Teaching Sight Words using Engaging Sight Word Games
Today on the blog, Erin from Classrooms and Cats shares all about her favorite engaging sight word games that she uses in her classroom, and hopes that you will implement in yours as well!
Hello friends, my name is Erin Custer and I blog over at Classrooms and Cats! I have been a Transitional Kindergarten teacher for 7 years and I am all about helping other teachers find fun and engaging ways to help their students learn. Early Education is where I have spent my entire 10 year teaching career and it is my passion. I am eager to share my ideas with you and want to give a big thank you to Kayla at The Average Teacher for letting me guest blog!
One of my favorite lessons to teach is sight words. I know, I know…there are so many teachers and students alike who are out there dreading their sight words. I know that when I was first teaching I was in 2nd grade and it was just a drill. Call the student up, have them recite some words, check yes or no and send them on their way. How boring is that? I didn’t like it, and I know that the students didn’t like it either! I started to think that there had to be a better way to do this.
Sight words can be a difficult task for your students to learn so that is why I created engaging sight word games. Teachers and students alike love when learning is fun. Reading off the same sight word list week after week can get pretty boring. I decided to create editable sight word games so that teachers can have a way to make a game with sight words and help their students stay focused.
Let me show you how sight word games keep my students engaged, and why yours will love them too!
#1: Editable Sight Word Games
Games that are editable are wonderful for you as a teacher. Rather than printing off several lists for your students, you can print off just the sight words that you need.This is a time saver as well as a paper saver. Those are 2 things I know teachers love. All of my sight word games are editable which means that you can fit them to your needs. They are also easy to use which makes it a breeze to set up an educational game for your students. These editable sight word games are a perfect way to get students excited about learning! The best part is there are 5 games per month so you can use a different game each week of the month! All of the sight word games also come with a Write the Room element for added skills!
#2: Roll and Write
Roll and write never gets old for my class. I love that there is a small manipulative in this game as well. Giving the students a die to roll makes the game far more exciting than it would be just writing down sight words. The game is simple. You plug in the sight words that you want to use, and then print. This game is so easy for the teachers since you can customize the words for each student.
#3: Sight Word Spelling
Another fun way to keep your students engaged with sight words is by playing the sight word review games. These games are meant to have students hunt for letters and then spell the sight word that they are given.
I love these games because they can be used in a group setting or as an individual activity. They are great for fast finishers, and can also be used for assessing students. This activity is also editable so teachers can add their own words.
#4: Sight Word SLAP! Game
One of my students’ favorite games to play is SLAP! The way this game is played is that you shuffle the cards and deal them to two players. The students take turns placing a card face up in the center of the table and reading their word. If the cards match (as shown above) the first player to slap the cards wins the pile and adds them to their deck. If the cards do not match the game continues as each player alternates turning over a card until a match is found. It is a great idea to print 3 or 4 copies of each page so that there is a higher chance of a match.
I love this game because you can start with a few words and gradually add more as the students begin to learn more sight words. My favorite website to grab a freebie of this game is File Folder Fun.
#5: Check Out Your Local Teacher Store
There are a lot of resources out there for teachers and sight words, so be sure to check out your local teacher supply store. If you do not have one that is close to you, check out Lakeshore Learning online. They offer a lot of fun and engaging sight word activities for teachers. I love their products because they are very well made and meant to be handled in the classroom.
I hope that you are able to come up with some new and exciting ways to teach sight words in your class. Hands on learning is the best way to have students retain information, so remember to make your lessons hands on and engaging! If you would like to keep in touch please follow me on Instagram, Teachers Pay Teachers and Pinterest!
Let us know what you love to teach and how to make it fun in the classroom!
This has been a guest post by Erin from Classrooms and Cats. Erin is a teacher in California and has taught 2nd grade, 3rd Grade and Transitional Kindergarten. Erin’s passion is helping teachers make their classroom and fun and inviting space for students.
