Kindergarten Sight Words and How We Taught Them at Home

Last updated: July 2025

If you have a kindergartner, learning kindergarten sight words is one of the most helpful ways to teach your child to read. Even as a former teacher, I was surprised by how many sight words kindergartners are expected to know. When our oldest started learning his list, I wanted it to feel simple and fun, so I created a few printable games and tools we could use together. They worked with all four of our children, and now I’m excited to share them with you.

How We Taught Kindergarten Sight Words at Home

As a child play therapist and teacher, I understand the importance of sight word recognition and the kinds of activities, games, and apps that actually help. Over the years, I’ve tried many different approaches with my own kids and students to see what truly works.

In this post, I’m sharing the simple, playful strategies that made a real difference in our children’s reading fluency, word recognition, and confidence.

If you’re just getting started, our Kindergarten Sight Word Bundle includesthe same tools we used to help all four of our children master their words—with games, flashcards, and charts that make it fun and low-stress.

What are sight words?

Sight words are words that kindergarteners will see the most. These words are the most frequently used in children’s books. They appear so often that memorizing them by sight (without needing to sound them out) helps kids become more fluent, confident readers.

In fact, between 50–75% of the words in your child’s early texts will come from the Pre-Primer and Primer Dolch sight word lists. Mastering these words builds a strong foundation for lifelong reading success.

Kindergarten sight word list

When your child is looking at these words on a daily basis, they will learn them quickly.  Repetition is the key to fluency (reading smoothly, without a lot of pauses), so practicing these words over and over will help to achieve that goal. Here is a FREE printable list of Kindergarten Sight Words (click here, and I will send you the list)

If you’d like everything in one place, our Kindergarten Sight Word Bundle includes all the tools we used—and loved. As a child play therapist, I put the packet together to give you the tools to help your child learn sight words. You can print it over and over again to help your child learn his or her sight words.

How many sight words are there?

When our oldest son was getting ready to start kindergarten, I realized that memorizing sight words can feel overwhelming. There are 52 sight words that are typically taught in kindergarten.

The Kindergarten Sight Words are:

all, am, are, at, ate, be, black, brown, but, came, did, do, eat, four, get, good, have, he, into, like, must, new, no, now, on, our, out, please, pretty, ran, ride, saw, say, she, so, soon, that, there, they, this, too, under, want, was, well, went, what, white, who, will, with, yes.

Those are the most commonly seen words in kindergarten-level books. When a child is able to master those words, it not only makes it easier for them to read the words, but it also improves their fluency, or how quickly and smoothly they can read a passage.

According to Scholastic, “working hard to learn [sight] words by sight (memorizing) pays off…it allows kids to free up cognitive resources so they can focus on the tougher words…they are also able to understand the majority of the text.” In other words, knowing high-frequency sight words builds reading confidence and fluency.

It can feel like a huge task, trying to teach those words, so here’s what worked for our family:

How to Teach Kindergarten Sight Words

Remember that you need to be positive and excited about this because your child will mimic your feelings and energy towards learning.

To begin, simply introduce your child to the list (show your child, hang it up, read them). In our home, we kept this sight word chart near the pantry, so anytime someone went for a snack, they’d see it. It turned into a habit without extra work.

You’ll read all the words to your child (you’ll do this step every day) and explain that he’ll learn a new word every day.
Note: Some words are harder than others and might take several days to learn. That’s OK!

1. On day one, see if your child knows any of the words. If they can read it without help, put a sticker, a checkmark, or a smiley face to the left of the word (there is space for that on this chart). If not, that’s OK! It will happen quickly. 🙂

2. After the words have been introduced and you know where you stand (which words your child recognizes and which ones will need to be taught), it’s time to get to work in a calm, consistent way. That’s what will help your child the most. Consistency.

3. Choose one word that you will work on (until your child has mastered that word and you can move on to the next one) and go over that new word EVERY SINGLE DAY. Don’t forget to review the old words that your child already knows. Do this daily, too.
Recap: Every day, you and your child will learn one new word AND review all of the old words your child already knows.

4. Choose your new word: Each morning, we would go to the chart and our child would read all of the words that had a sticker next to them. Then, I let him/her point to the new word that we will learn.
I’d say the word, spell it, and say it again. I ask our child to repeat it (say it, spell it, and say it again).

5. During the day, we will talk about that word casually and will go back to the chart (hanging on the wall) at least three times during the day

6. Continue to add a sticker, checkmark, or a smiley face as they master new words. Do this until the chart is complete and every word has a mark next to it. From then on, you can just review them every day or every few days.

As the days go on, find these words in other areas (words in books, service words on signs, etc.)

It is essential to learn their sight words and to continue to practice them. Keeping a stack of flashcards near their bed is an easy way to review the words before bed, too. Just make it a part of their bedtime routine.

I also liked hanging the words near their bed (taped to the wall or the side of a dresser), so they would see them when they were lying in bed before falling asleep.

Once your child has mastered the words on their Kindergarten sight-word list, they can move on to the first-grade sight-word list (also known as the “first-grade Dolch words list”).

Remember to have fun and be excited because your child will feed off of your energy.

Related: YOU ARE WELCOME TO DOWNLOAD THIS SIGHT WORD CHECKLIST ↓ (free) by clicking here. 

SIGHT WORDS TO TRACE

Tracing gave our kids a hands-on way to remember words—they especially loved this simple method.

Tracing kindergarten sight words gives children a chance to engage with the words in a new and different way. By combining multiple learning styles in one lesson, kids are more likely to learn and recall their sight words. Here are a couple of methods for creating kindergarten sight words to trace.

