The Dolch nouns list is a set of 95 common nouns that reading specialist Edward William Dolch published alongside his 220-word sight word list, for children to learn once they know the core service words.
What are the 95 Dolch nouns?
They are everyday nouns a beginning reader meets often, such as family words, animals, weather and household items. We checked this list against the Florida Department of Education’s reference copy of the Dolch word list (Florida Department of Education).
apple, baby, back, ball, bear, bed, bell, bird, birthday, boat, box, boy, bread, brother, cake, car, cat, chair, chicken, children, Christmas, coat, corn, cow, day, dog, doll, door, duck, egg, eye, farm, farmer, father, feet, fire, fish, floor, flower, game, garden, girl, good-bye, grass, ground, hand, head, hill, home, horse, house, kitty, leg, letter, man, men, milk, money, morning, mother, name, nest, night, paper, party, picture, pig, rabbit, rain, ring, robin, Santa Claus, school, seed, sheep, shoe, sister, snow, song, squirrel, stick, street, sun, table, thing, time, top, toy, tree, watch, water, way, wind, window, wood.
This list doesn’t include the 220 service words that make up the main Dolch list. Those live on the Dolch sight words hub.
Why did Dolch keep nouns separate from the main list?
Dolch treated nouns as supplementary because he considered them tied to specific topics rather than the connective words every sentence needs, such as “the,” “is,” and “was.” A child can read fluently with a strong grip on the 220 service words alone, and the nouns fill in the everyday subject matter (Journal of Reading, “The Dolch Basic Word List, Then and Now”).
Because these are ordinary nouns rather than irregular sight words, most of them are also decodable with phonics. This list is a vocabulary target, not a claim that every word here must be memorized by sight.
How do I practice the Dolch nouns?
- Picture matching. Pair each noun with a simple drawing or photo and have the child match word to picture.
- Category sorting. Split the list into groups like animals, family, weather and objects, and sort words into each group.
- Flash cards in short bursts. Five minutes a day works better than one long session, the same rule that applies to the service words.
- Sentence building. Combine a noun from this list with a few service words from the main Dolch list to build a full sentence.
These activities work for one-on-one home practice or a small group. They are not a full phonics curriculum. For how nouns and other words connect to letter-sound instruction, see our phonics page. For printable practice sheets, browse our homeschool worksheets section.
Sources
- Florida Department of Education. Dolch Sight Word List.
- Johns, Jerry L. The Dolch Basic Word List, Then and Now, Journal of Reading.