7 Fun Sight Word Games To Teach Your Kindergartner How To Read
The well-known saying “practice makes perfect” is true, practicing can make you better but sometimes practice can feel dull and boring especially to a child who is learning how to read and memorize a long list of sight words. Sounding out each letter and trying to remember each word is hard for a kindergartner so why not make learning sight words exciting by playing fun sight word games with them?
What Are Sight Words?
Sight words are high frequency words meaning they appear in most books more often; words such as: the, and, to, is, it, was, etc., so teaching your child to recognize these words without having to sound them out will help improve their reading fluency and build their confidence. In Kindergarten your child will be reading a lot so as a parent or caregiver the time you spend helping them master reading all of those sight words should lead to a successful reading experience. The goal is to get the child to the point of recognizing the words without having to sound them out. This of course requires lots of practice!
7 Fun Sight Word Games To Teach Your Kindergartner How To Read
Kids love to play games and seem more willing to practice if it involves doing something fun. We’ve got seven awesome sight word games your youngster is sure to love. Perfect for kindergarten or homeschool these kindergarten sight word kid’s games are easy to play and require a minimum amount of prep work for you beforehand.
1. Sight Word Treasure Hunt
Your kindergartner gets to be a pirate digging for hidden treasure when they play this game! To prepare for this simple game you need the following supplies:
- 20 gold-colored plastic coins
- permanent marker
- large plastic container or tote
- play sand
With the permanent marker write one sight word on each gold coin. Fill the plastic container with play sand and then bury each coin in the sand. After all the coins are buried, let your kindergartner use their hands to dig for treasure. Encourage your child to read the word written on each coin to you as they find them.
2. Go Fishing
Inspired by real fishing at a lake this sight word game takes indoor fishing to a new level. Gather up the following supplies to prepare for this fishing adventure:
- 18” wood dowel rod or thin stick
- 20” length of twine or yarn
- Hot glue gun
- Small round magnet
- Colorful cardstock paper
- Scissors
- Paperclips
- Markers
Tie the yarn around one end of the dowel rod and secure it with a dab of hot glue. Next hot glue the magnet to the end of the twine. Cut out fish shapes from the cardstock, write one sight word on each fish then slip a small paperclip onto each paper fish. Now that the game is ready, spread the fish around on your floor “the pond” and have your kindergartner try to catch one with their fishing rod. Since this is a catch and release game, have your child read the sight word on the fish before releasing it back into “the pond”.
3. Memory Game
This simple game will help your kindergartener improve their reading and memory skills at the same time! From cardstock cut out 24 two-inch squares. Select 12 sight words your child needs to practice and write each word twice on two paper squares for a total of 12 pairs of cards. Place the cards face down on a flat surface, mix them up, and spread them out. Each player takes turns flipping two cards face up then reading the words on the cards. If the two cards match the player gets to keep the cards and remove them from the game. The game ends when all of the cards have been matched. The winner is the player with the most pairs of cards.
4. Oh Snap! Sticks
An exciting game of chance great for a classroom or homeschool setting. Before playing, use a marker to write kindergarten sight words on one end of a set of popsicle craft sticks. On two of the popsicle sticks write “Oh Snap” then place all of the popsicle sticks with the words face down in the bottom of a small container. Players take turns picking a popsicle stick from the container and reading the sight word written on the bottom of it. If the word is read correctly the player gets to keep the stick and the next person takes a turn. If a player selects an “Oh Snap” stick then they must return all of their sticks back into the container. The first player to get five popsicle sticks wins!
5. Swat It
Don’t let these pesky sight words “bug” your child too much! To play this game all you need is a clean fly swatter and a pack of sticky notes. Write each sight word on a sticky note known as “the fly” then post them all over the room on the floor, walls, doors, and chairs. Give your child the fly swatter and have them swat each “fly” as they read the word on it out loud. Once they begin to master the current sight words add new sticky note “flies” to keep the game challenging.
6. Reading Grab Bag
This easy game is the perfect on-the-go game that your child can play anytime, anywhere. Have your child decorate and color a brown paper lunch bag. While they are coloring the bag, write kindergarten sight words on small pieces of paper and place them in the decorated bag. Encourage your child to reach into the bag and pull out one piece of paper at a time and read the word on the paper. If the child reads the word correctly, they get to keep the card but if they don’t know the word read it to them and then place it back in the bag.
7. Hopscotch Sight Words
Kids can play this game inside or outdoors. For the indoor version write sight words on 10 pieces of construction paper then tape the paper onto the floor in a hopscotch game pattern. Your kindergartner hops from paper to paper reading each word they land on it. When they reach the end of the hopscotch game give them a high-five to celebrate their success!
To play this game outside use sidewalk chalk and draw a hopscotch game on the sidewalk. Instead of numbers in the blocks write sight words in each square. Play the game the same way as the indoor version celebrating their success when they finish the game.
Once your child masters the sight words on one hopscotch game create a brand new one with new words to keep challenging them.
All of these great kid’s games will help your kindergartner experience reading success all while having lots of fun.
