The Dolch Word Lists were developed by Edward W. Dolch who found that there are 220 most common words that appear over and over again. Over 50 - 75% of the most commonly used words are found in the 'Dolch List' below. When students, especially those with Dyslexia or language learning disabilities focus on the Dolch words, confidence and reading ability improve. The Dolch list below also contains the words most frequently found on Word Walls. (Rhyming words/word families, here.)
How to use the Dolch Words:
- Play games with them, cut the cards out and use them as flash cards.
- Use oral 'cloze' activities with the cards. Hold up the word, and use a sentence with a blank prompting the child to state the word. For instance: " I liked that movie so much that I watched it _________(again).
- Shuffle the Dolch cards, turn them over one at a time and use them in a sentence.
- Write a journal including as many Dolch words as you can!
Daily routine use of the words will build reading confidence. There are 5 lists - Pre-Primer, Primer, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade. For students with learning disabilities, these words should be learned developmentally beginning with list one.
All cards are in PDF List One Pre-Primer
List Two Primer
List Three 1st Grade
List Four 2nd Grade
List Five 3rd Grade
See also the word cards for all 44 spelling sounds. Great for your spelling program and word walls.
