If you’re a primary teacher, it’s pretty likely that you’re always looking for more ways to practice sight words. As teachers, we know that practice makes progress. But, the question is… how do we make it engaging? I’m answering that question today with 5 Fun Ways to Practice Sight Words in the primary classroom!

The Importance of Mastering Sight Words

Teaching young students how to read is one of my favorite things about the primary grades. There’s just something SO special about seeing those little faces light up with excitement as they decode words and begin to read with more fluency! This is where sight words come into play. Children who have mastered a number of common sight words will be able to achieve better reading fluency because there will be many words they recognize in their lessons. As they progress in phonics skills, those sight words will help them get some reading wins and read sentences and short books with more ease.

I think we can all agree that this is huge for primary learners because it builds confidence! Confident readers are more likely to challenge themselves, persevere when the going gets tough, and keep learning. Not only does this benefit pay off in the classroom, but it will continue to impact students positively throughout their lives. So, let’s get to teaching those sight words in a fun way with 5 engaging activities your students will love.

1. Sight Word Building Bricks Task Cards

I am a big fan of anything that encourages hands-on learning in the classroom because it tends to feel more like play than schoolwork to our students. When we make learning feel like play, it’s easy to get ample practice for topics like sight words. That’s where these Sight Word Building Brick Task Cards come in really handy! Inside this resource, you get a ton of great activities to make practicing words a breeze:

• 176 Pre-Made Flash Card Pages
• 20 Assessment Pages
• 12 Pre-Made Writing Templates
• 12 Editable Writing Templates
• 60 Editable Auto-Fill Flash Card Templates
• 20 Editable Auto-Fill Flash Card Templates
• Sight Word Lists

The pre-filled cards are designed to be print-and-go, making it quick and easy to set this activity up. The cards are color-coded by level, so you can select the appropriate set, print, and you’re ready to go! I also like to laminate these for durability since we use them over and over during center time. To use, students will choose a card, name the word, and use mini building bricks to build it. The included writing templates can be used as an additional layer of accountability if you choose. In this case, students will write the words they build as they go!

Specifically, the sight word cards include Pre-Primer, Primer, Fry’s first 100 words, first, second, and third-grade words. Even better, there are easy-to-edit flashcards, which means you can make any words! You’ll just type your desired word list into the easy-to-edit template and create custom building task cards designed for your students. And, don’t forget the additional resources included here as well – sight word lists and assessments make it easy to track progress and send home assignments for practice with parents!

2. Sight Word Playdough Activities

I told you I love hands-on learning, so here’s another fun idea for you to try in your classroom! This one is going to be a huge hit! Provide students with sight word flash cards, play dough, and dough stampers. The idea here is that they will choose a card, say the word, and then build it using the play dough and stamps. I also like to give kids small rolling pins so they can flatten out the dough before stamping. This is a great activity to use during center time, since students can be fully independent!

I like to use these sight word flash cards for this activity. This resource includes 319 pre-made cards that cover sight words for pre-primer lists all the way through third grade. I love this resource because the wide variety of options means that it’s super simple to differentiate. The cards in this resource are also color-coded, so I can quickly and easily identify which set to grab for a particular group of students. Inside this resource, you also get editable options to make your own sight word card or any other word list you’d like to work on. This means they can be used for things like CVC words and spelling words, too!

Pro-Tip: To help keep everything organized, cards can be hole punched in the corner and stored on a ring for students to flip through. I like to make sets of these cards that are laminated and stored on rings for instant center activities. This will help keep track of the cards and allow you to use them again and again!

3. Engaging Sight Word Worksheets

When it comes to worksheets, my rule is that they have to be fun! Otherwise, I know that my kiddos are pretty likely to tune out quickly. That’s exactly why I created these Editable Sight Word Worksheets. They allow students to practice words in 6 different ways, so they’re anything but boring! Students will:

• read the word
• rainbow write it
• trace it
• write it
• color it
• stamp it

Since each task is a little different on the page, students are super engaged in the process! No endless tracing lines or boring tasks here! I’ve even added a silly joke to each page that is such to make your students smile. These word worksheets are perfect for center time. Once students understand how these pages work, they are able to independently complete them. They also work really well for morning work if you have enough stamps for each group table.

Oh, but what to hear the best part?! These pages are editable, too! Included in the bundle are 368 pre-made worksheets for both pre-primer and primer words. In addition, you’ll find 50 editable pages that allow you to customize them to your needs. This is great if you have kids working at different levels who need a more challenging word list.

4. Sight Word Sensory Trays

I am all about using my resources in multiple ways. That’s why I love setting up sensory trays with my Editable Sight Word Flashcards. You’ll probably recall seeing them above with the play dough stampers, but this second idea allows you to use them again! Young students love sensory tubs and trays, so why not use this to our advantage?! There are so many great options, but here are a few ideas we use all the time:

• shaving cream trays
• sand trays
• pom-pom building
• pipe-cleaner building
• mini eraser building
• play dough – roll the dough into snakes and build instead of using the stampers mentioned above

No matter what you choose, sensory activities are a fun, hands-on way for students to practice saying the word, forming letters, and then building it with the materials! For a closer look at everything included with the Editable Sight Word Flash Cards, as well as some of the ways you can use them, be sure to check out the video below!

5. Color by Code Activities

Last but certainly not least, Color by Code is another fun way to master sight words in the primary classroom! There are so many reasons to use Color by Code Activities, but when it comes to learning sight words, they’re a real winner! These engaging coloring activities will allow you to target specific words through low-prep activities that students will actually enjoy! I have tons of fun Color by Code sight word activities in my TPT Store. No matter what theme or topic you’re looking for, I’ve likely got just the resource you need!

All of my sight word color by code resources include pre-made pages for pre-primer and primer words. Just select the pages you want to use, print, and go! This will make it really easy to fill the gaps in your lesson plan with meaningful practice that students will enjoy. These also come in handy for center time, homework, fast finishers, and morning work!

And, if you know me, you probably already know that I’ve included editable pages too! This means you can customize the pages to fit your needs. Fill them in with other sight words, phonics skills, spelling words, you name it! This added feature means that the pages grow with your students and allow you to easily differentiate assignments. You can find all of my Color by Code Sight Word Resources in my year-long bundle. I’ve got holiday, seasonal, and general themes so you can use these pages all year long!

Grab a Free Color by Code Activity!

If you want to test out these activities first, I’ve got a freebie just for you! Grab this Animals Color by Code Resource that includes both pre-made and fillable pages. This will allow you to test out the editable features and see what you think. I know that once you start using these in your classroom, you’ll be hooked, too!

Have Fun Teaching Sight Words in Your Classroom

I hope this post gave you some ideas to make learning sight words more fun and engaging for your students. The important thing to remember is to focus on fun! The more opportunities for hands-on learning, using fun materials, and thinking outside of the typical worksheet, the better! Have fun working on this skill in your classroom, and don’t forget, you can find all the resources mentioned here in my TPT Store.

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