Dolch pre-primer · Pre-K

The Sight Word "the"

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

Play "the"
the

The sun is hot.

How to teach "the"

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

Words it gets mixed up with

Early readers often confuse the with words that look like it: she, that, they, ten. The game uses these on purpose, so children learn to look at every letter.

Play "the"

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

More words

←seeAll pre-primer words→three

Questions

Is "the" 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 "the"?

Try this one: The sun is hot.