Sight word Bingo is an effective game for the entire class. Teachers can make their own Bingo cards or download ones already made at Bingo Card Creator and Mrs. Perkins' First Grade educator site. The teacher is the caller of sight words. Students look at their card and place a bingo chip on each word their card contains. The student who fills up one row or the entire card first is the winner.
Teachers can add a little variety to the traditional spelling bee to help kids practice sight words and have fun at the same time. The students are divided into teams, but students will say one letter of the word instead of each student spelling a word by himself. For example, if the teacher calls out "ought," the first person on the selected team will say "O," the next person says "U," and on the down the line until the word is spelled. This encourages every student to pay attention and stay focused on every word.
Teachers can create many games from a stack of sight word cards that they make by writing words on index cards or printing them from computer and laminating for durability. Everyone in the class can play "Around the World," a fast-paced review game in which students look at the word displayed by the teacher and call it quickly. If they say an incorrect word, they go to the back of the line or sit down until the next round. Small groups can play "Go Fish" with sight word cards or concentration-type games in which they place cards face down, then turn over pairs trying to find matches. The student with the most pairs wins.
The Internet has many resources for sight word practice. Readquarium, Starfall and Quia have animated games in which kids match high-frequency words, spell them or play Hangman to guess the word. These are effective activities for independent practice in the classroom or at home where parents can participate.