sight word homework ideas

• Grades 6-12
• School Leaders

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55 Fun Sight Word Activities That Work

It’s a myth that blindly memorizing every letter in a sight word is the only way to learn it.

Teachers are always on the hunt for great sight word activities. Sight words are any words readers recognize automatically “by sight”—for fluent readers, that’s almost all words! High-frequency words, the most commonly occurring words in written English, like those on the Dolch list , are often thought of as the most crucial sight words.

It’s a myth that blindly memorizing every letter in a sight word is the only way to learn it. The science of reading tells us that linking sounds and letters is the most effective way for kids’ brains to learn any word. Many common words are easy to tackle using beginning phonics skills (like “at,” “can,” “him,” etc.), so staying true to a strong phonics curriculum is one way to support kids’ sight word learning. Even irregularly spelled words have decodable parts, e.g., kids can use the sounds of “s” and “d” to help with “said,” even if the “ai” is unexpected. Experts often call these words “heart words” to call out for kids that they should learn the unexpected word parts “by heart.” (If all this is unfamiliar to you, it can feel overwhelming, but you’ve got this! Check out teaching guru Jillian Starr’s explanation for more help.)

Read: What Are Sight Words?

Check out these low-prep and engaging sight word activities for both teaching and practicing words.

Sight Word Activities for Introducing Words

These activities are great when you are introducing new words or when students need a reminder of the letters and patterns that make up each word.

1. Map it and drive it

@droppinknowledgewithheidi/LEGO sight word activity via Instagram

This is a genius way to introduce words with appealing materials: Say the word, represent each sound with a LEGO brick, write letters for each sound, and “drive” to read it.

Learn more: @droppinknowledgewithheidi

2. Smush play dough for each sound

@playdough2plato/Sound mapping activity via Instagram

Set up a routine that works for any word. Play dough squishing for each sound is the ultimate multi-sensory component.

Learn more: @playdough2plato

3. Map words with a magnet wand

@warriorsforliteracy/Heart word activity via Instagram

It is so super-satisfying to drag those magnetic dots around! Watch the video below for lots of tips on introducing a word using this process.

Learn more: @warriorsforliteracy

4. Make a mini book

@hughesheartforfirst/Sight word activity via Instagram

Create a mini-book they can take home with them to read on their own.

Learn more: @hughesheartforfirst

5. Tap it, pop it, learn it!

@hellojenjones/Pop-It sight word activity via Instagram

Hardwire those words in kids’ brains with this comprehensive word intro routine. (You had us with the Pop-Its !)

Source: @hellojenjones

Sight Word Activities for Practicing Words

Once students have learned a word, it’s all about practice, practice, practice! These activities will help students learn words by “heart.”

6. Find and swat words

@kids_play_laugh_learn/Sight word activity via Instagram

An oldie but such a goodie. Find a word in an array and whack! Swat it with a fly swatter!

Learn more: @kids_play_learn_laugh

7. Flip word pancakes

Playdough to Plato/Sight word pancakes via playdoughtoplato.com

Serve up sight word pancakes while practicing spelling them aloud.

Learn more: Playdough to Plato

8. Wear heart word bracelets

@teachingmore/Sight word bracelets via Instagram

Make kids feel like sight word VIPs and keep sight word review on hand.

Learn more: @teachingmoore

9. Search for sight word balls

@preschoolforyou/Sight word ball activity via Instagram

Write sight words on ball pit balls with a chalk marker or dry-erase marker. Kids can race around hunting for balls to read and toss in a basket, or hunt through a big tub of balls for a certain word.

Learn more: @preschoolforyou

10. Start a sight word band

@earlyyears_withmrsg/Sight word band via Instagram

Loud but oh-so fun! Feel the rhythm while tapping and reading sight words stuck to homemade percussion instruments.

Learn more: @earlyyears_withmrsg

11. Drive on a sight word path

@travisntyler/sight word car activity via Instagram

This is one of many fun ways to use magnetic tiles for learning! Kids love “knocking down” word tiles with a toy car as they read each one.

Learn more: @travisntyler

12. Use sticky notes to inspire sight word sentences

@kinneypodlearning/sticky note sentence activity via Instagram

Have kids stick words on items that give them ideas for sentences. “My Mom said to wear a helmet!” = so good!

