight words fit

Why phonics does most of the work, why sight words are a small patch on top of it and not a rival method, and the order the two fit together in the first year: Sight words vs phonics — do I need both?

What to print next

• Decodable Sentences pack — sentences that mix taught sounds with a handful of these words
• Magic 7 Phonics Flashcards — the first seven sounds, to teach alongside Set 1
• CVC Word Pack — the decodable words these sight words sit between

Common questions

Is this the Dolch or Fry list?

Neither. Those are frequency lists, and many of the words on them — and, in, it, on, at — can simply be sounded out. This list keeps only the common words a beginner cannot decode yet.

What comes after these 25?

Words such as some, come, were, there, what, when, out, like and little — by which point your child will be meeting them in books faster than you can list them.

Is the list free to print?

Yes — for home, classroom, and tutoring use.