Dolch Sight Words List – 95 Nouns

– in Alphabetical Order

Edward William Dolch, Ph.D. deliberately excluded nouns from his sight words list. In fact, he specifically stated that this list is not recommended for a basic sight word vocabulary. However, if a child is struggling with reading, these words may be taught due to their frequency in English text.

Unlike sight “service” words, nouns are not universal but rather directly related to a subject matter. As a child learns about a new topic, new nouns are introduced. As a result, nouns will vary according to a child’s interest and school curriculums. Some nouns do occur frequently across many subject matters, but they represent the exception to the rule.

Dolch’s Nouns

The 95 nouns noted below were relevant to a first grader or young child in Dolch’s era. In regards to his list of nouns, Dolch further stated, “They are in no sense basic to all elementary school reading.”

apple	children	flower	money	sister
baby	Christmas	game	morning	snow
back	coat	garden	mother	song
ball	corn	girl	name	squirrel
bear	cow	goodbye	nest	stock
bed	day	grass	night	street
bell	dog	ground	paper	sun
bird	doll	hand	party	table
birthday	door	head	picture	thing
boat	duck	hill	pig	time
box	egg	home	rabbit	top
boy	eye	horse	rain	toy
bread	farm	house	ring	tree
brother	farmer	kitty	robin	watch
cake	father	leg	Santa Claus	water
car	feet	letter	school	way
cat	fire	man	seed	wind
chair	fish	men	sheep	window
chicken	floor	milk	shoe	wood

Source: Dolch, E.W., Ph.D. (1948). Problems in Reading. Champain, IL: The Garrard Press.