Fry sight words
Fry sight words are the 1,000 most common words in English reading, in blocks of 100. Generate practice for any block and check it against your list.
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Tip: Describe the specific skill or topic. The generator calibrates complexity to the grade level you pick.
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What are Fry sight words?
Fry sight words are Edward Fry's 1,000 most common words in English reading material, ranked by frequency and grouped into ten blocks of 100. The Dolch list stops at 220 words for K-3; the Fry list continues through about 5th grade. This generator writes practice sheets for any block, with an answer key.
How Fry extends past Dolch
For a sight-word program in 4th and 5th grade, the Fry list keeps going where Dolch stops. The first 100 Fry words overlap heavily with Dolch; later blocks add content words Dolch never included.
First 100: the, of, and, a, to, in, is, you, that, it, and 90 more
By Fry's estimate, the first 100 make up about half of typical written material
The first 300 make up about 65%
Blocks 4 to 10: more nouns, verbs and content words
Practice by Fry block
The generator has no stored copy of the list, so name the block ('Fry words 201-300, 15 words, fill in the blank') and check the words against your district's copy. Many schools aim for this sequence:
1st grade: the first 100
2nd grade: the second and third hundred
Grades 3 to 5: the later blocks
Fry and Dolch in practice
Many K-2 classrooms use Dolch, which is short and built from the function words of early readers, then switch to Fry from 3rd grade, when its later blocks match more of what students read.
How to make a spelling test
- 1
Add the words
Paste your list, or describe the grade and spelling pattern.
- 2
Pick the format
Describe it in the box, then set the grade and number of items.
- 3
Print
Print the student copy, then the answer key.
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Grading the spelling tests?
Upload the scanned or photographed tests to GradeWithAI with your word list as the answer key. It reads handwriting, and you review every score before it posts.
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Expectations vary by district. A common goal is the first 100 Fry words by the start of 2nd grade and the first 200 or 300 by the end. Students who learned the Dolch words already know most of the first 100.
Yes. Fry called them Instant Words; teachers also call them Fry sight words or Fry words. All three names refer to the same list of 1,000 words.
Yes. Ask for a Dolch or Fry list by name (for example, Dolch pre-primer or Fry's first 100) and check the words against your district's copy before printing. The lists aren't stored in the tool; the AI writes them from what it knows.
Yes. Paste the words into the description and the worksheet uses them.
Fill-in-the-blank sentences, multiple choice with one correct spelling, practice sheets, and spelling bee lists. It doesn't draw tracing letters.
Yes. Leave it on to print the answers on a separate page, or turn it off for the student copy.
Yes, with no account.
Spelling lists and tests by grade
Starting points with the grade, list, or test format filled in.
Format
Spelling bee
By grade
- Kindergarten spelling words
- 1st grade spelling words
- 2nd grade spelling words
- 3rd grade spelling words
- 4th grade spelling words
- 5th grade spelling words
- Spelling test for 1st grade
- Spelling test for 2nd grade
- 3rd grade spelling bee words
- 4th grade spelling bee words
- 5th grade spelling bee words
- 6th grade spelling words
- 7th grade spelling words
- 8th grade spelling words
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