Dolch pre-primer · Pre-K

The Sight Word "a"

A tricky one. Hear it, read it in a sentence, then play it.

Play "a"
a

I see a red bird.

How to teach "a"

  1. Say it. Read the sentence together, then say a on its own.
  2. Find the tricky part. On its own, a often sounds like "uh". Draw a little heart over those letters: that's the part to learn by heart.
  3. Spell it. It has 1 letter. Say them aloud while tracing them on the table with a finger.
  4. Find it. Hunt for a in a book you're reading. Then play a round of the game below.

Words it gets mixed up with

Early readers often confuse a with words that look like it: I, at, as, am. The game uses these on purpose, so children learn to look at every letter.

Play "a"

"a" shows up in every question

Free to play · no signup · works on phones, tablets and computers

Open the game full screen

Quick quiz: which word do you hear?

Print and practice

PrintFlash cards with "a"This word and its look-alikes. PrintRead, trace, writeTrace it, then write it from memory.

More words

All pre-primer words→and

Questions

Is "a" a sight word?

Yes. It's on the Dolch pre-primer list, usually taught around pre-K or kindergarten.

What's a good sentence for "a"?

Try this one: I see a red bird.