Write your morning message to the class and leave out sight words. Tell the children that you have made a mistake and will need their help. Invite children up to the board to write in the missing sight words. Teach your class how to play Mystery Word. In this game, you secretly write down a word from the word wall. Your students then take turns asking you yes or no questions until they are able to guess the mystery word. A variation of this game, which works well for kindergarten and first grade, is to give the children clues about your mystery word. A clue might be that the word has four letters or begins with the letter "w."
Give each set of partners a stack of sight words written on note cards, lap whiteboards, markers and erasers. Tell the pairs that they will take turns drawing cards and challenging their partner to spell the word correctly. If a child spells the word correctly, he gets to keep the card. Whoever has the most cards at the end of the game is the winner. Make cards for children to play Memory with sight words. When a child finds a match, he only gets the cards if he correctly read the sight word.
There are games online that are offered free. One site that has been free since 2002 is Starfall.com. Starfall primarily is designed to teach children phonic skills. The early reader books offer children a chance to practice reading sight words in a safe environment. If a child comes to a word that she is having difficulty decoding, Starfall will read the word out loud. On each page there is a graphic to click on, which usually results in something humorous. Other sites offer free matching games online for sight words. Children who enjoy computer time will be excited to practice their sight words this way.
Involve the parents in teaching sight words. Create directions for games and provide resources for parents for games sent home. Parents can quiz their child on the spelling of sight words by using fridge magnets. While the mom is making dinner, her son can be practicing his words. Provide parents with a list so they can make flash cards. Tell parents they can play Beat the Clock with their elementary pupil. In this game the parent sets a timer for one minute and quizzes their child on the flashcards. Each night that the child does more than the previous night, he beats the clock. With the flashcards, parents can play Go Fish. Create a duplicate set to use when playing Go Fish.