How to use these pre-K sight words worksheets
One page a day is the right size for a 4 year old. Each one takes about 5 to 10 minutes, and you need only a pencil and a few crayons.
- Read it together. Point to the big word at the top and say it clearly. Ask your child to say it back while touching the word.
- Color the big word. This is the slow, calm part. While they color, use the word in a sentence: "I see a cat. I have a hat."
- Trace, then write. Trace the gray copies first, then try one on the empty line. Say the letters out loud as they go: "a-n-d, and."
- Circle it everywhere. The bottom of the page mixes the word with others like blue, look and down. Your child finds and circles each one. This is where real reading happens, because the word has to be told apart from look-alikes.
Use the review page after "big". Each word has a shape in the key, so your child reads a box, finds the matching shape, and colors it. Then save the page for "I" for the next day. It is a great word to finish on because they can use it straight away: "I can jump. I see Mom."
For the full list of 40 words and the order we suggest, see our pre-K sight words list.
Tips by age
Young 4s. Keep it short and do the reading part with them. If writing is hard, let them trace only and skip the empty line. Circling with a big crayon is easier than with a pencil.
Older 4s and 5s. Ask them to write the word twice on the back of the page from memory, then check it against the big word. Time the circling: "Can you find every and before I count to 20?"
Children who know some words already. Hand them the review page first. Any word they hesitate on gets its own page that week.
Games to play with the pages
- Word hunt in a book. After finishing a page, open a favorite picture book and look for that word. A and and turn up on almost every page, which feels like magic to a new reader.
- Flashlight find. Tape the finished pages to the wall, turn off the lights and call out a word. Your child shines a flashlight on it.
- Sentence builder. Write the five words on sticky notes with a few picture words (dog, ball). Build silly sentences together: "I and a big dog."
- Review again later. Keep the review page and color it again a week later in a different edition, or cover the boxes with counters instead of crayons.
- Hop and read. Lay the pages on the floor. Your child hops to the word you say and reads it out.
Our guide on how to practice sight words has a 5-minute daily routine and more games if you want to keep going.
When your child is ready for more
Once these five words feel easy, your child is ready for the rest of the pre-primer list: blue, can, come, down, go, see, the, to, you and more. That is what the full book covers. Sight Word Explorers: Pre-K has one page like these for each of the 40 pre-primer words, a read-and-color review after every four words, and a certificate to celebrate at the end.
Keep the pace gentle. A child who reads 10 words with confidence is better placed for kindergarten than one who has seen 40 words once. When the pre-primer list is done, the next step is the primer list (words like all, are, have and want) and simple sound-it-out words like cat and sun.
Questions parents ask
They suit most 4 and 5 year olds who know a good number of letters and can hold a crayon with some control. If your child is still learning letter names, start with alphabet play and come back to these in a few weeks. A child who already reads these five words can use the review page as a quick check.
Yes. Choose Colourful or Black & White and US Letter or A4, then the download starts straight away. There is no email to enter and nothing to sign up for. The 6 pages come from our full Pre-K sight words book, so you can see exactly what the rest of it looks like before deciding.
Both editions have the same words and activities. The Colourful edition is brighter and nice for a first try. The Black & White edition saves ink, and many children enjoy coloring the whole page themselves, which turns the "color the big word" step into a longer, calmer activity.
One or two new words a week is plenty at this age, with lots of repeating of the old ones. These pages follow that pace: four words, then a review page that mixes them up. Move on when your child reads all four quickly on two different days, not just once.
Sight Word Explorers: Pre-K has 53 pages covering the 40 pre-primer words, such as a, and, see, the and you. There is one page for every word, a read-and-color review after every four words (10 in all), and a certificate of completion at the end.