Learn more: @kinneypodlearning

13. Write words on a sensory bag

@make.it.multisensory/Gel bag activity via Instagram

So easy: Fill a zip-top bag with a small amount of kid-safe paint, seal well, and have kids practice “writing” sight words with their finger or a cotton swab.

Learn more: @makeitmultisensory

14. Wear a sight word crown

@mrsjonescreationstation/Sight word hats via Instagram

Wear your word proudly and practice reading others’ words. Fun in person or virtually.

Learn more: @mrsjonescreationstation

15. Play a magnetic-tile board game

@twotolove_bairantwins/Sight word racetrack via Instagram

We love new ideas for ways to use magnetic tiles for sight word activities. Easy to set up and fun to play.

Learn more: @twotolove_bairantwins

16. Spell words to a familiar tune

@builditbre/Sight word song via Instagram

Get sight words stuck in everyone’s head, in a good way. We’d add a line for chanting the sounds in the word!

Learn more: @builditbre

17. Feed a word monster

@ecplayandlearn/Sight word monster via Instagram

Nom, nom, nom.

Learn more: @ecplayandlearn

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18. Search for the pom-pom under sight word cups

@la.la.learning/Sight word cup game via Instagram

Read all the words as you try to find the cup that hides the prize.

Learn more: @la.la.learning

19. Play sight word Kaboom!

@essentiallykinder/Sight word game via Instagram

This classroom classic is perfect for sight words. If you need a refresher on the rules, Jillian Starr covers them.

Learn more: @essentiallykinder

20. Roll and write words

@mylittlepandamonium/Sight word dice roll game via Instagram

Roll, write, repeat.

Learn more: @mylittlepandamonium

21. Write words with rainbow colors

@mylittlepandamonium/Sight word rainbow writing via Instagram

Bonus points for aromatic markers.

22. Trace words with flashlights

@giggleswithgerg/Sight word flashlight writing via Instagram

Stock up on batteries because kids never get tired of this!

Learn more: @giggleswithgerg

23. Find words in plastic eggs

@blooming_tots1/Sight word hunt via Instagram

Give kids a checklist of words to find as they open each egg.

Learn more: @blooming_tots1

24. Spy words around the classroom

@readingcorneronline/I Spy sight words activity via Instagram

Just add a magnifying glass and clipboard to make kids feel like supersleuths!

Learn more: @readingcorneronline

25. Find words in the morning message

@tales_of_a_kinder_classroom/Morning meeting sight words via Instagram

Don’t forget about old standbys! This is one of our favorite ways to get kids to recognize sight words in connected text.

Learn more: @tales_of_a_kinder_classroom

26. Build words with bricks

The Printable Princess/Sight words with bricks via theprintableprincess.com

Such a great use of extra building bricks!

Learn more: The Printable Princess

27. Write words in sand

@teacherhacks_/Sand writing via Instagram

Easy-peasy to set up and keep neat if you use plastic pencil boxes.

Learn more: @teacherhacks

28. Spell words on a construction site

@planningplaytime/Construction site sight words via Instagram

Bulldozing over each word to read it is the best part!

Learn more: @planningplaytime

29. Spell words with toy cars

@lozlovesprep/Car sight word activity via Instagram

Drive on over!

Learn more: @lozlovesprep

30. Park in a sight word “parking lot”

@msbendersclassroom/Parking lot sight word activity via Instagram

This one is easy to modify based on whatever toys are available in the classroom or at home.

Learn more: @msbendersclassroom

31. “Plant” words in play dough

@planningplaytime/Sight word play dough activity via Instagram

Watch those reading skills grow!

32. Build words in a sensory tub

@coffeeandspitup/Sight word tub activity via Instagram

Because spelling is just more fun when your hands are covered in beans!

Learn more: @coffeeandspitup

33. Write words on a magnetic drawing board

@moffattgirls/Sight word magnetic writing via Instagram

That eraser track makes for a perfect word card holder!

Learn more: @moffattgirls

34. Or write words on the window!

@kindergarten_matters/Word writing activity via Instagram

Everyone wants a turn to write on the window!

Learn more: @kindergarten_matters

35. Shhh! Discover words written in invisible ink

@teachstarter/Invisible ink words via Instagram

Write words in white crayon and reveal them with watercolors on top!

Learn more: @teachstarter

36. Dot-paint words with a cotton swab

@sightwordactivities/Sight word painting via Instagram

Calming and effective.

