Primary age students need to be able to quickly and efficiently identify sight words in order to be successful readers. Teachers and parents can make the process of memorizing sight words effective and fun by using a variety of games and activities.
What are Sight Words?
The term sight words refers to a group of words, such as the words on the Dolch or Fry word list, that most commonly occur in text. Many of these words have unique spelling patterns that are not easily decoded using basic phonics rules so students to know these words automatically or by sight. Many kindergarten and elementary teachers test students' ability to read sight words to help determine reading levels and identify any areas of need.
Highlight Sight Words in Books
During small group or shared reading time the teacher can have students use highlighting tape to identify and mark the sight words they encounter while reading. Highlighting tape is a colored, transparent tape that can be purchased at educational stores and websites. The tape is easily removed from paper pages and can be stuck to and taken off books, posters, paper, or any other type of reading materials the students come across. Teachers can make searching for and finding sight words fun for the students by calling them sight word detectives.
Sight Words on the Classroom Word Wall
As students learn new sight words the teacher should add them to the classroom word wall. The students can use the word wall as a reference when they are reading, writing, and spelling. The teacher can then use the word wall as the basis for sight word games and practice. The kids can turn off the lights and use flashlights to find and spell the sight word the teacher calls out. The students can clap and chant the words and their spellings and they can play I Spy a Sight Word.
Sight Word Match Game
Once the students have learned at least ten sight words the teacher can create a Sight Word Match Game activity for the class. She can use blank index cards or squares of oak tag as the cards for the game. The teacher writes each of the word they have learned on two of the cards and laminates them. The cards are mixed up and placed in a basket in a reading learning center. The students can lay all the cards face down on the floor and turn them over two at a time looking for matches. Once they turn over two matching cards they keep them in a pile. The game ends when all of the cards have been paired up.
Sight Word Hangman
Small or large groups of students can review sight words by playing Hangman. The teacher can write the sight words on popsicle sticks and divide the class into two teams. The first player from one of the teams chooses a stick and uses that sight word as the word his team is trying to guess. The team gets to keep the stick if they guess the word before the man is drawn on the board. The game continues with the other keep getting a chance to guess a word. The team with the most sight word sticks wins.
Sight Word Bingo
A fun game to play at the end of the day or before lunch time is Sight Word Bingo. The easiest way for teachers to create the game is to pass out blank bingo cards to the students and have them fill them in with the sight words they are studying. The teacher can then pull popsicle sticks with the sight words written on them out of a can and have the students mark them off on their sheets. The popsicle sticks and blank sheets can be placed in a reading learning center in the classroom for students to practice with during independent study time.
Being able to recall sight words with automaticity is an important reading skill. Using these games and activities to teach students to memorize their grade level sight words is more effective and fun then having students write them repeatedly or just look at flash cards.
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Megan Sheakoski - Megan Sheakoski is a teacher, mom and writer whose ideas have been featured in college text books, graduate courses, on websites and on ...
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