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

Reading is the gateway to knowledge and communication—it’s a skill children must learn early in their educational journey. The path to this skill winds through a landscape of common words known as “sight words,” which young learners are prompted to know without sounding out words. Among the resources teachers use, the Fry Sight Words—a compilation of 1,000 common words in English—holds a distinct place. Inspired by Dolch’s sight words, Dr. Edward Fry curated his list to help readers recognize words faster and thereby improve reading fluency.

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 9th/10th 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.

Key features about the Fry Sight Words:

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.
Focus on Recognition, not Phonetics: Sight words are not phonetic—young readers cannot sound them out. This is why teachers educate children early on to recognize them.
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.
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.”
Used in Teaching Tools: Educators use flash cards, word lists, games, and other resources to help students learn sight words.

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

Sight Words Mia Learns: the, and, you, it, of, in, was, he
Sentence: “The cat was in the box.”
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.

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

Young Readers

Foundational Skills: Fry Sight Words equip young readers to recognize words without sounding them out, helping them progress in their reading skills.
Reading Fluency: By knowing these words on sight, readers can read smoothly and quickly, making the reading process less fatigued and more enjoyable.
Enhances Comprehension: Understanding these words lets children focus on the meaning of the text, rather than the mechanics of reading.
Boosts Confidence: Successfully reading these words can lead to a sense of achievement, prompting further reading and exploration.
Tailored Learning: The Fry Sight Words is broken into levels, allowing educators and parents to customize a well-paced learning experience.

Adult Readers

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.
Comprehension and Speed: Similar to young readers, knowing these words helps adults to read more fluently and understand text more efficiently.
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.
Supports Child’s Learning: Adults who prioritize sight words can support their children’s learning, creating a more literate household.
Further Education: For adults returning to education or pursuing a career, knowing these sight words can help them understand more complex studies.

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 1000 Words tool to find out the percentage of Fry Sight Words in your text.