The Dolch words are the 220 most frequently found words in books that children read.  These words are usually learned in first and second grade; students who learn these words have a good base for beginning reading.  Many of these words cannot be sounded out because they do not follow decoding rules, so they must be learned as sight words.

One way of estimating a primary student’s reading level is by having the student identify the 220 Dolch Basic Sight Words. The number of words recognized is the basis for assigning his/her equivalent reading level.