Let’s talk SIGHT WORDS. Words you recognize by sight, a.k.a, little turds. Just being honest and I know I’m not alone. (I see you nodding your head!) Are you constantly looking for Sight Words Activities to use in small groups, independent centers, or as a review? 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.
As an added bonus… we have also included some really fun sight word activities that don’t require worksheets. WHAT?! Say it isn’t so!
Activity 1- Sight Word Booklets (with passages)
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.
2- Fluency 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.
3- 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!
4- Poppin’ Sight Words
4- “Poppin’ bubbles….poppin’ poppin’ bubbles. Gotta get these fishes out of trouble.” Where are my GoNoodle teachers at? Do you recognize that song? You’ll be singing it as your students have fun “dabbing” their sight words. Grab some bingo daubers, colored counting chips (to make them reusable), or highlighters and get to work! We also have this sight word activity in DIGITAL format!
Activity 5- Sight Word Printables
This resource includes NO PREP printables for the first 300 words on 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
6- Paint & Practice
Got Q-Tips? I don’t know about you but I either have WAY TOO MANY or ZERO. If you have an excess of Q-Tips laying around, go grab this resource now. Students paint their sight words (the first 300 Fry words are in this bundle!!) using the Q-Tips and good ole tempera paint. There are 4 other activities as well; tracing, letterboxes, rote practice, and letter formation.
7- 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.
8- Digital Sight Word Sign Language
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.
Activity 9- Sentence Coding Mats
Do you students talk about coding? Apps like Kodable, Scratch Jr., and CodeSpark all introduce kids to the 21st-century skill that is CODING. Why not take their love of coding and put it into sight word practice? Our Sentence Coding Mats introduce students to the idea of coding while practicing their sight words.
10- BUNDLE (EVERYTHING listed above)
Literally…EVERYTHING listed in #1-9 in a wonderful little bundle. Done. YOU NEED THIS.
11- Sight Word Swat
Who doesn’t love hitting things really forcefully? Especially flies. I know they serve a purpose but they’re just plain irritating. This is why I am OBSESSED with this activity. Students read the sight words printed on the flies and “swat” them as they read them. After they’ve swatted their words, they write them on their recording sheet. Go see what all the “buzz” is about and click the link!
12- Monster Munch
12- Monster MunchWith 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. 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! I know a 5-year-old who will flip for this activity!
Activity 13- Sight Word Construction
My son, the builder, absolutely LOVES anything that involves building or constructing. This activity would be right up his alley! Grab some popsicle/craft sticks and write sight words on them. You could 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 keep it to use for construction. If not, read it correctly together and it goes back in the “building” pile. Once they’ve earned a few sticks, they can begin building with the sticks and Play-Doh or clay. Think of all the neat structures they could create? They have fun while practicing sight words! That’s a win-win!
14- “Magic Words”
14- “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 have them watercolor paint over the words to make them “appear”!
15- Fishin’ for Sight Words
I love to fish. and I love educational games that incorporate fishing. This sight word activity has students “fishin’” for their sight words. (Fry 1-36) It is o-fish-ally adorable!
16- Paint a Word
This isn’t as messy as it sounds. I promise! 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.
Activity 17- Digital 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.
18- Hide & Seek 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!
19- 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.
There are so many creative sight word activities. These are just a few of my favorite 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 – Heather Wagoner
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