fun ways to spell sight words

60 Fun Ways to Practice Sight Words at Home

Learning new sight words can become tedious and challenging for kids. Here are some fun and easy ways to help your kids practice sight words at home.

This post may contain affiliate links and I may earn a small commission when you click on the links.

Card Games for Sight Word Practice

Memory : Spread out sight word cards face down on the table. Play concentration by taking turns turning over 2 cards and trying to create a match. Whoever collects the most pairs of sight words is the winner.

Go Fish : Use 2 sets of sight word flash cards to play Go Fish. In this variation on the classic game, kids take turns asking for a word card from their opponent to try to make a match. If the opponent has the card, they read the word out loud and put the matching cards down on the table. If not, they can draw a card from the fish pond. Whoever makes the most matches is the winner.

Sight Word Boom : To play this sight words game, write each of your child’s words on a piece of paper. Write the word “BOOM” on several pieces of paper as well and shuffle the deck. Players take turns drawing cards and reading the word. If they can read the word, they get to keep the card- but if they draw a “BOOM,” they have to put all the cards back. The first player to accumulate 5 or 10 cards is the winner.

Variation of Sight Word Boom : You can also play Sight Word Boom with dice. On each turn, players roll a die. They draw that number of cards and read them one at a time. If they draw a “BOOM,” they must stop reading cards and put back the number of cards they rolled on the die.

Who Has More : Challenge your child to read as many sight word cards as they can. If they know the card, they get to keep it, and if not, you do. Whoever has the most cards wins.

Indoor Sight Word Activities

Word Find : See if your child can find their Dolch words in picture books or magazines. You can even use a catalog or piece of junk mail for this. Try asking your child to circle the words that they find.

Write a Story : Another great sight word activity is to ask kids to write a story using some of their sight words. Young readers can also tell a story for you to write down. Then, help your child find and circle their sight words in the story.

Roll and Read : Make a die out of paper or get a large dry-erase die. Write a sight word from your child’s list of words on each side. Then, take turns rolling the die and reading the words.

Word Wall : Write a few sight words on a large piece of paper to make a word wall. Practice them a few times per day. Add more words to the wall as your child continues learning.

Related Post: Kindergarten Sight Words

More Fun Sight Word Activities and Games

Practice sight words while playing.

Sight Word Parking Lot : Use tape to create a parking lot for toy cars. Write a sight word inside each parking space. Call out a sight word and ask kids to park a toy car in the matching space.

Sight Word Pancakes : Write your child’s sight word on brown circles of paper. Call out a sight word and ask your child to use a spatula to “flip” the corresponding pancake.

Sensory Bins : Make a sensory bin by filling a large tub with rice, sand, or even seasonal items like dried corn in the fall. Bury your child’s sight word cards in the box. As they dig to discover the cards, they can practice reading the words.

Light Up Words : Write your child’s sight words on index cards and tape them to a wall. Turn off all the lights. Your child can shine a flashlight on the words and read them. Or, quiz your child by telling them a sight word and asking them to find it with their flashlight beam.

Activities to Practice Spelling Sight Words

Magnetic Letters : Use magnetic letters to spell a sight word, and ask your child to read it. Or, you can ask them to make the words. You can stick the magnets to your refrigerator, or a cookie sheet or metal lunchbox if you’re on the go. This is a great activity for helping kids notice the differences between similar words.

Sight Word Tower : Write letters on Legos or other building blocks. Kids can stack the letters to build their sight words. Or, write a different sight word on each block. As you call out words, kids can find them and add them to the tower. (You can also write the letters on tape and tape them to the blocks if you want to be able to re-use the blocks).

Scrabble : Use Scrabble tiles to build sight words. You can build the word and ask your child to read it or ask your child to build the word themselves.

Sight Word Cookies : Make a batch of sugar cookies. Use alphabet cookie cutters to make letter cookies and use them to spell the sight words. Young children will love to eat their sight words when they are done.

Pool Noodle Word Building : Cut foam pool noodles into pieces and write a letter on each piece. Slide the letters onto a dowel to build sight words.

Edible Sight Words : Help your child write their sight words with M+Ms, raisins, pretzel sticks, or any other food you can think of.

Letter Scavenger Hunt : Write the sight word. Then ask your child to find an object somewhere in the house that begins with each letter in the word.

Bath Sight Words : Use bath crayons to write sight words on the walls of the bathtub.

Fun Sight Word Games

Bingo : Create a BINGO card using common sight words that your child is practicing. Shuffle sight word flash cards and read them one by one. If your child has that word on their card, they can mark it with a bingo marker. Use small edible treats or seasonal items as markers to make the game even more fun.

Tic Tac Toe : To play this fun game, make a tic tac toe board and write a different word from your child’s word list in each square. When you play tic tac toe, ask your child to read the sight word out loud before marking a square. Whoever can get three in a row first wins.

I Spy : Spread out sight word cards. Give your child clues to help them guess which sight word you are thinking of. This is a great activity for helping your child think about their words in new ways.

Use a Timer : How many words can your child read before the timer goes off? Keep track of their total and then try to improve the score with multiple attempts. You can also increase motivation by making a video of the attempt for your child to watch when they’re done.

Use Sight Word Practice Worksheets

Sight Word Practice Worksheets are a great way to help kids learn new sight words. They can be used independently for review as well.

Active Sight Word Games

Sight Word Path : Spread out your child’s sight word flashcards along the floor to make a path. Ask your child to walk from one end of the path to the other, stepping only on the cards. Spread out the cards to make a fun physical challenge while practicing high frequency words!

Sight Word Swat : Spread out sight word cards on a table. Call out sight words. Your child can use a fly swatter to swat the sight word that they hear.

Sight Word Twister : Tape sight word flashcards to each of the colored dots on a Twister mat. As your child moves to each of the dots, ask them to read the sight words.

Sight Word Fishing : Put tape, magnets, or velcro on sets of sight word cards. Put the cards in an empty wading pool or large container. Make a fishing rod and ask your child to fish for sight word cards. When they collect a card, they can practice reading the word.

Moving Alphabet : Write down a sight word. Then, challenge your child to make each of the letters in the word using their whole body.

Practicing Sight Words by Running, Climbing, and Jumping

Frog Pond : Choose a small group of sight word flashcards and spread them out on the floor. Call out a word and ask your child to jump on that word. You can also write your words on the sidewalk or driveway with sidewalk chalk and play this game outside.

Climb the Stairs : Write sight words on sticky notes or index cards. Put one on each step of a staircase. Ask your child to climb the stairs one at a time, while reading the word on each step.

Sight Word Race : Put a stack of sight word flashcards on a table or chair at one end of a room or hallway. Sit on the floor at the opposite end. Ask your child to run across the room, grab one flashcard, bring it back, and read it. Repeat for the rest of the flashcards.

Related Post: Sight Words vs. Phonics: Which One Is Best?

Sight Word Hide and Seek Games

Sight Word Search : Hide sight word flashcards around the room. Then play sight word hide and seek and ask your child to find the cards. When they find each card, they can bring it to you and read the word.

Egg Hunt : Put sight word flashcards inside plastic eggs. Hide the eggs for your child to find. When they find each egg, ask them to open it and read the word inside.

Words Around the House : Write your child’s sight words on cards and tape them around the house. In this easy activity, whenever your child passes the words, invite them to tap the card and say the word. The whole family can join in with this simple game.

Secret Password : Choose a word of the day to be the secret password. Post the password on a large size piece of paper on one of the doors in your house. Every time someone goes through the door, they need to read the password.

Tossing, Throwing and Catching to Practice Sight Words

Frisbee : Write each of your child’s sight words on a paper plate. Then set up a pillow or couch cushion to make a target. After your child reads each word, they can throw the paper plates like frisbees towards the target.

Beach Ball Words : Blow up a beach ball. Use a permanent marker to write one sight word on each colored section of the ball. Play throw and catch with the beach ball. Ask your child to read the word that their right hand is touching each time they catch the ball.

Ring Toss : Spread out word cards from your word wall on a table or floor. Kids can take turns tossing checkers, math counters, pennies, or other small objects and trying to get them to land on the card. If they can read the word, they get a point.

Sight Word Target Practice : Draw a target on a large sheet of paper. You can tape the paper to the wall or put it on the floor. Then, ask your child to throw soft foam balls or rolled-up socks at the target. They can practice reading the words as they hit the target.

Outdoor Sight Word Games

Sight Word Hopscotch : This is a great way to practice sight words while getting some activity outside! Draw a hopscotch board on a sidewalk or driveway with sidewalk chalk. Then, as your child jumps, ask them to read the words that they land on. You can also do this activity inside if you make the hopscotch board out of painter’s tape or masking tape on the floor.

Squirt the Word : Write your child’s sight words on the driveway with sidewalk chalk. Then, give your child a small spray bottle full of water. Your child can read each word and then squirt it with the squirt bottle.

Sight Word Soccer : To play this sight word game, tape sight word flash cards onto play cones or plastic cups. Challenge your child to kick a soccer ball and knock down the cones. As each cone is knocked down, your child can practice reading the sight words.

Sight Word Bowling : Write words from your child’s list on plastic cups. Set up the cups like bowling pins and invite your child to knock them over with a soft ball. After the round of bowling is complete, your child can collect the cups and test their reading skills by practicing the sight words.

Crafts and Art Projects

Invisible Sight Words : Use a white crayon to write your child’s sight word on a piece of paper. They can paint the paper with watercolor paints to make the sight word appear.

Alphabet Stamps : Kids can use a set of alphabet stamps to stamp their sight words. Using a washable ink pad is the best way to minimize mess during this activity.

Sight Word Collage : Use scissors to cut out sight words, or letters, from magazines. Kids can use a glue stick to glue the letters on a piece of paper to form their sight words. Or, they can make a collage with all the sight words they found.

Finger Paint : Kids can use finger paint to write their sight words.

Popsicle Sticks : Kids can use popsicle sticks to build their words. They can glue the popsicle sticks to a piece of paper when they are finished.

Pasta Collage : Help your child use dry alphabet pasta to spell their sight words. This activity also works well with alphabet cereal. This is a great hands-on activity for younger kids.

Pom Poms : Write common words from your child’s list in large letters on a piece of paper. Then, your child can glue pom poms on the letter to make a fuzzy version of their words.

Glitter Writing : Write tricky sight words on paper or index cards, and trace the words with a thin line of white glue. Shake glitter over the whole paper, and then tip the paper into a pan so the glitter slides off the paper and sticks to the sight word. When the glue dries, the resulting word will be a fun tactile way for kids to explore their sight words.

Fun Sight Word Activities for Writing Words

Sidewalk Chalk : Your child can use sidewalk chalk to write their words on the driveway or sidewalk.

Stencils : An alphabet letter stencil is a great tool for helping kids practice writing their words in different ways.

Play Dough : Form the letters of the sight word using long thin pieces of playdough. You can also flatten out the playdough into a large sheet with a rolling pin and write sight words in it with a toothpick. Pipe cleaners, wiki sticks, and even Twizzlers also work well for this activity. This is a great way to practice fine motor skills too.

Sensory Writing : Put salt on a tray and ask your child to write their Dolch words in the salt. Other fun sensory play ideas for sight word writing include shaving cream and whipped cream.

Sticks in the Dirt : Go outside and ask your child to write their sight words in the dirt (or in the sand in a sandbox) using a stick or their finger.

Trace, Cover and Check : Fold a piece of paper to make 3 columns. Write the high-frequency words that you are practicing in the first column. Ask your child to trace the word. Then, fold the paper so the word is covered and ask your child to write the word. Finally, unfold the paper and check to see if they spelled it correctly. Make any needed corrections in the third column.

Which Activity Will You Try?

These fun ideas are the perfect way to help your kids remember their sight words, no matter their grade level. What are your favorite ways to practice sight words with your child? Using engaging activities like these to teach sight words in new and creative ways will help your kids have fun learning and remember their words better too.

Similar Posts

How to Prepare Kids for Travel with Reading

The joy of discovering a new place together with your family is a great reason to travel, but it can be hard to prepare kids for the trip. A great way to prepare kids for travel is by reading about the location you will be visiting. In this post, you’ll learn how. This post may…

Pre Primer Sight Words: Everything You Need to Know

What if you could make reading faster, easier, and more fun for your child? Pre Primer Sight Words, or sight words for preschool, are an important step in the process of teaching your preschooler how to read. If you’re wondering how to get started with sight words in preschool, this post will get you started….

20 Best Christmas Read Aloud Books for Homeschoolers

Christmas time is always the time of year when I am looking to take a break from our homeschool curriculum, and spend some time doing some fun Christmas activities with my kids. And there is nothing that we like better than curling up with a good book! Here are a few of our favorite Christmas…

Free Literacy Apps for Your Homeschool

Educational apps are a fun way to keep kids learning all year long. Since my kids enjoy playing games on my phone, the right free app can provide lots of motivation to keep them learning. Here are a few of our favorite free literacy apps that are perfect for homeschooling and summer learning. I received…

Homeschool Audiobooks: Increase Reading Fluency and Fun

Audiobooks can be an important tool for homeschool families. Whether you are using audiobooks to encourage a reluctant reader, to help an auditory learner experience a favorite book, or even to support a child with a visual impairment, audiobooks are a great way to encourage the whole family to read. If you’re looking for more…

30 Best Preschool Sports Books

Do you have a child who loves sports? One of the best ways to help your child enjoy reading is to choose books about a topic they are interested in. These preschool sports books are perfect for getting kids excited about reading! Print the list to take to the library or click on the title…

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Books and Giggles

40+ Fun Ways to Practice Sight Words

The challenge with teaching sight words is that children need so much repetition – and that can get boring. So having a big list of fun ways to practice sight words can help you keep your students engaged longer.

If you teach kindergarten, then you probably already know that sight words are a big step in early literacy. Yes, phonics is critical too, but learning how to read some common words instantly really helps kids hit the ground running!

Of course, you want to make sure children are really ready to learn sight words so that no one gets frustrated.

Fun Ways to Practice Sight Words

These sight word practice ideas are sure to make work time feel more playful! Even better, many of these are multi-sensory activities – which we know actually help children learn better.

Write the Words in Fun Ways

• Trace the word on a sand, kinetic sand, or salt tray .
• Trace laminated sight word cards with finger paint or shaving cream (less mess than paint!).
• Go outside and write words with sidewalk chalk
• Or, stay inside and write the words on an easel or whiteboard. Dry erase markers make everything more interesting!
• Write or trace the words with glitter markers, scented markers, etc.
• Print off these cute worksheets and rainbow write the words!
• Write the words on a Magna Doodle magnetic drawing board.

Build Sight Words with Hands-On Materials

• Use playdough to build words .
• Build words with letter tiles, blocks, or alphabet beads.
• Use magnetic letters to spell out sight words.
• “Write” out the words with letter stamps .
• Create words out of dried macaroni and spaghetti, alphabet shaped pasta, or even letter shaped cookies.

Gross Motor Sight Word Practice Ideas

Active children learn well when they can move around. Plus, providing lots of opportunities for physical activity helps them stay engaged and interested in learning.

Here are some ideas that could work in a larger classroom or nearby hallway:

• Set up a sight word scavenger hunt where kids have to find the words and read them aloud.

• Make a sight word bean bag toss game: place words on the floor and try to toss a beanbag onto them. Read the words as part of playing.
• Try having kids jump over to the words on the floor instead of tossing a beanbag onto them.
• Play a matching game with 2 identical decks of word cards. Keep the first deck in a stack on one side of the classroom. Then, on the other side of the room, spread out all of the cards from the other deck. Students draw a card, read it, then walk across the room to find its match. Repeat until each sight word card has a match.
• Play a balancing game where students walk across a long strip of masking tape on the floor. Place word cards along the line for children to stop and read. Encourage them to use their imaginations and pretend they’re walking across a log bridge, tightrope, etc.
• Pretend to write the word in the air with their finger as a “pen.”

Imaginative Play Sight Word Practice

When attention is lagging, some kids may respond to using imaginative play in their sight word practice!

• Have dolls, stuffed animals, or action figures “search” for certain sight words. (Ages ago my kids practiced sight words with toy animals ).
• Similarly, you can have toy vehicles drive around to read and collect sight word flashcards.

• Give the child puppets to read out words. It’s fun to ready your words in a silly voice!
• Play police or fire dispatcher: say something like “there’s an emergency at the word have “! Then the child races to find that word card and pretend to help.
• Involve the kids in inventing a simple sight word game with favorite themes or characters.

Musical Sight Words

A quick search on youtube will bring you lots of sight word songs. Jack Hartman’s high-energy interactive songs are super popular. If you want some sweet, calming sight word songs, then Molly Songs may be for you:

You can also just make up songs on the fly using familiar tunes and popular songs.

If you want your students to focus more on the sounds of each letter, and notice which words are irregular – a la Science of Reading – then you might like this newer playlist that I found from Nitty Gritty Phonics. There is more silly/engaging acting than singing, and the production value isn’t as high, but I think the educational value is fantastic.

Practice with Sight Word Apps

Practicing sight words with an app can be another easy way to keep kids interested in learning.

Some popular sight word apps include:

• ABC Mouse (ad)
• Reading Eggs
• Learn Sight Words (ipad, iphone only)
• Sight Words from RV App Studios

You can also practice with Boom Cards , which are wonderful because they can give teachers data about exactly which words students are struggling with.

Hands-On Sight Word Worksheets

Sight word worksheets don’t have to be boring. Many good ones incorporate interesting materials, such as dot markers, stamp markers, etc.

Here are a few from this site and in my store that you might like:

Easy Prep Sight Word Center Activities

You also can print off and prepare cute sight word puzzles, feed the sight word activities, and more.

• Swat the Sight Word
• Sight Word Fishing Game
• Popsicle Stick Sight Word Puzzles
• Feed the Cow Sight Word Activity

In conclusion, young children can practice sight words in so many ways! You really don’t need to bore them with flashcards and drills. They’ll learn by having fun!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

So, we’ve come up with some fresh new ideas for how students can practice sight words in school, or for passing along to families for at-home practice! 

Read on to learn new, (and a few repurposed but familiar) creative, hands-on, and high-engagement sight word games for your lucky little learners.

Creative Sight Word Practice

• Sight Word Rainbows

Kids will love writing their sight words in each color of the rainbow. You can offer rainbow templates with arched lines and crayons, colored pencils, or markers for writing. Or, you can offer a multi-column template, and have kids write one sight word down each column multiple times in each of the colors of a rainbow. 

• Magic Reveal 

Using a white crayon, your students write their sight words in a random pattern all over a piece of heavy paper. Next, students paint across the entire paper with watercolor paints. As the words are revealed, kids read them aloud. These make colorful classroom decorations and can be used for “read the room” or “scavenger hunt” literacy centers later on!

• Sight Word Sheets

These sheets give your students a variety of ways to practice their sight words! On each worksheet, students focus on one sight word at a time. They practice the word by coloring it, tracing it, reading it in a sentence, highlighting it, finding it in a word find, writing it in a sentence, writing it in letter boxes, and cutting/ pasting the letters to form the sight word. 

Get Sight Words Activities

All Access Member? Download free.

