Sight Word Activities

Definition of Sight Words: Words that children need to recognize immediately in order to make sense of text.  Also, words that are used most often in writing are called sight words.  These are sometimes referred to as High Frequency Words.   Activities: 1. Working with only five to ten words at a time, make flash cards of the words and have your child read them.   2. Working with only five to ten words at a time, make a double set of flash cards for the words and play a Memory Word Match game.   3. Have your child dictate a short story to you.  After dictation, go through the story with your child and highlight the vocabulary words., helping your child read them as you go.   4. Pick one or two words from the list to find in a newspaper or magazine.  Have your child highlight the words.   5. Pick one or two words from the list to find in the “funnies”. Find some funnies. Twist a pipe cleaner into a small spyglass. Look for your words in the print of the funnies. Discover how many words your child can read in print.   6. Pick five to ten words to work on: Write words with paint using a q-tip.  Have your child say and spell each word as they work. Build words using clay.  Have your child say and spell each word as they work Build words with magnetic letters.  Say and spell. Make rainbow words.  Print the word in one color crayon or marker, print over it using another color, repeat this procedure two more times.  Say and spell.   7. If possible, have your child illustrate the word.   8. Have your child generate a sentence and write it, using a small group of the sight vocabulary words.   Celebrate Every Accomplishment, No Matter How Small!