Learning to Read: Sight Word Games

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

05 Oct 2006 11:36 AM

Sight words are a great focus of elementary education and for kids learning to read, sight words are very important. There are a lot of ways to help your child learn their sight words and to remember them and at this age, the more fun it is, the more likely you are to engage and hold their interest. So in that vein, here are a few sight word games that I play with my daughter.

Sight Words Race

Use a timer that will buzz or ring and set it for 1, 2, or 3 minutes and hold up the flash cards one at a time. As soon as they read the card, flip up another one. If they can't read it fast, have them say pass and put it to the side. Count how many they've read at the sound of the buzzer and this can be their 'score.' You can keep their score somewhere and let them reward themselves each time they beat their personal best.

Sight Words Train

Place the sight words in a line on the table and have your child read the words in order, if they mispronounce a word, have them start again at the beginning. They repeat these trains of words until they go all the way through and say each one correctly. This is a little tricky, but have a reward waiting for them at the end of the line and it will encourage them to practice their words.

Sight Words & Sentences

Get out a stack of sight word cards and have your child choose anywhere from three to five cards and ask them to use each word they've chosen in a sentence. They do not have to use all the words in a sentence, but as they get better and better, have them choose two words at a time to be used in a sentence. You can have as much fun with this game as you want including asking them for certain types of sentences including rhyming ones.

What games can you play with your kids and sight words to help encourage their reading?

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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