109 Power Words Download

Want to know which high-frequency words offer the biggest return on your instructional investment? The 109 Power Words List spotlights the most essential sight words for early readers—those that appear most frequently in children’s texts and provide the greatest opportunity for building reading fluency and confidence.

Based on research and aligned with the principles of orthographic mapping, this tool helps you move beyond rote memorization to more powerful, brain-friendly instruction.

What’s Inside?

➤ A carefully curated list of 109 high-frequency words that make up 50% of words in children’s books
➤ A highlighted sublist of the first 13 words—representing 25% of word frequency
➤ Easy-to-use format to guide lesson planning, word walls, small group instruction, and assessment

Use this tool alongside the routines in Sight Words Success or as a companion to Chapter 4 in Shifting the Balance (K–2).

Click below to download and focus on the words that matter most.