Dolch List of 220 Sight Words - By Parts of Speech

Edward William Dolch, Ph.D. created a list of 220 sight words which contains conjunctions, prepositions, pronouns, adverbs, adjectives and verbs. He referred to these words as “tool” or “service” words because these words are found in all reading material, regardless of the subject matter. The same cannot be said of nouns; they are directly related to a subject matter. As a result, he created a separate word list which contains 95 nouns.

Early emergent readers should focus on instantly recognizing by sight these 220 words. Dolch’s list of 220 sight words categorized based on parts of speech is listed below.

The Dolch List is Not the Only Sight Word List

Recognizing sight words is a solid first step toward mastering the key skill of reading. By definition, a sight word is a word that a child can read without phonetically decoding it. Sight words are also high-frequency words, being commonly found in most publications. The importance of introducing children to sight words is to lay a foundation for the reading process and to build up confidence as they become more comfortable with the written word. Specific research involving the use of sight words to teach reading reinforces this method, as studies reveal that with over a half million words in the English language, only a couple hundred are regularly used in printed material. Doctors Edward William Dolch and Edward B. Fry compiled practical lists that are still highly valued by both parents and teachers.

Edward William Dolch, PhD published a landmark study that revolutionized the way reading was taught. In his book, Problems in Reading, he developed his theory that children who memorize or are able to identify a core group of words by sight learn to read more easily and with greater comprehension. Dolch systematically compiled a list of 220 service words and 95 nouns (the Dolch lists). He chose words that were most often used in the children’s reading books during the 1930s and 40s. When beginner readers learned these sight words, they became more fluent readers in a shorter period of time.

In 1996, Edward B. Fry, Ph.D, took Dolch’s research to a new level with the publication of his book, 1,000 Instant Words. He compiled a list of the most common sight words and arranged them in order of frequency. Fry’s research discovered that a mere twenty-five words, (these appear at the top of his list) comprise about a third of all published work. He noted that one hundred words are commonly used in about half of all written publications. His list was designed around these facts, as he sought to encourage young children to memorize these sight words to better enable them to read.

Both Dolch and Fry grasped the thinking process involved in reading. With repeated exposure to common sight words, students will instantly recognize these words, automatically comprehending them whenever they appear in the text. This streamlines the reading process by making certain common words quickly understood, leaving the child to phonetically decode only the unfamiliar words on a page.

The common vocabulary word lists compiled by both Dolch and Fry are arranged in a level of increasing difficulty. Fry divided his list into six levels, which correspond to the first six grades. On the other hand, Dolch suggested that his words be thoroughly mastered by third grade. Today, however, most educators encourage students to to recognize upon sight the Dolch lists by the end of the first grade.

Er-u-di-tion is a sight words game that was developed to provide early readers frequent interaction with sight words and basic phonic sounds while playing a fun game. The game cards are categorized by reading readiness level so children of various reading levels can play together.

Edward W. Dolch, PhD’s Sight Words List

Courtesy of the University
of Illinois Archives © Learning to read is at the core of any curriculum. This single skill will determine a child’s academic success. While at the University of Illinois, Edward William Dolch, Ph.D. published a book called Problems in Reading to improve the way reading was taught. He devoted an entire chapter on basic sight word vocabulary.

Dolch identified a need for a sight word list as opposed to a standard word list which typically contains over five hundred words. He concluded that the most essential words will be repeated on the “best” lists of words used by children.


He obtained the following three lists:

A list published by a committee in an international kindergarten union that contains the words children recognize prior to entering first grade (Washington, International Kindergarten Union, 1928).

A list published in A Reading Vocabulary for the Primary Grades by Arthur I. Gates. Dolch used Gates’ first 500 hundred words (New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1926).

A list compiled by H.E. Wheeler and Emma A. Howell in the article A First-Grade Vocabulary Study which contained 453 words most frequently found in reading material in first grade(Elementary School Journal, XXXI, September, 1930).

After comparing the three lists, he excluded nouns and selected the most common words based on frequency. In addition, he exercised professional judgment and included 27 words which were on only two of the three lists. As a result, he compiled a list of 220 words and presented them according to level of difficulty, alphabetical and function or parts of speech.

The 220 words include

6 conjunctions - join clauses

16 prepositions - introduce phrases

26 pronouns – represent person or things

34 adverbs – modify verbs

46 adjectives – modify nouns

92 verbs - denote action

Dolch referred to the above words as “tool” or “service” words; they are used in all writing regardless of subject matter. He intentionally excluded nouns from his sight words list. He provided a separate list of nouns.

The Dolch list of 220 service words represents approximately half of printed material. Furthermore, he encouraged every child to learn to recognize sight words instantly.
When they later encounter them in the context of a book, they will have already learned their pronunciation and definition, which will make reading easier.