Hands-On Sight Word Practice

• Salt or Sand Trays

Provide each student with a shallow tray filled with salt or colored sand. The student draws a sight word card and writes the word in the salt/ sand with his/her finger. Alternative Idea: Write sight words on shells or other small objects and hide them in the sand to find, read, and trace in the sand. 

• Repurposed Puzzles

Take a 20 to 50- piece puzzle and write a sight word on the back of each piece. Spread out all puzzle pieces upside down. Students take turns picking up a piece and reading the word before placing it in the puzzle.

• Sight Word Jenga 

Prepare Jenga blocks by writing one sight word on each piece. Then, play Jenga as intended, but, kids read the sight words on the Jenga blocks as a part of their turn. Tip! Look for the Dollar Tree mini version!

4. Alphabriks

Provide an assortment of letters. then, give students a list of words to practice spelling on their practice board.

5. Sight Word Fluency Sticks

Sight Word Fluency Sticks are a powerful tool for you to use in your Kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, and 3rd grade classroom. I believe in this system because it is developmentally appropriate, research based, and meets the needs and ability levels of all the students in your classroom in a low stress and low maintenance way.

When students focus on 10 sight words at a time, this sets the child up for success. They are no longer overwhelmed with a pile of flashcards to practice. The practice is highly targeted and differentiated. The weekly spiral practice of the mastered sight words allow for long term mastery.

I also love that the program involves the families (although not required) and shows them their progress throughout the year. Having students track their own progress not only frees up the teacher's time but also puts the students in control of their own learning. When they track and see their own progress, this is a powerful thing!

Download Sight Word Fluency Sticks HERE

Sight Word Games

• Search and Find 

Using anchor charts, your word wall, and other environmental print around the room, give students the challenge of finding sight words. A fun twist: turn the mission into a puzzle by providing templates with the shapes of the exact sight words you want kids to find.

• Scavenger Hunt

Give your students a list of hints to help them find sight words around your classroom. For example, “How many sight words can you find that are 3 letters long AND have the letter ‘e’?” 

• Sight Word Treasure Cups  

This is a fun game for partners. Student A hides 3 ‘treasures’ (counting bears, stickers, pencil tops, etc) under 6-8 dixie cups with sight words written on the bottom. Student B has five tries to find the treasures. In order to be able to look underneath the cup, s/he has to read the sight word correctly.  

• Sight Word “Speed” 

This works best when your students already know dozens of sight words. Students work with a partner. Each student places a stack of learned sight word playing cards upside down in front of them. Teach the partners to say, “1-2-3” and immediately pick up the top card in their stack. Whoever says the sight word first gets to keep their card as well as their partner’s card. Play continues until one player has all the cards (or until a timer runs out).

Create this game using sight word cards and some cards that say “Boom”. Take turns drawing cards from a deck in the center of the group. Students keep the card they drew once they accurately read the sight word. If a student draws a “Boom” card, they have to turn in all the cards they have accumulated to that point. Fun twist: Exchange the “Boom” cards for “Boo” cards in October, “Gobble” cards in November, “Grinch” cards in December, etc. 

• Sight Word Toss

Write the sight words you want your students to practice on index cards. Spread the cards out on the floor a few feet in front of a partnership or small group of students. One person is the word caller and one person is the beanbag tosser. The word caller calls out words randomly to see if their partner can find them and hit them with the beanbags.

• Life-Size Sight Word Game Board

Write sight words on paper plates or laminated circles of paper and create a path around the classroom with them. Students are the game pieces. Each student has their own die to roll when it is their turn. The number rolled is the number of “spaces” they advance. When they “land” on their new spot, they have to read and spell the word aloud. The first person to the last plate wins the game. 

We hope you’ll have fun with these new and repurposed sight word practice ideas! 

But – if the idea of creating custom sight word materials that match the exact words you’re using sounds like a monster task… the Lucky Little Learner Sight Word Sheets include an EDITABLE worksheet so you can quickly create your own multi-purpose sheet for any word! So, whether you use Fry, Dolch, or another custom district sight word list, this editable option will save you so much time, AND offer multiple ways for your students to practice their sight words!

Click on the buttons below to learn more.

1st Grade Sight Word Sheets

2nd Grade Sight Word Sheets

3rd Grade Sight Word Sheets

Save this post of ideas to your Pinterest board by using the image below!

This time of year I wrote sight words on the plastic eyeballs that are out for Halloween. I hid them around the area and my kindergarteners went on a scavenger hunt to find them, Then they had to read them to get to count them for a point. If you had the most points, you got to hide them for the next round.

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Submit Comment

100+ Fun Ways to Teach Sight Words with Hands-On Games & Activities

• Pinterest 7.7K

Wondering how do you teach sight words at home? These creative, low-prep activities will get your child learning their high-frequency words in a hurry!

I think we can all agree that learning sight words is an extremely important part of early literacy. Ultimately, the more sight words your child can recognize, the easier it will be for them to have reading success.

Because sight words don’t follow normal spelling rules and patterns, they can’t be sounded out in the traditional way – instead, they essentially need to be memorized, so continuous practice is key.

But pulling out the same flashcards every day with pre-school, kindergarten or first-grade kids will soon get old. Instead, we recommend making it fun by engaging young readers with creative, hands-on sight word activities and games.

By incorporating sight words into their everyday play, kids will be much more willing to learn, and therefore master their list much faster (without even knowing it!).

To help you teach sight words in a fun way, we compiled this ultimate list of sight word activities. There are ideas for kids who need to release energy with active, gross motor games, tons of outdoor activities, hands-on sensory play ideas, free printables, and much more.

Our hope is that this list will inspire your at-home learning, and allow your young readers to really blossom.

PIN for when you want to teach sight words in a fun way!

FINE MOTOR ACTIVITIES

These sight word activities also help kids develop their fine motor skills in creative and engaging ways. Fine motor skills are essential for learning the other half of literacy, writing, so it’s a win-win!

(1)  Sight Word Stamping:  Use alphabet stamps in an easy activity to match letters and  stamp out sight words . (via Fun Learning For Kids)

(2)  Kinetic Sand Stamping:  Or nix the paper and stamp into some  kinetic sand ! (via The Paige Diaries)

(3)  Playdough Writing:  Use a toothpick and some playdough to  learn to write sight words . (via Fantastic Fun and Learning)

(4)  Bend and Spell:  Flex those little fingers by having them create sight words with  pipe cleaners , Wiki Stix or rolled up playdough. (via Tickled Pink in Primary)

(5)  Magic Words Watercolor Activity:  Watch sight words magically appear in this  watercolor art project  from Montessori From the Heart.

(6)  Clothespin Activity:  This  simple matching activity  also helps kids develop finger strength using clothespins. (via Califf Creations)

( 7)  Travel Word Building:  Looking for something on-the-go? Check out this magnetic  travel sight word activity  from I Heart Crafty Things.

(8)  Golf Tee Hammering:  An egg carton and golf tees are used to create this super creative  sight word hammering activity . (via Montessori From the Heart)

(9)  Sight Word Jars:  Try these simple  sight words in a jar  for another travel option. (via No Time for Flashcards)

(10) Caterpillar Bottle Cap Activity:  Create cute caterpillars and reuse bottle caps in  this hands-on approach  from This Reading Mama.

(11) Dot Sticker Activity:  All you need are dot stickers and a piece of paper to do this fun  sight word matching activity.  (via Happy toddler Playtime)

(12) Sight Word Bugs:  Make some friendly  bugs using stickers  to help your child memorize their sight words. (via Differentiated Kindergarten)

(13) Pool Noodle Build-a-Word:  With just a  pool noodle  and a Sharpie your kids can stack and create tons of sight words! (via The Educators Spin on It)

( 14) Building with Legos:  Kids love this  Lego match-up activity  as they get to build and learn at the same time. (via Fun Learning For Kids)

(15) Sight Word Towers:  Or use the Legos to build  Sight Word Towers ! (via Fun Learning For Kids)

(16) Place the Pom Poms:  Using tweezers your kids will cover sight words with  pom poms  – helping them memorize while flexing their fine motor skills. (via Kindergarten is Crazy)

(17)   Sight Word Threading:  Get your kids using their pincer grip while practicing high frequency words with this simple  bead threading activity . (via Childhood 101)

(18) Sight Word Spray:  All kids love to use a spray bottle! Have them make pretty colors by reading and  spraying sight words  on paper towels. (via Montessori From the Heart)

( 19) Magnetic Tile Match:  This activity is super easy to set-up and uses supplies you probably already have:  magnetic tiles  and post-its! (via The Paige Diaries)

(20) Sight Word Fishing:  Some simple flash cards, paperclips and a  magnetic fishing pole  is all you need to  go “fishing” for sight words ! Kids love this one! (via A Teachable Teacher)

(21) Easter Egg Spin:  Repurpose your plastic Easter Eggs with this  easy DIY spin and spell  from Raising Dragons.

(22) Sight Word Scooping:  Grab some ping pong balls and a muffin tin for this interactive  sight word scooping activity . (via The OT Toolbox)

(23) Say It, Make It, Write It:  This  free printable mat  allows your child to learn different sight words my manipulating them in various ways. (via You Clever Monkey)

GROSS MOTOR/ACTIVE INDOOR ACTIVITIES

Get up and move with these active sight word play ideas. These fun games will not only help kids learn their high-frequency words, but also burn off some energy in the process!

(1)  Hop on Pop Sight Words:  This  simple hopping game  will get your kids learning, while releasing some energy at the same time! (via The Chaos and the Clutter)

(2)  Sight Word High Five:  Get high-fiving with this  sight word recognition game . (via Schooltime Snippets)

(3)  Cup Crash!   Read sight words and stack cups . The more you read, the better the crash! (via Coffee Cups and Crayons)

(4)  Sight Word Target Practice:  All you need for this  fun sight word game  is a ball, paper plates, a pen, and tape. (via I Can Teach my Child)

(5)  Hanging Sight Words:  Jump up and  grab the sight words  in this active activity from Simple Play Ideas.

(6)  Toss the Balloon Sight Word Game:  Practice hand eye coordination while learning sight words with  this fun game  from Gift of Curiosity.

(7)  Sight Words on the Stairs:  All you need are sticky notes and stairs in  this sight word activity  that will burn off some energy as kids read their way to the top. (via Hands on as we Grow)

(8)  Bowling for Sight Words:  Knock them down, read the words, then line them up again in this  fun bowling game  from Make, Take, & Teach.

( 1)  Chocolate Sight Words:  This  multi-sensory writing activity  will have kids licking their fingers and asking for more. (via Natural Beach Living)

(2)  Rainbow Salt Tray Sensory Writing:  The colors and texture of this rainbow salt tray is a great way to engage kids in  this early writing activity  from Natural Beach Living.

(3)  Shaving Cream Writing:   Writing words in soft shaving cream  is always a kid favorite! (via Half Pint Kids)

(4)  Leaf Sensory Writing Tray:  We love the use of leaves in this  Leaf Sensory Writing Tray  where your child can practice writing their high-frequency words without traditional paper and pen (The Imagination Tree)

(5)  Sprinkles Sensory Tray:  Use  rainbow rice or sprinkles  to make this colorful and inviting sensory tray to practice writing sight words. (via Montessori From the Heart) 

( 6)  Construction Sensory Digging:  This  Construction themed sensory bin  would be a treat for vehicle lovers! (via Montessori From the Heart)

(7)  Digging for “Carrots”:  Task your kids to dig and find the right  sight word “carrot”  in this sensory bin of beans. (via The Imagination Tree)

(8)  Shaving Cream Sight Word Activity:  Enjoy multi-sensory learning as you clean the letters in this  sight word sensory bin  from Mess for Less.

(9)  Sight Word Ocean Sensory Bin:  Want to learn about the ocean too? Try this fun  ocean themed word search activity  from Happy Toddler Playtime.

(10) Sight Word Sensory Bin:  For hands-on learning, try this  sandy sensory bin  to see, build, and stamp sight words. (via Homeschool Preschool)

(11) Sight Word Sensory Tray:  For more tactile learners, this  Sensory Tray  allows them to move while learning. (via The OT Toolbox)

( 12) Squish and Seek:  Adding in a fun ziploc baggie of paint to this activity really keeps kids engaged in this game of  Squish and Seek . (via Playdough to Plato)

(13) Sensory Word Hunt:  Go for a  word hunt in a sensory bin  to help learn sight words and letter recognition. (via Mess for Less)

(14) Shredded Paper Sensory Bin:  This super simple sight word sensory bin  uses shredded paper  to hide words. (via The OT Toolbox)

LEARN THROUGH PLAY

Imaginative play is so fun to watch and with a little creativity can be turned into amazing opportunities to learn. We’ve gathered some of the best ideas on how to learn sight words through play.

( 1)  Sight Word Find:  Putting large craft paper on the wall instantly makes this  Sight Word Find  activity more appealing. (via Busy Toddler)

(2)  Mega Bloks Build:  Your kids can build sight words in  this block activity  from The Printable Princess.

(3)  Muffin Tin Game:  Turn your muffin tin into  4 literacy games  to play! (via Growing Book by Book)

(4)  Reading Through Balloons:  This is such a fun activity, as kids get to  read “through” a balloon ! (via The OT Toolbox)

(5)  Duplo Sight Word Practice:  Do you have a bunch of Duplo blocks that aren’t getting played with? Give them new life by creating  a fun reading game.  (via the Educators’ Spin on It)

( 6)  Pool Noodle Words:  Keep sight words in-sight by placing these fun  Pool Noodle words  around the house. (via @playfulfamilies)

(7) Dice and Duplo Game:  Make a simple sight word dice and transform your Duplos into letter cubes for this fun,  build-a-word game . (via No Time for Flash Cards)

(8)  String a Line to Matching Pairs:  This  fun matching activity  gets your kids on the floor and only uses sticky notes, tape and string. (via Hand on as we Grow)

(9)  Sight Word Parking Lot:  Create a  parking lot of sight words  and drive the cars around to use imagination, play and learn. (via Juggling with Kids)

(10) Sight Word Pebbles:  Forget the paper,  writing sight words on pebbles  gives kids a chance for open-ended play while learning. (via The Imagination Tree)

( 11) Sight Word Pockets:  Create a  pocket word wall  while practicing both spelling and identifying sight words. (via Fun Learning for Kids)

(12) Popsicle Stick Sight Word Puzzle:  Create your own  easy sight word puzzle  with nothing but popsicle sticks! (via This Reading Mama)

(13) Sticky Note Sight Word Match:  All you need for this  simple matching game  are some sticky notes! (via the Kindergarten Connection)

(14) Rocket to the Moon:  Shoot to the moon and make  sight word rockets  while combining creativity with movement and learning. (via Growing Book by Book)

(15) Sight Word Ball Pit:   How fun is this  sight word ball pit  for your kids to dive into?! (via The Kindergarten Smorgasboard)

(16) Fun with Gems:  Rocks and gems are a favorite of pretty much any kid and  this simple activity  can be adapted for kids of different ages for sibling fun. (via the Educators’ Spin on It)

SIGHT WORDS GAMES  

Games are a great way for parents and kids to have fun and learn together. These sight word games are perfect for bonding and learning.

( 17) Sight Word Drag Racing:  If your child loves Matchbox cards, this engaging  Drag Racing game  will keep them learning. (via Playdough to Plato)

(18) Blow Down Blocks:  Use a fun party blower to engage your child in this game where they have to  blow down the sight word blocks . (via Toddler Approved)

(19) Sight Word Jenga:   Jenga  can also be transformed into a great sight word game! Don’t knock the tower down! (via Kindergarten is Crazy)

(20) Sight Word Connect Four:  Transform the game  Connect Four  into sight word practice in this fun idea from Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas.

(21) Showdown:  Have fun together in this  two person index card game . (via Playdough to Plato)

( 22) Dominoes Sight Word Games:  Easy set up and two ways to play with  this after school idea  from No Time for Flashcards.

(23) Post-it Memory Game:  Play  memory with sight words  and post-its. (via Happy Toddler Playtime)

(24) Monster Munch:  Need a study buddy? How about a cute monster that eats sight words? Check out  this adorable play idea  from The Craft Train.

(25) Pick Up Sticks:  Save those wooden chopsticks next time you get take-out and put them to good use by creating this fun  Pick Up Sticks sight word game . (via Jdaniel4’s Mom)

(26) Oh Snap!  A fun  popsicle stick game  for parents to play with kids to help practice reading sight words and have a little friendly competition. (via Schooltime Snippets)

(27) Sight Word Soccer:  This free printable makes it easy to get your child reading while competing in a fun  soccer match . (via Playdough to Plato)

(28) Find the Bunny:  Put old Easter eggs to good use with this fun  Find the Bunny reading game . (via Squirrels of a Feather)

(29) Where’s The Bear:  This game is so simple, but kids absolutely love it, and they have to read the words in order to  find the bear ! (via Sprinkles to Teaching)

(30) Pancake Flip:  Have fun with play food and try this  edible sight word game  from Playdough to Plato.

(31) We’re Going on a Word Hunt:  How many times can you find the word “the” in the living room? This is a fun  word hunt  that can be played throughout the house! (via Walking by the Way)

(32) Sight Word Go Fish:  Transform the classic game,  Go Fish , into one where your child is practicing and reading sight words – so smart! (via Always Expect Moore)

FUN WITH WATER

Combine outdoor water play with sight word learning. These ideas are perfect for hot summer days or any other time you feel like switching up the day and getting a little wet while learning.

(1)  Water Balloon Toss:  Instead of a water balloon fight, why not try turning those  water balloons  into literacy practice on your driveway? (via Primary Playground)

(2)  Water Balloon Throw:  A slightly different take on the sidewalk water balloon toss above, this one has them  reading sight words on a balloon  and then throwing it at the word it matches on a fence or wall. Equally fun! (via Life Your Way

  (3)  Sight Word Fence Spray:   Clean the sight words  from the fence by spraying and reading. (via Finding the Golden Gleam)

(4)  Put Out The Fire Word Spray:  Play firefighter as you  spray down sight word flames  with a hose or squirt gun! (via What Moms Love)

(5)  Sight Word Scrub:  This fun  scrubbing game  can also teach your child about cleaning and responsibility. (via Danya Banya)

(6)  Sight Word Swim Game:  Turn pool time into learning time with this  sight word swim game  from Coffee Cups and Crayons.

(7)  Sight Word Dive:  Having a pool day? Go  diving for sight words ! (via I Can Teach My Child)

(8)  Pool Noodle Sight Word Boat Race:  See whose  sight word boat  floats to the finish line first! Great for the pool, or even just the bathtub. (via The Educator’s Spin On It)

OUTDOOR LEARNING

Get outside and get learning! Just because you are outside doesn’t mean the learning has to stop. Use these outdoor ideas to learn sight words while outside.

( 1)  Puddle Jumping:  Grab your rain boots and turn puddle jumping into learning with  this active game  from Fantastic Fun and Learning.

