It is estimated that “sight words” make up roughly 50 to 75 percent of all words young readers are likely to encounter. Since many sight words cannot be sounded out phonetically, readers should recognize them instantly. Increasing one’s sight word bank enables a young reader to focus on more difficult words without losing sense of meaning.

We encourage you to practice sight words at home with your child. If he or she has already mastered the grade level list, practice spelling them and move on to the next set of words.

The following high frequency word lists are from the California Reading & Literature Project/Reading Professional Development Institute: Focusing on Results, K-5.

Kindergarten