Sight Word Activities
| dolch_basic_sight_word_vocabulary_list.doc |
| bingo.doc |
WHAT ARE SIGHT WORDS?
Technically speaking, sight words are words that do not follow the general rules of phonics and therefore cannot be "sounded out" because of their irregular spelling. They must be learned and remembered by sight and so they are referred to as "sight words".
However, the term "sight word" is often used interchangeably with the term "high frequency word". A high frequency word is a word that is encountered frequently in most text. High frequency words do not necessarily have an irregular spelling. For example, the words "the" and "jump" are both high frequency words, though "the" has an irregular spelling and "jump" can be sounded out phonetically.
The reason high frequency words are often referred to as "sight words" is because learning to recognize these words by sight improves reading fluency and comprehension skills. A reader with well developed sight word recognition skills, who can read text without having to sound out many of the words, will become a better reader and will find reading more enjoyable and rewarding.
WHAT SIGHT WORDS SHOULD MY CHILD LEARN?
Teachers often send home weekly lists of words for their students to practice at home. These are words that the students are reading and writing in their English Language Arts program. Practicing these words at school and at home builds sight recognition, which helps a student to become more confident and experience more success in reading and writing. Click here for lists of HIGH FREQUENCY/SIGHT WORDS used at West Elementary School in kindergarten and grade one.
There is also a list of high frequency words called the DOLCH BASIC SIGHT WORD VOCABULARY LIST, which is a list of the 220 words most frequently encountered in text. Click to view or print the list. Reading programs often select or develop text that includes these words.
HOW CAN I HELP MY CHILD LEARN SIGHT WORDS?
Children learn sight words by frequently seeing the words in print. Some sight words are easy to learn while others are harder to learn and may require additional practice. Providing opportunities for your child to see and read sight words can be as simple as pointing out a word on a cereal box or as enjoyable as playing a game of Sight Word BINGO together.
Using flashcards provides a multisensory way for children to learn and practice sight words. Flashcards allow them to "touch the word" as they see it and hear it. Writing words on flashcards then reviewing them regularly is an excellent way for your child to learn sight words. For younger children you may want to write the words for them as it is difficult for some young children to read their own writing, especially if the letter formation is not uniform. Keep the flashards even after your child has learned them so your child can periodically review the words. This will show them the progress they've made and will build their confidence as they see the words that may have been difficult to learn at first are now are easy for them to read.
Flashcards TO GO can be made and brought along on car trips in a handy container. Putting flashcards on a ring will keep them all together. Reviewing words while riding in a car can provide a quick effective way to practice words.
Storing flashcards in container will keep them handy and ready to use as your child accumulates words. My favorite way to keep flashcards is to make them small enough to fit in an Altoid container. Put a strip of magnetic tape on the bottom and decorate the top and the container will stick to the refridgerator door. It's so handy! Another fun way to store flashcards is to create a Box O'Words by decorating a box as fancy, or as serious, as you want. The novelty of having a special box will make it more fun for you child when adding or practicing words.
TOP TEN SIGHT WORD ACTIVITIES
BINGO
Use a deck of sight word flashcards and a blank BINGO game card (One BINGO game card for each player). Write the sight words in the spaces on the BINGO game. Make sure each BINGO card has all of the sight words, but in different spaces. Each time a card is drawn, cover the word in the BINGO game. A player has BINGO when a line of words are covered. For beginners and younger children use a BINGO game card with fewer spaces. Click here to print out a blank BINGO game card.
Jump on the It!
Write sight words on flashcards and make a second set of the same words. Scatter one set of words face up on the floor, leaving about a foot between each card. Place the other set in a stack, face down. Have your child turn over each flashcard, read the word, then jump on the corresponding sight word card on the floor.
Which One is Missing?
(A.K.A. Hide the Word)
Lay 3-5 flashcards face up on a flat surface. Say, "EYES OPEN" Read the words together with your child. Say, "EYES CLOSED" and have your child close his/her eyes while you take one word away. say, "EYES OPEN" and have them open their eyes and say which word is missing. Take turns so that your child gets to give you the commands and hide the words. Can YOU figure out which one is missing?