(2)  Chalk Twister:  A classic game with an educational twist. Draw your own  sight word twister  outside! (via Confidence Meets Parenting)

(3)  Sight Word Scavenger Hunt:  Get moving by setting up a  sight word scavenger hunt outdoors ! (via The OT Toolbox)

(4)  Frog Hop Sight Words : Jumping is great exercise and  this lily pad game  helps kids learn their sight words while burning off energy. (via Fun Learning for Kids)

(5)  Sight Words Bean Bag Toss:  Write sight words on your driveway and then call them out – see if your kids can  land a bean bag on the right word . (via A Mom With A Lesson Plan).

(6)  Chalk Movement Game:  Create an  oversized matching game  outside to get kids moving and reading. (via The Educators’ Spin On It)

(7)  Sight Word Hopscotch:  With a few slight modifications, turn this  classic playground game  into a chance to learn! (via JDaniel4’s Mom)

(8)  Chalk Painting:  Kids can practice their sight words while  tracing over them with chalk paint  in this simple activity from Mess For Less.

(9)  Outdoor Duplo Hunt:  We’re going on a block hunt! Anytime “indoor toys” get to go outside is exciting for kids so they will love this  outdoor Duplo hunt  from No Time for Flashcards.

( 10) Pirate Sight Word Treasure Hunt:  Step into your imagination and become a pirate looking for  buried sight word treasure ! (via The Imagination Tree)

(11) Star Wars Sight Word Game:  Battle Darth Vader in this engaging  Star Wars themed game  from Playdough to Plato.

(12) Squeegee Sight Words:  Need your windows cleaned? Grab a chalk marker, some water and a squeegee and instruct your child to  clean away the words  that you call out. Talk about good, clean fun! (via Little Learning for Two)

(13) Yard Cleanup Sight Word Activity:  Learn to recycle and clean up trash while using your imagination and practicing to read in this creative  yard cleanup activity  from No Time For Flashcards.

(14) Sight Word Soccer:  Combine sports and literacy in this  great movement game  from Coffee Cups and Crayons.

FREE PRINTABLES

Snag these incredible free printables for more games and activities that get kids learning and reading sight words. Seeing the words in different ways is a great way to reinforce them and these free printables require very little set-up and additional materials, making it easier than ever to encourage your kids to put in the extra practice.

( 1) Roll & Read Sight Word Printable:  We love the flexibility of this free printable  Roll & Read Sight Word game  – you get to write in the sight words your child needs to focus on. (via No Time for Flash Cards)

(2)  Rainbow Roll & Write:  Roll the dice to decide a color and trace the sight words on this  free printable worksheet . Repeat until you have written the word in every color of the rainbow! (via This Reading Mama)

(3)  Ice Cream Sight Words:  Match the ice cream to its cone using sight words in a  printable game  from A Dab of Glue Will Do.

(4)  Sight Word Blackout:  Be the first to cover your board in this  free printable game  from This Reading Mama.

(5)  Sight Word Guess Who?:   Print this fun game  to play a literacy version of the classic game, Guess Who? (via This Reading Mama)

(6)  Dot & Dab Sight Word Printable Sheets:  Use dot markers to find all the circles that match the sight word in the middle of  this printable  from Kindergarten Mom.

(7)  Very Hungry Caterpillar Sight Word Game:  This simple game inspired by the book,  The Very Hungry Caterpillar,  makes reading practice fun. (via Playdough to Plato)

(8)  Roll & Cover Gingerbread House Printable:  Print out a  sight word gingerbread house  and roll the dice to place “gumdrops” on the roof to decorate! Perfect for the holiday season. (via Kindergarten Mom)

( 9)  Printable Sight Word Flashcards:  Find these  cute flashcards  to print for free from This Reading Mama.

(10) Roll a Sight Word:  Roll a dice and write sight words from a  printable list  that has the same number of letters as you rolled. (via I Can Teach My Child)

(11) Sight Word Bingo:  Adapting a classic game for sight words. Grab your  sight word bingo printable  from Kindergarten Mom.Just by using a few of these activities every week, your child will soon master their sight words, setting them up for years of reading success ahead!

Kat is a mom to two young boys and is the force behind the blog  Califf Life Creations . She has a passion for nature, creative learning and inspiring families to get outside together. Kat has a deep love for the natural world and is trying to raise her boys with the same appreciation of the outdoors. Follow her on  Instagram  and  Facebook  for nature learning, sustainable mom life, and family adventure!

Similar Posts

5 British Clothing Brands For Babies And Kids You Ought To Know

100+ Easy Science Experiments for Kids To Do at Home (Using Materials You Already Have!)

Unique 3rd Birthday Party Themes. 27 Creative Ideas to Celebrate Turning 3!

Non-Candy Printable Valentine Perfect For The Classroom: “We’re A Scratch Made In Heaven”

FREE Quarantine Time Capsule Printable for Kids

52 Holiday Traditions For Families To Make Christmas Time Magical

Comments brighten our day. leave one here. cancel reply, featured in.

Unique & Useful Party Favor Ideas for Kids That Aren’t Junk!

Tween Boy Birthday Party Ideas – Fun Themes & Activities!

90+ Fun Indoor Birthday Party Games For Kids of All Ages

Creative Mother Daughter Photoshoot Ideas. Top Poses & Tips!

Do you want to know how to help your child practice their sight words without hours of flashcards? Here are 17 FUN ways to practice sight words (that will leave you with time to play)!

Last school year, a whole bunch of my friends kids started kindergarten.  For the first time in my many years of teaching……my personal and my professional lives mirrored each other.  I'd never had friends with elementary school age kids until then!

Three different friends at three different schools? All texted me the EXACT same question within the first couple days of school.

WHAT IS THIS SIGHT WORDS THING?!?!

There are two major parts of learning to read.  Putting sounds together (phonics and phonemic awareness) and memorizing sight words.  Sights words are commonly used words (like the or and) that appear very frequently in early reading materials.  They also (for the most part) can't be sounded out.  So, kindergarten and first grade teachers…..ask families to help kids memorize them.  Sight words (sometimes referred to as rainbow words) are divided into smaller groups of 8-10 words at a time.  Kids are often tested on the words each week, as they pass each “set” of words…..they'll be given a new list ( this is a great list of words that are generally expected for each grade level , but I'd ask each teacher if they divide them into a certain order).

So, how in the world can YOU help your child learn these sight words? Today I'm sharing 17 ways to practice sight words at home that don't involve boring drill and kill flashcards.

17 Ways to Practice Sight Words (and still have time to play)

• Word of the Day: tape one or two words written on an index card next to the front door, as EVERYONE in the family leaves or enters the house…..ask them to touch the word and yell it out.
• Jump to Read: write the words your child is practicing in chalk outside, spend five to ten minutes a day jumping from word to word and calling them out.
• Eat the Words: write this weeks' sight words in whipped cream or frosting, eat one word treat a day (after reading it of course).
• Spell Them Out: Use alphabet pasta (dry) to spell out each word (glue them onto a piece of cardstock for future practicing).
• Concentration: Play concentration with matching sets of sight word cards.
• Bath Time: Write words in the bathtub with bath crayons .
• Shaving Cream: Spread shaving cream onto a plastic tray and write the words with your finger
• Tic Tac Toe: Play tic tac toe (using two sight words instead of x and o).
• Magnets: Build sight words each day with letter magnets on the fridge.
• Sight Word Search: Hide two or three sight words around the house (written on a post it).  Have your child find them (each day hide them in a new place).
• Note of the Day: Each day write your child a short note (1-3 sentences).  Include the words they are practicing.  Ask them to circle those words in crayon(bonus points for letting them use their favorite color).
• Use alphabet cookie cutters and playdough to spell out the words.
• Put letters onto a set of legos and BUILD the words.
• Catch: Use a sharpie to write each word from your child's current set on different parts of a beach ball.  Toss the ball back and forth, yelling out the words that face up each time.
• Roll the Die: Create a set of die (large size) with a word on each face.  Roll and read.
• Memory: create pairs of sight words and play memory.
• Sight Word Detective: look for focus words in your favorite story each night.

Better than flashcards right? Sight words are all about repetition, so it's a lot better to make it fun.

Looking for more school tips?

Check out: // How to Prepare for Kindergarten / Back to School:Tips for Making the First Day Easy //

 Do you have more questions about learning to read? Leave them in the comments for me!

teacher to parents

Reader Interactions

Leave a comment cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

September 12, 2016 at 6:08 am

These are all great ideas! I’m going to have to save this list for future reference. Love the Kangaroo sneakers too, I remember those!! 🙂

September 12, 2016 at 1:02 pm

You and your little are so cute! Love the hot pink!

http://www.mylittlenest.org

September 12, 2016 at 1:23 pm

These are great ideas! I’m saving these for the future.

September 12, 2016 at 1:59 pm

I am sharing this list with all of my friends! Kindergarten is a whole new world for all us, I think! Thanks so much for such great ideas. And your outfits are super cute, too!

Shelbee http://www.shelbeeontheedge.com

August 4, 2017 at 9:57 am

First your little girl is precious! These are wonderful ideas to help children learn and make it fun. It’s much better than sitting down with pencil and pad and writing everything out.

August 5, 2019 at 8:20 am

These are all awesome tips! I need to work on these with my daughter!

Paige http://thehappyflammily.com

August 12, 2020 at 11:30 am

My son’s favorite is to set the words up scattered on a wall and name + shoot the word with a nerf gun.

August 24, 2020 at 7:58 am

awesome, we’ve been working on sight words and I am going to try some of the things that are listed!

Related Posts

Teacher Gift Ideas: How to Celebrate Teacher Appreciati...

Toddler Hairstyles: 5 Ways to Dress Up a Kids’ Po...

My Kid Hates to Read:7 Tricks to Motivate Reluctant Rea...

How to Prepare for Kindergarten: 13 Things You Can (and...

• All Blog Posts , Sight Words

Fun Ways to Practice Sight Words

Are you looking for ways to help your students become more fluent and confident readers? Try adding some fun and engaging sight word practice to your daily routine! In this post, I’m going to share several fun ways to practice sight words in kindergarten. Your students will love these activity ideas!

Making Sight Word Practice Fun

Adding some fun to your sight word practice isn’t meant to just keep your class entertained. When students are having fun while they’re learning, they are more engaged in the concepts being practiced. When they’re more engaged, those concepts are more likely to stick! 

This is especially true for sight word practice. Students can learn the phonics skills needed to decode sight words, but it takes repetition for them to put those skills into practice fluently. Making sight word practice more fun will help you add that necessary repetition to your literacy instruction. Your students will be more engaged, which will help them become more fluent with identifying sight words.

13 Fun Ways to Practice Sight Words

There are so many ways that you can incorporate engaging sight word practice into your daily routine. This is a list of my favorite activities that have always been winners when it comes to keeping students engaged and on track. 

1. Sight Word Puzzles

These puzzle worksheets are always a hit with kindergarten students! They can cut out and assemble the self-correcting puzzle, then continue with the additional sight word practice on the page.

These low-prep printables are easy to print and go when you want to give your students some additional sight word practice.

2. Play Dough

Kindergarten students love to use play dough! Adding play dough to sight word practice is a quick way to boost engagement! Students just need to roll out and form the letters for the sight word.

You can also provide a printable sight word mat to help students trace, write, and build the sight word. This is a good way to add more fine motor practice to your classroom, as well! 

3. Sight Word Hats

Get your students excited about sight word practice with fun hats! These printable hats are a great conversation starter, which encourages students to talk about sight words.

They also help students recognize sight words with more automaticity.

4. Sight Word Books

Including multiple activities in one booklet is another way to make sight word practice more engaging.

These sight word books focus on the word of your choice. Just type in the word and the book is created to include a variety of different activities to practice that word.

5. Mystery Pictures

Do your students love to color? They’ll love these sight word mystery pictures ! As students color in each square based on the code, they can watch the picture come to life.

These print-and-go mystery pictures are perfect for morning work, literacy centers, or even homework!

6. Rainbow Writing

Spelling sight words can also require a lot of repetition for students and this rainbow writing activity makes it more fun!

7. Sight Word Games

There are many fun sight word games that can add variety and fun to your daily routine. Sight word bingo is always a favorite!

8. Mystery Puzzles

Your students can practice their scissor skills as they complete these sight word mystery puzzles . These fun, low-prep activities are perfect for practicing sight word identification as well as writing sight words.

9. Sentence Scrambles

It’s also important for students to practice sight words within sentences. Sight word sentence scrambles are a fun way for students to build and read sentences containing a variety of high frequency words.

10. Spin a Sight Word

You can also combine sight word practice with other skills in order to make it more engaging for students! For example, this Spin a Sight Word center includes graphing practice.

Students spin the spinner, read the word they land on, and then add to their graphs. They can keep playing until one word has all of its graph squares filled in. Students are always so excited to see which sight word will win!

11. Write the Room

Write the Room is another engaging activity for sight word practice. Just put the cards on display around the room and have students find them. As they find each card, they will write the sight word on their own recording sheets.

This sight word unscramble activity from my November centers would make a great Write the Room activity. Instead of just writing the words directly from the card, students need to unscramble the letters on each card to create a sight word.

12. Sight Word Readers

Students enjoy feeling successful, and these sight word readers can help your students experience that success. Printable sight word readers are perfect for helping students practice these high-frequency words within the context of sentences.

13. Thematic Units

Thematic units are such a great way to bring extra engagement to skill practice in your classroom. Sight word practice is no exception! Giving your sight word activities a thematic twist can help your students stay engaged in the repetition needed to master sight words.

This fun Jack and the Beanstalk sight word activity is just one example of how you can incorporate sight word practice into your thematic units.

Printable Sight Word Activities for Kindergarten

Many of the activities that I shared in this post can be found in one easy-to-download resource. These print-and-go activities are a great way to incorporate fun sight word practice into your daily routine. 

If you’d like to take a closer look at everything included in this sight word bundle, you can find it in the A Spoonful of Learning shop or on TPT .

Save These Fun Sight Word Practice Activities

Be sure to save this post so you can come back to it later! Just add the pin below to your favorite teaching board on Pinterest. You’ll be able to quickly find these activity ideas when you’re looking for fun ways to practice sight words. 

You might also like...

Fun Animal Crafts for Kindergarten

FREE Summer Dot Painting Pages

Summer Sight Word Mystery Pictures

Free Last Day of Kindergarten Coloring Page

Helpful Links

• Shop on TPT

FREE Alphabet Book

These alphabet books will have students dive deep into learning about each letter of the alphabet while eager to see what activity they get to complete next!

• Privacy Policy
• Disclaimers
• Terms & Conditions

This Crafty Mom

Free preschool lesson plans, diy silhouette craft projects & tutorials, free svgs, free printables, a whole lotta mom wisdom and more.

20 fun and unique ways to practice sight words

Sight word flashcards… bleh , right?

At some point in your life, you’re bound to have had an encounter with flash cards.  I mean, who didn’t have to endure the endless drill of them when learning their times tables years ago?

You likely don’t have the fondest of memories of them.  They are without a doubt boring .  But there is strong research to support the value of use of flashcards.

Research shows that flash cards improve both active recall and meta cognition.  This means that you actively monitor your own growth as you learn new words, and will remember them longer because of the strong connections you make with them.  This is why the importance of flash cards is emphasized  in my letter of the week series .  They will also be a crucial component in learning sight words.

Undoubtedly, there is a place for repetition.  I’m not going to  say you don’t need to routinely practice sight words in the plain old flashcard drill manner.

Because you do.

But it doesn’t need to all be drill, drill, drill.  Adding an interactive component will help your child connect with what they are learning in a hands-on way.   Not to mention have fun with it in the process.

So I’ve dug into my vault of teacher treasures, scoured Pinterest,  and compiled a list of over 20 engaging games and tactile activities that will make learning sight words anything but a chore!

Also, If you’re looking for a developmental list sight words, be sure to check out my 4 free sight word lists in my previous post !

Sight Word Games

You can turn practically anything into a game and kids will love it!  So it’s super easy to turn sight word practice into something they will enjoy!  You’ll find most everything you need lying around your house, and if not, you can score it easily for cheap on Amazon!

For your convenience, this post contains affiliate links. If you purchase from these links I may make a small commission at no cost to you.

This is a simple, yet fun, game.  To play, you need to use one deck of sight cards.  I usually limit it to the list we are working on unless we have some extra time, and then I will add in previous lists.

I have created some POP cards you will need to mix in throughout the deck.  To play you simply alternate turns drawing a card and reading it.  If you read it, you get to keep it, if not place it at the bottom of the stack so it can be tried again later.

Each time you draw a POP, you lose the cards you have kept.  They need to be put in a discard pile, not returned to the deck.

The game ends with the last card and the person who has the most cards at the end of the game is the winner!

This sort of levels the playing field for kids till struggling with their sight words, as anyone can receive a “POP” and lose it all!

You can download my POP cards here , or, you can find them included in my Sight Words Bundle.

Beat the clock

We play this two different ways.  The first way, we set a timer and alternate reading the cards and try to say them all  before the timer goes off.  If we get a word wrong, it goes to the bottom of the stack and has to be tried again.  We don’t beat the timer unless we can read them all.

Keep in mind, you can set the timer for seconds.  I don’t recommend including a ton of words your child struggles with in this one as it can be frustrating to them.  You want to build their confidence by letting them play a few times with words they know.

The second is to set a goal for ourselves to get through a stack of cards.  This one takes a little practice, particularly as it can be difficult for your child to estimate times.  We played with a few times to teach my daughter what a good estimate would be.  She starts with that time (for example 4 minutes) and then works to beat her time.  This helps promote  fluency with the sight words.

Sight word Board games

We love to play Chutes and Ladders, and just mixed it up slightly to include sight words.  For every roll, we have to read a sight word, if we cannot, we lose a turn.

This can be modified to go with lots of different board games.  We are going to try Trouble next and see how that goes!

Sight word match

This is an easy little game that kids love!

All you need is two decks of sight words.  I’d recommend doing no more than half of the words at once, that way you can keep your total cards in the 24-26 total cards (12-13 matches) range.  If this is too overwhelming for your child, you can break it into groups of 12 cards (6 matches) and do 4 rounds with the 4th having 5 matches.

It’s literally as simple as finding the matching pairs and reading them.  However, we add a fun twist to this one and if you can’t read it and your partner can, they can steal it.  The winner is the person at the end with the most cards.

Sight word go fish

You’ll need two sets of cards for this one as well.  I usually do the set we are working on.   You’ll need to deal to each player.  If its just you and your child I’d recommend sticking with 8 cards, but if anyone else joins I’d bring it down to six.

You then take turns asking the other player(s) if they have a card in their hand that you need to make a pair.   If they do, they must give it to you.  If not, you have to “go fish.”

You continue with this until there are no cards.  The person with the most points wins.

Find the treat

Let’s face it, candy is a huge motivator for kids.  So while it may not be the most healthy of treats, it is a good bribe for completing a task that has become routine and boring.

So I like to mix it up and play this little game with sight words and treats hidden under them.

I’ve got a stack of solo cups with each list written on them.  Before we start our practice with whatever new words and review words we are working on that day, I hide a few Skittles underneath the cups.

Before checking to see if there is candy hidden under the cup, my daughter has to read the word written on the cup.  This is absolutely her favorite activity and on those days when she doesn’t want to work on her sight words, this is guaranteed to get her going!

