sight words Archives - Page 2 of 2

Sight Word Center Ideas That Students Will Actually Love

March 26, 2021 teachersbrain kindergarten survival, Reading, Teacher's Pay Teachers, Teaching Tips

All teachers of early elementary students can tell you that sight words are a huge part of their reading curriculum. What exactly are they? Sight words are words that children should be able to recognize instantly without sounding them out. They are common words found in many texts, and students become very familiar with them. However, they can often be tricky to read and spell since many do not follow common patterns.

Sights words are essential for learning to read with fluency and confidence. Flashcards are a common way to practice sight words, but fortunately, there are other (more fun!) ways as well.

Centers are a perfect way for students to practice skills in the elementary classroom. Children benefit from working in small groups, as they learn how to collaborate and solve problems as a team. Teachers also benefit from the opportunity to work with small groups or individual students while the rest of the class is engaged in centers. Younger students can move between different activities during centers, keeping them engaged as they learn. Sight words centers are an ideal tool to increase your student’s knowledge of sight words!

There are hundreds of centers you can create to practice sight words, and many are very simple. For example, rainbow words are a fun way to practice writing their words. You can use many different mediums, such as watercolors, markers, or colored pencils. Students write each of the words in different colors. For the youngest students, they can use different colors to trace the words.

Another option for a center is using magnets to build sight words. A simple cookie sheet provides a tray for students to work on, and they can manipulate the letters to make their words. For a little more sensory play, you can have students create their words with play-doh, then read them to each other. This activity also builds finger strength, which is great for handwriting skills.

Looking for some no-prep sight word center activities to add to your rotation? I’ve got you!

These Sight Word Worksheets are perfect for kindergarten students to complete independently during sight word centers.

The bundle includes 40 pages of sight word practice that can be used in clear pouches for dry-erase activities, or printed for pencil and paperwork.

Another sight word center option is the Reading Comprehension Passages and Questions resource.

This digital learning bundle includes over 90 pages of sight word practice as students find the words, answer questions, and more. The activities are completed in Google Drive, making it a perfect fit for a computer center or as a distance learning activity.

Love these center ideas? Check out these math center ideas!

I hope your students love these center ideas! What is your favorite way to work on sight words? Let me know in the comments!

Fun Ways To Practice Sight Words In Kindergarten

January 1, 2021 teachersbrain education, kindergarten survival, Reading, Teacher's Pay Teachers

Students learn so many valuable things in elementary school. We set the foundation for their education for the rest of their lives. Among all of the important things they learn in school, it all starts in their kindergarten classroom when we teach them the building blocks of reading, writing, and math.

Aside from letters, and numbers, a huge focus is on learning sight words. Sight words are generally words that students will see the most often while reading. Little learners should have them memorized to help them continue to learn to read and write. They help them produce meaning and skip difficult decoding skills as beginning readers.

When deciding on what activities to do to practice sight words in kindergarten, the sky’s the limit! They are young and excited to learn new things. There are a number of fun and engaging activities you can do to practice sight words with them.

Here are some of my favorite sight words activities for my students

Have a sight word hunt while reading. Choose your sight word for the day and have your students hunt for the word in their book.
Get some yummy treats involved. Make a big bowl of pudding. Students can dip their fingers in the pudding and write their sight word on a pan with the pudding. If they get the word right, they get to lick their fingers! This one is guaranteed to be a hit.
Do some task cards. Task cards are a fun alternative to worksheets. Task cards feel more like a game than work!
Use magnetic letters. Get some cheap cookie sheets and some magnetic letters and have your students spell out the words.
Make sight word necklaces. This resource includes 88 sight words that your students can use to make fun sight word necklaces. Everytime your student looks at their necklace, they will be reminded of their sight word. It is also great for getting parents involved in your students learning!

Use shaving cream. Spray shaving cream on the students desks and let them use their fingers to write out their sight words in the shaving cream. Fun and messy!
If you are distance learning, try out these Sight Words Google Slides activities. These reading comprehension passages and questions are a fun and engaging way to improve comprehension and fluency while practicing sight words.

Learning can be so fun when you are working with kindergarten aged students. Everything is new and exciting so just have fun with it!

What are your favorite ways to work on reading with your students? Let me know in the comments!

For more kindergarten ideas, check out these free winter activity ideas!

