Sight Word Silliness!

A workshop by Kristin Sutter, Chicago ‘08

Mastering sight words is a crucial step in becoming a strong reader. Readers need to
be able to instantly read these high-frequency words without having to figure them out
(ex. and, is, the). “Sight Word Silliness” will provide you with plenty of ideas to get
your students excited about sight words: games, activities, and other fun strategies!

Objectives:
CMWBAT articulate what sight words are and their importance in a reading curriculum.
CMWBAT identify and participate in sight word teaching strategies.

What are sight words?

Sight words (aka Dolch word lists, high frequency words, service words) are some of the
most frequently used words in the English language. These 220 words comprise 50 to 75
percent of all words in text material.

Why teach sight words?

Sight words hold thoughts together. In order to become a fluent reader, students need to
be able to recognize these words instantly. Often times, these words cannot be taught
through use of pictures. In addition, many cannot be sounded out through phonetic
analysis.

What words should you teach?

The 220 Dolch words are organized by level:

Dolch Level Grade Level

Pre-Primer Pre-K
Primer Kindergarten
First 1st Grade
Second 2nd Grade
Third 3rd Grade

• By the end of each grade, students should master their corresponding grade level’s
Dolch list.
• Assess each student figure out what words they still need to learn.
• Assigning each student a differentiated list can make learning more manageable.
 How do I teach sight words?
Through Sight Word Silliness! Students will be more engaged if you make it
fun. Here are some strategies sure to bring a smile:

Use a Word Wall:

• Put up words as students learn them.
• Create the words with your students (writing the words on index cards as they watch)
• “Spotlight” a word with a flashlight
• Point out a word with a silly pointer (glove on a yard stick, crazy straw, wrapping paper
tube, etc.)
• “Swat” a word with a fly swatter
• Reading Wand: remove the netting from a butterfly net to make a word frame.

Basketball Spelling:
“Dribble” each letter (t-h-e) and “shoot” the word. Try with other sports to get students
invested in the spelling (swimming, tennis, dance, baseball, etc).

Cheer Words:
Give me a T. T! I’ve got a T, you’ve got a T.
Give me a H. H! I’ve got a H, you’ve got a H.
Give me a E. E! I’ve got a E, you’ve got a E.
What’s it spell? THE! Say it again. THE!
One more time. THE!

Palm Pilot:
Tell students to practice saying a word, spelling it aloud, then writing it on their “palm pilot”
(Hold up one palm and write with index finger).

Word Detective:
Have students search for their sight words in a passage with a magnifying glass and a
highlighter. *Great as a center activity*

BOOM:
Write BOOM on a sight word flashcard (or use a sticker). Flip through the cards with
students. When BOOM appears, students jump up and yell BOOM.

Around the World:

Have students line their chairs up in a row. One student stands behind another’s chair.
The teacher puts up a flashcard- first one to say it wins the round. The student who wins
the faceoff moves behind the next chair, the loser sits down.
Variations:
• Designate a certain number of words students have to win before they must sit down
(ex. To win a prize (candy, sticker), students must pass 3 people. Next time, they
must pass 4 people and so on.)

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 • To make it easier, eliminate the duel – a student must correctly read their word to win
the card. Only that student is allowed to answer. At the end, turn in the cards for
prizes (ex. 1 sticker or Skittle per card won).

Password:
Put a word above the door. Students must whisper the word before they leave the room.

Word Bug:
Write sight words on construction paper circles. Make a bug head out of construction
paper and put it on the floor. Pass out the circle sight words out to students. Have each
student individually put their word down, reading their word and the ones preceding it.

Swat It:
Split your class into two teams. At the word wall, give each team a fly swatter. Call out a
word; the first team to swat the word wins a point.

Hokey Pokey:
Give each student a small set of words (5-10 words). Hold up the appropriate one as you
sing the Hokey Pokey:
Put your “the” in,
Take your “the” out,
Put your “the” in,
And you shake it all about.
You do the hokey pokey and turn yourself about,
Then put your “the” back down.

Tic-Tac-Toe (or Bingo):

Have students draw a tic-tac-toe board on their paper. In each section, tell them to write a
different sight word (from a list of 10) in each section. The teacher calls out a word and
they can color it in if they have it. First to get 3 in a row wins! If you have more words,
use a Bingo board instead (25 squares).

Exercise and Write:

Write sight words on the board. Have each child put a blank sheet of paper and a pencil
on their desk. Tell children to start walking around the room. When the teacher says,
“Stop!” children find a desk and write the first word down. The children begin doing
another movement (such as tip-toeing) until the teacher says, “Stop!” and they find
another desk and write another word. Continue until they have written all of the words on
the list.

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 Other Sight Word Resources:

On the TFA Resource Exchange:

I have uploaded pre-primer and primer sight word tracker templates as well as a weekly
word list template.

At the Resource Room:

Sight word flashcards, stamp-and-write sight words, three levels of sight word bingo, and
high-frequency word tiles.

http://www.msrossbec.com/sightwords.shtml
This website has Dolch word lists, interactive flashcards (pre-primer through 3rd), and an
amazing teacher created resource (a 39-page workbook with sentences for all 220 words,
word lists, and a letter to parents)

http://www.netrover.com/~kingskid/sightword/dolchgames.htm
This site contains interactive games online – great for teachers with smart boards.

http://www.sightwordswithsamson.com/sw/sight_words.asp
An online sight word spelling game

http://www.mrsperkins.com/dolch.htm
Word lists, PowerPoints by level, printable flashcards, and all 220 Dolch words in a story.

http://bogglesworldesl.com/dolch/assessment.htm
Dolch word list assessments

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