Dolch Noun Word List with Free Printable Flashcards for Early Readers
When it comes to building strong reading skills, sight words are the foundation every child needs. One of the most popular and widely used sets is the Dolch Sight Word Lists, created by Dr. Edward William Dolch in 1948. While many parents and teachers are familiar with the Pre-Primer through Third Grade Dolch lists, there’s another important part of the collection: the Dolch Noun Word List.
In this post, we’ll break down what the Dolch Noun List is, why it matters, and how you can use our free printable Dolch noun flashcards to make reading practice fun and effective.
What Is the Dolch Noun Word List?
The Dolch Noun List contains 95 common nouns that children frequently encounter in everyday text. These words include familiar objects and people such as apple, ball, cat, dog, mother, and school.
Unlike other Dolch lists (which are grouped by grade level), the noun list is not separated into levels. Instead, it’s one complete collection of words that can be introduced gradually as children progress in their reading.
Why Are Dolch Nouns Important?
- Builds Reading Fluency → Recognizing common nouns quickly helps children focus on comprehension rather than decoding.
- Connects to Real Life → Words like house, tree, baby, and car are part of a child’s daily experiences, making them easier to learn and remember.
- Supports Early Writing → Once children can read nouns, they begin to use them in their own sentences and stories.
How to Use Dolch Noun Flashcards
Flashcards are a proven tool for memorization and repetition. Here are a few fun ways to use the Dolch Noun cards with your child or classroom:
- Flash and Say → Show a card, have the child say the word out loud.
- Memory Match → Print two sets and play a memory game.
- Sorting Activity → Sort nouns into categories (animals, food, people, places).
- Sentence Building → Encourage kids to use the noun in a short sentence.
- Color and Read → Use black-and-white versions for kids to color while practicing.
Free Printable Dolch Noun Flashcards
To make your teaching journey easier, we’ve created a full set of Dolch Noun Word Flashcards that you can download and print instantly. They are designed in a clean, child-friendly font with bold letters for easy recognition.
👉 Download Free Dolch Noun Flashcards Here
Full Dolch Noun Word List
Here are the 95 nouns included in the Dolch list:
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.
The Dolch Noun Word List is a powerful tool to help young readers expand their vocabulary and reading fluency. By practicing with printable flashcards, games, and fun activities, children not only learn words faster but also build the confidence they need to succeed in reading.