Rainbow Letters
Use art materials such as bubble paint, glitter glue, gel pen on black paper, or glow-in-the-dark ink to create fun effects. Write the words on paper or flashcards to add a little creativity and flair when practicing sight words!
Silly Sentences
Put flashcards in a can. Take turns picking out flashcards and making up silly sentences using the words. Start by picking one word, then two, then 3, and increase the number of words with each turn. The sillier, the better! Gone Fishing
Make a fishing rod by securing a small magnet to a piece of string, attached to a rod. Cut flashcards into fish shapes (optional). Put a paper clip on each flashcard and use the rod to "catch the fish" thenread the word on each fish as you take it off the magnet.
Wand Writing
Use a wand to write sight words in the air. "Air writing" can be done almost anywhere and is a great way to involve upperbody movements in learning and practicing sight words. You can make a fancy wand by using a rod with a cardboard star at the end, decorated with glitter and some curly ribbon. Sticks in a Can
Write sight words on wooden craft sticks or popsicle sticks. Put the sticks in a can so that the words are towards the bottom. Pull the sticks out of the can and read the word. This game can be played in different ways. One way is to designate one stick to be the winning stick, and continue to take turns pulling out sticks and reading them until someone draws the "winning stick". The stick can be labeled "WINNER" or "YOU WIN" (Some people call this game "moose" and write "moose" on the stick). The game can also be played with extra sticks in the can that say "Free Stick", "Pick Again" or "Extra Turn" The game is played until all of the sticks are drawn and the player with the most sticks wins.
BANG!!!
Write sight words on flashcards and also write "BANG" and "JACKPOT" on a few flashcards. Put all of the cards in a pile and take turns drawing cards and reading the words. Whoever draws a BANG card must give each player a card (some people play that you must surrender all of your cards to the bottom of the deck if you get a BANG card). Whoever draws a JACKPOT card receives a card from each player. When the pile is gone, the player with the most cards wins.
Memory
Write each sight word on two flashcards to make a pair. Lay the flashcards face down and take turns turning over two cards at a time and reading the words. When a pair is revealed it is taken off the playing area. If the words do not match, the cards must be returned to their origingal spot. Start with fewer word pairs and increase as your child's visual memory skills improve.
Technically speaking, sight words are words that do not follow the general rules of phonics and therefore cannot be "sounded out" because of their irregular spelling. They must be learned and remembered by sight and so they are referred to as "sight words".
However, the term "sight word" is often used interchangeably with the term "high frequency word". A high frequency word is a word that is encountered frequently in most text. High frequency words do not necessarily have an irregular spelling. For example, the words "the" and "jump" are both high frequency words, though "the" has an irregular spelling and "jump" can be sounded out phonetically.
The reason high frequency words are often referred to as "sight words" is because learning to recognize these words by sight improves reading fluency and comprehension skills. A reader with well developed sight word recognition skills, who can read text without having to sound out many of the words, will become a better reader and will find reading more enjoyable and rewarding.
WHAT SIGHT WORDS SHOULD MY CHILD LEARN?
Teachers often send home weekly lists of words for their students to practice at home. These are words that the students are reading and writing in their English Language Arts program. Practicing these words at school and at home builds sight recognition, which helps a student to become more confident and experience more success in reading and writing. Click here for lists of HIGH FREQUENCY/SIGHT WORDS used at West Elementary School in kindergarten and grade one.
There is also a list of high frequency words called the DOLCH BASIC SIGHT WORD VOCABULARY LIST, which is a list of the 220 words most frequently encountered in text. Click to view or print the list. Reading programs often select or develop text that includes these words.
HOW CAN I HELP MY CHILD LEARN SIGHT WORDS?
Children learn sight words by frequently seeing the words in print. Some sight words are easy to learn while others are harder to learn and may require additional practice. Providing opportunities for your child to see and read sight words can be as simple as pointing out a word on a cereal box or as enjoyable as playing a game of Sight Word BINGO together.
Using flashcards provides a multisensory way for children to learn and practice sight words. Flashcards allow them to "touch the word" as they see it and hear it. Writing words on flashcards then reviewing them regularly is an excellent way for your child to learn sight words. For younger children you may want to write the words for them as it is difficult for some young children to read their own writing, especially if the letter formation is not uniform. Keep the flashards even after your child has learned them so your child can periodically review the words. This will show them the progress they've made and will build their confidence as they see the words that may have been difficult to learn at first are now are easy for them to read.
