15 Fun Ideas to Teach Sight Words (Free File)

15 Sight Word Ideas for your classroom! You got it!  I have collected some ideas to share with you that are engaging! 

Embedded in Daily Instruction

1.  Sight word flash cards

Each day we quickly read through our sight words.  This is a quick, 2-minute review each day.  These cards have actions that go with them which make them fun and all the students really get into it.  By combining kinesthetic movements, the retention of these words goes way up!  Here is a link to their website (I am not reimbursed for mentioning these products… I just really like them.)

2.  Sight word search in our weekly poem

Each week we do a quick search for our sight words in our weekly poem.  This link will take you to a blog post on my Poetry 5 Day Fluency Routine.

Word Wall Activities

3.  Cheer the sight words

Having a word wall is fantastic, but unless you use it, it is just wallpaper.  Each week we take some time to cheer the words!  These are part of my Word Explorer Unit.

4.  Can you read my mind?

Also included in the Word Explorer Unit is a variety of activities that we use to practice our sight words.  One of the activities ask the students to read my mind.  The get 5 clues.  Each time I give a clue, the students write a word they think it could be.  They listen to the clues and narrow down the options.  They don’t erase their guesses but simply write another word.  It might sound something like this:

1. The word has 3 letters.
2. The word is on the top row of the word wall.
3. There is one vowel in this word.
4. There is an “a” in this word.
5. The word fits in this sentence,  “I _____ ride a bike.

This is an activity I learned years and years ago from the book Phonics They Use, by Patricia Cunningham.  This book is fantastic and I used it for the past 15 years.  I have the 3rd edition, but it is still a staple behind my thinking around phonics and word study.

Sight Words in Small Group

5.  Magnetic letters

We build it, mix it, and fix it! Over and over!  Using a cookie sheet means there is zero prep for me!

6.  Write it!

Student practice writing the words.

They write the words in isolation and also as part of a sentence.  

7.  Find the sight word in a sentence

Students also find the word in a sentence and frame it with their fingers.  This next link will tell you more about how I run my Guided Reading groups. 

Daily Routines

8.  Write the sight words in shaving cream

This is not my image, but I think we have all done this in our classroom.  This is a fun weekly activity that makes your classroom smell fresh and it cleans the desks.  I found this image HERE.  If it is yours, please let me know.

9.  Morning sight word routines

Each week we loved adding these sight words books to our book bags as part of our morning work.  Maria Gavin has a huge selection of books that you can see HERE.

We love these readers theater units from A Teeny Tiny Teacher.  These go in our early finisher bins!  Perfection!

Read more about these by clicking HERE. 

10.  Sight word bracelets

Each week I assessed my students using ESGI.   Then I used the reports to create sight word bracelets for students.

I ordered the bracelets from Amazon (affiliate link) and wrote on these with a Sharpie.  They are strong and seem to stay on the students’ wrists for several days!  I’ve tried paper ones in the past and they last about 2.2 seconds… GAH!  I usually selected 4 words I wanted them to learn that week.  Each student had a different bracelet!  Simple!

11.  Word rings

I also used ESGI to create word rings that students used as part of their nightly homework (read the ring 2 times a night for 4 nights).

Learn more about ESGI and get your two-month FREE trial by clicking HERE.

Sight word centers and stations

12.  Roll and write sight words

We start the year learning this center with letters.  We quickly transition into sight words.  Because this is an editable unit, you can enter your own sight words.  You this link to find the activity:  Just Roll With It!

13. Time Me!  Sight word fluency

Time Me! is a fun center where students focus on speed!  They love using the timer.  By having different themes, we keep this activity going all year.  You can find the editable versions of this activity by clicking:  Time! Me!

You can grab your FREE version of this activity in the link at the bottom of this blog post.

14.  Sight word games

We also love to play sight word fluency games!  Students pull a card, read it, and write it.  You can see these editable games by clicking HERE.

We also love Roll, Say, Keep!  These are great for learning the alphabet and sight words.  Because it is editable, you can add your own words.  You can see it HERE.

Interventions

15.  Help Me!  Help You!

I was overwhelmed with trying to find the right activity that I could use during my intervention time.  I created a unit that solved this problem.   Here was the issue… I had 4 students in my intervention group who needed sight word practice, but they all needed different words!  AH!!  Solution found.  This video will show you how it works. 

Here are a few of the weekly pages in action.  Remember… just having them do a worksheet is not an intervention.  So students must READ the words as they work.  

I have made a few versions.  One for 3 words per week, one for 6 longer words per week, and one for letters!  Click HERE to see that bundle.

Whew!  Long post!  I hope you found a few ideas to help you with your sight word instruction!

If you are wondering about which sight word list to use, you can read a blog post about that by clicking HERE.

FREE file

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