Is sight word practice getting a little stale in your classroom? Tired of doing the same activities over and over again? Check out these 3 fun and engaging sight word practice activities that I use in my classroom that can help you get out of your rut!
For a while, whenever I wanted my students to practice sight words and high-frequency words, I would copy a huge stack of worksheets, pass them out, and let them complete them. I would then check for understanding and adjust for the next practice session.
Don’t get me wrong, it got the job done, but it became pretty monotonous. Copy worksheets, pass out, complete, grade, repeat. For my sanity (and my students’), I knew I needed to switch up our sight word practice. So, I set out to create engaging and hands-on activities. Here are my 3 favorites that I use regularly in my classroom to make sight word practice from run-of-the-mill to exciting and engaging!
Make a Square Sight Word Practice
Make a Square Sight Word Practice pages deviate from individual worksheet completion and instead has students practicing sight words and high frequency words by playing a game. I don’t know if you have noticed, but games increase the engagement level by at least 10x. Students love the idea of being able to play a game, and this one has them not only practicing sight words but also learning important skills such as taking turns! I use these Make a Square sight word activities for:
These activities are simple to use, too! I give each group a game board that consists of dots and sight words we have been practicing. Each student takes a turn drawing one line at a time to connect two dots that are side by side (either vertically or horizontally). The object of the game is to be the one who completes the square around a sight word. The student who completes the square around the sight word has to identify the sight word. If they identify it correctly, they get to color in the box. At the end of the game, the player with the most squares colored in wins!
There is a fun twist that keeps both students engaged for the whole game. If a student completes a square but does not identify the word correctly, their partner can “steal” the square by identifying the word correctly. This helps each student stay focused on the board, even if one of them thinks they won’t be able to complete more squares than their partner.
Dough Sight Words
No, that isn’t a typo for Dolch sight words! We love using play-DOUGH in our classroom to help learn sight words! Playdough has always been such a hit with my students, so I knew that I needed to use it for sight word practice if I wanted to keep them engaged.
My Primer Dough Sight Words mats have a sight word listed at the top. Students roll out play dough to create the shape of each letter of the targeted sight word or high frequency word. This is a great way to get students creating and using their hands while also providing exposure and practice for sight words. These mats also come in a Pre-Primer version!
If you want to learn more about my play dough sight word mats, check out this blog post!
Building Bricks Sight Word Practice
Another favorite for myself and my students is to practice sight words with brick building activities! These word mats are the perfect combination of hands-on engagement and sight word practice, making them highly effective.
Each mat includes a high-frequency word or sight word to practice. Students must first build the word using building bricks such as Legos. Students can follow the brick guide used on the mat, or challenge them to see if they can build the words using more or fewer bricks than what is pictured.
For an extra challenge, have them build the word on a large brick plate or the floor instead of on the mat. They use the template at the top of the mat as a guide.
Honestly, I have never seen my students so entranced with sight word work until I added this building component. They are hyper-focused as they find the blocks, build the correct shapes, identify each letter, and complete the whole word.
If you are struggling to find a way to reach your kinesthetic and logical learners when it comes to sight word practice, this activity is the way to go!
More Than Just Building
The best part is that using these brick building sight word practice mats doesn’t just end with the building of the word. Students then complete 3 follow-up activities to help them commit the word to memory. They will:
- Find and circle the sight word
- Trace and write the word
- Rainbow write & box write the word
Using this combination of activities helps me target different learning types and keeps all of my students engaged in the task. It’s way more fun than a typical worksheet, but low-prep and practical to use in your classroom. If your students are anything like mine, they will be begging for you to bring this activity out for literacy time or centers!
Grab My Favorite Sight Word Practice Activity for Your Classroom!
I’ve added my favorite sight word practice: Building Bricks Sight Word Practice to my Teachers Pay Teachers store so that you can use them in your classroom too! You can choose from the Pre-Primer Sight Words set OR Primer Sight Words set to combat the monotony of regular sight word practice and help your students stay engaged.
Looking for More?
Make sure to check out 6 Ways to Make Worksheets More Engaging if you’re looking for more creative ways to make learning fun in your classroom!
Save These Fun Sight Word Practice Activities for Later
Save these fun, interactive sight word practice activities to your favorite classroom Pinterest board so you can quickly and easily find them later!
