Dolch Noun List: 95 Sight Word Nouns
The 95 Dolch nouns, from apple to wood, sorted into 9 themes. Printable list, picture-friendly flashcards, tracing sheets, bingo and checklist. Free, no sign-up.
The 95 Dolch Nouns nouns
Animals (15)
- bear
- bird
- cat
- chicken
- cow
- dog
- duck
- fish
- horse
- kitty
- pig
- rabbit
- robin
- sheep
- squirrel
Family and people (11)
- baby
- boy
- brother
- children
- farmer
- father
- girl
- man
- men
- mother
- sister
Food (6)
- apple
- bread
- cake
- corn
- egg
- milk
Home (12)
- bed
- bell
- box
- chair
- door
- floor
- home
- house
- paper
- picture
- table
- window
Things and toys (9)
- ball
- doll
- game
- letter
- money
- ring
- stick
- toy
- watch
Body and clothes (7)
- coat
- eye
- feet
- hand
- head
- leg
- shoe
Nature and weather (15)
- fire
- flower
- garden
- grass
- ground
- hill
- nest
- rain
- seed
- snow
- sun
- tree
- water
- wind
- wood
Time, holidays and places (11)
- birthday
- Christmas
- day
- farm
- morning
- night
- party
- Santa Claus
- school
- street
- time
Everything else (9)
- back
- boat
- car
- goodbye
- name
- song
- thing
- top
- way
Words with an orange outline are the tricky ones, explained below.
About the Nouns list
Besides the 220 "service words", Dolch published a separate list of 95 common nouns: animals, family, food, parts of the body, weather. They are things children can see and touch, which makes them easier to learn than words such as "the" or "of".
They are not tied to a grade: many nouns are learned in Kindergarten and others in Grade 3. Because each word is an object, you can match them to pictures, toys or the real thing, which is why this list is a good one to start with for a child who finds abstract words hard.
The tricky words, one by one
These words do not follow the sound-letter rules children have learned so far. They are the ones worth spending extra time on.
- eye
- Three letters, none of which is a "long i". Memorise the shape: e-y-e.
- Christmas
- The "t" is silent. Teach it as "Christ-mas".
- money
- "ey" says long e here, and the "o" says /u/.
- father
- The "a" says /ah/, unlike "bat" or "cake".
- mother
- The "o" says /u/. Same for "brother" and "other".
- brother
- The "o" says /u/. Learn the three family words together: mother, father, brother.
- children
- Irregular plural of "child". It does not end in -s.
- feet
- Irregular plural of "foot". Same group as "men" (man) and "children".
- sheep
- One sheep, two sheep. The plural is the same as the singular.
A 19-week study plan
Five words a week, five minutes a day. On the last day of each week, revise the words of the weeks before. The nouns are listed in alphabetical order here; for a theme-based plan, use the groups above.
- Week 1
apple · baby · back · ball · bear
- Week 2
bed · bell · bird · birthday · boat
- Week 3
box · boy · bread · brother · cake
- Week 4
car · cat · chair · chicken · children
- Week 5
Christmas · coat · corn · cow · day
- Week 6
dog · doll · door · duck · egg
- Week 7
eye · farm · farmer · father · feet
- Week 8
fire · fish · floor · flower · game
- Week 9
garden · girl · goodbye · grass · ground
- Week 10
hand · head · hill · home · horse
- Week 11
house · kitty · leg · letter · man
- Week 12
men · milk · money · morning · mother
- Week 13
name · nest · night · paper · party
- Week 14
picture · pig · rabbit · rain · ring
- Week 15
robin · Santa Claus · school · seed · sheep
- Week 16
shoe · sister · snow · song · squirrel
- Week 17
stick · street · sun · table · thing
- Week 18
time · top · toy · tree · watch
- Week 19
water · way · wind · window · wood
How to teach the Nouns words
- Learn them by theme (the groups on this page): ten animal words in a week with toy animals or a farm picture is faster than ten random nouns.
- Match words to pictures first, then remove the pictures. Cut out the flashcards and ask your child to put each one on the right object in the room.
- Use the nouns to teach plurals: write apple/apples, box/boxes, baby/babies, man/men on the same card pair. This builds spelling rules at the same time.
- Make short sentences with a noun from this list and a word from the grade lists: "The red ball is in the box." It connects both lists.
- Play a drawing game: you say a noun, your child draws it, and writes the word under the drawing.
More Dolch printables
Make the same sheets for another list, or find the list that fits another age.
Frequently asked questions
+How many nouns are on the Dolch noun list?
95 nouns. They were added by Dolch in 1948, after the 220 service words, and are kept as a separate list.
+At what age should a child know the Dolch nouns?
There is no single age. Most are learned between Kindergarten and Grade 3 (ages 5 to 9), along with the grade lists.
+Should I teach the nouns before or after the grade lists?
Both work. Nouns are easier for a young child because they are objects. Many teachers use them to build early confidence, then add the grade lists, which contain the words that are hardest to picture.
+Why is "Santa Claus" counted as one word?
It is on the original list as a single item, even though it has two words. We kept it as it is in the original.
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