Flashcards TO GO can be made and brought along on car trips in a handy container. Putting flashcards on a ring will keep them all together. Reviewing words while riding in a car can provide a quick effective way to practice words.
Storing flashcards in container will keep them handy and ready to use as your child accumulates words. My favorite way to keep flashcards is to make them small enough to fit in an Altoid container. Put a strip of magnetic tape on the bottom and decorate the top and the container will stick to the refridgerator door. It's so handy! Another fun way to store flashcards is to create a Box O'Words by decorating a box as fancy, or as serious, as you want. The novelty of having a special box will make it more fun for you child when adding or practicing words.
TOP TEN SIGHT WORD ACTIVITIES
BINGO
Use a deck of sight word flashcards and a blank BINGO game card (One BINGO game card for each player). Write the sight words in the spaces on the BINGO game. Make sure each BINGO card has all of the sight words, but in different spaces. Each time a card is drawn, cover the word in the BINGO game. A player has BINGO when a line of words are covered. For beginners and younger children use a BINGO game card with fewer spaces. Click here to print out a blank BINGO game card.
Jump on the It!
Write sight words on flashcards and make a second set of the same words. Scatter one set of words face up on the floor, leaving about a foot between each card. Place the other set in a stack, face down. Have your child turn over each flashcard, read the word, then jump on the corresponding sight word card on the floor.
Which One is Missing?
(A.K.A. Hide the Word)
Lay 3-5 flashcards face up on a flat surface. Say, "EYES OPEN" Read the words together with your child. Say, "EYES CLOSED" and have your child close his/her eyes while you take one word away. say, "EYES OPEN" and have them open their eyes and say which word is missing. Take turns so that your child gets to give you the commands and hide the words. Can YOU figure out which one is missing?
Rainbow Letters
Use art materials such as bubble paint, glitter glue, gel pen on black paper, or glow-in-the-dark ink to create fun effects. Write the words on paper or flashcards to add a little creativity and flair when practicing sight words!
Silly Sentences
Put flashcards in a can. Take turns picking out flashcards and making up silly sentences using the words. Start by picking one word, then two, then 3, and increase the number of words with each turn. The sillier, the better! Gone Fishing
Make a fishing rod by securing a small magnet to a piece of string, attached to a rod. Cut flashcards into fish shapes (optional). Put a paper clip on each flashcard and use the rod to "catch the fish" thenread the word on each fish as you take it off the magnet.
Wand Writing
Use a wand to write sight words in the air. "Air writing" can be done almost anywhere and is a great way to involve upperbody movements in learning and practicing sight words. You can make a fancy wand by using a rod with a cardboard star at the end, decorated with glitter and some curly ribbon. Sticks in a Can
Write sight words on wooden craft sticks or popsicle sticks. Put the sticks in a can so that the words are towards the bottom. Pull the sticks out of the can and read the word. This game can be played in different ways. One way is to designate one stick to be the winning stick, and continue to take turns pulling out sticks and reading them until someone draws the "winning stick". The stick can be labeled "WINNER" or "YOU WIN" (Some people call this game "moose" and write "moose" on the stick). The game can also be played with extra sticks in the can that say "Free Stick", "Pick Again" or "Extra Turn" The game is played until all of the sticks are drawn and the player with the most sticks wins.
BANG!!!
Write sight words on flashcards and also write "BANG" and "JACKPOT" on a few flashcards. Put all of the cards in a pile and take turns drawing cards and reading the words. Whoever draws a BANG card must give each player a card (some people play that you must surrender all of your cards to the bottom of the deck if you get a BANG card). Whoever draws a JACKPOT card receives a card from each player. When the pile is gone, the player with the most cards wins.
Memory
Write each sight word on two flashcards to make a pair. Lay the flashcards face down and take turns turning over two cards at a time and reading the words. When a pair is revealed it is taken off the playing area. If the words do not match, the cards must be returned to their origingal spot. Start with fewer word pairs and increase as your child's visual memory skills improve.
