Some might say that sight words can be boring. That it always seems like you have to do the same old practices to get your students to learn their sight words. Right?! WRONG! Sight words can be loads of fun! Having taught the sight word intervention group at my school, I have been able to come up with some great ideas that have been really effective, and lots of fun!!!
Sight Word Musical Spots
I purchased these flower cut-outs from Michael’s for $2.99 (plus the 15% teacher discount that I never knew we got! Ahh!). So, here is how you play…
It is played much like musical chairs, but in a less, well, aggressive way! We all know how intense musical chairs can get sometimes. Anyways, the amount of spots or flowers you need depends on the amount of students in your group. My after school group only has 8 so I needed 28 flowers. I wrote “about” on 7 flowers, “any” on 6 flowers, “every” on 5 flowers, “just” on 4 flowers, “our” on 3 flowers, “could” on 2 flowers, and lastly, “then” on 1. This made it so one student got out each round. (The students were great sports about getting out! I just let them help me control the music on my Pandora radio app and call out the next word!)
I randomly laid out the flower spots all over the classroom floor. Like this…
I played the music and the students began dancing around the room! They loved this part and the fact that I had Alvin & the Chipmunks on my phone!
When the music stopped I called out the words in order (about, any, every, just, our, could, then). This way one student got out each round. As a variation, you could do enough of the same word so that no one gets out, however, the students enjoyed the excitement of the elimination.
The kiddos had soooo much fun!
Sight Word Glow-in-the-Dark Bottles
Our group did sight word discovery bottles with glow-in-the-dark rice! OMG, it was a BLAST!!! Check out the pics and learn how you can use this activity in your classroom too!
I got white rice from Wal-Mart for $3.50 for 5lbs of rice. One bag was plenty to make 8 discovery bottles. I purchased glow-in-the-dark paint and simply mixed each color with some of the rice. I found that using zip-loc baggies was nearly mess free! I added a tablespoon of rubbing alcohol to each color bag to help the paint dry faster. After letting the baggies sit and dry overnight (with zip-loc open), I mixed all the colors together in one bowl. Lastly, let the rice charge in the sun and then there you have it, glow-in-the-dark rice!
After making the rice, I purchased glow sticks from the Dollar Tree (15 for $1) and added one stick to each water bottle. Then I filled each water bottle with 3 sight words (Be sure they are double-sided so they can be read regardless of which way they are shaken.). Fill the rice about 3/4 of the way full to allow the rice to move around the water bottle.
Let me just tell you, the students LOVED this! The students had to find the 3 words in his/her bottle and use the words in sentences before getting a new bottle. The children were so motivated and wrote some great sentences using their words! You better believe I saved that rice too! I plan on doing this activity again sometime!
Even with the lights off, the glow was enough to see the words. Being that the classroom isn’t pitch black, it was perfect! I HIGHLY recommend a black light if you can get one! The rice glows so much more with the black light. I know you are probably thinking who really has a black light lying around?! Well, you probably don’t! But, no worries because a black light can be purchased for a cheap $11 at Wal-Mart!
More Sight Word Fun
Practice sight words in a fun, hands-on way!
Your students will absolutely love this activity! I got these colorful bowling pins from Michael’s for $5. (They were originally $10 but I had a 40% off coupon plus the teacher discount.) I used pieces of ribbon to tie their sight words to each bowling pin. Students took turns bowling. They had to read the words they knocked down, then write the words down on their paper. SO. MUCH. FUN!!!
Students mixed and fixed their sight words using these egg cartons. I got ping pong balls from the Dollar Tree and used Sharpie to write the letters in each word. Each student got an egg carton and mixed and fixed the letters to figure out the word. After, students were asked to use the word in a sentence before switching to the next egg carton. At the end we shared out some of our sentences!
I wrote the letters Y-O-U-R on the back of Dixie cups that I found on sale at Wal-Mart (pack of 100 for $2). The students worked in pairs to mix and fix the letters in the word. They LOVED being able to manipulate the materials. I think whiteboards can get a bit boring for the kiddos so this was a hit!
The students also enjoyed removing letters and having their partners guess the missing letter.
We had a lot of fun using play-doh to make our sight word!
I picked up a pack of 80 pom pom’s from the Dollar Tree! We used them to make “your”.
This was the winning activity by far! The students used color changing markers to trace and re-trace “your”. (I even found myself over at this station writing with the markers!) I got them at Wal-Mart on CLEARANCE for $2 for 6 markers! Such a STEAL!
We practiced writing our sight word on paint swatches. Can’t beat this free activity!
I picked up a couple of these magnetic doodle pads from the Dollar Tree. (If you cannot tell already, I am a bargain shopper!) The students liked having a different word writing experience besides whiteboards.
Pipe cleaners!!! They really had a lot of fun making “your” with these! The students came up with creative ways to make the letters. Some students used multiple pipe cleaners to create each letter, while other students were able to bend one pipe cleaner into each letter. It was cool to see their different approaches!
After all of this (yes, a lot I know!), we worked together to make the word “your” with our bodies! I was stuck as the bottom of the “y”. So, yes, I had two sets of feet in my face! Haha! It was fun though! I wish I had a picture for this one (bummer). They are requesting we do this for every new sight word! 😉
Sight Word Charts
We use this “less than fancy” anchor chart when learning new sight words. The students have found comfort in using the same song to introduce new words. Also, having some of our sight words in the song is helpful too! 😉 This original song is sung to the tune of Frere Jacques. Make one for your classroom!
After we learn a new sight word and feel confident in spelling and reading it, we add it to this chart! I have students write the words and I display the chart in the classroom. 😉
Have questions about sight word activities for your classroom? Email me at meetmissparker@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you! Also, a HUGE thank you to Jen for having me join in on this fun series!
Want more sight word activities? Check out my Pinterest board for more ideas for beginning readers!
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Anonymous says
What great ideas you have! I can't wait to use all of them! Thanks for sharing!
My Student Teaching Life says
I love all the different sight word activities that you thought! They are all so creative, fun, and engaging.
Nicole says
Thanks for all the great ideas, I can’t wait to use them. FYI-Dollar Tree carries color changing markers now and they are AMAZING. : ) I was trying to decide how to implement them in my writing station. Thanks again!
Christie Burnett says
I love the way you make sight words FUN! I have one suggestion – you can buy black light light bulbs for not a lot of money and put them in a regular lamp in your room. I’ve also seen black light flashlights that would work wonderfully with the glow in the dark rice bottles.
Olubusola Akinpelu says
Thank you for these great ideas. I can’t wait to pull off these gained ideas.
Kimberly says
Where did you find the bubble sight word letters?