Sight Word Activities

Why are sight words (also known as high-frequency words) so important? They are words that don't follow typical phonics patterns and can't be 'sounded out'. Sight words are words that we must know from memory. If your child has a large sight word 'bank', their overall reading fluency will improve, which in turn will improve comprehension. There are many different ways to learn sight words, here are some ideas!

• Fridge Flash: Tape sight words to the refrigerator, have your child read them when they are in the kitchen.
• Stamp Them: Use alphabet stamps to stamp out sight words, then read them.
• Magnetic Letters: Use magnetic letters to spell sight words on the refrigerator or any magnetic surface, then read them.
• Popsicle Words: Write sight words on popsicle sticks. Pull sticks out of a can, see how many you can read.
• Finger Paint: Pour some finger paint in a large ziploc baggie. Use your finger (or have your child use theirs) to write the sight word and have your child read it.
• Snowball Fight: Crumple sight word cards into a ball. Have a snowball fight! Pick up snowballs and see how many you can read!
• Chalk Words: Write sight words with chalk on the driveway or sidewalk. Have your student hop from word to word, reading them aloud.
• Word Swat: Put sight words on a table, call out a word and have your student swat it with a fly swatter or slap it with their hand.
• Beach Ball Words: Write words on beach ball. Toss it to your child. Have them read the word that is under their right hand. Toss it back and forth.
• Sock Game: Put word cards down on the floor. Have your child stand in their socks. Call out the word and see how quickly they can step on it!
• Card Games: Copy or write two sets of word cards. Play a card game like Go Fish or Memory.
• Some common materials that children love to use to create sight words are: Wikistix, yarn, playdough, watercolor paints, pipe cleaners, shaving cream, sand in a box.