Yes — "people" is a Second Grade sight word. Its unusual "eo" combination makes a long "e" sound, a pattern found in very few other English words, so it's memorized rather than decoded.
Many people came to the birthday party.
"People" packs two irregular features into one common word: the "eo" spelling for a long "e" sound, and a silent "e" at the end that doesn't affect pronunciation the usual way. Because it's used so constantly to describe groups, it's worth prioritizing as a memorized sight word early in reading instruction.
Since "people" is nearly impossible to sound out reliably, treat it as a whole-picture word — show the written word alongside a photo of a group of people to build a strong visual association.
Word Wizard teaches "people" with Flash Cards, Listen & Pick, Spell It, and Write It — four game modes that turn repetition into play.
See "people" with its picture, syllables, and example sentence — with native audio.
Hear "people" spoken aloud and pick it out from similar-looking words.
Build "people" letter by letter from shuffled tiles.
Word Wizard turns sight word practice into a game — Flash Cards, Listen & Pick, Spell It and Write It, from Pre-K through Grade 5.