Keep students engaged with a quick and action-packed whole class game. Create a deck of cards with three different pictures on them -- apples, worms and trees. Write targeted sight words on the apple cards and leave the other cards blank. Place all the cards in a basket. To play, pass the basket around the classroom. When a student holds the basket, he picks a card. If he picks an apple, he reads the word and keeps the card in his pile. If he picks a tree, he may pick another card. If he picks a worm, he must return all his cards to the basket. Once his turn is over, he passes the basket to the next student. Do not return worms to the basket. Once they have been picked, place them to the side. Play continues until the basket is empty. The student with the most cards at the end of the game wins.
Most classrooms feature a word wall where targeted sight words are listed. Turn traditional word wall practice into an exciting activity by turning off the classroom lights. Gather students in front of the classroom word wall. Using a flashlight, shine a beam onto a sight word and have students shout out the word. Continue shining the light on various sight words as students read them. This game is a great way to add variety to a rainy day.
Encourage sight word recognition by allowing students to search magazines and newspapers. Provide work tables with old magazines, scissors, glue sticks and blank paper. Invite students to find, cut out and glue sight words to the blank paper. Keep students engaged by setting a timer and challenging them to find as many words as possible in the set amount of time. If students struggle with finding sight words, encourage them to spell the words by cutting out single letters. When the time runs out, allow students to share how many words they found.
This small-group or independent practice game keeps students active and excited. Write targeted sight words on small cards. Attach a metal paperclip to each card. Tie a string to a dowel rod or ruler to create a "fishing pole." Tie a large magnet to the dangling end of the string. To play, students place all the sight word cards face down on the floor. Students then use the pole to "fish" for sight words. When a student catches a card with the magnet, she reads the word, keeps the card and passes the pole to the next student. Play continues until all the cards are gone. This game is also a fun way to practice math facts.
Encourage keyboard practice as well as sight word recognition with this small-group or individual practice game. Draw a large replica of a keyboard on a poster board. Provide students with a clean flyswatter and a list of sight words. To practice, students pick a sight word to practice and spell the word by "swatting" the letters on the keyboard. Students take turns spelling the sight words until all words have been used.