Learn more: @sightwordactivities

37. “Type” words on a keyboard

@lifebetweensummers/Sight word keyboarding via Instagram

Busy day at the sight word office! Use a keyboard cover or any old keyboard.

Learn more: @lifebetweensummers

38. Read words before heading through the door

@msrowe.kinder/Sight words on doors via Instagram

The line leader can double as the word pointer during transitions.

Learn more: @ms.rowekinder

39. Read the word the teacher’s wearing!

@libblyklinnerteaching/Sight word teacher activity via Instagram

Wait, is there something on my shirt?

Learn more: @theprimarypartner

40. Take a sight word cakewalk

@joyfulinkinder/Sight word walk via Instagram

Choose a winning word when the music stops!

Learn more: @joyfulinkinder

41. Play sight word hopscotch

@wheretheliteracygrows/Sight word hop scotch via Instagram

If you can’t get outdoors, tape on the floor works just as well.

Learn more: @wheretheliteracygrows

42. Play tic-tac-toe

Boy Mama Teacher Mama/Sight word tic-tac-toe via boymamateachermama.com

I’ll be team “look.”

Learn more: Boy Mama Teacher Mama

43. Go sight word bowling

@thecreativeteacher_/Sight word bowling via Instagram

No bowling pins? Use half-filled plastic water bottles instead.

Learn more: @thecreativeteacher_

44. Ready, aim, read

@laurens_lil_learners/Sight word target via Instagram

Just throw a beanbag at a word target if foam darts are a no-go.

Learn more: @laurens_lil_learners

45. Play muffin tin ball toss

@fun_with_lynda/Sight word muffin tin activity via Instagram

Toss a ball or pom-pom into the muffin tin and read the word. It’s easy to use colored muffin cups to prep different sets of words.

Learn more: @fun_with_lynda

46. DIY sentence flash cards

@teachertipsandtales/Sentence writing via Instagram

Authentic use of words in context for the win.

Learn more: @teachertipsandtales

47. Play sight word checkers

@sightwordactivities/Sight word checkers via Instagram

King me! If kids don’t have a partner available, they can “play” with a stuffed animal and get double practice.

48. Play sight word Guess Who?

@rebekahpoeteaching/Sight word Guess Who? game via Instagram

Set up this game once and use it forever.

Learn more: @RebekahPoeTeaching

49. Sight word jars

No Time for Flash Cards/Sight word jars via notimeforflashcards.com

Students organize a big jar of letters into words and pack them into smaller jars. Or put the letters you need for each word into a jar and students pour out the letters, then spell.

Learn more: No Time for Flash Cards

50. Sight word fishing

A Teachable Teacher/Sight word fishing via ateachableteacher.com

Put paper clips on notecards with sight words written on them, and have students go fishing.

Learn more: A Teachable Teacher

51. Sight word balloon toss

No Time for Flash Cards/Sight word toss via notimeforflashcards.com

On those hot days, take students outside and write sight words on the pavement. Fill water balloons and have kids toss them at the words they read.

52. Sight words on the menu

The Kindergarten Connection/Sight word cafe via thekindergartenconnection.com

Put sight words in the pretend-play center and have students request, and then be served, sight words.

Learn more: The Kindergarten Connection

53. Sight word dominoes

No Time for Flash Cards/Sight word dominoes via notimeforflashcards.com

Create sight word dominoes out of note cards and have students play dominoes, matching sight word with sight word.

54. Sight word caterpillar

This Reading Mama/Caterpillar sight words via thisreadingmama.com

Write letters on bottle caps and have students build sight words by adding letters to the caterpillar’s body.

Learn more: This Reading Mama

55. Sight word rubbings

The OT Toolbox/Sight word rubbings via theottoolbox.com

Create raised sight words using a glue gun. When the glue is dry, students can use the cards to color over and see sight word rubbings.

Learn more: The OT Toolbox

We’d love to hear—what are your favorite sight word activities? Share in the comments below.

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THELITERACYMAMA.COM

• Mar 27, 2023
• 10 min read

10 Engaging Activities and Games for Teaching Sight Words

Updated: May 30, 2023

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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 !

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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!

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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.

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Teacher Clip Art, Literary Resources, Classroom Ideas

18 Sight Words Strategies and Resources

Each new teaching year challenges me to find new and interactive ways to work with sight words in my classroom.

