After students know their sight words by heart, they can get more practice recognizing the words by putting them in ABC order. Give students a stack of words written on index cards and have them alphabetize the words. Teachers can also write the words on the board and tell students to write the words in alphabetical order on their paper. Either way, students are getting more exposure to the sight words they've already learned.
Students can create their own phrases and short sentences using the sight words. They can arrange the actual sight words so that they form phrases or short sentences. Students can also have a list of sight words from a word box and use that to write the phrases or sentences on their paper. Lastly, if unifix cubes with prewritten sight words on them are available, students can connect those together to form short phrases and sentences. All three ways reinforce the students' reading of sight words.
Students can sort words based on long and short vowel sounds. They also can be more specific and make a category for each long and short vowel sound. Students can create a category for irregular sight words. Categories could also be created for words with vowel digraphs and r-controlled vowels. Once students begin, they may find other ways to sort sight words as well.
When students learn their sight words, sometimes they need lots of think time to sound them out or remember the word. To encourage recognizing their sight words immediately, allow students to see how many words they can read in a minute. Give them a timer that can be set easily, such as a stopwatch or a mini hourglass. They can do this activity by themselves or with a partner. "Sight Word Bingo" also has a free list of sight words and bingo cards students can play to increase their sight word fluency.