Sight word Scrabble

This is a fun little way to practice sight words and incorporate some math!

We use Scrabble tiles to make the words and then add them up.  I usually just put the words we are working on in a deck and we take turns drawing a card, creating it, and then adding up the value of the words.  The person with the highest value at the end of the game wins!

Magazine hunt

We have a ton of old magazines laying around.  I never knew what I was saving them for until we started working on ABCs and sight words!

I usually just give her a list, and let her look through a magazine and find and cut out as many examples as she can.

To turn it into a game – we guess how many words she can find and cut out in a set time, and she tries to beat that guess.

Setting a realistic estimate was a bit of a challenge in the beginning, but she is slowly starting to understand it.  I do believe this activity also is helping to improve her sense of time.

TACTILE ACTIVITIES

Research shows that hands-on, or tactile learning, is an excellent way to connect with young minds.  Providing a tactile approach to a subject allows children to make real world connections with their learning.  It results in increased comprehension and development of cognitive skills.

There are many ways you can use tactile activities to help build your child’s sight word bank.

Alphabet Blocks

We also practice building the words with alphabet blocks.  I bought this set when pregnant with my oldest and they’ve come in handy many times since.  I have also seen them at yard sales if you’re not wanting to pay retail for them. We’ve also used these for letter recognition activities.

Stacking Solo Cups

This is a cute idea from Tickled Pink in Primary.  She has students practice reading the words and then building towers!

This is another one I’ve been doing for years with my kinderkids.  I originally started with tiny beads I found at the Dollar Tree.  They came in big packs of several hundred and I wasn’t worried about them getting lost because they were so cheap.  But they got everywhere.  And to be honest, I had a few kiddos I was worried about sticking them inappropriate places.

Then I found these  alphabet lacing letters .  They are my favorite and both my kids love playing with them!  They are a great fine motor activity too!

There are so many different ways to practice writing sight words.  A few of my favorites are:

I keep a rectangular bin with sand stored for this activity.  We usually do it outside because I hate having sand in the house.  I give her a pencil or stick and she practices writing them.  She starts out by looking at the card of course, but after practice begins to spell them on her own.

Here’s an alternative from Tickled Pink in Primary if you don’t have sand handy.

Shaving Cream

Shaving cream is super fun and is another easy way to incorporate sight words into the routine!  You can do this in or out of the bathroom, but it’s really fun to do it in the tub!  Just make sure you buy the cheap shaving creme because you will go through a lot fast!

This is a super cute idea from Tickled Pink in Primary!  You could have your child write the words first, or you could write them and make it a fun discovery!

Check out these fun (& free!) playdough mats from KinderMomma!  They are a great way to practice sight words!

Keep in mind also, you’re not limited to using playdough!  There are all kinds of recipes for different doughs with different consistencies on Pinterest.

This is an oldie but goodie!  Have your child pratice shaping the words using pipe cleaners or Wiki Sticks!  This was a popular center activity in my classroom.

There are also tons of different activities you can do with spelling sight words.

Magnetic letters

We have a easel with a dry erase board and chalkboard.  The dry erase board is also magnetic, so we take some time to practice spelling the words on the board.

At school, when I was doing this with groups of kids, I grabbed some baking sheets from the Dollar Tree!  They were magnetic and the kids could take them back to their seats to work with independently! We use these magnetic letters.

Super simple  activity, but fun because for some reason kids think all markers are super special.   And, if you don’t have a dry erase board, dry erase markers erase easily off of tons of surfaces!

And to switch it up, we practice writing them with chalk as well.  Again, this doesn’t have to be done on a chalkboard.  You can write them on the sidewalk, deck, cardboard boxes…the options are endless!

We also practice sight words in the bathtub!  These bathtub crayons are perfect for practice spelling!  We’ve also created some pretty cool artwork with them!  They clean up pretty easily too!

Bathtub Letters

Here’s yet another way we have fun with sight words in the tub.    We have these foam letters that stick to the wall when they are wet.  We practice spelling sight words with these also.

My child, like almost every other child in the world, is obsessed with slime.  We did this activity before with letter recognition.   She had to reach into the slime and pull out and identify a letter.  She loved that so I decided to give it a try again with practicing sight words.  I show her a  flashcard word and she has to read it, then fish out the letters out of a big pool of slime to make it.

In case you need a recipe for slime – this is what we use:

• 1/2 cup of clear Elmer’s glue
• 1/4 cup of liquid starch
• 1/2 cup of water
• food coloring

We got a giant tub of liquid starch that has lasted us over a year and made TONS of slime.  If you’re big into slime like us, this is good, fairly inexpensive investment.

My daughter loves this one!  She practices them by stamping them out on paper.  I found these stamps on Amazon, and they’ve been super useful as a parent and a teacher!

This is a fun activity, where kids use a fly swatter to swat the words as they read them.  You can usually grab fly swatters at the Dollar Tree, so it’s also an affordable activity!

I adore this idea from a Pinch of Kinder.  She takes large popsicle sticks and clothespins and creates an amazing hands on activity that kids are sure to love!

My kids see me working all the time and love to play on my computer.  It was such a problem that I drug out an old keyboard for them to play with.   When I taught kindergarten, I also had a typing center – but used a printer worksheet I’d downloaded from somewhere.

Using the actual keyboard provides a fun and very tactile experience!  It also gets them working on developing those early typing skills!

Additional resources

We’ve also purchased a few additional resources that we love!  We have gotten some sight word reading sets, cds, and games that we rotate throughout our activities to help commit those words to memory.

Hopefully you’ve found tons of ideas to help break up the monotony of flashcards!   I use these in my List 1 lesson plans.  I’ve created an amazing (and inexpensive!)  bundle you can check out, and also given you a free template and other freebies in the next post! Either way you’re set for a long time!

Also, don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest!  I’m pinning all the sight word games and freebies I see pop up in my feed!

View all posts

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

THELITERACYMAMA.COM

• Mar 27, 2023
• 10 min read

10 Engaging Activities and Games for Teaching Sight Words

Updated: May 30, 2023

Affiliate Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links which means that if you click on a link and make a purchase, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying sales.

As an experienced teacher, I know the importance of teaching sight words to young children. When I was working with my own son, he would easily become disinterested and disengaged in the learning process. To keep him engaged while he was learning these important words, I came up with some fun activities that provided an enjoyable way to practice.

With that in mind, I'd like to share some of these activities and games with you as a tool for teaching your kids. This blog post will provide 10 inventive ideas for parents to help their children learn sight words more efficiently and enjoyably. From flashcards and worksheets to physical games, there are plenty of options for teaching sight words through play instead of the same old memorization and repetition.

What Site Words are and Why They are Important

Never underestimate the power of sight words when it comes to reading. The top 100 sight words make up about 50% of all text written in English! By learning these words, kids will be well on their way to reading any text. These are words that young readers need to recognize on sight to read and understand written material fluently. They are essential because they allow children to easily understand more extensive texts, building confidence and their love for reading.

Some sight words are particularly tricky because they don’t follow the typical phonics rules. Words like “one,” “write,”

and “said” can be particularly confusing. By learning these high-frequency words by sight, kids become more fluent readers with greater confidence and less frustration.

As a parent or educator, you can help make learning sight words fun with engaging activities. Download this free printable if you don't already have a list of the top 100 sight words. You can also check out my favorite set of Sight Word flash cards on Amazon here . Let's build a strong foundation for our young readers and watch them soar!

Activity 1 - Memory Match!

Memory match is a fun and interactive game that can help students practice recognizing and remembering sight words. You can cut out your own set to create the game, or purchase a ready-made set . It is a great activity for children to develop their reading skills as they work on finding matching pairs of cards.

Not only can kids learn sight words through this game, but they will also improve their memory skills as they try to remember which cards they have already seen before. The game is easily adaptable and can be used with any sight word list or vocabulary set. Plus, it is adaptable for all age groups, making it an ideal game for the whole family to enjoy together!

Here are the instructions for Sight Word Memory Match:

1. Set Up the Board - Place sight word cards on a flat surface. Choose about 10 sight words to match.

2. Take Turns Matching - Invite students to take turns flipping two cards at a time and trying to find matching sight words.

3. Reward Correct Matches - If students find two cards with matching words, they can keep them and get the point or reward.

4. Repeat - The game ends when all pairs have been found, and all players have had equal turns.

This educational activity encourages students to use their problem-solving abilities and critical thinking skills as they search for matches among the cards. Children also get to practice visual discrimination by closely examining each card before flipping them over in search of its pair. As they play the game more often, students will become more familiar with the sight words and gain confidence when reading them out loud.

Through repetition, they will eventually be able to recognize these words without having to sound them out or rely heavily on spelling strategies.

With some creativity and imagination, you can make a unique version of this game with different themes or topics like animals or geography—endless possibilities!

Activity 2 - Sight Word Bingo

We all remember playing Bingo in elementary school for all kinds of reviews. The classic game can be used to teach sight words! This activity is a great way to help children build sight word recognition and recall in the classroom and beyond.

Here are the instructions for playing Sight Word Bingo:

1. Create Bingo Cards - Make bingo cards with different sight words, either with the same set of terms or a different set for each card. You can also purchase my printable with 35 Bingo cards here !

2. Call Out Words - As you call out the words, have students call out words from the list as they mark them off their bingo cards.

3. Get Five in a Row - The first student to get five in a row is the winner!

4. Play again if you want to keep going!

Sight Word Bingo is an engaging, enjoyable way for young learners to improve their reading skills. Watching others succeed when called upon can boost confidence levels, too. Plus, it’s easy to adapt this game to any skill level - use more complex word lists for older grades or add other activities like synonym matching or definition-finding to make things more challenging.

If you want something extra fun, try mixing up how kids can win each round! For example, you could award prizes for completing ‘blackout’ (filling every space on their card) or ‘diagonal’ (five words in a diagonal line). By changing up the rules each time, your students will stay engaged and motivated while they continue practicing their skills.

Activity 3 - Sight Word Scavenger Hunt!

This activity will surely excite your students about literacy while also getting some physical activity. Here's what you'll need to do.

Here are the instructions for a Sight Word Scavenger Hunt:

1. Choose the Sight Word Cards you want your child to focus on.

2. Hide the Cards - Hide the cards around your classroom, living room, or outdoor space.

3. Read Aloud - Invite the students to search for the sight word cards; when they find one, have them read it aloud.

4. Keep Going - The scavenger hunt is over once the cards are found!

Note: You can make it even more engaging by creating clues as to where each sight word is hidden

This activity will help your students build confidence in recognizing and remembering sight words as they search high and low for each card. Not only that, but it's also a great way for them to get up and be active during their learning session! Your students will love this exciting game, so what are you waiting for? Gather those sight word cards and get ready to explore!

Activity 4 - Sight Word Timed Challenge

Are you ready to sharpen your sight words? Once your kiddo has several down, you can play a Sight Word Timed Challenge! With this activity, your students can practice their reading skills while enjoying the excitement of competition. Get ready for some fast-paced literacy training!

Here are the instructions for Sight Word Timed Challenge:

1. Prepare a List - Create a list of sight words you want your students to practice and ensure they can read them all.

2. Set a Timer - Set the timer to one minute (or longer or shorter, depending on the student's level).

3. Read & Race - Instruct your student to race against the clock, reading as many sight words as possible in the given time limit.

4. Repeat! - Enjoy watching your student improve their literacy skills with this timed challenge!

In this challenge, children should compete against themselves rather than against each other. By doing this, they'll recognize their progress over time and be more motivated to read the sight words even faster. Encourage your students by praising their efforts when they improve their reading speed and accuracy.

Activity 5 - Sight Word Storytelling

Sight word storytelling is an engaging and fun way to help

your students get comfortable with recognizing and remembering sight words. It's also a great opportunity for them to practice their creative expression.

Here are some simple steps to get started with this activity:

1. Choose a set of sight words your students should know before beginning the activity (depending on their age and level). These can come from any curriculum you are currently using, or you can create your list.

2. Create a story that incorporates these sight words. The story can utilize just as many sight words as you would like.

3. Speak aloud or write down the sight word story.

4. As a bonus, you can have each student read the story aloud or act it out as if they are in a play or movie scene, emphasizing the various sight words within it. This will help them understand how these words appear in context and increase their familiarity with them.

By providing this dynamic environment for learning, your students will gain confidence in both recognizing and understanding sight words while having fun along the way!

Activity 6 - Sight Word Go Fish

Are you looking for an exciting and educational way to engage your kids in reading? Look no further than Sight Word Go Fish! This fun game will have everyone asking for more. Here's how to get started:

1. Gather Materials - To play, you need 2-4 site word sets . If you don’t have more than one set, you can download a free printable here and print as many copies as you need!

2. Form Groups - Split the players up into groups of four and give each group its own set of sight word cards; ensure each player has the same number of cards

3. Instructions - Take turns to ask for particular cards from other players (eg. "Do you have the word 'go'?"); whoever collects the most sets wins!

4. Have Fun! – Sight Word Go Fish provides an entertaining way for children to practice their reading skills while having fun with family and friends.

Note: Be selective with the sight words for this game. 5-10 sight words are recommended. You could also have students match similar words, such as words that start with a same level, etc.

With Sight Word Go Fish, your children will learn to recognize and read sight words. They'll be engaging in friendly competition and honing their literacy skills all at the same time! So grab your cards and prepare for exciting family fun with Sight Word Go Fish!

Activity 7 - Sight Word Hopscotch:

Do you have active kids who want to have a blast while learning sight words? Then, let them find their way to literacy success with this fun sight word hopscotch activity.

Here are the instructions for Sight Word Hopscotch:

Set Up the Board - Using chalk or a sidewalk marker, write sight words in each square of the hopscotch board.

1. Take Turns Hopping & Reading - Encourage your students to take turns hopping and reading the sight word that they land on before making their way to the next one.

2. Enjoy! - Let them find their way to literacy success with this fun activity.

3. For added fun, you can also add in an extra step, like clapping or spinning around before they jump each time.

This activity can be particularly helpful for tricky sight words because they’ll repeatedly focus on the same words as they play. It can also be great for practicing specific sounds; for example, I filled the entire hopscotch board with “th” words so my son could focus on getting those down.

Activity 8 - Sight Word Charades

Inspire your students to become sight word pros with an exciting game of charades!

Here’s how to play:

1. Write a selection of sight words on small slips of paper or use your deck of sight word flash cards .

2. Place the slips in a bowl or hat.

3. Have students draw a slip from the bowl or hat.

4. Students must then act out the word for their classmates to guess.

Note: It is recommended to be selective about the sight words in this game. A word like “been” might be hard to act out. Words like “no,” “what,” and “time” are perfect.

This fun activity helps students practice recognizing and creatively remembering sight words. Encourage your kids to use big gestures and exaggerated facial expressions while they act out the words to make it more entertaining for everyone.

Activity 9 - Create a Sight Word Karaoke Video

Creating a sight word karaoke video is an engaging and educational way to help your students practice recognizing and remembering sight words. This activity is especially effective for those who thrive with musical learning methods.

Here are the steps for getting started:

1. Choose some common sight words you want to include in the video.

2. Create a sing-along video of the sight words by adding music to it. You can find plenty of royalty-free music online, so you don't have to worry about copyright infringement.

3. Record yourself singing each word so your children can see and follow along with you while watching the video. Make sure to record at least one round of each word you include in the video so they'll have multiple chances to practice each one!

4. Finally, upload your karaoke video so your students can access it easily! It could be on YouTube, Google Classroom, or some other streaming platform of your choice. You can make the video unlisted or password protected if you don’t want it to be something anyone can access.

With this fun activity, your students can practice their sight words creatively while having lots of musical fun!

Activity 10 - Sight Word Obstacle Course

This sight word obstacle course is the perfect activity to strengthen their word recognition skills while having fun.

Here are the steps you need to follow to set up your obstacle course:

1. Start by writing a list of sight words your students need more practice with or use sight word cards . These will be placed at different stations throughout the obstacle course.

2. Gather supplies for each station, such as cardboard boxes, hula hoops, jump ropes, beanbags, or any other items you have on hand that might be fun for the students to use during the activity.

3. Set up each station in different spots around the room or outside and label them with the corresponding sight word(s).

4. Instruct your students to go from one station to another and read out loud each word they see before attempting any challenge at that station (for example, hopping on one foot three times or completing an agility course).

5. Once they’ve completed all stations successfully, let them know they’ve conquered the obstacle course! Celebrate their success with lots of cheers and applause!

This activity will surely be a hit among your little learners as it combines physical activity with cognitive learning engagingly – all while keeping them entertained and motivated! You can adjust it according to their skill level each time they do it so that they stay challenged and interested in learning new words every time.

Final Thoughts

Teaching sight words is critical in helping young students develop their reading skills. By incorporating fun and engaging activities into the learning process, teachers and parents can make this task much more enjoyable and effective for their students. From playing memory games to singing karaoke, there are countless creative ways to help students recognize and remember sight words.

Students can develop the skills to become confident and fluent readers by using these activities to teach sight words. So, try out these 10 fun and memorable ways to teach sight words and help your students take the first step towards a lifetime of reading enjoyment. I hope you find them as helpful as they were for my son and me!

If you want to check out more reading game ideas for kids of all ages, check out 13 Fun Reading Games for Kids !

Recent Posts

Sneaky Literacy: How to Seamlessly Integrate Reading and Writing into Everyday Tasks

Bedtime Stories Reimagined: Creative Ways to Make Bedtime Reading Fun and Efficient

Preventing the Summer Reading Slide: Making Summer Reading Adventure

• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar

Whohoo! The new SHOP is open! Click HERE to shop now! 🛒

• NEW – All About Word Mapping!
• Shop My Site
• Search this website

A Teachable Teacher

An inspirational and resourceful website for primary teachers.

Last updated on July 7, 2020

10 Hands-On Sight Word Activities that Your Students will BEG to do!

Memorizing sight words and high frequency words is such an important part of learning to read. These sight word activities will keep your students actively engaged while getting tons of practice with the words YOU choose.

As teachers, we know students are more likely to learn something if they connect with and enjoy it. I find that many of my students learn through touch and movement. Because of this, I love using activities that allow them to be active, to touch, to move, and to have fun!

The best part about these sight word activities is that students love them.

I use many of them during guided reading and literacy centers so engagement is essential. When my kids think they’re playing instead of learning, we are all having a better time.

Sight Words and High frequency Words

Sight words and high frequency words aren’t just read and memorized on the spot. (Wouldn’t that be amazing 🤪)

There are well over a hundred that are so common they show up in the text we read all the time. They appear even more often in new reader’s text. These words are super important but they are also super tricky for some of our new readers.

Note: Did you know there is a difference between sight words and high frequency words ? I thought they were the same thing for the longest time. Learning the difference changed how I taught them. You can read more about that here !

This post contains affiliate links. By purchasing through this link, we get a small commission. Rest assured – we only share links to products that we know and love!

