Sight words make up roughly 50 to 75 percent of all written English. If your child can recognise these words instantly — without sounding them out — their reading fluency improves dramatically. This guide provides complete sight word lists for K1 and K2 levels, explains how they fit into the Singapore curriculum, and gives you practical strategies to help your child master them.

TL;DR: Complete sight word lists for K1 and K2 in Singapore. Includes the most common words, practice strategies, and how to build reading fluency at home.

What Are Sight Words?

Sight words are common English words that children learn to recognise on sight — instantly, without decoding. They fall into two categories:

1. Irregular words that do not follow standard phonics rules:

• "the" (you cannot sound out t-h-e and get "the")
• "said" (s-a-i-d does not produce "sed")
• "was", "one", "come", "have", "does"

These must be memorised because phonics alone cannot decode them.

2. High-frequency regular words that appear so often that instant recognition speeds up reading:

• "and", "is", "in", "it", "can", "not"

These can be decoded with phonics, but recognising them instantly saves cognitive effort, letting your child focus on understanding what they read rather than decoding every word.

Sight Words in the Singapore Curriculum

The MOE does not publish an official sight word list. Instead, most Singapore kindergartens draw from two established sources:

The Dolch Sight Word List — 220 words compiled by Edward William Dolch in the 1930s-40s, still widely used today. Organised into levels from Pre-Primer to Third Grade.

The Fry Sight Word List — 1,000 words compiled by Edward Fry in the 1950s (updated in 1980), organised by frequency. The first 100 Fry words account for approximately 50% of all written English.

Most Singapore kindergartens select a subset of these lists appropriate for K1 and K2 levels, sometimes adapted to include words relevant to local context (like "Singapore", "kopitiam").

K1 Sight Words (Age 5)

The following 50 words are commonly taught at the K1 level in Singapore kindergartens. Your child should be able to read these by the end of K1:

Core Words (25 most essential)

• I, a, the, is, it
• in, on, at, to, up
• and, can, go, no, my
• we, he, me, am, do
• see, like, big, not, you

Extended K1 Words (25 additional)

• she, was, for, are, this
• with, his, her, has, had
• but, all, they, will, that
• one, two, said, have, come
• here, look, play, good, want

How to Use This List

Do not try to teach all 50 words at once. Introduce 3-5 new words per week while reviewing previously learned words. A good pace:

• Term 1: Focus on the first 15 core words
• Term 2: Complete the core 25 words
• Term 3: Begin extended K1 words
• Term 4: Consolidate all 50 words

K2 Sight Words (Age 6)

By K2, your child should know the 50 K1 words plus these additional 50 words. This brings the total to approximately 100 sight words by the end of K2:

K2 Words (50 additional)

• an, as, be, by, if
• or, so, us, did, get
• him, let, may, new, now
• old, out, put, ran, run
• say, too, eat, who, why
• just, then, when, them, than
• very, some, what, were, been
• from, down, into, your, over
• much, many, only, also, made
• help, long, each, time, been

High-Frequency Phrases

Once your child knows individual sight words, practise them in common phrases:

• "I can see"
• "It is a"
• "He is in the"
• "She can go to"
• "They want to play"
• "I like to go to the"
• "We can see a big"
• "He said he will come"

Reading words in context (phrases and sentences) is just as important as recognising them in isolation.

8 Strategies to Teach Sight Words (Beyond Flashcards)

1. Read, Read, Read

The best way to encounter sight words is through reading. Read with your child every day and point to words as you go. When you come across a sight word they are learning, pause and let them read it.

2. Word Wall

Create a "word wall" in your child's study area or bedroom. Write each sight word on a card and stick them to the wall. Add new words as they learn them. Review the wall together regularly.

3. Rainbow Writing

Your child writes each sight word multiple times in different colours, tracing over the same word. This combines visual and motor memory.

4. Sight Word Bingo

Make bingo cards with sight words. Call out words and your child marks them. This is a great game for two or more children.

5. Memory Match

Create pairs of sight word cards. Lay them face-down and play memory (concentration). When your child flips a card, they must read the word aloud before looking for the match.

6. Sentence Building

Give your child a set of sight word cards and ask them to build sentences. "Can you make a sentence using 'the', 'is', and 'big'?" This moves beyond recognition to active use.

7. Sight Word Hopscotch

Write sight words in chalk on the ground (or on paper taped to the floor). Your child reads each word as they hop on it. Physical movement reinforces memory.

8. Digital Practice with QuizKin

QuizKin includes sight word quizzes that adapt to your child's level. Words your child gets wrong appear more frequently until they are mastered. The questions are read aloud so your child hears and sees each word simultaneously, reinforcing the connection between the written and spoken form. Progress is tracked automatically, so you can see which words still need practice.

Common Challenges and Solutions

"My child can read sight words on flashcards but not in books"

This is called decontextualisation. Your child has memorised the card, not the word. Solution: always practise sight words in context — in sentences, in books, on signs. Point to words in their environment.

"My child reads 'saw' as 'was' (or similar reversals)"

Common in K1-K2. These are not signs of dyslexia at this age — reversals are developmentally normal until age 7. Solution: when confusion occurs, cover the word and reveal it one letter at a time, left to right. Say the sounds as you reveal each letter.

"My child loses interest after 2 minutes"

Short attention spans are normal for 4-6 year olds. Solution: keep sessions to 5-10 minutes. Use games, not drills. End on a success — always finish with a word they know well so they feel accomplished.

"Some words are just impossible for my child"

Some sight words are genuinely harder because they look similar ("was/saw", "on/no", "then/them") or sound irregular ("said", "does"). Solution: focus on these words in isolation with extra repetition. Create a "tricky words" pile and review it separately.

How Sight Words and Phonics Work Together

Sight words and phonics are not competing approaches — they are complementary. Think of them as two tools in your child's reading toolbox:

• Phonics is the strategy for decoding new, unfamiliar words by sounding them out
• Sight words are the shortcut for the most common words, eliminating the need to decode them every time

When your child encounters a sentence like "The cat sat on the mat":

• "The" is a sight word (irregular, must be memorised)
• "cat", "sat", "mat" can be decoded with phonics (c-a-t, s-a-t, m-a-t)
• "on" is both a sight word and phonically regular

The goal is for your child to have both tools available. Phonics gives them independence with unfamiliar words. Sight words give them speed with common words. Together, they produce fluent reading.

Tracking Progress

Keep a simple log of which sight words your child has mastered:

• Green: Reads instantly (under 3 seconds) on 3 separate occasions
• Yellow: Reads correctly but slowly, or reads correctly some of the time
• Red: Cannot read, or consistently confuses with another word

Review the "yellow" words most frequently — these are on the verge of being mastered and will respond well to a few more practice sessions. "Red" words need more intensive work with the strategies above.

QuizKin's parent dashboard tracks exactly this — showing which sight words your child has mastered, which are in progress, and which need more practice.

Summary

Sight words are the building blocks of reading fluency. By the end of K2, your child should recognise approximately 100 high-frequency words instantly. Combine flashcard-style practice with reading in context, games, writing, and daily reading aloud. Keep sessions short, frequent, and fun. Consistency beats intensity — 5 minutes every day produces better results than 30 minutes once a week.

For more ideas on incorporating sight word practice into play, see our 15 fun learning activities for preschoolers at home.

Sources

• Dolch Sight Words List — comprehensive reference for the 220 Dolch service words, compiled by Dr. Edward William Dolch
• Fry Sight Words List — the 1,000 Fry Instant Words organised by frequency, developed by Dr. Edward Fry
• Nurturing Early Learners (NEL) Framework — Ministry of Education, Singapore

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