How to Use the Fry Sight 1000 Words to Develop Emerging Reading Skills

From the simple “the” to more complex prepositions, these words form the backbone of the English language as we use it daily. They are the stars in our linguistic galaxy, around which other words orbit, forging the constellations of our conversations and written texts. These words, it appears, serve as the silent majority in our texts, forming a part of our everyday lexicon. Recognizing them “ on sight ” helps young readers glide across sentences, aiding in comprehension and fluency.

The Fry Sight Words contains 10 groups of 100 words. The first 300 words comprise 67% of all words that children and adults use in their writing. The first 25 words are used in one-third of all published texts. In kindergarten, teachers expect students to learn the first 100 sight words. Mastering them, children can recognize a large portion of any text.

As students move through grades levels, teachers expect them to learn another set of 100 words By the end of first grade, students should recognize the first 200 words; by the end of second grade, the first 300 words, and so on, up to the 1000 words by the end of fifth grade.

Each sight word is a building block that improves reading speed and comprehension. As they learn more words, students can read harder texts.

Because young readers can’t sound out sight words, they don’t need to decode each word. This leads to efficient reading; it enables them to focus on word meaning rather than the mechanics of reading.

Elementary school teacher, Dr. Nina Parrish, believes “the key to teach Fry Sight Words lies in repetition and context. It’s not enough for children to memorize these words; they need to understand their usage within a sentence.” Parrish says teachers should use these words in sentence-building exercises, reading sessions, and daily dialogue to help students recognize them.

Why Fry Sight Words Are So Great

1. Frequency-Based: Fry’s list is organized by frequency, with the most common words first. This means children who learn these words early can read and understand a large portion of any text.
2. Recognition, not Phonetics: Sight words are not entirely phonetic—young readers cannot sound them out. This is why teachers educate children early on to recognize them.
3. Graded Learning: Fry Sight Words are divided into groups of 100, splitting into lists of 50, for 10 groups. These are taught from kindergarten through fifth grade, with the hope children would know the first 100 words by the end of first grade, the second 100 words by the end of second grade, and so on.
4. Foundation for Literacy: Mastering these words is important in literacy. As mentioned before, the first 300 words in the list account for 67% of all the words students will encounter in their reading. A study from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) revealed: “Students who failed to recognize even one of the ten most common sight words had sharply lower reading scores.”
5. Used in Teaching Tools: Educators use flash cards, word lists, games, and other resources to help students learn sight words.

Sight Words Per Grade Level

Schools use this approach in teaching sight words to young readers:

 Kindergarten (First 100 Words) 

• Teachers focus on basic high-frequency words that appear most often in early reading texts.
• These words include common pronouns (I, you, he, she), simple verbs (is, am, see, like), articles (the, a, an), and basic prepositions (in, on, at).
• Students learn these words through repetition, sight word games, flashcards, and sentence-building activities.
• By the end of kindergarten, students recognize these words in isolation and within short sentences.

 1st Grade (First 200 Words) 

• Teachers expand the kindergarten list, introducing more complex verbs, adjectives, and conjunctions (e.g., because, before, after).
• Teachers focus on sentence reading and fluency, helping students recognize words faster.
• Teachers introduce decodable readers and leveled books that reinforce these sight words in context.
• Students practice spelling to identify words in passages. They learn how to use them in writing exercises.

 2nd Grade (First 300 Words) 

• By second grade, students recognize 300 high-frequency words in reading and writing.
• This includes more irregular words (enough, though, answer) that don’t follow phonetic rules.
• Comprehension exercises become more advanced, with students using sight words in full paragraphs, story sequencing, and retelling exercises.
• Teachers focus on reading fluency and comprehension.

 3rd Grade (First 400-500 Words) 

• At this stage, students recognize nearly 50% of all words encountered in texts.
• Words include longer, more abstract words (example, together, suddenly) that improve comprehension.
• Students work on reading independently, summarizing passages, and identifying sight words in longer texts.
• Teachers add contextual learning, where students use sight words in discussions, creative writing, and multi-paragraph reading assignments.

 4th and 5th Grade (Exposure to Words 500-1,000) 

• By these grades, students encounter the full 1,000-word list, though mastery depends on reading exposure.
• The focus shifts to academic vocabulary, multi-syllabic words, and words with multiple meanings (e.g., determine, condition, influence).
• Students refine spelling skills, use words in writing, and recognize them in nonfiction, science, and history texts.
• Teachers add reading comprehension strategies, fluency drills, and word mapping to solidify sight word knowledge.

