Spanish High-Frequency Words To Increase Reading Fluency [Free Printables]

Do you want to increase your children or student reading fluency in Spanish but don’t know where to start?

Let me introduce you to Spanish high-frequency words. They’re some of the most commonly used words in the Spanish language, and they just may hold the key to your kid’s reading fluency. 

Keep reading to learn what high-frequency words are, why they work in Spanish, and the first 100 of these words—distributed by grade level. 

Let’s go!

Table of Contents:

• What Are High-Frequency Words?
• Spanish High-Frequency Words by Grade Level
• How to Learn These Words
• Master the Spanish High-Frequency Words and Improve Your Reading Fluency

What Are High-Frequency Words?

As their name suggests, high-frequency words—also known as sight words or Dolch words—are “the most frequently used words” in any given language. Learning sight words in Spanish help students to increase their vocabulary and reading fluency.

“Dolch words, also known as sight words, account for between 50-75% of all vocabulary found in grade school reading material. However, it isn’t just grade school children who can benefit from learning the Dolch word list.”

Do Spanish High-Frequency Words Work?

In English, high-frequency words are widely used as a language-learning technique. That’s because the language isn’t phonetic, which makes memorizing “sight words” a smart way to start reading in English. 

Spanish, on the other hand, is a phonetic language, which means that students can sound out the words once they know the sound of each letter. For that reason, Spanish Dolch words aren’t as common as their English counterparts. 

However, this doesn’t mean that high-frequency words don’t work in Spanish. On the contrary, in Spanish “around 100 core words make up 50% of everyday language,” which makes learning these words a crucial task to increase reading fluency. 

Spanish High-Frequency Words by Grade Level

The following word list includes the first 100 Spanish high-frequency words distributed by grade level, from kinder to 1st grade, and 2nd grade, which are the years when kids learn to read. 

To increase the efficiency of this word work, consider creating some flashcards to make it easier for your kids to learn these words. 

Download the K-3 high-frequency words to print out for whenever you need them!

Kindergarten 

These words are short and easy to pronounce, which make them perfect for kindergarten kids. 

1st Grade

In 1st grade, it’s important to give the kids more tools to express what they need to say and relate to their world. 

2nd Grade

For 2nd grade, you’re looking at the rest of the connectors, prepositions, and some words that may require a bigger effort to pronounce. 

How to Learn These Words

As I mentioned, creating flashcards is an excellent way to learn Spanish Dolch words, especially for kids of this age. However, many of these words aren’t concrete things, but abstract pronouns or prepositions make it all but impossible to create flashcards for them. 

What can you do with these words?

In my experience as a Spanish teacher of kids of this age, I’ve found that the best way to learn anything is by playing games with them. Memory game with pairs of cards in English and Spanish is always a fun way to learn new vocabulary. You can also try playing Bingo or starting a competition in your classroom about learning these first 100 Spanish words.  

Master the Spanish High-Frequency Words and Improve Your Reading Fluency

There are many ways to work on your students’ reading fluency in Spanish. You can also focus on teaching basic vocabulary for beginners, either in the hundreds or the thousands of words. However, if you have the opportunity to work with your kids at a young age, like kindergarten or first and second grade, teaching them the first 100 high-frequency words provided in this post, is the best way to go. 

Learning Spanish at a young age gives a head start to your kids and puts them on the right path for a better professional career in the future. 

Sign your child up for a free trial class at Homeschool Spanish Academy. If your kid is a K-12 student in the U.S., we can help them get high school credit. Our certified, native teachers from Guatemala offer flexible scheduling and tailored Spanish programs. 

Do you need support in your classroom? Homeschool Spanish Academy provides 1-on-1 or 2-on-1 online Spanish classes for K-12 students. We help alleviate the difficulty of having many students of varying levels of performance. Sign up for a free class to give us a try today!  

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Luis F. Dominguez

Freelance Writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy

Luis F. Domínguez is a freelance writer and independent journalist interested in travel, languages, art, books, history, philosophy, politics and sports. He has written for Fodor’s, Yahoo!, Sports Illustrated, Telemundo, and Villa Experience, among other brands of print and digital media in Europe and North America.

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