• Rainbow Writing: At the beginning of the school year, have students trace the sight words in three different colors. This repetition helps them develop motor memory while also solidifying the spelling of the word. As the school year progresses, have students write the words independently in three colors. They can overlap the colors or write them three separate times.
• Dry-Erase Words: Kids love writing with different writing tools, so dry-erase markers always make things more fun!
   – Print out the kindergarten sight words you’d like students to practice on a sheet of heavy cardstock.
   – Slip the cardstock into a transparent page protector and clip it to a clipboard.
   – Then, with a dry-erase marker, students can trace the sight words on the page protector.
  If they make a mistake, it can be erased with a tissue or an old sock!

SIGHT WORDS TO PRINT AND TYPE

Letting our kids print their sight words turned out to be a surprise win. They loved getting creative with fonts and colors, and it helped the words stick without feeling like work.

Technology has made even the youngest students digitally savvy. If you have access to a computer or tablet and a printer, have your students type their kindergarten sight words and print them out.

Kids love working in word processing programs and learning how to type. They can print the words in different colors, fonts, and sizes. Use the sight words they printed to decorate the room or as part of their reading folder.

If you minimize the page size, you could even use their printed words as Kindergarten sight word flashcards!

SIGHT WORDS IN SENTENCES

Learning sight words is important, but kids need to learn how to identify those words in sentences.

For early readers, being able to pick out kindergarten sight words in sentences means they have a complete understanding of the word.

Not only can they trace and write the word, but they can pick it out amidst other words. This is an important skill as they continue to develop their reading abilities.

How do you find them? 

One way to help kids identify their sight words in sentences is to play a modified version of I Spy. Instead of looking for objects, they are tasked with finding sight words. Give them a highlighter or highlighter tape to cover the word once they have found it.

Since kindergarteners have a limited reading vocabulary, make the sentences as uncomplicated as possible. Even three-word sentences allow students to practice finding and identifying sight words. If you want to make it more challenging, add a couple of sight words in each sentence!

KINDERGARTEN SIGHT WORDS WITH PICTURES

Kindergarten sight words are basic words that are seen the most frequently in grade-level books. Many of the words are hard to illustrate because of their simplicity. One way to create flashcards of kindergarten sight words with pictures is to have students decorate them or create an illustration that helps them remember the word.

For example, they may draw someone crawling under a table, or they might draw a picture of a toy that has fallen under a bed to illustrate the word “UNDER.”  

Whatever image helps them remember the word is fine to use. The goal is to help them learn the words so there is no right or wrong.

KINDERGARTEN SIGHT WORD FLASHCARDS

Kindergarten sight word flashcards are especially helpful for quick practice. They can be useful for reviewing words at home or on the go.

Some people even uploaded them as virtual flashcards to a tablet or smartphone to be practiced while in the car, visiting relatives, or on vacation.

It doesn’t matter if you print them out to review alone, study them from a device, or turn them into a game; sight word flashcards are a great way to reinforce kindergarten vocabulary.

When using Kindergarten Sight Word Flashcards, start with three sight words. When your child knows these three words, add one additional word at a time to the existing words the child already knows.

If you add more, your child will likely become frustrated, and we want this to be fun! Continue adding one word at a time until your child can recognize all Kindergarten sight words.

Sight Word Games and Sight Word Apps

Learning is always more effective when it’s turned into a game! Here are some of our favorite sight word games and apps.

Sight Word Games To Make and Play at Home

• Go on a Word Hunt: Look for sight words in your Kindergartener’s favorite book! Count how many you can find. You could also print out a list of kindergarten sight words and put a checkmark next to each one you find.
• Sight Word Hopscotch: Draw a hopscotch board on the sidewalk with chalk and write different sight words in each square. As your child hops from square to square, have him call out the sight word he’s jumping to.
• Sight Word Water Balloon Smash: Fill water balloons and write sight words on each balloon in a permanent marker. On the sidewalk, write the sight words in chalk. Have your child choose a balloon, match it to the word on the sidewalk, and smash it on the chalked word. Not only is it a lot of fun, but it’s also a great way to stay cool.
• You’ll find even more fun activities—like puzzles, matching games, and word hunts—in our Kindergarten Sight Word Bundle Packet.

Sight Word Tools and Apps

• Print this FREE Kindergarten sight word list – Hang it by your door or on your refrigerator.  Review the list daily until your child can read it fluently and confidently.
  Sight Words by Photo Touch – Free. This sight word app gets right to the point, having its users match sight words and progressing them through different levels as they show understanding.
• Sight Words List by Innovative Mobile Apps – This paid app lets you use pre-built lists of sight words or create your own. There are also challenges where users can pick the sight word out of a group of words. The clear font makes the words easy to read.
• Sight Words: Kids Learn by Teacher Created Materials – Free. This sight words app features a few more bells and whistles than the two above. The pictures are colorful, the font is clear, and there are multiple games to help students practice their sight words.

While the free sight word list is a great free starting point, if you are ready to get serious about the words, you can get our printable Sight Word Bundle. It made the biggest difference for us—and it’s the same system we used with all four of our kids.

This Kindergarten Sight Word Bundle Packet is easy to use; you can download it and print it as many times as needed to help your child.  The kids love it and they learn so much from the repetition of seeing the same words again and again. It’s a great way to help your child learn their sight words, which in turn helps them learn to read well.

Whether you use our bundle or create your own routines, the key is consistency and fun. You’ve got this—and I’m cheering you on!

FAQ About Kindergarten Sight Words

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