Hands-On Sight Word Activities

These sight word activities are hands-on, simple, fun and require very little preparation on the teacher’s part. 🙌

Each one can be done with a set of sight word flashcards and not a single one needs a worksheet to be copied. 👏 👏 👏

Free Sight Word Flashcards

Do you need flashcards? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered! You can download my editable sight word flashcards right here!

Editable Sight Word Flashcards

Your Email is 100% safe with me.

Setting Up the Sight Word Flashcard Activities

I keep the activities in a container like a box or basket. Students are shown how to get the materials out, set them up, use them and clean them up.

Giving my student’s these responsibilities teaches them to be independent and saves me time setting up, giving directions multiple times and cleaning up. 🥳

In my classroom, students are grouped into pairs for literacy centers. These activities can easily be scaled up for more or down for one. I just find partners work best for me. I will refer to my partners as P1 – Partner 1 and P2 – Partner 2.

The way your students use these materials and do these activities is totally up to you. I’m sharing how I have done them in my own classroom but that is definitely not the only way!

Have fun with them. I can assure you that your students will!

Sight Word Fly Swat

Materials: Two sets of sight words cards and a fly swatter .

Set Up: Lay one set of cards out in a grid, face up. Put the second set of cards face down in a stack as a draw pile.

Activity: P1 pics up a card from the draw pile and reads the card. P2 finds the word and swats it with the fly swatter.

Partners can switch back and forth or each go through the whole stack. A variation is having P1 read the letters in the word for P2 to find.

Sight Word Fishing

Materials: Sight word cards with a paper clip attached and fishing poles with magnets .

Set Up: Lay cards out or keep them in a tub (or a pool if you’re feeling fancy!).

Activity : P1 and P2 go fishing for sight words. They can either take turns or go at the same time. Each time they “catch” one, they show it to their partner and read it aloud. ?

Later on in the year I have my students come up with a sentence for the word they “caught” to extend the activity. ?

Note: you can make your own fishing poles with a dowel rod, string and a magnet. Simply tape or glue the string to the end of the rod and hot glue a magnet to the end of the string. This works like a charm if you don’t have fishing poles and can’t purchase them.

Sight Word Go Fish

Materials: Two sets of sight word cards. I recommend using about 20 words for this game.

Set Up: Shuffle or mix up the cards and put them in one stack as a draw pile. Each partner gets 5 cards.

Activity: Play “Go Fish” with cards. P1 looks at their cards and chooses one. P1 asks P2 if they have the match to that card. If P2 has it, they pass it over. If they do not, P1 gets to draw a card from the draw pile.

When a player has a match, they say what it is and lay it down. When all the matches have been found, they count how many they got and play again.

Sight Word Memory

Materials: Two sets of Sight word cards. I usually use 15-20 words we have been practicing.

Set Up: Mix up all of the cards and lay them face down in a grid.

Activity: P1 and P2 take turns looking for matches. On their turn, they flip over two cards and read them. If they are a match, they keep them. If they are not a match they turn them back over. When all the matches have been found, mix them up and play again.

Sight Word Bean Bag Toss

Materials: Sight word cards and bean bags .

Set Up: Lay the cards face up in a grid.

Activity: Partners take turns tossing bean bags onto cards. We do this in a couple of ways depending on the time of year.

At the beginning, we toss the bag, spell the word and say it.

Later in the year, P1 tells P2 what word to toss it on too. P2 tries to land their beanbag on the correct word.

Finally we play this game by giving directions. P1 might say “Toss the bag onto a word with 4 letters.” Then P2 tosses the beanbag onto a 4 letter word and reads it.

Sight Word Parking Lot

Materials: Sight word cards and cars .

Set Up: Create a parking lot with the sight word flash cards.

Activity: Each partners drives a car up to a flashcard. They read the flashcard as they drive up and park their car. They say “I parked my *description, like red* car on the word ______.” Then they get another car to park.

When all the cars have been parked, partners work together to “clear the parking lot.” They read the words as they drive their cars out of the parking lot.

Sight Word Pathways

Materials: Sight word cards.

Set Up: Partners work together to create a path (in a designated area) with sight word cards.

Activity: Partners take turns walking along the path they created. Each time they step on (or next to) a word, they read it aloud. After they finish going through their path, they can do it again or create a new one!

Note: I tell me students to step on either side of the word card so they can read it. That way they don’t slip on the laminated card and it lasts much longer.

Sight Word Sort

Materials: sight word cards and a pointer . (Optional: pocket chart , cards to make “headers.” )

Set Up: None

Activity: Partners decide how they will sort the cards. (The first idea I give is to sort by number of letters.) They sort the cards by the rule they determined. Then they point to the words with the pointers and read them.

I let my students use a pocket chart for this activity. I also let them use scrap paper to make “headers” for the top of their sorts. They love playing teacher so this activity is a favorite for them.

If they finish making and reading their sort, they can choose another way to sort and do it all again.

Note: I give them some options at the beginning of the year but they often come up with their own as the year goes on!

Sight Word Cups

Materials: Sight word cards and dixie cups or solo cups with matching sight words on them. (I use solo cups and write words on them in sharpie because they generally last the whole year!)

Set Up: Set out cups so you can see all of the sight words and put the sight word cards in a stack as a draw pile.

Activity: Partners take turns drawing sight word cards from the draw pile. P1 draws a word and reads it. Then P1 looks for the cup with that word and uses it to start a tower. P2 draws a card and does the same thing.

They go back and forth, finding cups and using them to build epic cup towers. I guarantee your students will think you are the COOLEST teacher ever when you show them this game. ?

I Spy a Sight Word

Materials: Sight word cards or a word wall

Set Up: Lay the cards out in a grid

Activity: Partners challenge each other by picking secret sight words for the other partner to guess. P1 chooses a word from the word wall and says “I spy, with my little eye, a word that _____.” P2 guesses a word. P1 either says “You got it!” or “That’s not my word.”

This game needs some scaffolding. We play it whole group and in guided reading for a few weeks before I move it to a center. I give all sorts of clues so they can have lots of examples like: number of letters, ending sound, number of syllables, etc.

I also make sure to tell them that they should only say what the first letter or sound is when they are ready for the other person to get it! That is usually a giveaway!

Don’t those all sound like so much fun? I seriously feel like a rockstar teacher when I see my kids laughing, collaborating and having fun while practicing sight words and high frequency words.

If you’re looking for more ways to practice sight words, check out this post with all of my favorite online games to practice sight words !

Do you have any favorite sight word activities I should try in my classroom? Let me know below! 👇

You May Also Enjoy These

Reader Interactions

September 16, 2019 at 10:46 am

These are so good! Thank you for sharing them!

September 16, 2019 at 8:21 pm

You’re so welcome, Ashley! I am so glad that you like them!

September 17, 2019 at 5:09 pm

What great ideas!! Thank you.

September 21, 2019 at 7:00 pm

Thanks so much, Greta! I’m so glad you like them!

September 23, 2019 at 10:26 pm

I love these ideas! Thank you for sharing. I will definitely be using them in the upcoming weeks 🙂

September 24, 2019 at 10:59 am

I’m so glad you like them, Tamz! I know your students will love them too!

FREE Phonics Sentences Bundle

This is no ordinary bundle! When you sign up, you’ll get:

• Ready-to-use pages for 100+ skills so you have exactly what you need for every phonics lesson without wasting precious time prepping materials!
• 3 phonics lesson tips to ensure your students master phonics skills the first time they’re taught!
• My secret to raising reading levels without spending all day teaching reading groups!

• Printables Library
• Log Into ETTC
• Log Into Premium
• Classroom Management
• Grammar & Writing
• Science/STEM
• Social Studies

19 Sight Word Activities to Try Today

• Heather Wagoner
• May 24, 2021
• No Comments

Let’s talk SIGHT WORDS. Words you recognize by sight, a.k.a, little turds. Just being honest and I know I’m not alone. (I see you nodding your head!) Are you constantly looking for Sight Words Activities to use in small groups, independent centers, or as a review? Education to the Core has been busily creating NO PREP Sight Word Activities that you can use in your classroom IMMEDIATELY!  We have resources with sight word practice in isolation, as well as sight words embedded within fluency practice.

As an added bonus… we have also included some really fun sight word activities that don’t require worksheets. WHAT?! Say it isn’t so!

Activity 1- Sight Word Booklets (with passages)

For the youngest of readers, these sight word foldable books are perfect. Each book focuses on a specific sight word. With fun illustrations within the short story, students will be better able to read the text. There are also added activities, such as writing the word and drawing a picture that corresponds to a given sentence. Along with the books, are passages for students to practice the story without rebus images. This will help build their fluency as time goes on.

2- Fluency Passages

We have listened to the needs of our teachers and created simple sight word passages with comprehension questions. Each passage contains a certain set of sight words, so students can practice reading them in isolation and then within the text. Each passage comes with simple comprehension questions (multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, and short answer with a sentence starter). Even your low readers can work on the first few passages in this bundle, as the text is very repetitive.

  These Sight Word Menus allow students to practice a word in 8 different ways. They are able to work on fine motor strength, letter formation and recognition, and sight word identification and spelling.  Each page has 4 different activities on it, so you can print front to back, or do 4 for a couple of days and the other 4 later in the week. Some teachers are having students cut the cards apart and keep them in an envelope to bring out during independent work time. There are many possibilities and it also happens to be NO PREP!

4- Poppin’ Sight Words

“Poppin’ bubbles….poppin’ poppin’ bubbles. Gotta get these fishes out of trouble.” Where are my GoNoodle teachers at? Do you recognize that song? You’ll be singing it as your students have fun “dabbing” their sight words. Grab some bingo daubers, colored counting chips (to make them reusable), or highlighters and get to work! We also have this sight word activity in DIGITAL format!

Activity 5- Sight Word Printables

This resource includes NO PREP printables for the first 300 words on Fry’s Word List. Students can practice each word through 7 different activities.

Find and Circle

Write the Word

Box the Word

Draw the Word

Count the Syllables

Fill in the Blank

Use the Word in a Sentence

6- Paint & Practice

Got Q-Tips? I don’t know about you but I either have WAY TOO MANY or ZERO. If you have an excess of Q-Tips laying around, go grab this resource now. Students paint their sight words (the first 300 Fry words are in this bundle!!) using the Q-Tips and good ole tempera paint. There are 4 other activities as well; tracing, letterboxes, rote practice, and letter formation.

7- Sight Word Sentence Mats

Our Sight Word Sentence Mats come in both printable and digital format. The digital set even takes it a step further and has students match the word to the image, working on phonics skills as well.  Both formats are great for small group centers because they are no prep. The printable mats are literally Print and Done. 

8- Digital Sight Word Sign Language

Students LOVE signing their sight words to each other! This center activity comes with a variety of sight word mats that students can use to sign back and forth while they spell and read their sight words. And this is a center that your students could do in pairs while still maintaining social distancing. 

Activity 9- Sentence Coding Mats

Do you students talk about coding? Apps like Kodable, Scratch Jr., and CodeSpark all introduce kids to the 21st-century skill that is CODING. Why not take their love of coding and put it into sight word practice? Our Sentence Coding Mats introduce students to the idea of coding while practicing their sight words. 

10- BUNDLE (EVERYTHING listed above)

Literally…EVERYTHING listed in #1-9 in a wonderful little bundle. Done. YOU NEED THIS.

11- Sight Word Swat

Who doesn’t love hitting things really forcefully? Especially flies. I know they serve a purpose but they’re just plain irritating. This is why I am OBSESSED with this activity. Students read the sight words printed on the flies and “swat” them as they read them. After they’ve swatted their words, they write them on their recording sheet. Go see what all the “buzz” is about and click the link!

12- Monster Munch

With your child/students, create a monster out of construction paper and an empty tissue box. The students can be as imaginative as they wish, using pipe cleaners, google eyes, etc to create their monster. As the student/child reads the sight word, they get to “feed” it to the monster. See how full you can make the monster’s belly! I know a 5-year-old who will flip for this activity!

Activity 13- Sight Word Construction

My son, the builder, absolutely LOVES anything that involves building or constructing. This activity would be right up his alley! Grab some popsicle/craft sticks and write sight words on them. You could write the same word on 2-3 sticks. Also, grab some modeling clay or a small container of Play-Doh. Then your child/students will grab a stick and say the word aloud. If they read the word correctly, they keep it to use for construction. If not, read it correctly together and it goes back in the “building” pile. Once they’ve earned a few sticks, they can begin building with the sticks and Play-Doh or clay. Think of all the neat structures they could create? They have fun while practicing sight words! That’s a win-win! 

14- “Magic Words”

Give each kiddo a white piece of paper and ask them to fold it into a specified number of sections, usually 6, 8, or 10.  They will need to write a sight word in each section with a white crayon. Once they’ve written all of the words you want them to practice, they are going to color over the sections with markers.  The sight words are going to “magically” appear on the page. For the more adventurous teachers, you can have them watercolor paint over the words to make them “appear”!

15- Fishin’ for Sight Words

I love to fish. and I love educational games that incorporate fishing. This sight word activity has students “fishin’” for their sight words. (Fry 1-36) It is o-fish-ally adorable!

16- Paint a Word

This isn’t as messy as it sounds. I promise! LOL Fill a ziplock back with paint, leaving a little bit of air, and make sure to tape the top after sealing. (I prefer to use packing tape to seal the top. )  Then give your students a Q-tip,  eraser end of a pencil or their finger. They will write their sight word on the bag and watch it appear in the paint. This is a fun activity for those who want to finger paint, but not get messy. If you would rather skip the paint altogether, you can put sand, sugar, or salt in a tray and students can use the same tools to write sight words in as well. Same concept, without the concern of a paint mess.

Activity 17- Digital Sight Word Sentence Mats

Our Sight Word Sentence Mats come in both printable and digital format. The digital set even takes it a step further and has students match the word to the image, working on phonics skills as well.  Both formats are great for small group centers because they are no prep. The printable mats are literally Print and Done .

18- Hide & Seek Words

Grab some small Dixie cups and write the sight words you want to practice on the outside. Using a small object; toy, snack, block, etc. place that object underneath one of the cups. (Make sure the student has their eyes closed and isn’t cheating.) The goal is for the student to find the hidden object, but in order to check under the cup, they have to read the sight word written on the outside. It’s a class favorite!

19- Caterpillar Words

I always think about garage sales when I see those multi-colored circular stickers. Well, I have found a new use for them besides price tags. Give your students a sheet or two and their list of sight words for the week. They will draw a face on one sticker and then spell the sight words one letter at a time to create the body of the caterpillar. Once they have written all of the letters, they stick them to a piece of paper to create the “caterpillar”. If you want to make it a little more difficult, you could record yourself saying the sight words and the students then have to spell them out without being able to see the word.

There are so many creative sight word activities. These are just a few of my favorite BRAND NEW and TRIED AND TRUE sight words resources from Education to the Core. If you have a sight word activity that your students love, please post a picture in the comments below. I am always looking for new ways to spice up my word work center. 

Written by – Heather Wagoner

At  Education to the Core , we exist to help our teachers build a stronger classroom as they connect with our community to find trusted, state-of-the-art resources designed by teachers for teachers. We aspire to be the world’s leading & most trusted community for educational resources for teachers. We improve the lives of every teacher and learner with the most comprehensive, reliable, and inclusive educational resources.

If you enjoyed what we have to offer at ETTC, be sure to join our  email list so that you won’t miss a beat.

Welcome! I’m Emily, Founder of Education to the Core. We are all about helping K-2 teachers by providing unlimited access to affordable printables for every subject area.   

List Of 100 Sight Words And How To Teach Them

• How To Teach

Prepositions

Conjunctions, fun activities.

Even though many of us are hooked on phonics, there are some words in the English language that are easier to memorize as a whole word. (Try “sounding out” could , and you will see what we mean.) We call these high-frequency words sight words because readers should be able to identify them on sight. The best way to gain this important skill is to practice, practice, practice. 

In this article, we will give you some tips and tricks to make practice engaging and supportive when teaching sight words to emerging readers. 

There are two widely used lists of sight words in English: the Dolch list and the Fry list. The Fry list is longer and more recently updated, although there is a lot of overlap between the two lists. Here, we have included a list of 100 common sight words that’s organized by part of speech and that references both lists. 

How to teach sight words

When teaching sight words, you’ll want to keep a couple of basic principles in mind. First, try not to teach more than three to five new sight words per lesson. Ideally, each lesson should include a mix of sight words learned previously and new vocabulary. 

Second, it is important to be consistent when teaching and learning sight words. That means regular, daily practice and structured, routine lessons. Of course, just because the words have to be repeated over and over again doesn’t mean you have to do the same activities every day. That would violate the third, and most important, principle of teaching sight words: reading should be fun! 

When introducing new terms, you should illustrate the terms whenever possible. These can be simple drawings. For example, you can illustrate be with a simple stick figure. The idea is just to have some image associated with each word, even if the relationship is abstract. Depending on the age group, you can also have the student create their own illustrations or symbols for each word to help them build associations with it. For example, a student might choose to symbolize was with a backwards-facing arrow. 

As students learn sight words, it’s important they see them over and over again. For each new set of words, it’s encouraged that students create flashcards so they can handwrite the terms. Writing by hand improves memory. They can then use these flashcards to practice regularly. However, avoid long flashcard drills—they can cause burnout. It’s better to mix it up with a fun activity as much as possible.

Read on for a list of 100 sight words that you can use to practice with. 

Make Your Writing Shine!

• By clicking "Sign Up", you are accepting Dictionary.com Terms & Conditions and Privacy policies.
• Phone This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

There are many fun activities you can use to review sight words in an interactive, tactile way. In general, it is great to pair a reading or writing lesson with another element like blocks, magnets, or music, especially when working with younger learners. Here are some ways you can do this in your own home or classroom.

• Get colored sand, soft clay, or a small amount of nontoxic paint in a sealed, plastic bag. Have the student copy the word with their finger in the material while looking at it. Then, have them “erase” their work. Hide the word and ask them to write it again without reference. 
• Point out sight words when reading aloud. As a review activity, create bingo cards with sight words for students to look for while listening to a read-aloud. For especially active students, create a “word stomp.” In this extension, put the sight words on pieces of paper on the ground and have the student step on the word when they hear or see it. 
• Sight word memory game: play Memory with common sight words. Make pairs of cards with the sight words on them. Lay the cards face down. Turn two cards. If they match, remove them. If they don’t, flip the cards face down and try again. Continue until all of the cards have been cleared from the field. 
• Sight word scavenger hunt: write the sight words on styrofoam balls. Put them in various buckets or baskets around the room. Give each student a list of sight words to find. 
• Sight word spelling race: give the student(s) letter blocks or magnets. Say a sight word aloud without showing it and have the student spell the word in their blocks or magnets. 

Working on sight words doesn’t have to be boring. It can actually be a lot of fun, and it gives students a real sense of success when they start recognizing words quickly.

Check out more creative ideas to make learning sight words engaging, interactive, and fun!

Ways To Say

Synonym of the day

This Reading Mama

50 Hands-On Spelling Activities

By thisreadingmama 25 Comments

Has your spelling practice become dry or boring? Well, brush off the dust and try some of these hands-on spelling activities !

