Most frequently used words in children’s literature to the fourth grade level, graded for difficulty and frequency into five levels. Ten percent of words are most frequently used words up to the ninth grade level.
Level 1
| a | an | and | away | bad |
| ball | bed | began | big | bike |
| bit 1 | bite 1 | boy 1 | bug 1 | by 1 |
| can 1 | car 1 | cat 1 | caught | climb |
| day 1 | did 1 | do | does | dog 1 |
| down | eat | fell 1 | find | fish |
| food 1 | foot | found | fun 1 | gave |
| girl | go 1 | goes | good | got 1 |
| had | happy | has 1 | ||
| have | he | heard 1 | help | her |
| him 1 | his | hit | home 1 | house |
| hurt | I 1 | in | is | it 1 |
| knew | know | let 1 | like | little |
| look 1 | mad | name | no 1 | not |
| of | on 1 | one | out | play 1 |
| put | ran | ride 1 | rode | run |
| said 1 | sat | saw | see 1 | she |
| snake | some 1 | teeth | the | |
| then 1 | think | threw | time 1 | too |
| top | tree 1 | tried | up | very 1 |
| want | was | water 1 | went | wet |
| what 1 | who | will | with 1 | woke |
| yes | you 1 |
Level 2 |
after | |
| again 2 | all | animal | apple 2 | are |
| around | ask 2 | at | ate | baby 2 |
| bat | bear | because 2e | begin | |
| bird | black 2 | blue | boat | |
| bought 2 | box | break | broke 2 | brown |
| but | buy 2 | call | came | cap 2 |
| catch | cloth | coat 2 | cold | color |
| come 2 | could | cried | cry 2 | cup |
| dinosaur | dirt 2 | door | drive | drop 2 |
| drove | fall | farm 2 | feet | fire |
| flew 2 | flower | fly | for 2 | forest |
| friend | frog 2 | full | funny | game 2 |
| get | ghost | give 2 | glass | green |
| gun 2 | hat | head | held 2 | hill |
| hold | horse 2 | hot | how | hungry 2 |
| if | jump | kick 2 | knife | lake |
| leg 2 | lot | loud | love 2 | made |
| make | man 2 | me | money | monk 2ey |
| monster | more | mud 2 | my | new |
| now 2 | old | open | orange 2 | picture |
| pole 2 | pond | pull | push 2 | |
| rain | red | road 2 | rock | sad |
| say 2 | shoe | sick | sing 2 | sit |
| sleep | snow 2 | so | soap | stay 2 |
| stop | stove | swam 2 | swim | take |
| tall 2 | than | their | them 2 | there |
| they | thing 2 | thought | throw | too 2 |
| took | toy | tried 2 | truck | try |
| too 2 | ugly | under | wake 2 | walk |
| were | whale 2 | wheel | when | where 2 |
| white | why | wind 2 | window | wish |
| woman 2 | wood | work | yellow 2 | zoo |
Level 3 |
almost 3 | am | angry | |
| any 3 | arm | as | back 3 | barn |
| be | before 3 | behind | being | best 3 |
| birthday | both | bridge 3 | bump | carry |
| chair 3 | cook | crawl | cut 3 | draw |
| drew | each 3 | enough | eye | far 3 |
| farther | fast | father 3 | feel | felt |
| fight 3 | finger | first | from 3 | front |
| grass | hair 3 | hard | here | hook 3 |
| job | just | last 3 | left | light |
| long 3 | many | may | might 3 | morning |
| mother | mouth 3 | neck | nest | night 3 |
| now | or | other 3 | our | over |
| part 3 | piece | poor | read 3 | rest |
| roof | room 3 | same | sang | scare 3 |
| sell | shut | side 3 | slow | smell |
| sold 3 | sound | step | table 3 | taste |
| that | these 3 | this | those | tie 3 |
| today | together | turn 3 | until | us |
| wash 3 | way | we | would 3 | write |
| wrote | your 3 |
Level 4 |
able | |
| air 4 | airplane | alone | also 4 | always |
| another | banan 4a | bank | been | better 4 |
| bottom | brother | bus 4 | bush | cake |
| candy 4 | Christmas | class | cloud 4 | cow |
| crawl | dark 4 | deep | dish | doctor 4 |
| dry | duck | ear 4 | either | even |
| every 4 | face | fireman | fix 4 | floor |
| gas | Halloween 4 | hammer | high | ice cream 4 |
| kitchen | kitten | less 4 | letter | lion |
| low 4 | men | most | much 4 | nail |
| near | next 4 | none | nose | nurse 4 |
| nut | often | only 4 | pack | paint |
| pan 4 | pants | paper | pen 4 | pencil |
| people | pet 4 | pick | pie | pink 4 |
| policeman | pot | puppy 4 | purple | right |
| ring 4 | rocket | save | second 4 | shark |
| shirt | short 4 | should | sister | soft 4 |
| sour | spoon | stick 4 | steam | such |
| sweet 4 | team | thin | three 4 | tiger |
| toe | tomorrow 4 | tooth | towel | train 4 |
| turtle | warm | which 4 | whose | witch |
| women 4 | word | worm | year 4 | yell |
Level 5 |
add | alligator | ambulance 5 | |
| aunt | bag | bake 5 | became | become |
| belt 5 | bend | bent | beside 5 | best |
| better | bitter 5 | blanket | blew | blow 5 |
| body | bounce | bread 5 | bring | brought |
| buffalo 5 | build | built | burn 5 | camp |
| children | chin 5 | circus | clean | clock 5 |
| close | closet | country 5 | cousin | deer |
| different 5 | divide | dolphin | earth 5 | edge |
| elephant | empty 5 | feather | fork | frighten 5 |
| fruit | garage | geese 5 | glad | gloves |
| goose 5 | gorilla | grand | grew 5 | grow |
| hawk | hour 5 | inch | insect | keep 5 |
| kept | kill | knee 5 | land | leave |
| lip 5 | mean | met | metal 5 | mile |
| mine | minute 5 | mittens | month | most 5 |
| motor | mountain | move 5 | multiply | must |
| near 5 | nearly | neither | ocean 5 | owl |
| plastic | point 5 | pretty | pumpkin | quick 5 |
| quite | ready | remember 5 | rich | river |
| round 5 | rub | sack | sad 5 | sandwich |
| self | shelf 5 | shiny | shoot | sign 5 |
| since | slid | slide 5 | small | soup |
| spring 5 | square | steal | stove 5 | stomach |
| strange | street 5 | strong | struck | subtract 5 |
| summer | swing | swung 5 | thick | tiny |
| tongue 5 | touch | towel | trouble 5 | uncle |
| unless | watch 5 | weather | week | weigh 5 |
| while | wide | winter 5 | wipe | wreck |
| yesterday 5 | young | yours 5 |
Regular forms ending with -s, -es, -ed, -ing, -er, and öest are not counted as different words. Compounds formed with öthing, -body, -self, -one, and grand- are not counted as different words.
Copyright © Whitlow Publishers,2000. Reproducing/Copying: The publisher grants permission to reproduce for educational purposes only. The Hargis Word List is not to be sold or used otherwise without permission.