Sight Word Activities for Kids

December 29, 2019 teachersbrain Teacher's Pay Teachers, Teaching Tips

What are Sight Words

Sight words are words that appear frequently in reading and writing. Most of the words are learned by sight and cannot be easily sounded out. When students automatically know these words, they can focus on more difficult words that can be decoded. The more students see the words and use the words in activities, the more successful they will feel and be at reading. The words begin simple and get more difficult the older students get or as their knowledge advances. Provide students with both home and school activities to get the words to create automaticity. These engaging activities will help students recognize the words, improve reading skills and show students how much fun they can have while learning to read.

Shaving Cream

This one is easy, helps clean desks and the students LOVE it! Add some shaving cream to a table for students to spread around. Call out sight words or have students pull sight words out of a bag to have students write the words in the shaving cream. You can do this in small reading groups as well.

shaving cream.jpg

Pudding?

When parents ask what they can do at home, consider having them add pudding to a sheet pan. The parent calls the words out. The child will write the words in the pudding. If they get it correct, they get to lick their finger! YUM!

Fly Swatter

If you have a word wall that is low enough for students to reach, this is a great game for your students. Word walls are a MUST in elementary classrooms because there are so many great activities a teacher can do with words. Create two teams. Each team gets a fly swatter. Call the word out and the “swatters” have to go swat the word on the word wall. The team who swatted the correct word first, gets a point. Play to 10 or 20 points.

Sight Word Necklace

My students loved to have sight word necklaces. Basically they would have a ball chain necklace that could open easily. Once they knew a sight word, they would add the word to their necklace to share with their family at home that weekend. Students would use the necklace during writing activities too. Have them use the necklace to find their words in books during center time or small reading group time.

Paint It

Have students work pull sight words out of a box. They would write the word. Then, they would paint the word next to the word they wrote on paper. They could use watercolors. You can even use chalk instead of paint. Want to have students think a little deeper about patterns? Tell them they have to do every other letter a different color to create an AB pattern. Grab the FREE Sight Word Download Here.

STAMP IT

Find some letter stamps for students to work on spelling sight words using the stamps. This will help with fine motor as well as spelling. Provide some different color stamp pads for students to use during this activity to keep it interesting.

USE IT

This is a great way for students to build some comprehension while working with sight words. Students will first write the word. Next, they will have to use it in a sentence. This way you can check to see if they understand what they are reading or see if they make need to be taught the meaning of the words.

STOMP it!

Print out the sight words you want students to learn for the week. Scatter them on the floor. Another student calls out a word while their partner STOMPS on it. This is a great activities to do at home or in small groups. Need more activities? Click HERE

Hopefully these activities will give you some ideas when planning for future lessons using sight words. I can’t wait to hear about your favorite activities for teaching high frequency words in your classroom!

Mastering Sight Words

January 1, 2017 teachersbrain Teacher's Pay Teachers, Word Wall

Previously, when I taught kindergarten, 34 sight words were standard for students to master before they went into first grade. So when the standard went from 34 to 86, I was stressed about how to teach these words to kids who continue to struggle with retention and application. Sight words are important to being successful at reading. The goal put a lot of pressure of me to find new ways to help my students learn these words. Here are some strategies I tried successfully. I put 5 to 10 sight words on the class Word Wall each week. Students learned how to use them in sentences, practiced writing with them and are encouraged to use the Word Wall Words during all writing activities. The most effective way I found to get them to remember sight words is to make the activities fun. During centers, students use paint dabbers to create sight words, play sight word games and sing sight word songs found on You Tube. The Sight Word Necklace has been a huge hit with motivating students to learn the words in class and at home. Start the students out with a few words on their necklace. By the next week see what they know. If they know it, they keep it. If not, the word goes off the necklace and home for practice with the parents. For every 20 they master, they get a special card that rewards them with a treasure box treat in our room (you can use anything… a certificate, a hug). When they reach all the words they get to eat lunch with the teacher and a friend. Another game they like is the Fly Swatter Game. Two groups of students a picked, the teacher calls out a word and whoever swats the word on the word wall first get a point for the team.

You can get the Sight Word Necklace printable for ONLY $1.00 for 24 hours. A group of teacher authors are also having a hashtag sale #2017DollarDeals . Just type it into the Teachers Pay Teachers search box to find the deals. Happy New YEAR!