Since readers need to have BOTH phonics and sight words  understanding to become good readers, focusing on both phonics AND sight words during spelling instruction is a great way to help words “stick” in a child’s memory.

When words are taken out of the context of a book and their patterns, letters, and parts are studied, it forces readers to slow down and really take it all the word has to offer them. This, in turn, helps them become better readers .

So today, I’d like to share 50 of my favorite hands-on spelling activities for phonics and sight words. Many of these are included in the back of my ebook, Teaching Kids to Spell .

Did you know you can find 700+ pages of printable spelling activities and games in my ebook? Yes! That’s enough to cover an entire year of spelling fun!

50 Hands-on Spelling Activities

Most all of these activities can be adapted for either phonics OR sight words. You can also insert your child’s spelling list into the activity instead of using the specific words shown in the post.

1.  Scoop & Spell {This Reading Mama}

2.  Sidewalk Chalk Spelling Hop  {Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational}

3.  Stamp Your Words {Lessons Learnt Journal}

4.  Go on a Word Treasure Hunt {Hands On: As we Grow}

5.  Make a Spelling Word Search Puzzle {This Reading Mama}

6.  Use a Spelling Dictionary {The Measured Mom}

7.  Dot Sticker Spelling {School Time Snippets}

8.  Post-a-Word {This Reading Mama}

9.  Make a Giant Crossword Puzzle {A Mom with a Lesson Plan}

10.  Phonics Jumping Game {Learners in Bloom}

11.  Play Word Rocket  {Playdough to Plato}

12.  Spell with Beads {Frugal Fun 4 Boys}

13.  Spell with LEGO Letters {This Reading Mama}

14.  Spell the Most Words Game {No Time for Flashcards}

15.  Spinning Straw Spellers {Still Playing School}

16.  Build Words with Rocks {Sugar Ants}

17.  Glitter Spelling {Here Come the Girls}

18.  Play Word Bump! {This Reading Mama}

19.  Roll a Sight Word {I Can Teach My Child}

20.  Making Words {Buggy and Buddy}

21.  Paint your Words {Childhood 101}

22. Oversized Letter Cards for Spelling {This Reading Mama}

23.  Seek and Find Spelling Game {What Do We Do All Day?}

24.  Rainbow Write Your Words {Nurture Store}

25.  Words 3 Ways  {Teach Mama}

26.  Use Crayon Resist {This Reading Mama}

27.  Spell with Pipe Cleaners {Make and Takes}

28.  Spell with Your Fingers {Home School Innovation}

29.  Use Word Sorts  {This Reading Mama}

30.  Spell with Cereal {A Mom with a Lesson Plan}

31. Finger Tap Spelling {This Reading Mama}

32.  Car Track Delivery Spelling Game  {Stay at Home Educator}

33.  Make a Chalkboard Refrigerator Game {Enchanted Homeschooling Mom}

34.  Visual Spelling Practice {Home Literacy Blueprint}

Roll & Cover Game

35. Roll & Cover Spelling Words {This Reading Mama}

36.  Make a Spelling Garage  {123 Homeschool 4 Me}

37.  Roll and Spell {Well-Nurtured Plants and Pillars}

38.  Letter Lacing {Mama Miss}

39.  Roll & Write Words {This Reading Mama}

40.  Spelling Hangman {Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas}

41.  Waffle Words Spelling Game {The Homeschool Post}

42.  Use a Board Game {Teach Beside Me}

43.  Spell with a Word Family Dictionary  {guest post on The Measured Mom}

44.  Play a Word Stretching Game  {The Pleasantest Thing}

45. DIY Spelling Word Puzzles {This Reading Mama}

45.  Allow Invented Spelling {1+1+1=1}

46.  Spelling Puzzles {No Time for Flash Cards}

47.  Missing Letter Spelling Game {Imagination Soup}

48.  Ride to Spell  {This Reading Mama}

49.  Spelling Battleship {Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational}

50.  Clip a Word {Sugar Ants}

51. Bottle Cap Spelling {This Reading Mama}

More Spelling Activities and Resources:

Go digital with spelling! Read all about my educational apps or purchase them on iTunes or Google Play!

All About Spelling is a fantastic spelling program using the Orton-Gillingham methods. Hands-on work is a big part of All About Spelling!

Using Words Their Way to Teach Spelling

Enjoy teaching! ~Becky

Want MORE Free Teaching Resources?

Join thousands of other subscribers to get hands-on activities and printables delivered right to your inbox!

May 13, 2014 at 9:26 am

Looks I need to get more creative with spelling! Thanks for these ideas!

May 14, 2014 at 5:06 am

Ha! We all could use a little creativity every once in a while, right?

May 13, 2014 at 3:11 pm

Wow! So many great ideas here! Thanks so much for mentioning my spelling post!

You’re very welcome!

May 13, 2014 at 9:07 pm

Great ideas!

May 15, 2014 at 9:17 am

What an awesome collection of creative spelling activities, Becky!! Sharing!

May 16, 2014 at 2:58 pm

Thank you, Malia!

May 16, 2014 at 7:41 pm

So many awesome ideas! Can’t wait to try a few out with the kids!

May 17, 2014 at 3:22 pm

Yes. I will be trying a few of these with my kids as well! 🙂

May 22, 2014 at 1:26 am

Such a great resource!! Pinned! p.s. thank you for including us : )

May 22, 2014 at 7:34 am

You’re very welcome! Thank you for your amazing idea!

June 3, 2014 at 11:11 pm

What a fantastic list and resource!! Thank you so much for including my Chalkboard Refrigerator Game 🙂

June 4, 2014 at 6:07 am

June 18, 2014 at 6:52 am

I had forgotten all about the Waffle Words I wrote long ago. Thanks for the ping.

I’ll have to put my brain on a math version of it now!

June 18, 2014 at 7:11 am

I’d love to see it when you’re finished. 🙂

November 11, 2015 at 3:01 pm

Wow really nice 😀 resources thanks for sharing

February 24, 2017 at 2:41 am

Great post!

June 7, 2017 at 1:57 am

Thax for the trick, so helpfull

August 26, 2017 at 3:21 am

there are some amazing ideas here, thank you 🙂

October 1, 2017 at 4:41 am

WOW!!!! very nice and interesting article written by you. Such a great piece of information.

November 18, 2017 at 3:06 am

Really nice! Thanks for sharing those fantastic activities. These creative spelling activities are wonderful. I would love to try these. Can’t wait. Awesome ideas.

April 15, 2018 at 11:20 am

I love all your posts! I’m a first year 2nd grade teacher so finding resources can be overwhelming and time consuming. I love that your worksheets are engaging for my students. Thanks for sharing!

March 1, 2021 at 8:12 pm

very good post i particularly liked the roll and dice one and use a board game

March 11, 2021 at 7:52 pm

I love this blog! I’m a first year 3nd grade teacher so finding resources can be time consuming. I love that your worksheets are engaging for my students. Thanks for sharing!

[…] 50  hands-on spelling activities from This Reading Mama […]

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar
• Skip to footer

Need a resource? Head over to the shop and save 15% off your first purchase! SHOP NOW

• Text Messaging
• Facebook Group
• Search this website

Proud to be Primary

Be inspired, motivate kids, and make a positive impact in your classroom.

9:00 am By Proud to be Primary Leave a Comment

Boost K-2 Literacy with Essential Sight Word Worksheets & Activities

Add sight word worksheets to your classroom lessons, literacy centers, and small groups to immerse K-3 students in learning as they gain confidence and skills in reading fluency.

The Importance of High-Frequency Words in Primary Grades

As kids step into elementary classrooms, they’ll often hear the terms “sight words” or “high-frequency words” being tossed around. These words play a huge role in helping children become fluent readers and writers.

Imagine little Sarah, who’s just started school and is struggling to keep up with her reading. Using a variety of fun and engaging sight word worksheets and activities can really give her a confidence boost.

Teachers often find that traditional methods just don’t cut it for many kids, but mixing things up with these interactive tools and engaging sight word worksheets and activities can make all the difference in their learning journey.

• What are Sight Words, and Why are They Important to Teach?

Sight words are commonly used words in the English language. While reading, sight words make up a large portion of the text on the page. Sight words typically don’t follow the standard phonics rules ; therefore, memorizing these words is believed to help students read and process faster.

Instead of slowing down to sound out a sight word, children can recognize it, read it, and move on to the next word without much thought! The more exposure they have to sight words, the quicker their fluency, recall, and bandwidth to focus on using phonics to decode other words.

Table of contents

Scenario #1, scenario #2, when to teach sight words, 1. sight word sticker book, 2. abc order sight words, 3. find and color sight word worksheets, 4. find and highlight sight word worksheets, 5. sight word word search, 6. sight word bracelets, 7. trace, stamp, and write it fancy word work, 8. read, draw, and color books, 9. sentence scramble worksheets, 10. fix-it & fill-ins sight word worksheets, 11. sight word printing worksheets, 12. play-doh sight word activity mats, 13. spelling sight words assessment books, 14. rainbow sight word cards, what teachers are saying about our fry’s sight word resources, fry’s sight words resources, more sight word activities, common challenges when teaching sight words.

Picture this: You’re sitting with a small group of students roughly on a similar reading level. They do pretty well, but one student always gets caught up on words such as THE, WERE, FOR, and MY. He gets frustrated because he can’t sound these words out.

He needs more exposure to high-frequency words.

Giving kids more practice with sight word activities will increase their recall and, therefore, their confidence. They won’t feel frustrated when they see these words in books. Adding more sight word activities to the mix will give them extra practice.

Picture this: You have worked with students on their sight word knowledge by giving them one weekly worksheet to practice. They recognize a few words but struggle when they encounter them in text.

These students need to see the words in action more often.

Showing students a sight word once and hoping they remember it doesn’t get them far. They need consistent repetition of the word. Sometimes, this repetition may feel like too much, or they get bored, but the more they see the words, the quicker they will remember them.

Sight word worksheets and activities should be incorporated into daily routines as much as possible. Here are just a few Simple Ways to Teach Sight Words .

• Morning Work – Use morning work activities to teach sight words. Implement a sight word of the week and practice the word or words in sentences, find them in books, and practice writing them.
• Whole-Group Lessons – Before students can read independently, teach them new sight words regularly. Teach a list of words each week. Then, review the spelling, find them in sentences, read them, and write them.
• Literacy Centers – Add the new words to their work in daily centers. Let them practice the words by writing them differently and finding them in mini books. Incorporate sight word games for groups and partners to practice.
• Small Groups – When choosing your small group texts, select books that include the sight words you are working on that week. Invite students to highlight the words as they come across them.
• Early Finisher Activities – When students finish their seatwork quickly and need something to do, give them fast-finisher activities that promote recognition of sight words.
• Intervention Strategies – As students learn their sight words, some may need more help than others. Make time to work on those words with students who need that differentiation.
• Exit Tickets – Before students move on to a new task, ask them to complete simple sight word activities such as reading their words on the board, writing them down, or completing a quick worksheet.

14 Sight Word Activities

Below are 14 sight word worksheets and activities that are great for classroom lessons, literacy centers, small groups, independent practice, or morning work. They are all available in our FRY and DOLCH sight word line of resources .

Use a sticker book for students to track their learning. As students master each word, they place a sticker next to it. The pages can be stapled together so students can hold themselves accountable for learning. This makes a great assessment tool after teaching a list of words!

Classroom Use: Place the sticker books in their literacy binders or keep them on desktops to motivate them to practice the words daily.

In this activity, students use the word list given to practice putting the words into ABC order. They practice alphabetical order using given sight word lists, creating a mini book as a reference tool.

Classroom Use: Use this mini book as a warm-up activity. Add these to morning work tubs for quick practice before the day’s chaos begins, or practice putting words in order before transitioning to other activities.

The Find and Color worksheets contain a fun picture with hidden sight words. Students use the code at the bottom of the worksheet to color the image correctly. For extra fun, they can use a magnifying glass to find and color sight words in a picture.

Classroom Use: These are an excellent tool for independent work in literacy centers. Place the printed sheets in a bin for kids to grab during rotations. Or, make this a fun Friday activity. Students can work individually or in small groups to find and color the words.

The Find and Highlight worksheets feature some fun sentences! Kids have to highlight the sight words as they read them. Once they find all the words, they draw a picture using one of the sentences.

Classroom Use: Use these worksheets during independent reading time. Have students highlight words, then share their highlighted sentences with a partner. This activity is another fantastic worksheet to place in literacy centers. It’s also an excellent tool for small-group intervention.

Engaging word search puzzles where students find each sight word multiple times, keeping a tally of how often they see them at the bottom of the page. This gets their eyes and brains used to noticing them.

Classroom Use: Include these in a literacy center. Students can work individually or in pairs to find and tally the sight words. If your students aren’t too competitive, you could challenge them to see how many words they can find in a set amount of time.

Students trace and color sight words on bracelets, which they then wear and use to practice reading their words with peers or teachers.

Classroom Use: Add these to literacy centers as a fun way to immerse kids in their new word lists. If kids wear them all day, you can have them point to and read each word before re-entering the classroom after lunch, recess, and specials! Another use would be to use these bracelets as a reward for mastering a set of words. Students can wear them and practice reading to classmates.

Sheets where students trace a word, stamp it, and then write it in decorative letters. This activity enhances spelling and handwriting skills.

Classroom Use: These worksheets are perfect for literacy centers and keep kids occupied for a while! Set up a word workstation where students can choose how they want to practice each word—tracing, stamping, or writing in fun fonts.

This sight word book allows students to read a short sentence, draw a picture matching the words, and color the sight words.

Classroom Use: Add these printables to literacy centers or have kids complete them before their rotations begin. These also make a fun exit ticket! Staple the books together in each unit for little books they can take home and share.

With this worksheets, students cut and paste sentences and put them in the correct order to make sense. Then, they write the sentence using the lines provided. Finally, they draw a picture at the bottom of the page to match the words. This activity boosts sentence construction and comprehension skills.

Classroom Use: Kids will love using these sight word worksheets in their literacy centers or in small groups to practice new words. This activity can also be used as a cooperative learning activity. Students work in small groups to unscramble sentences and create illustrations.

These worksheets have sentences with missing sight words that students must fill in using a provided word list. They also correct and rewrite sentences, enhancing their understanding of sentence structure.

Classroom Use: Use these during small group instruction. Discuss the importance of context clues as students fill in the blanks. They also work well as morning work or independent work.

This worksheet has traceable sight words and a sentence. Students trace the sight words for practice and then write the sentence at the bottom of the page. Finally, they draw a picture to match the words. These worksheets are designed to improve printing skills, fine motor abilities, and proper letter formation.

Classroom Use: Include these sheets in a writing center where students practice their words, complete sentences, and illustrate them. This also makes an excellent handwriting station activity or a fast-finisher worksheet for literacy centers.

Use the interactive Play-Doh mats to encourage students to form their sight words differently. They also practice writing the word below the mat, combining tactile and writing practice.

Classroom Use: Place these in a tactile learning center with dough or clay for hands-on practice. Laminate the sheets and have students write the words with dry-erase markers or print off enough copies that each has their own.

Personalized spelling booklets for each student to use for quizzes and printing practice, consolidating their learning and providing a record of their progress.

Classroom Use: Have students use these booklets during weekly spelling tests or as a daily practice journal to track their progress. Call out each word randomly and have kids write them on the lines provided. This is a simple way to assess their knowledge at the end of each week.

Weekly sight word cards for students to cut, color in rainbow order, and read three times. The rainbow word cards are a fun way for kids to practice spelling their new sight words. These cards are kept together for regular review, helping build sight word fluency through repetition and visual reinforcement.

Classroom Use: Incorporate these into a weekly center activity where students color and read the words, then use them in sentences. This is a great activity to kick off the week! It is also great for word walls if you want students to participate in its set-up.

Jessica W. says, “My students enjoyed the activities from the free download so much, I knew I had to purchase the entire set! I use this weekly for my resource students who have the 1st 100 Fry Words as an IEP goal. I love the structure and predictability it provides my students while still being fun and engaging. My students especially love putting their stickers on their list once they’ve mastered a word. Highly recommended!”

Lauren R. says, “This product has helped my 1st graders fill in the gaps from their Kindergarten year! They are already making noticeable progress after only a month! I use most of the activities both as homework and classwork. Parents also love the little books that get sent home each week because they also struggle finding books that won’t be too frustrating to their child. I also love that activities allow students to draw and color. Thanks for the wonderful product! :)”

Sarah W. says, “This LITERALLY saved my life! I had been choosing random sight words for the week and this has simplified it and gave me a sight word station. Such a great resource.”

FREE Week of Fry’s First 100 Words

Try a week of sight word activities in your classroom with this FREE printable Fry sight word resource! This sample covers the following words: the, of, a, and, to.

Try out the worksheets mentioned above to see how amazing and simple they are to use in the classroom. Click the image below to grab a copy.

Try the 300 Word Sight Word Bundle by Proud to be Primary. It includes 300 words, each with the activities listed above, plus more! Each word has worksheets, printables, bracelets, mini books, centers, and assessment tools. This bundle is the perfect differentiated sight word program for K-3 students.

Looking to tackle a certain list of sight words? We have 6 Fry sight word resources available to tackle the 300 sight words.

• Frys 1st 100 Part 1
• Frys 1st 100 Part 2
• Frys 2nd 100 Part 1
• Frys 2nd 100 Part 2
• Frys 3rd 100 Part 1
• Frys 3rd 100 Part 2

sight word classroom games

teaching sight words

sight word books

PIN for Later

FREE Sight Word Email Series

Sign up for the sight word email series filled with tips to get you started teaching sight words in the best ways, strategies for success, and FREE activities kids will love. Everything you need to build reading skills with sight words!

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription. Stay tuned for the poetry email series coming your way soon! -Elyse

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

I'd like to receive the free email course.

You may also enjoy these posts:

Reader Interactions

Leave a comment cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

• Privacy Policy
• Terms & Conditions
• Shop Our Site
• Social-Emotional learning
• Classroom Management
• Teaching Ideas
• Directed Drawing
• Best-Sellers
• Social-Emotional Learning
• Sight Words
• Non-Fiction

Join more than 100,000 proud primary teachers!

Sign up for exclusive access to teacher freebies & weekly emails filled with teacher tips, lesson ideas, and resource suggestions sent straight to your inbox!

The Primary Gal

Helping Special Education Teachers Deliver Effective Interventions

Together, we can make planning your small intervention groups EASIER!  Download a free week

• Reading Intervention
• Math Intervention
• Spelling Intervention

8 Fun Ways to Practice Sight Words Every Day

Daily Oral Practice

Sight Word Bingo

Sight Word Roll & Read

Sight Word Race

Connect Four

Sight Word Bump!

M&M Words

Sight Word Folders

Be sure to click  t he image above to purchase the sight word centers featured in this post from my TpT store!

8 Comments on 8 Fun Ways to Practice Sight Words Every Day

Id love to purchase the sign word games but i can’t seem to find where? It doesn’t allow me to click on the picture.

