Learning sight words is an important part of learning to read.
Sight words are service words. They are not meant to be sounded out. Learning these words helps the reader to maintain reading fluency without getting cooked up on meaning.
I like the Dolch Sight Word List, but there are many other lists available. I like to pop them onto cards about 12cm x 6cm.
Use these cards to have some fun with 30 FUN SIGHT WORD GAMES AND ACTIVITIES
1. Play Battleships with sight words on a grid with a partner or
as a class.
2. Play coin toss – words on floor – children take turns to
toss a coin onto a word and say that word.
3. Have a box of small blank mini cards or paper you can
purchase great sized post it notes these days (approx
10cm x 2 cm) on hand at all times so that children can
write down words from word walls, charts etc and then
take the card back to their writing. It is also handy to
write words on when doing writing conferences.
4. Play who am I? for example, I am yellow, I have 5 letters, and I
end in ___.
5. Make a letter twister chart with chalk on a concrete
floor, children place their feet and hands on the letters
to spell words.
6. Around the World Sight Words – flash a word – first player
to say word out of that pair moves on to the next person
to make a pair and another word is flashed, etc, etc.
7. Play Hangman using the word card words.
8. How quickly can you find a certain sight word in individual
reading books during small group reading.
9. Play dominoes using same end letter / beginning letter.
10. Circle letters within words using white board marker on
laminated sight words cards.
11. Play Chinese Whispers – say a word – pass it around.
12. Circle smaller words within words using white board
marker on laminated word cards.
13. Children go outside and practice writing their words with
chalk on the concrete .
14. Practice handwriting by tracing over words using
white board marker on laminated sight word cards.
15. Place sight word cards in alphabetical order .
16. Flashlight words turn off lights flash a torch on
words on display for look and say.
17. Children make their own word wall / dictionary using
photocopied small sight words and scrapbooks labeled with a
letter of the alphabet on each page … can be added to
through the year.
18. Play tic tac toe, here I go, where I stop I do not know –
children say the word that you stop on.
19. Cloze – children find the missing word
within a sentence.
20. Play musical words – children pass words around in a
circle until music stops – that child says the word – can
be played with 1 or more words.
21. Go on a word walk / drive – find words around the environment –
signs etc.
22. Make words using play dough .
23. Make words using string gluing .
24. Make words using letter tiles – scrabble pieces .
25. Make words using stencils .
26. Make words using alphabet stamps .
27. Make words using magnetic letters .
28. Play stepping stones – place words on the floor and
children walk over them saying the word as they go to get
to the other side of the stream.
29. Beat the clock – how many times can a word be written
in 1 minute etc.
30. Children write their words in list form and then write
over the words 2 or more times using different colors
to create rainbow words .
There are so many way you can make teaching and learning sight words fun – I am sure you can think of more as well.