How it works
Most lists of sight word activities end with cards to cut out. Here the cards already work. One of 205 common words appears, the child says it and types it, and the tool checks the spelling and keeps every miss in its own pile. Choose a spelling pattern with Show only, race a 60 second round, or print the cards for a center.
Read the full guide
Three ideas on the screen
See it, say it, type it. The page opens in Quiz. The child reads the word aloud, types it and presses Check. The back of the card shows a short sentence that uses the word and a note about its spelling. For a child on a keyboard this is sight word writing practice without a worksheet. Beat the clock. Press Timed, pick 30 seconds, 1 minute or 2 minutes, then Start round. The best round for each length is kept in this browser. Read to a partner. Press Flip: one child reads, and the other presses Show answer, then Got it or Missed it.
Why the words are grouped by spelling pattern
Most lists sort these words by grade. This one sorts them by how the spelling works. The 42 sound-it-out words, such as went and jump, need no memorizing: every letter makes its usual sound. Six more groups each teach one pattern, such as silent e or a vowel team. That leaves 62 words with a tricky part, and the back of the card names it. In said, only the ai is unexpected. Teach the one odd part and the child can sound out the rest, which is quicker than learning the word as a shape.
Running sight word centers with the cards
After one card, the first Print button lays out 12 cards to a sheet on Letter or A4, each 60 mm square. A mirrored sheet of backs follows each, so double-sided printing puts each sentence behind its word. Choose a group with Show only and you print only that group: the tricky words fill 6 sheets of fronts. Your own words print as fronts only, on one side. Three sight word centers need nothing else. At the first, pupils sort cards into words they can sound out and words with a tricky part. At the second, they copy each word onto a whiteboard and underline the tricky letters. At the third, a device runs the same group in timed mode.
- Type or paste your own list under Your words, one on each line. It replaces the sample, hides the Show only chips and stays in this browser. Press Start again to bring both back.
- Keep sight word practice short. Five minutes a day does more than half an hour on Friday.
- Open Missed at the start of each session. A right answer takes the card off the pile.
- For a center, pick the group and the mode, then press Share and open that link on each device. It carries no score and none of your own words.
Questions and answers
What is a sight word?
It is a word a reader knows at once, without working it out letter by letter. In school the term usually means the very common words that fill early books, such as the, was and you. Teachers want these read automatically, because a child who stops at every the has no attention left for the story.
Is this the Dolch list or the Fry list?
Neither. The 205 words were chosen and grouped for this site, and the sentences and spelling notes are our own. Most of them appear on both of those lists anyway, because every such list counts the words that turn up most often in print. Edward Dolch published his 220 service words in 1936. Edward Fry's 1,000 Instant Words date from 1979.
Which sight words should I teach first?
Start with the words in the books the child is reading this week, a few at a time. Short words that can be sounded out, such as am, it and can, cost almost nothing once the child knows those letter sounds. Then add the tricky words that early sentences cannot do without: the, a, I, to, is, was, you, said and of.
My pupils cannot type yet. Can they still use it?
Yes. Press Flip and nothing needs typing. The child reads the word aloud, an adult or a partner presses Show answer, and then Got it or Missed it. The missed pile and the score work the same way.
Does the page keep a record of each child?
No. It never asks for a name. The score, the best streak, the best timed rounds and the missed pile are saved in this browser and are not sent anywhere. On a shared device the next child sees the same pile.