Hello! Thank you for reaching out! I am so sorry the link was not there. Here is the TPT link for Pre-Primer Dolch Sight Word Centers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pre-Primer-Dolch-Sight-Word-Centers-4199979 . Here is also the TPT link for the Dolch Sight Word Centers BUNDLE incase you wanted this one: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Dolch-Sight-Word-Centers-BUNDLE-4205805 . If you need anything else please let me know 🙂

Can you edit the words once you purchase the pack?

Hello! If you click on this link it will take you the my TPT store where you can purchase the editable sight word centers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/EDITABLE-Sight-Word-Centers-4820305 If you have any other questions, please let me know! Thank you 🙂

Amanda, I am interested in the 8 fun Ways to Practice Sight Words Each day but I can not find any links that take me to this. I Have also checked on TpT and can’t find it either. Is this available? I teach SpEd K-5 and this would be perfect for all the different levels I have. Thank you for all the things you share!

HEllo! Here is the link to the editable version on TPT: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/EDITABLE-Sight-Word-Centers-4820305 I hope this helps 🙂

I purchased this last night and was unable to open it, who do I speak to about getting a refund?

Hello! You can contact TPT directly and they can help you with figuring out how to open it or give you a refund.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

7 Fun Ways to Practice Sight Words

This post may contain affiliate links.

To practice sight words I use traditional methods but with a twist. I like to do things that keep them on their toes and entertained while soaking up knowledge. These are 7 fun methods I have found for learning sight words that keep them engaged and learning at the same time.

7 FUN Ways to Practice Sight Words

Physical Games –

Use flash cards, but not just the standard boring method of going through them one by one and having your child read them off. Use your flashcards as a tool for learning by letting your child burn off some energy at the same time. Place sight word flash cards on the floor, call out the sight word you want them to learn and have them run, hop, or skip to it, or toss a beanbag at it.

Repetitive Writing –

This serves two purposes — memorizing sight words and also working on handwriting. Instead of just handing them a pencil, give them markers, crayons, or colored pencils. You can then have them alternate words in rainbow colors on handwriting paper, or repeat each word twice in one color, etc.

Hide and Seek –

Write current sight words that your child is practicing on 3×5 cards (or use flashcards) and hide them around the house. Your child can go for a word hunt through the house, reading them as they locate them. Hide some in plain sight, peeking out from cushions and under rugs, in the refrigerator, next to the sink, and other clever places.

Highlighting –

Use the newspaper, old magazines, books, or ads. I pick up doubles of simple readers and picture books at yard sales just for this reason. Give your child a highlighter in a different color for each word. Have them scan for sight words, marking them as they find them. Set a goal of 10 words or 2 of each. Be sure to peruse the material first to make sure the words can be found so your child doesn’t end up frustrated.

Sensory Play –

Give your child a shallow tray with salt, shaving cream, pudding, or paint and let them practice writing the words in it. Shaving cream or paint is also great to use at bathtime on the walls. Hands-on is much more fun and helps the learning to stick better than just writing them with a pencil and paper.

Hands-on building –

Use letter tiles , magnetic alphabet pieces, or scrabble squares to build site words for practice, let them go up, down or diagonally. Hide letters in a bowl of rice and let your child hunt through it to find the letters they need.

Simple reading –

Repetitive reading that is simple and just slightly challenging is the best way to help learn sight words. Books like BOB Books , Green Light Readers , and Dr. Seuss have stood the test of time for a reason. Practice reading them with your child every day, pointing out words for them to read to make sure they have not just memorized it by hearing you read it.

What are some creative ways you practice sight words?

Author bio:

Sara is a homeschooling mom to three daughters from elementary to high school age. She has been blogging about their learning adventures since 2008 at Heart and Soul Homeschooling . Sara loves to encourage other homeschool moms through her ebooks , journals , workshops , and homeschool consulting services . You can also find her on Pinterest , Twitter , and Facebook .

See even more fun ways to learn and practice Sight Words:

Sight Word Spelling with Cookies Snowflake Sight Words Egg Hunt Spelling Game Sight Word Handwriting Pages Short A CVC Words

Former school teacher turned homeschool mom of 4 kids. Loves creating awesome hands-on creative learning ideas to make learning engaging and memorable for all kids!

Similar Posts

Easy Resurrection Rolls for Easter With Printable Story

Quick Bottle Rockets With Baking Soda & Vinegar

Best Books for Tween Girls

Fraction – Percentage – Decimal Math Puzzles

Constitution learning resources.

Licorice Shapes and Angles

Leave a reply cancel reply.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Basic Sight Words & Fun Ways to Learn Them !

We all know how important it is for young learners to master basic sight words. This mastery helps them to progress in reading, writing and spelling. Here are links to two of the most frequently used word lists: 

Fry sight words   Dolch sight words

Why not try these spelling activities for fun ways to learn these words at school and at home?

Activities for Practicing Basic Sight Words

At school: sight word of the day.

Ask each child to tape an index card or small piece of paper to the corner of her desk. 

If you like, on Fridays write all four sight words from the week on the board. Instruct students that when the timer goes off, they can write any one of the four words on their card.

At Home: Hide-and-Spell

If your child doesn't want to keep writing his words over and over, he'll start finding harder and harder places to hide the cards. So your family will have to become more and more observant! You can also play this with a longer list of spelling words. 

You may not want to use this idea every week, but it will sure be fun when you do!

More Helpful Resources

You may also enjoy some of our sight word printables , including:

Number word practice - 3 printable worksheets to practice spelling and simple addition and subtraction facts. The fun twists I've added will make your kids want to finish each page correctly!

Find a list of sight words and links to flash cards here .

Spelling Bees!

Grade level resources, spelling worksheets, classroom helps, spelling games & puzzles, sight words & phonics, site sections, subscribe or read the latest updates here, 300 fourth grade spelling words your students need to know, fifth grade spelling words for home and classroom learning.

Think-A-Spell! A fun collection of brain teasers and spelling challenges. Best for ages 10 to adult. 

Fun Spelling Worksheets for Grades 1 and 2      50 All-new reproducible pages for early learners!

Gigantic Spelling Bee Word Lists with definitions, sentences and languages

Spelling Bee Toolboxes for Grades 3/5 and 6/8     All the resources you n eed for a successful bee!  

100 Difficult Spelling Bee Words with Definitions, Sentences and Pronunciations, Volumes 1 and 2

600 Spelling Bee Words & Sentences for Gr 3/5 & 6/8 Extra words & sentences at two levels

Affiliate Info

Simply B Teaching

Effective Small Group Instruction

How to Effectively Teach Sight Words (& Make It Fun!)

How to teach sight words.

Are you wondering how to teach sight words? You’re in the right place! Through small group instruction, you can effectively teach sight words and make it fun for kids! You’ll also find out how to weave trick word practice throughout your day, so your students are constantly practicing and memorizing their sight words.

What are Sight Words?

Sight words (also known as trick words) is a common word that is not easily decodable using phonetic strategies. Words like: the, put, have are all trick words because we cannot use our letter sound knowledge to figure them out. They also occur often in our reading, writing, and day to day language. Some sight words can be solved phonetically, however this should never be a child’s first strategy for a trick word. If a trick word follows typical letter-sound patterns, it is an exception – not the rule.

The Truth About Sight Words

There’s no beating about the bush – kids have to memorize sight words (or trick words) to effectively read. These words don’t follow normal phonics (or how we expect letters to work) so, we must teach our brains to recognize these sight words separately! The best method for how to teach sight words are memorization strategies . While phonics can support sight word growth, students will hit roadblocks if they rely on phonics alone. The evidence is clear: you must teach students how to memorize their trick words.

Importance of Sight Words

Sight words are vital to a child’s reading success! They create a foundation for the child to build upon as a reader. The more automatic a child’s sight word recall is, the more than can focus on other things. If they don’t have to worry about decoding or remembering a trick word the child can focus on: decoding new words, applying their knowledge to the story, remembering what they’ve read, or (most importantly) simply enjoying the book!

You may have heard the phrase: sight words anchor your reading – and it’s true! The more comfortable and confident a child is with reading trick words, the better reader they will be.

Are your struggling to teach sight words during small group instruction? Read here for 5 steps to master classroom management during small group instruction so you can focus on those sight words!

How to Explain Sight Words to Kindergarten (or any grade!)

To explain sight words to Kindergarten, or any student learning new words, is to stress that letter-sound strategies will not work . They need to practice reading and writing these words to make them stick in their brain. This is a great opportunity to talk about what makes a good learner. The sight words will only stick in your brain if you work to put them there. You can have your students make a trick word goal: they will know 10 sight words in their favorite book! These are words they can always read, no matter the story. With the right challenge and motivation, don’t be surprised to find practicing sight words soon becomes your students favorite part of the day!

What Order to Teach Sight Words

There are so many different sight word lists to work from. Should you use Fry™ or Dolch™ lists? What about the list from your curriculum? Or the words kids ask about? It can be overwhelming when figuring out how to teach sight words! The best order to teach students sight words is to balance the word length with the word frequency. Both Fry™ and Dolch ™, or your curriculum given list, are wonderful guides and places to start, but it’s okay to deviate from their given order if your students need different words. Often, I pre-read the decodable reader the student is interested in, or the one I am planning on using in my small group instruction, and teach the target words in that story.

How to Teach a Child Sight Words

There’s no sugarcoating it: you need to teach your child to memorize sight words. Kids (and adults) have two kinds of memory: short term and long term. Short term memory are things you remember in the moment, but forget later on while long term memory holds things that stick forever. To teach sight words, you need to help those words into your child’s long term memory. But, how do we teach a child sight words?

First, introduce the word. Pick one word at a time. Show the student a card, read the word then spell it. Have the student repeat. “Have. H-A-V-E. Have”. Next, practice the sight word using different learning styles: have the child circle the word in a group of words, make the word with their body, or sing the sight word song (My class loves Heidi Burkus www.heidisongs.com ).

After introducing and exploring the sight word, it’s time to work on transferring the new word into the child’s long term memory. The only way to make a sight word stick is to write it over and over again. Research shows that new information is more likely to stick when it’s presented with the “magic three”: 1) the information is taught 2) the information is written 3) the information is read. These steps must happen three times each.

For each new sight word you should: introduce it and practice it three ways (finding, body writing, singing), write it three times (on whiteboards, paper, in sand…), and finally practicing reading the word in short sentences! This method will make you a master in teaching sight words to all children!

How to Teach Sight Words to Struggling Readers

You may say, “okay that formula sounds great but I have kids who are REALLY struggling to get their sight words down. How do you teach sight words to struggling readers?”. Well, the formula is actually the same. That’s right: there is no secret magic to teaching trick words, students have to practice and practice until it sticks . “But that’s so boring!!” it can be, unless you spice it up a bit! Have a write the room where you only post the same three words multiple times. Students can then organize the words into columns as they write! Or having the students paint the words, build words with blocks, or sing sight word songs to each other. Practicing trick words is the best because the only limit to how to practice is your creativity . Give the kids some power! How do you want to practice this word? What would be a fun way to write this word? Anytime you can give kids choice in their learning it is powerful.

How to Teach Sight Words Virtually

Teaching sight words virtually has become one of the newer challenges teachers face. It is so hard to keep engagement and focus on the screen! But the formula stays the same: introduce/practice, write, and read. Remember the rule of three! Complete each step three times over to help transfer the new word from the short term to long term memory. Limit the number of sight words you introduce at a single time. The more words, the more confusion. Start with 2-4 words, master those, then move on. Here are some great sight word boom cards and google slide sight word activities that focus on 2-4 words to support mastery!

How to Teach Sight Words at Home

Learning sight words can (and should!) happen everywhere! If you have a struggling reader at home, sight words are your new best friend. The more words your reader memorizes, the less work they do to read. The less work, the more fun! Sight words are the secret to success when encouraging struggling readers. At home, look for sight words throughout your day. In the newspaper? A commercial? The mail? Point them out to show your child how significant these words are! You can also build words with materials around your house, write sight words in cookies than bake them, hide words around your house for your child to read and find. With some paper and a marker, there are so many ways to teach sight words at home!

What are Kindergarten Sight Words

So, now you know how to teach sight words but what sight words are you teaching? Studies show you should start with the smaller words with the most frequency. Check out the list below for the best kindergarten sight words to start teaching!

Looking for more resources on memory? Check these out!

https://www.oxfordlearning.com/11-ways-to-improve-memory-for-kids/

https://kidsdiscover.com/teacherresources/8-ways-to-boost-memorization-skills/

https://www.bookwidgets.com/blog/2016/12/9-amazing-tricks-to-teach-your-students-to-memorize

https://www.magneticmemorymethod.com/teach-your-kids-memory-techniques/

DON’T MISS A THING!

Subscribe to our newsletter to get updates on all my latest teaching resources, teaching tips, and some free goodies!

Reader Interactions

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Latest from Instagram

Latest on Facebook

Latest from pinterest.

Because differences are our greatest strength

Sight words: An evidence-based literacy strategy

By Cheryl Lyon, MAT

Expert reviewed by Allison Posey, MEd, CAST, Inc.

What you’ll learn

Watch: sound-letter mapping for sight words, read: how to use this three-part strategy, understand: why this sight words strategy works, connect: link school to home, research behind this strategy.

Sight words are words that students are expected to recognize instantly. With the right support, students can become so familiar with these words that they no longer need to pause and try to decode them. Some sight words are regularly spelled words, and some are spelled irregularly .

You may hear other educators use the term high-frequency words . These are words that appear very often in what students read. It’s especially important for these frequently used words to become sight words. Students can read with better fluency when they recognize these words right away.

By explicitly teaching sight words, you can help cement the words into students’ memories. Use this three-part strategy, which starts with sound-letter mapping, then moves to a flashcard activity, and ends with other ways to keep reinforcing the sight words with repeated exposure.

Watch this video from Literacy How of a teacher using sound-letter mapping to teach her students the high-frequency word lit . 

Objective:  Students will increase the number of sight words they can recognize instantly without decoding. 

Grade levels (with standards): 

K (Common Core Literacy RF.K.2: Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words; RF.K.3.C: Read common high-frequency words by sight)

1 (Common Core Literacy RF.1.3: Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words; RF.1.3.G: Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words)

2–5 (Common Core Literacy RF.2.3, RF.3.3, RF.4.3.A, and RF.5.3.A: Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words)

Best used for instruction with:

Whole class

Small groups

Individuals

How to prepare: 

Choose words to teach. Assess how well your students recognize sight words using a simple pre-test. For example, you can have students read grade-level words from Dolch or Fry word lists . Then, make a list of the 25 words your students missed most often. Divide the list into groups of five words to teach each day. (You can adjust the number of words based on your students’ needs.)

Plan daily practice. Allow about 10 minutes each day for direct instruction and practice with sight words.

Prepare materials. On the board, draw sound boxes (a long rectangle divided into two, three, or four squares, depending on the number of sounds in the words you plan to teach). Give students a matching handout of the sound boxes, such as this printable of Elkonin sound boxes .

How to teach: 

1. Start with sound-letter mapping. This practice helps students connect the sounds and letters in words together. 

Choose one of the five words you want to teach. Tell the students they’ll be spelling the word. (Example: with. ) Invite them to repeat the word. Then ask, “How many sounds do you hear in with ?” Hold up one finger per sound as your students say the sounds: /w/ /i/ /th/. Say the sounds with the students to help them identify individual sounds.

On the board, write in the sound boxes the letter or letters that correspond to each sound — one sound per box. Then read the word together. 

Students can write the letters on their handout. Or you can give your students small manipulatives (like coins or bingo chips). Have students move one manipulative into a box for each sound. Then, when it’s time to write the corresponding letter or letters in each box, students can move the manipulatives out of the way to write the letter(s).

Repeat the sound-letter mapping with each of the five sight words.

2. Practice the words with one of the flashcard activities below. Both involve waiting a set amount of time between showing a card and asking students to say the word(s) on the card.

Constant time delay: Use this flashcard activity to give your students repeated exposure to their five words. Write one word on each card.

In round one, show and read the words one at a time to students. Wait three seconds to give students time to look at each word’s letters and patterns. Then ask them to repeat the word. 

In round two, shuffle the cards and show one card at a time. Wait three seconds and then ask students to read the word. If students read the word incorrectly or aren’t able to read it, point out a memorable feature. For example, “Notice the -ed at the end of used .” Wait three seconds and ask students to try the word again. Go through the stack of cards until students correctly identify each word at least twice.

Constant time delay for words with unusual spellings: Use this activity for word sets (or “word families”) that share a pattern but that don’t have typical letter-sound combinations (like could , should , and would) . You can use a resource like Phinder to look for words based on letter patterns.

Write all the words from a word set in a vertical column on a card. Show students the card and ask them to identify how each word ends. After students respond correctly, point to and say each word on the card. Wait three seconds and then ask students to say the words. 

If you’re practicing words from different word sets, be sure to write the different sets on different cards. Shuffle the cards and have students read through each word set.

Teaching tip: If you’re introducing these sight word activities for the first time, make sure to explicitly teach the activity and offer guided practice. If students are familiar with an activity, provide a quick model.

3. Continue to reinforce the sight words with repeated exposure, no matter which activity you choose. You can do this by reading texts — from books to posters to comics — that contain the sight words. You can also use word walls or word banks to help students keep track of the words they’ve learned. Once you notice that students can consistently recognize the words by sight, add them to your regular word games and activities. 

When you use this strategy, you’re teaching a skill called orthographic mapping. It’s a process we use to store printed words in our long-term memory. Orthographic mapping is essential for learning sight words.

Here’s what happens when we use orthographic mapping: When we see a word, we break it apart by the sounds we hear in the word (phonemes) and the letter and letter patterns (graphemes) that correspond to those sounds. This process fixes the word into our long-term memory. Eventually, we recognize the word immediately when we see it. We still see all the letters, but we know the word so well that we don’t have to sound it out. 

Research shows that most readers need between one and four exposures to a word to commit it to long-term memory. Struggling readers need even more exposure to new words because orthographic mapping can be hard. Repeated practice with sight words gives students the exposure they need to build their sight word vocabulary.

Teaching tip: For English language learners, including a word’s meaning during instruction can help with reading and language development. Try using hand gestures as you teach word meanings.

Share this article with families to help them understand what sight words are and why they’re important. You can also send home this list of 12 ways for families to help kids practice sight words at home.

“Word boxes improve phonemic awareness, letter-sound correspondences, and spelling skills of at-risk kindergartners,” from  Remedial and Special Education

“Teaching sight words as a part of comprehensive reading instruction,” from the Iowa Reading Research Center

Explore related topics

The Real-Life Teacher

Resources and support for classroom teachers and transitioning teachers

How to Teach Sight Words: The Top 10 Strategies

Struggling to figure out how to teach sight words? Have you got your sights set on increasing your students’ sight word recognition this year? Teaching sight words doesn’t have to be the complicated and confusing process that everyone makes it out to be.

They just don’t remember them. I’ve taught them a hundred times. They can’t do it.

Sound familiar? These are the go-to responses of a lot of educators.

You’re not alone. Believe it or not, thoughts like these are common when you’re just starting out, and even if you’re a veteran teacher. We all have fears about our own teaching practices and secretly worry that it’s us.

But those fears are definitely holding you back from finding sight word instruction that works.