Most of the Dolch list words cannot be sounded out phonetically, nor can they be illustrated to add a visual cue to the learning process. He recommended a child should master the entire list by 3rd grade. However, many educators today feel that students should master all 220 service words by the end of first grade.

As new generations of students come to instantly recognize Dolch’s sight words, they will become stronger readers with greater comprehension. This will foster success throughout their academic studies. Both parents and professional educators are encouraged to find creative ways to help children instantly recognize this list of words.

Er-u-di-tion, the sight words game, is an excellent tool to help parents and teachers instill the Dolch list (and a few other sight words) in early readers. Game cards are separated by difficulty level so children of various reading levels can play together.

Dolch and Dr. Seuss

Theodor Seuss Geisel, under the pen name Dr. Seuss, authored numerous beginner reading books, which have passed the test of time. In the mid 1950s, Dr. Seuss’ publisher generated a list of 400 common words and asked the author to refine this list to 250 words and write a book using only those words.

Nine months later, Dr. Seuss completed The Cat in the Hat, which used 223 of the words from his publisher’s list. Most of these words that Dr. Seuss used are also included in the Dolch word list, a list of high frequency words developed by Edward W. Dolch, PhD in 1948.

For decades Dr. Seuss books have been a favorite of children, parents and educators. From an educator’s perspective, these books help children learn to read through repetitive use of sight words. Such words represent between 50% and 75% of all English print media. These high frequency words have an even higher concentration (75% to 90%) in Dr. Seuss and other “learn to read” books.

Er-u-di-tion, the sight words game, was created to help beginning readers master recognition and comprehension of the Dolch words (plus 64 additional words from other sight word lists) in a fun and interactive way. Once children can recognize and understand Er-u-di-tion’s words upon sight, they quickly learn to read almost any beginner level book. The confidence obtained through learning to read these high frequency words promotes a child’s road to reading.

Below is the text from Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham with Er-u-di-tion’s words highlighted in red, representing 87% of this classic’s text.

I am Sam. I am Sam. Sam I am. That Sam -I-am! That Sam -I-am! I do not like that Sam -I-am! Do you like green eggs and ham? I do not like them, Sam-I-am . I do not like green eggs and ham. Would you like them here or there? I would not like them here or there. I would not like them anywhere. I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them Sam-I-am. Would you like them in a house? Would you like them with a mouse? I do not like them in a house. I do not like them with a mouse. I do not like them here or there. I do not like them anywhere. I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them Sam-I-am. Would you eat them in a box? Would you eat them with a fox? Not in a box. Not with a fox. Not in a house. Not with a mouse. I would not eat them here or there. I would not eat them anywhere. I would not eat green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam-I-am. Would you? Could you? In a car? Eat them! Eat them! Here they are. I would not, could not, in a car. You may like them. You will see. You may like them in a tree! I would not, could not in a tree. Not in a car! You let me be. I do not like them in a box. I do not like them with a fox. I do not like them in a house. I do not like them with a mouse. I do not like them here or there. I do not like them anywhere. I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam-I-am. A train! A train! A train! A train! Could you, would you on a train? Not on a train! Not in a tree! Not in a car! Sam! Let me be! I would not, could not, in a box. I could not, would not, with a fox. I will not eat them with a mouse. I will not eat them in a house. I will not eat them here or there. I will not eat them anywhere. I do not eat green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam-I-am. Say! In the dark? Here in the dark! Would you, could you, in the dark? I would not, could not, in the dark. Would you, could you, in the rain? I would not, could not, in the rain. Not in the dark. Not on a train. Not in a car. Not in a tree. I do not like them, Sam, you see. Not in a house. Not in a box. Not with a mouse. Not with a fox. I will not eat them here or there. I do not like them anywhere! You do not like green eggs and ham? I do not like them, Sam-I-am. Could you, would you, with a goat? I would not, could not with a goat! Would you, could you, on a boat? I could not, would not, on a boat. I will not, will not, with a goat. I will not eat them in the rain. I will not eat them on a train. Not in the dark! Not in a tree! Not in a car! You let me be! I do not like them in a box. I do not like them with a fox. I do not like them in a house. I do not like them with a mouse. I do not like them here or there. I do not like them ANYWHERE! I do not like green eggs and ham! I do not like them, Sam-I-am. You do not like them. So you say. Try them! Try them! And you may. Try them and you may, I say. Sam! If you will let me be, I will try them. You will see. Say! I like green eggs and ham! I do! I like them, Sam-I-am! And I would eat them in a boat. And I would eat them with a goat … And I will eat them in the rain. And in the dark. And on a train. And in a car. And in a tree. They are so good, so good, you see! So I will eat them in a box. And I will eat them with a fox. And I will eat them in a house. And I will eat them with a mouse. And I will eat them here and there. Say! I will eat them ANYWHERE! I do so like green eggs and ham! Thank you! Thank you, Sam-I-am!