I like to keep my literacy centers fresh and engaging so that students are excited to try each new activity!

I’m sharing lots of ideas from my classroom here, and I’ve included some free samples at the end of this post.  : )

Sight Word Crowing Caterpillars

Our sight words caterpillar starts with a smiley head underneath our white board, and grows each day with a new word – usually fiver each week. Students practice while they are waiting for lessons to start, or if they have finished work early.

Interactive Word Building

We also build our weekly sight words with everything we can get our hands on.

Stencils, clay, beans, buttons – you name it! It’s excellent fine motor practice.

TIP: If students are using beans or buttons, ask them to record the word they make, and also to count how many beans or buttons it took to make it! They could also record how many of each color they use for some good counting practice.

When I first began teaching at an inner-city school, we did not have any math supplies or budget to buy them. So we made do with what we could find, and came up with some great ideas. For example, we discovered that a box of pasta could make both upper and lower case letters! Another way to practice fine motor development and printing at the same time.

Whole Class Word Study

This one is HUGE. We spend a lot of time going through our sight words lists together. If you haven’t tried finding smaller words within bigger words as a class discussion, I highly recommend it!

Many sight words can be found within other words, and doing this for a few days in a row will train students to look for “hidden” words everywhere! Best of all, it’s successful for all students, since words like “a” and “I” can be found in so many words and celebrated just as much as longer words.

Add a math component by tallying how many small words are found in two competing list.

What’s In The Writing Center?

Here are some examples of ideas we have used this past year to keep things fun and interesting:

Click on any of the pictures below to see more details.

1. Printing Sight Words

We incorporate sight words into our daily printing workbooks. This way, we can practice spelling and reading them, but also using them in a sentence and self-editing the sentence. These pages are packed with practice, and I differentiate by using a simple alphabet version with my students who are still working on letter sounds. I use yet another version for my highest learners that practices words with blends and digraphs. In this way, printing time is very well used. The tasks are rigorous and meeting the needs of every student.

2. Wearing Sight Words

Everyone loves to wear their sight words! This makes great practice at home and at school – students wear their words home and practice with parents!

3. Sight Word Sentence Building

This is a favorite for those students who just love to cut, glue and build.

4. Hunt For Sight Words

Path words is for visual discrimination as students follow and color a path for five different sight words.

5. Trace, Build and Print Sight Words

6. Sight Word Mini-Booklets

7. Slide & Read Sight Words

8. Decoding Sight Words

9. Sight Word Searches

Click below to download some free sample pages!

10. Sight Word Board Games

11. Sight Word Flash Cards & Word Wall

Many of the above sets are available in a Sight Word Bundle .

Sight Words In Simple Sentences

Another way to practice sight words is within simple sentences.

We do this in two different ways.

• We practice expanding sentences for each sight word. I laminate these cards and put them on practice rings, or make individual sets for students to flip through when they have time to practice.

2. I want students to do some writing. I copy these little booklets as printables for students to write a sentence for each word. I also send these home with parents at the first report card conference so I know students will have guided home practice.

Click HERE for more details about these practice booklets.

You will also receive a downloadable list of 18 easy sight word activities you can start using in your class right away! The whole list is located in the downloadable preview for the set above – just click the picture and then click the “preview” button on the TPT page.

Pin for later!

If you’d like to try a few of the printables seen above with your class, you can download a free board game, mini-book, and printables from the Sight Word Bundle!

Pin this freebie for later!

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Reader Interactions

November 25, 2020 at 5:20 pm

These activities are very useful. I wanted my learners to learn more especially in reading. I find your activities engaging. Thank you very much.

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15 of the BEST Sight Words Activities

• Janessa Fletcher
• December 1, 2020

I am constantly looking for Sight Words Activities to use in my small groups, independent centers, and as homework.  I use sight words in my vocabulary and word work centers.  Certain sight words are taught in small groups to help students better read their leveled readers.  And as added practice, I send those same sight words home to practice as well.  I like to use a mix of paper pencil and hands-on activities to practice sight words. ❤️

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.

And as an added bonus… we have also included some really fun sight word activities that don’t require worksheets. ?

No Prep Sight Words Printables

This resource includes no prep printables for the first 300 words on the 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

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. Then write the sight words they need to practice on small pieces of paper.  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. ?