The truth is that it’s not you . It’s the fact that there has been a lack of information, consistency, and knowledge when it comes to sight word instruction. Fortunately, that’s changing as we learn more about how the brain works when it comes to reading!

There’s a lot of research and data, and I can’t wait to share it all with you. 

So take a deep breath and settle in to learn 10 research-based and fun strategies for teaching sight words!

What is a sight word?

Before we get into the teaching strategies, let’s talk a little bit about sight words themselves.

First, “sight words” is actually the incorrect term for what we’re talking about. High frequency words is the correct term – meaning the words that students are going to see most often (or with the highest frequency) in text. “Sight words” means something completely different when it comes to the science of reading and brain research.

Sight words is a term that actually refers to the words that our brain knows automatically: as if by sight. So “sight words” are the words a person has permanently mapped in the brain and knows instantly (on sight).

However, because these two terms have been used so interchangeably in curricula and instruction, “sight words” is used much more often than “high frequency words.”

I’m not going to dive in too deeply with that here, though. If you’d like to read more about the research on the difference between sight words and high frequency words, click here to for the blog post I wrote on the topic.

Why do we teach “sight words” and high frequency words?

High frequency words, the words most commonly seen within text, are words that students must know in order to read the words on the page. These words are common, everyday words. Some are phonetic, meaning they can be sounded out easily. Others are more difficult and must be practiced with intentionality to really solidify that word into memory.

By focusing on high frequency words intentionally, you’re providing “exposures” to the word that your students’ brains need in order to remember it permanently (which is when it becomes a sight word!). Choosing activities, providing practice, and teaching these words explicitly means that your students will learn more words faster.

How to teach sight words – the strategies

#1. multi-sensory learning activities.

Start by introducing the words. Say them out loud together. Spell them. Then practice reading, writing, building, and creating them using multi-sensory techniques.

Multi-sensory techniques incorporate the use of all the senses (touch, taste, sight, hearing, movement, etc). By doing this, you’re helping their brains build new neural pathways because you’re using their senses and experiences to make the words memorable.

Some examples of multi-sensory sight word activities include:

• Using fingertips to spell them on a rough surface (sandpaper, building bricks, a textured wall, etc)
• Using dough to shape the letters of the word
• Shaving cream in a sandwich bag as a writing board
• Tearing bits of paper and gluing in the shape of the letters in the word

This is my favorite of all the strategies because any multi-sensory activity you choose is just plain fun! I have another blog post if you click here all about multisensory teaching!

Interested in more multi-sensory activities? Download my Multi-Sensory Sight Word Strategies Guide here!

#2. Introduce and teach each word

Your students won’t learn new words by osmosis. Just having the words on the wall in your classroom isn’t enough.

Be intentional about teaching each word and providing explicit practice in a structured routine

Here’s an example of how you can introduce each word:

• Say the word to the students and have them repeat it.
• Turn and say the word to a partner.
• Spell the word for your students, and then point to each letter and have them spell it too.
• Write the word, saying each letter, and repeat the word when you’re finished spelling. Then have students do the same.
• Scramble up the letters and have students put them in the right order and read the word.
• Read some short sentences with the word. Give it some context!

By doing this routine or something similar, you’re allowing your students to experience the word, its letters and sounds, and build those neuron connections by writing and unscrambling the word to help solidify it in long-term memory.

Will your students know this word as soon as you do this routine? Some will, most will not – but you’ve given them the first few crucial exposures that lay the foundation for long-term word recognition.

Pro Tip: research shows that it takes an average of 10-12 exposures to a word before it becomes permanent in long-term memory. This number will increase for students struggling with letter-sound relationships. Be patient and know that you are indeed building new connections between the synapses in their brains!

#3. Remember to continue to practice the words

You may be thinking to yourself, “I don’t have time to keep reviewing words, but if you don’t, you won’t have students who can read, spell and decode the word.

Instead, make sure you incorporate known words into the extra minutes in your day.

Use the time standing in line for specials or lunch to practice words.

Have each student read a word when they come to your desk.

Wear a word on your lanyard and randomly ask students to read it.

You will thank me later when your students show fluency and automaticity!

Pro Tip:  Talk with your grade level during a PLC or meeting about how they incorporate words into their day. You’ll have a million new ideas in no time.

#4. Always, Always, Always Connect Sight Words to Phonics

For every word you teach your students, practice breaking the word down into individual sounds. Explore the letter-sound relationships in the word.

By doing this, your students will be able to not only understand the makeup of the word you’re teahcing, but they’ll also solidify and build on letter-sound relationships as a whole. This will help build automaticity and phoneme-grapheme connections for your struggling readers especially.

Here’s how you can do this with a new word:

• Tap out the sounds: use your fingertips to isolate and tap each sound you hear in the word. Have your students do this with you. Count them. How many sounds are there?
• Look at the written word. Tap under each letter as you say each sound in the word. Notice when something seems out of the ordinary and talk about that with your students.
• Identify any part that may be “irregular” in the word and talk through it with your students. For example: “We heard the sound /e/, but when we look at the word, it’s spelled with the letter(s)…”

#5. Use color

Teachers aren’t the only ones who love colors!

Your students can use color to differentiate between separate letters and keep track of where they’re looking when they’re reading the word.

So add color to the word!

Write each letter of the word in a different color. Use colored construction paper and put a different color behind each letter. Or just use crayons and let your students write in their favorite Crayola colors. All of these are easy ways to add color and visual stimulation to learning a new word.

#6. Upgrade Your Word Wall

Do you know you could polish up your word wall immensely by turning it into a sound wall? What are you waiting for? 

Consider this your official permission slip to dig into sound walls and how beneficial they are.

Make new words easier for your kiddos to locate, read, and use by putting them on a sound wall. Not only will this increase their ability to identify the beginning sounds in words, but it will help them see what that sound looks like and give them a scaffold to using that word in speech and writing.

#7. Include actual reading

Our end goal in figuring out how to teach sight words is to get our kiddos accurate and automatic when they see these words in print. But to do that, we also have to include print!

Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the activities of the word that we run out of time or just don’t read these words in a meaningful way. And by meaningful, I mean in context.

Make sure to include practice sentences, phrases, or short passages that have the target word in there frequently so students are exposed to the word in context.

We don’t read words in isolation, so we shouldn’t just teach them in isolation!

#8. Use related words

Identify ahead of time words that your students already know that are similar in spelling or pronunciation.

By using these words to help introduce a new word, your students will be able to map this new word in their long-term memory because they have something to connect it to.

For example, if you’re teaching the high frequency word “there,” you can make connections between similar words, like “the,” “them,” and “these,” if they’re words your students know.

The similarities in spelling and pronunciation will help your students connect current knowledge of phonics and spelling patterns to the new word.

#9. Don’t forget repetition!

This point related back to #3, making sure you incorporate practice. Without repeated practice your kiddos can’t solidify those neural connections and store this word in long-term memory.

Keep discussing the word, its features, and tying old words into new instruction.

This. is called spaced repetition, and is well-documented by researchers to improve long-term memory of the word.

Use opportunities. to continue to practice the word in the future, like:

• use it as a spelling connection with a future new word
• keep it in rotation during small group instruction
• point it out and talk about it in text over the next week after teaching it
• have students find it in a book at home and add a picture to Class Dojo

There are a million simple ways to continue. to talk about the words you teach, you just have to make it a habit to do so.

#10. Always have fun!

Achieving sight word recognition can be hard. This is why it’s essential to keep up the momentum and good humor by loving new words!

If you love talking about new words, your enthusiasm will shine through to your students. Celebrate their wins in remembering new words, and see the joy in knowing how to teach sight words!

There you have it! 

Did you find these tips helpful? Share your top tip to stay motivated on the path to teaching sight words in the comments below!

If you still need additional resources, get in touch here. There are no silly questions, and I am always happy to hear from teacher friends!

Similar Posts

Amazing Amazon Deals of the Day for Teachers

Update July 2022: you can click here to read this post for the latest updates on Prime deals, updated daily until Prime Day 2022! I…

What the End of the School Year Means

This year, the end of the school year means something different than it typically does to me. For over a decade now, I’ve finished report…

Real Classroom Teaching

I’m so glad you’re taking the time to read this, and thank you for joining me in my kindergarten classroom teaching adventures! This is an…

The Science Of Reading Research: An Overview And Explanation

You’ve heard the buzzword “science of reading,” but what does it mean? Click here to read an overview of the science of reading research.

Teaching with Boom Cards: Everything You Need to Know

There’s a hot new tool that’s making its way across the teaching world, and it’s a great resource during distance learning! Teaching with Boom Cards…

Special Education Distance Learning Resources

Special education is one of the hot topics for distance learning right now, and with good reason. There are more questions than answers where these…

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Sight Words Candy 4+

Ace reading and spelling‪‬, sierra vista software, designed for ipad, screenshots, description.

Sight Words Fun! Play the Game and Learn to Read Fast! Boost your child's academic success with this interactive app! Engage your child’s imagination with vibrant graphics and cool sounds. Sight Words are critical to achieving functional literacy for both children and adults. The list of most popular Sight Words contains only 220 words, but they make up the majority (50 to 70 percent) of all the words in any general, non-technical text. This game teaches the spelling of Dolch Sight Words in a fun and entertaining way. The goal of the game is to unscramble all the Sight Words in every level. The game is very easy to learn and is guaranteed to keep your children busy while learning one of the most important life skills: reading. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact us via email. We read all our emails and replay within one business day. - No Annoying Ads - No In-App Purchases - No Subscriptions - Teaches all 220 Dolch Sight Words the fun way - Vibrant graphics, cool sound effects - Better than flash cards. Practice Sight Words anywhere!

App Privacy

The developer, Sierra Vista Software , indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer's privacy policy .

Data Not Collected

The developer does not collect any data from this app.

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Information

• App Support
• Privacy Policy

Family Sharing

Up to six family members can use this app with family sharing enabled., more by this developer.

Sight Words Sentence Builder

Sight Words: Dolch Coach

Spell and Play Your Way

You Might Also Like

Jungle Code - Coding for kids

Speech Tutor Pro

Princess Math: Games for Girls

Madam Word Reading & Spelling

Math Clock, by MLC

• Grades 6-12
• School Leaders

NEW: Classroom Clean-Up/Set-Up Email Course! 🧽

16 Super Fun Spelling Games and Easy Ways To Get Ready for the Spelling Bee

Get your kids ready to “Rule the Word!”

What is it about the power of words? We sure seem to love them. Don’t believe me? Consider this: In January of 2022, almost 2 million people were signing in to play Wordle every day . Not only do we love playing with words ourselves, we also love watching others do the same. In fact, in 2015, there were more people tweeting about the Scripps National Spelling Bee than tweeting about Game of Thrones or The Bachelorette !

Our students love words and spelling as much as we do, maybe even more. With that in mind, we’ve compiled some of our favorite spelling games and a bunch of great tips for holding a spelling bee in your school this year. Enjoy!

1. Make them jump for joy with this active spelling game.

Print out and laminate colored paper with one letter of the alphabet on its own page. Choose all the letters that show up in your weekly spelling words, the vocabulary words in your current lesson, or any other words your class is currently learning. Spread them out in a circle with room for one person in the middle. Then, have students take turns standing in the center of the letters. Give them a word and see if they can jump on the letters needed to spell it correctly. Your students will love trying to land on the right ones.

2. Enroll your school in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Even if you’re only thinking about holding a small bee in your classroom, the Scripps National Spelling Bee has tons of great resources ready to help you out. Already know you want your entire school to participate? Awesome! The Scripps National Spelling Bee website makes it super easy to enroll. Just follow the instructions on the Enroll Today page. It walks you through everything needed to get started. They’ve even made an awesome step-by-step video  to help you out.

3. Keep it simple but fun with easy spelling games.

I love an engaging, whole-class spelling game as much as the next teacher, but sometimes it’s the simple, familiar ones that give the biggest bang for their buck. Crossword puzzles, word searches, and games like Hangman (or Snowman , if you want to try a more positive version) are perfect activities for early finishers or students who want a fun way to play with words and spelling. Check out how you can even use Wordle for a quick and easy spelling game .

4. Use the resources from the Scripps National Spelling Bee to get started.

Once registered, you’ll gain access to all of the resources available to help students  prepare for the bee . The site does an amazing job of walking Bee Coordinators (the staff member who is going to coordinate the bee) through the planning process. There are videos and PDF files to help you choose whether your bee will be classroom-only or school-wide. Similarly, there are instructions for whether you will hold your bee in-person or, if need be, virtually. Additionally, teachers gain access to all of the materials Scripps provides to support literacy instruction regardless of whether or not a class participates in a bee. You will get word lists, competition lists, step-by-step instructions on how to hold small bees in your own classroom or school-wide bees, and more.

5. Start building excitement with your students.

This is the fun part. While the competition itself will speak to some of our students, there are plenty of ways to get all your students excited about your upcoming spelling bee. For some, nothing is more exciting than the prospect of prizes. If you have some students who would flip for a baseball cap or other prize, check out the  Scripps National Spelling Bee Shop  and choose a few items to use as rewards for winners and participants.

Help your students start looking forward to this spelling adventure by showing them some of the excitement of previous Scripps National Spelling Bees. Even the most reluctant speller will have a hard time keeping a straight face  while watching a young contestant learn that the word he has to spell is “sardoodledom.”  As you pass out the word lists, have students share the ones they feel are the weirdest, funniest, or maybe even the most difficult.

Or inspire them with an afternoon (or rainy-day recess) showing of Akeelah and the Bee , an excellent film about an 11-year-old girl from South Los Angeles with a talent for spelling. Your students will cheer on Akeelah as she fights the odds to make it to the Scripps National Spelling Bee while perhaps becoming inspired to work toward that same goal themselves.

6. Let your students whack-a-word with an easy-to-make spelling game.

You can use pool noodles from your local dollar store for so many things. First grade teacher Autumn Morrison figured out how to use them for a really cute spelling game . With just a pair of scissors, a pool noodle, and some pencils, you can create a set of safe, soft mallets your students can use to whack the letters they’ll need to spell your current spelling words, vocabulary words, sight words, etc. I don’t know any student who wouldn’t love this idea!

7. Make it a family activity.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee has teachers’ backs with easy-to-read information and even email templates to send home to parents. Make sure you reach out to your students’ parents to let them know what’s going on and how they can get involved. Helping their child study is one of the most obvious methods of participation, but they may also want to volunteer to be an official during your competition or help plan the school-wide spelling bee.

8. Add some vocabulary-rich books to your classroom library.

One of the greatest aspects of the Scripps National Spelling Bee organization is its commitment to more than just spelling bees. It wants students to “Rule the Word” by building their vocabulary and reading comprehension skills. Each year, the Bee publishes the School Spelling Bee Study List , a list of 450 words to help students prepare for school-level spelling bees. These words come from a list of books carefully selected by the Bee for their engaging and age-appropriate content as well as their rich vocabulary. The Great Words, Great Works list  is available to all teachers and is broken down by grade level and/or by reading level.

9. Turn Silent Ball into Spelling Ball.

Students love Silent Ball . This game is easy to set up and gives your class the chance to take a break and have some fun while learning. It’s a surefire way to boost their energy and mood. Tap into the Silent Ball phenomenon while also reviewing your spelling words just by asking students to spell one of the words they’re studying in class one letter at a time as they pass the ball around. In this version, students are “out” not when they talk or drop the ball, but when they misspell the word. The game can be easily modified to provide more support by writing the letters on the board as students say them or letting students have a copy of the words on their desk.

10. Download the Word Club app so your students can practice on their devices.

Another free resource provided by the Scripps National Spelling Bee is an app called  Word Club  for mobile devices and tablets. This year, the app is completely free, allowing students to learn all the words on the 2023 School Spelling Bee Study List and 2023 Words of Champions , the regional study list. The game-play style will keep students motivated and is adaptable to different study and quiz styles for both spelling and vocabulary.

11. Make spelling a whole-class activity with Spelling Word Bingo.

By making your classroom or school spelling bee an important event, you’re sending the message that spelling is a useful and worthwhile skill. As students and their families start to get excited, it will become even easier to make spelling instruction an important and valued part of daily instruction. Whether it’s something relatively simple like a memory game of matching words to definitions, or a fun whole-class activity like  spelling word bingo , your students will look forward to the time they spend studying words. As a teacher, you can remain up-to-date with the latest in spelling bee news and instruction by signing up for The Beehive , a biweekly newsletter crafted especially for teachers by the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

12. Hold some practice bees.

There are  several different formats  you can use to hold your classroom or school-wide spelling bee. Because of this, it’s a good idea to give your students a chance to see what the format will look like. This is also a great time to go over the rules your students will be expected to follow. For example, according to the Scripps National Spelling Bee rules, a student can’t start to spell a word, realize they made a mistake, and go back and fix it. It will take practice for your students to learn to slow down and really think before starting to spell. By practicing first, students will be ready to go when the big day arrives.

13. Involve the entire community.

There’s something about spelling bees that invokes a feeling of nostalgia and pride in many community members. Maybe they remember their own spelling bee experience. Perhaps they like hearing that schools are still participating in activities that have been part of the educational landscape  since 1925 . Whatever the reason, spelling bees provide an excellent opportunity for community outreach. Ask local businesses to sponsor prizes for bee participants and winners. See if community members are willing to help with the setup and running of the bee. By making your school spelling bee a community event, you’re showing students that their hard work matters.

14. Reinvent classic games with a spelling twist.

It’s awesome how many teachers have found ways to make classic board games into fun ways to practice important skills like spelling. Mrs. T’s First Grade Class came up with a great way to turn Battleship into a spelling review game your students will beg you to play. Instead of guessing coordinates to find out if they hit or miss, in this version, your students will discover if they landed on a letter or not. You could even send coordinate grids home so students can play and review with their families.

15. Encourage your students to cheer for their classmates.

The vibe surrounding your bee is going to be largely dependent on you and your school. If you make it a big deal, your students will respond accordingly. Encourage students to cheer for their participating peers. Discuss good sportsmanship with students who are participating and with students who are cheering for their friends. A school-wide spelling bee is a great opportunity to discuss and model appropriate ways to support people during competition. It’s also an opportunity to model how to support peers when they lose. These skills aren’t only useful during the bee, they’re lifelong empathy-building skills that will serve them well forever.

16. Celebrate all your students for becoming better spellers.

All of our students deserve acknowledgment for striving to become better spellers. The Scripps National Spelling Bee even provides a wide assortment of certificates for participants to feel recognized and celebrated. Categories like “Most Improved Speller,” “Best Sportsmanship Award,” “Poise Award,” “Best Peer Coach Award,” and more give opportunities to recognize all students for their efforts.

Even if a student chose not to participate in a bee or participated but was disqualified in the early rounds, they’re better off for having studied spelling words.  Studies have shown that spelling instruction improves reading ability, and in a world where young people often communicate more via texts, emails, and online messaging, improving spelling means they will be better understood later in life.

You Might Also Like

How Teachers Are Bringing the Magic of Wordle Into Their Classrooms

Plus, a free printable so your students can play offscreen. Continue Reading

Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. 5335 Gate Parkway, Jacksonville, FL 32256