...
Sight Words Logo

Dolch Sight Words Activities Kindergarten through 2nd Grade

Designed for: Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2

This comprehensive sight words program teaches the 220 Dolch sight words and more than 100 other high frequency words to students at a kindergarten through 2nd grade level. The word lists in the Essential Skills Sight Words program constitute more than 50% of most reading materials. Words are introduced in a logical progression starting at the kindergarten sight words level and building to sight words for grades 1 and 2. Over 550 engaging sight words activities provide hours of focused sight words practice to ensure mastery of the basic sight words kindergarten through 2nd grade students need to develop automaticity and fluency.

By introducing students to sight words activities, teachers can help them recognize words by sight rather than relying solely on phonics. This builds reading confidence in kindergarten students who are just starting their literacy journey. Incorporating regular sight words practice into daily lessons helps ensure that students become familiar with these common words, which speeds up their ability to read fluently.

Sight Words Program Targeted Skills

  • Word Recognition & Sight Words Practice
  • 220 Dolch Sight Words
  • Color Words
  • Number Words
  • Contractions
  • Comprehension Using Context
  • Visual & Auditory Memory

Highlighted Features

  • Developed by teachers and reading specialists
  • Designed for all primary level readers
  • Divides sight words practice into six levels to teach more than 300 words
  • Teaches word discrimination and the concept of word families
  • Follows a logical progression e.g. Kindergarten, sight words for grade 1 etc.
  • Includes special exercises to teach color words, number words and contractions
  • Provides sight words practice for all types of learning styles

Resources

PDF icon Scope and Sequence

Dolch Sight Words Assessment

Every Essential Skills program includes a comprehensive pretest, ensuring a personalized learning journey for every student. The Dolch Sight Words assessment tests students’ knowledge and recognition of the 220 Dolch sight words as well as 100 other high-frequency words.

The Best Value in K–6 Learning

Access the full Essential Skills library — all subjects, all grade levels — for one simple price per class or school. Discover why thousands of educators trust our research-based programs to build foundational skills and boost student success.

See Our Pricing

See measurable student gains — or your money back.

We stand behind our programs. If your students don’t show measurable progress in 6 months, we’ll refund your subscription — no questions asked.

Just use the program 2–3 times per week for 20–30 minutes per session, and track progress using our built-in reports.

We believe in results, and we’re putting that belief in writing.

100% Satisfaction Guarantee
Perpetual CD Licenses
PC and Mac (System Requirements)

The desktop version of Essential Skills is available exclusively as a school-wide license, giving your entire school unlimited access to our complete library of programs for one affordable, one-time price. There are no subscription fees, so you can use it year after year at no additional cost. This fast, reliable solution is perfect for schools with limited internet access and provides comprehensive coverage for every student. Easily installed on your network, it securely stores student data on a central server and works with any Windows PC.

Single (CD)

For use on a single workstation

$119 Perpetual License
  • No subscription charges or renewal fees

Add to Cart

Lab Pack (CD)

For use on any five (5) workstations simultaneously

$394.00 Perpetual License
  • No subscription charges or renewal fees

Add to Cart

Site License (CD)

For unlimited use on all workstations at an individual school

$826.00 Perpetual License
  • No subscription charges or renewal fees

Add to Cart
Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some popular sight words activities for classrooms:

Sight Word Bingo: Create bingo cards with sight words and call out words for students to mark.
Memory Match: Use sight word cards to create a matching game where students flip over cards to find pairs.
Word Hunt: Have students find sight words in classroom books or on a word wall.
Rainbow Writing: Students write sight words using different colors for each letter, making learning more visual and creative.

Sight words practice is crucial because these words often don’t follow regular phonetic rules and appear frequently in reading materials. Consistent practice helps students recognize sight words quickly, which leads to smoother reading and boosts their confidence and fluency.

A Dolch sight words assessment is a tool used by educators to evaluate a student’s ability to recognize and read common high-frequency words from the Dolch sight word list. These assessments help measure a student’s sight word fluency, which is essential for developing reading skills.

A sight words test assesses a student's ability to recognize and read high-frequency words by sight, without decoding. A phonics test, on the other hand, evaluates a student's understanding of letter-sound relationships and their ability to decode words by sounding them out. Both tests are essential for developing reading skills but focus on different aspects of literacy.

A sight words program is crucial for early readers because it focuses on teaching words that appear frequently in texts but don’t always follow standard phonetic rules. By memorizing these words, students can read more smoothly, allowing them to focus on understanding the text rather than decoding every word.