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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