Easy Sight Word Games for First Grade

As students start their reading journey, they will come across certain high-frequency words that they should be able to identify in an instant. There are plenty of fun activities you can implement in the classroom or at home to help kids get acquainted with these common sight words and become comfortable with using them.

Sight word games should be part of a daily routine to help them become second nature as kids move on from a basic reading level. Have a look at these awesome games to get students ready to read fluently in no time!

1. Wear a Crown

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Use a free printable template to give students a crown with a sight word on it. They can go around to their friends and read out each other's words and make sentences with them for extra practice.

2. Make sentences

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Place sticky notes around the house on a variety of objects. As kids find them around the house they can create sight word sentences on the go. It's a great game to play on an ongoing basis.

3. Fly Swat Game

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This game is classic and incredibly effective in its simplicity. Write sight words on a blackboard and hand 2 students a fly swatter each. Call out a word and have them race to the board and see who can swat the word correctly, first.

4. Pancake Flip

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Write some basic sight words on round cardboard cutouts and let kids flip the "pancake" as you call out the words. It's great for word identification and even helps with fine motor skills as little hands try to use a spatula for flipping.

5. Treasure Hunt

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Write a couple of words on paper and place them in a tray. Cover them in colored salt or sand and let the students hunt for the correct words. They use a paintbrush to uncover the words and find the hidden treasure.

6. Sight Word Ball Games

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Write the words on some ball pit balls and lay them out on the floor. Have kids do some gross motor activities like hip, twirl, or jump to the ball with the right word on it. They can even try to throw the ball at a target if it is safe.

7. Start a Band

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All kids love banging away aimlessly on some pots and pans. Use sticky notes to put some sight words on your kitchenware and let the kids bang on the correct words as you call them out.

8. Sand Writing

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This is one of the best sight word activities with only a few supplies. Put some salt or sand in a tray and write sensory words on cards. Kids need to trace the words in the sand or salt and work on their reading skills by reading them out loud.

9. Sight Word Monster

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Get creative by building a sight word monster from a used tissue box. Kids can identify the words on the flashcards and feed them into the hungry monster's mouth.

10. Sight Word Kaboom

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Students take turns picking sticks with sight words on them. Once they draw a "kaboom" stick they must return it to the cup. The student with the most sight word sticks at the end wins the game.

11. Rainbow Words

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Using bright colors to write words is a great way for kids to remember them better. Print out a fun blank rainbow template and let kids repeatedly write sight words in rainbow colors.

12. Word Counter

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Put up pieces of paper around the classroom with sight words written on them. The words should be repeated as students will walk around and tally up how many times they encounter each word.

13. Build Your Own Words

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This is one of the many fabulous hands-on activities that can be done with lego blocks. Use an erasable marker to write words and letters on the blocks and let kids build the words on their own.

14. Find a Parking Spot

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Little hands that love racing cars around will enjoy this easy game. It works best with an individual child and can be done over and over with new words on each sheet of paper.

15. Window Writing

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It's not every day that kids get to write on windows, let alone be encouraged to do so! Let the class students write the sight word of the day on a window each day as they get to class.

16. Secret Message

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When kids write with a white crayon on a blank sheet of paper, they can use watercolor paints to expose the secret words. It's great for kids with foundation reading skills who are still building confidence in a fun and creative way.

17. Q-tip art

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Beginner readers will enjoy this hands-on activity. They use a q-tip to put paint in the dots of this fun printout. It will also help them focus and take their time on the activity while strengthening their fine motor skills.

18. Keyboard Practice

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Old keyboards or keyboard covers are wonderful resources to practice new words. Students can type words or complete sentences from the cards you provide. This is one of the fast-paced challenges that will help kids improve their typing skills too.

19. Teacher Wears Words

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This is a great activity for a busy teacher looking to incorporate games throughout the day. Wear sight words pinned to your shirt and change them as the day goes by. Students have to read the word every time the teacher approaches them.

20. Hopscotch

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Draw some hopscotch blocks on the ground and add the sight words to the shapes. Students get to be active and have fun while learning to read these words quickly as they jump through the course.

21. Take a Cakewalk

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Cakewalk is another fast-paced reading challenge where kids walk around until the music stops. Call out one of the written site words and the student standing on that word wins the round. Kids will love being silly to the music and playing outside.

22. Sight Word Bowling

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A few blowing pins in your arsenal is always a winner. Write some sight words on the pins and have students roll a ball to knock down the words you call out.

23. Target Practice

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Kids will go crazy to have a go with the NERF gun. Stick some sight words on a target and let kids take turns to shoot at the words and try to hit the targets.

24. Muffin Tin Game

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This is another fun hand/eye coordination game to learn sight words. Write words on the inside of cupcake wrappers and put them in a muffin tin. Let your child toss a little ball or rock into the correct wrapper as you call them out loudly.

25. Sight Word Checkers

This classic board game can quickly be earned into a fun game to learn sight words. Print out a board or write words on a board you have and let students read out the words as they move around the board.

26. Sight Word Guess Who

This is another of the classic board games that never gets old. CHange out the traditional images with sight words and print out some clue cards. Once you set up this game you can play it for a long time to come.