Poppin’ Sight Words

Students have so much fun “dabbing” their sight words with bingo daubers.  Or, if you want to reuse each page, the words can be covered with colored counting chips.  We also have this sight word activity in digital format .

STEM Sight Words Construction

My son, the builder, absolutely LOVES this sight word practice activity.  Grab some popsicle/craft sticks and write sight words on them. I like to 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 get to keep the stick for construction, if not, correct them and it goes back into the “building” pile.  Once they’ve earned a few sticks, they can start using Play-doh or clay to create a building.  I love to see the neat structures they think of.  And the best part is that they are learning and having fun at the same time. In the end, they didn’t realize we were working on sight words.

Sight Words Practice Menus

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 for you! ?

“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 also have them watercolor paint over the words to make them “appear”.

Sight Words Centers

We have a variety of Sight Word Centers that can be used during your literacy block to help students practice sight words. These are hands-on activities/games that engage students in sight word identification. My students love “Fishin’ For Sight Words”. ?

Paint a Word

This activity isn’t as messy as it sounds. 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.

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.

Hide-and-Seek Sight 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!

Sign Language Practice

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. It is also available in digital format . ?

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.

Sight Word 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.

Target Practice

My oldest son thinks that this activity is the coolest! He is an avid baseball player and I have gotten on him more than once about throwing a ball in the house. Well, I finally decided to take his “lack of following the rules” and turn it into an academic positive. Grab some paper plates and write sight words on them. Tape them to a wall or door (spread out a little if you can). Then give your kiddo a softball – I prefer a hacky sack or soft stress ball. Your child/student will read aloud one of the sight words on the plates and then try and hit that plate with the ball. So much fun and keeps them entertained for awhile.

Sight Word Foldable Books

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.

There are so many creative sight word activities out there. These are just a few of my favorites, along with some 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: Janessa Fletcher

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7 Sight Word Practice Worksheets

Did you know that sight word practice can boost the confidence of a child? Imagine being an early reader who is about to read a page. When you look at the page, you soon realize that you can easily identify over half of the words on the page because they are sight words that you know. Your confidence will not only go up, but you will want to read even further!

Now imagine being an early reader who knows half of the words on the page. That means you only need to slow down your reading to focus on decoding new or challenging words. How exciting and encouraging is that?! Your brain won’t have to work so hard and your frustration will be less because of how many words (pssst… sight words) you can easily read.

That is why sight word practice is so important for early readers. Not only do sight words make up most of a reading page, but they are words that students will be exposed to daily for the rest of their lives.

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Giving students exposure and practice with sight words will help them become more fluent readers, build their confidence, become better writers, promote reading comprehension, and the list goes on.

Do you like to add sight word practice to your day? There are so many ways to have students practice sight words and I am excited to share with you some of my favorite sight word practice worksheets.

What is great about sight word worksheets is that they can be used in so many ways. You can add them to your morning work, centers, small groups, whole group instruction, early finishers, homework, and so much more!

1. Sight Word Practice Pages

I love when you can practice so many different skills that all relate to the same thing and especially when it is all on one page! That is exactly what this sight word practice worksheet has.

This sight word worksheet is packed with different activities all about the focus sight word. Students get to practice spelling, tracing, writing, rainbow writing, identifying, reading, problem solving, and building the sight word. This is all while also working on letter formation, handwriting, and fine motor skills.

You can add this activity as a sight word review after learning the word, add it to your morning work, homework, and more!

2. Sight Word Puzzles

You know how much I love a mystery! Of course, I was going to find a way to include a mystery puzzle in our sight word practice!

This sight word worksheet has students tracing and writing the sight word. Then, they cut out the puzzle pieces and build the sight word to reveal a mystery picture. This picture that they reveal is important because it will help them read the sentence.

By adding the sight word to the sentence to make it complete, students get to practice reading the sight word in context. When sight words are used in context, students often begin to understand their purpose and how sight words are used. This then leads to an increase in reading fluency and comprehension.

Exposing our students who are early readers to sight words is so important. The more exposure they have, the more those sight words will stick.

Think of how many of your students may recognize a McDonald’s sign. I am sure that they have driven past one or have eaten there many times. Because they have been exposed to the McDonald’s sign many times, they now know what it is when they see it.

I like to think of these sight word hats as the McDonald’s sign! Okay, so it may not be quite like that but I can only hope!