To show how recognizing sight words helps reading fluency, let’s follow a student named Mia through her early reading stages:

Kindergarten: Basic Sight Word Recognition

1. Sight Words Mia Learns: the, and, you, it, of, in, was, he
2. Sentence: “The cat was in the box.”
3. Explanation: Mia recognizes “the,” “was,” and “in”, allowing her to sound out words like “cat” and “box.” This mix of sight and phonetic words gives her an initial experience of reading fluency.

First Grade: Expanding Sight Word Vocabulary

• New Sight Words Mia Learns: that, they, but, with, she, at, this
• Sentence: “She said that they played with the ball at the park.”
• Explanation: With a broader sight word vocabulary, Mia can read most of the sentence, focusing on unfamiliar or more complex words like “played” and “park.”

Second Grade: Greater Complexity and Fluency

• New Sight Words Mia Learns: would, there, what, out, as, if, about
• Sentence: “What would you do if there was a frog in your shoe?”
• Explanation: As Mia’s sight word bank expands, she can handle longer sentences, pausing to decode or sound out unfamiliar words.

Third Grade: Advanced Sentences and Comprehension

• New Sight Words Mia Learns: because, before, which, does, other, any, their
• Sentence: “Before you go to the other side, check which way the wind blows because it might affect your game.”
• Explanation: At this stage, Mia’s fluency is improved. With a bank of sight words, her reading is smoother, and she can spend more cognitive energy on comprehension, understanding the meaning of the text.

Fourth Grade and Beyond: Mastery and Integration

• New Sight Words Mia Learns: through, though, thought, enough, special, certain
• Sentence: “Even though she thought the challenge was tough, she pushed through with enough grit to win the special prize.”
• Explanation: By now, Mia recognizes most common words in English texts This recognition, combined with decoding, lets her understand the content and enjoy the narrative.

The progression from basic to advanced sight words—combined with phonetic skills—equips readers like Mia to handle harder texts with confidence.

How Sight Words Help Adult Readers

Fry Sight Words are not just useful to young readers, but they also benefit adult readers. Here’s how they benefit both groups:

Young Readers

1. Foundational Skills: Fry Sight Words equip young readers to recognize words without sounding them out, helping them progress in their reading skills.
2. Reading Fluency: By knowing these words on sight, readers can read smoothly and quickly, making the reading process less fatigued and more enjoyable. Studies show that fluency—the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression—is strongly correlated with reading comprehension (National Reading Panel, 2000).
3. Enhances Comprehension: Understanding these words lets children focus on the meaning of the text, rather than the mechanics of reading.
4. Boosts Confidence: Successfully reading these words can lead to a sense of achievement, prompting further reading and exploration. A study published in the Journal of Educational Psychology found that students who build early reading confidence are more likely to become lifelong readers (Guthrie & Wigfield, 2000).
5. Tailored Learning: The Fry Sight Words is broken into levels, allowing educators and parents to customize a well-paced learning experience.

Adult Readers

1. Literacy Development: For adults learning English as a second language (ESL) or readers who struggle with literacy, the Fry Sight Words is ideal to develop literacy skills. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports that 43 million adults in the U.S. have low literacy levels, making sight word recognition a crucial skill for improving literacy (NCES, 2019).
2. Comprehension and Speed: Similar to young readers, knowing these words helps adults to read more fluently and understand text more efficiently. Studies show that adults who increase sight word recognition can reduce reading time by up to 40%, improving comprehension and retention (Taylor et al., 2015).
3. Workplace Readiness: Adult readers may need to strengthen their literacy for professional development. Mastering these sight words can help adults communicate better in the workplace.
4. Supports Child’s Learning: Adults who prioritize sight words can support their children’s learning, creating a more literate household.
5. Further Education: For adults returning to education or pursuing a career, knowing these sight words can help them understand more complex studies. 85% of jobs now require literacy skills at a high school level or beyond, making sight word mastery essential (U.S. Department of Labor, 2021).

Despite the adoption of Fry Sight Words, some critics argue teaching phonics (the sounds letters make) before sight words is more helpful. They claim understanding the relationship between letters and sounds equips students with the tools to decode unfamiliar words, a skill sight words don’t provide.

John Strucker, a specialist in adult literacy at Harvard Graduate School of Education, remarked: “Learning doesn’t have to be an ‘either-or’ approach. Sight words and phonics can serve each other to foster literacy. Some words don’t follow phonetic rules and are memorized, while phonics are needed to decode new words.”

You can use our  FRY SIGHT READABILITY CALCULATOR to find out the percentage of Fry Sight Words in your text.