Dolch first grade · 1st grade

The Sight Word "once"

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

Play "once"
once

Once upon a time, a king lived here.

How to teach "once"

  1. Say it. Read the sentence together, then say once on its own.
  2. Find the tricky part. It starts with a w sound that isn't written, and the c sounds like s. Draw a little heart over those letters: that's the part to learn by heart.
  3. Spell it. It has 4 letters. Say them aloud while tracing them on the table with a finger.
  4. Find it. Hunt for once in a book you're reading. Then play a round of the game below.

Words it gets mixed up with

Early readers often confuse once with words that look like it: only, old, out, own. The game uses these on purpose, so children learn to look at every letter.

Play "once"

"once" 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 "once"This word and its look-alikes. PrintRead, trace, writeTrace it, then write it from memory.

More words

←oldAll first grade words→open

Questions

Is "once" a sight word?

Yes. It's on the Dolch first grade list, usually taught around 1st grade.

What's a good sentence for "once"?

Try this one: Once upon a time, a king lived here.