These sight word hats get to be worn around the class all day which gives students exposure to the sight word they are learning ALL DAY LONG. Students might not be able to see their own hat, but seeing their classmate’s hat and saying the word to themselves when they see it will give them so much practice and exposure to the sight word in just one day!

Want to try a worksheet from these 3 sight word ideas for FREE?

Now that we have gotten through the first 3 sight word practice activities, I wanted to let you try them out! You can grab a sight word practice page, a sight word puzzle, and a sight word hat for FREE below.

4. Editable Books

Do you notice how proud students are when they get their own book? Especially if it is a book or mini reader that they can read on their own or retell the story using the pictures.

These sight word books are not only packed with interactive sight word activities, but they will give your students lots of pride after they complete them!

You can add any sight word of your choice to these books because they are editable. Just type the sight word of your choice and the book will be created instantly!

When you open the book, students will get to practice tracing and writing the sight word. Then, they will search the boxes to find and color the sight word. On the next page, students get to practice writing the sight word in order of the colors of the rainbow. They also get to do some problem solving by writing the missing letter or letters of the sight word to make it complete.

When they turn to the next page, students will get to unscramble and write the sight word correctly. Then, they will sort different words by whether they are or are not the sight word. Last, it is time to practice reading the sight word in context. You can even have them find and circle the sight word in each sentence.

5. Editable Mystery Pictures

I was able to add some mystery puzzles to our sight word practice, but I also needed to add some sight word mystery pictures! I must say, I love working on mystery pictures myself. Not knowing what the mystery picture is going to be until the end is so much fun!

Have you tried some mystery pictures in your classroom? They are one of the most requested activities and my students truly can never get enough.

These sight word mystery pictures have students reading and writing the sight words. Then, they use the color code to color the sight words in the boxes the correct colors to reveal a mystery picture.

What is even better is that this activity is editable. You can pick the sight words you want to include in each mystery picture. This will allow you to be able to differentiate the activity with your students!

6. Writing on a Rainbow

I love the way these sight word printables turn out in the end. They instantly bring a smile to everyone’s face and they are just so pretty!

Students start by rainbow writing the sight word on the clouds.

Next, they begin to write the sight word on each ray of the rainbow. The first ray will have the sight word written in red. The second ray will have the sight word written in orange. The third ray is yellow and this continues in the order of the colors of the rainbow until it is complete.

Not only is the end result pretty, but students don’t even realize that they have written the sight word about 50 times!

7. Trace, Write, Rainbow Write

Having a worksheet that can be used in more than one way is always a teacher win! This sight word printable can be used in multiple ways.

You can have students trace, write, and rainbow write the sight words. You can also slide this sight word printable into a paper protector and have students practice tracing and writing the sight word with a dry erase marker . Add another fun twist by having students build the letters of the sight word with playdoh !

Adding dry erase markers and playdoh to this one sight word worksheet will get students so excited and eager to do the activity!

Save These Sight Word Practice Worksheets for Later

What are some of your favorite sight word activities that you like to do in your classroom? I would love to hear! Leave me a comment below and share with me!

Be sure to save these sight word practice activities to your favorite Pinterest board so that you can come back any time for engaging ideas that you can add to your classroom or home!

In Case You Missed These FREE Sight Word Worksheets

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Sight Word Activities

Welcome to Confessions of a Homeschooler Sight Word printables.

Click on any of the items below to download. These downloads are for your own personal use, or use in your classroom.

TIP: If the document is not opening in your browser, right click on the link and select “Save Link As”.

Pick a spot on your hard drive to save it to and click “ok”.

Sight Word Activity Bundle:

Sight Word Flash Cards & Wall Caterpillars:

Sight Word Worksheets:

Special Themed Sight Word Games:

And that’s it for now, I hope you enjoy these sight word activities in your homeschool and classrooms!

I would like to say to you, thank you. My grandson loves you work. Not many offer awesome FREE worksheets. My monthly income appreciates all you and yours have given freely. AGAIN THANK YOU!

thank you so much for the free sight word sheets they are amazing 🙂 nett

Thank you so much!

These are incredibly useful and the kids love them!

Could you make some for the phonics words from read write inc??? That would be amazing!

Thank you soooo much for all your sight word worksheets!

your website is amazing – thank you for sharing all of your hard work!

Thank you so much. I’ve been looking for this for my preschooler son.

Great material, I just discovered, and I don’t know if you still work this page, but thanks.

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