Sight words are an integral part of learning to read and write in the elementary classroom. Students in preschool through at least third-grade use sight words to help with understanding how words are written and how they sound. Simply giving children a giant list and asking them to memorize it won’t do any good. I have created several fun and interactive ways to practice sight word fluency with your students. These activities are great used independently or in small groups. Keep reading to see what types of activities are included in this fun roundup.

Sight Words and Handwriting

In lower grades, one of the best ways to practice sight words and commit them to memory is to write them down. This continued practice of writing the words kids are working on will reinforce their memory and help them remember their sight words.

Use these Sight Word Activities and Handwriting Materials to practice sight word fluency during literacy centers and small group rotations. The worksheets are great to use during independent practice because students can trace and write the words on their own. I always encourage them to rainbow write the words if they finish quickly while reading the words aloud or quietly to themselves.

The task cards included show students what to do first, next, and last. They go in rainbow order so even students who aren’t fluent at reading can figure out what to do next. On top of task cards, there are also sight word flash cards to use. Print a copy off for each child to keep on a ring or in a booklet. Students will love using their own sight word booklets.

Read more about how to incorporate Handwriting and Sight Word Practice in your classroom on this post. You will even have access to a FREE sample from each pack if you want to give them a try.

Sight Word Activity Bundle

Implement the fun activities from my Sight Word Activity Bundle in your centers and rotations. There is a wide variety of activities to keep kids working hard and motivated to learn.

• Sight Word Flip Books – These thin sight word flip books allow students to practice each sight word with multiple sentences. Have the kids glue them onto sheets of paper as they read and re-write the sentences or let them staple them together to form little flip books. Keep them in literacy folders or buckets for students to use as they improve their fluency with the words they are working on.

• Sight Word Mini Books – The sight word mini books work very similarly to the flip books but they have larger print and focus more on reading than writing. Students cut the sentences out and compile their booklets with a staple or ring. Have kids flip through their books to practice their words throughout the week before completing a new booklet.

• Sight Word Sentence Builders – These mini anchor chart words are great for forming sentences with your whole class or during small groups. Display them on a pocket chart for students to read. Before making full sentences, let kids help you unscramble the sentences to make sense. Use the pictures as context clues to help with fluency and comprehension.

You can learn more about these fun sight word activities in my Sight Word Activities for Preschool and Kindergarten post. I detail all of the resources included and how I like to use them.

Dolch Sight Word Flash Cards

This set of 238 Dolch sight word flashcards fit perfectly into a photo bin! The bins are easy to store anywhere in the classroom and easy for kids to access. I print mine in black and white, glue them down on colorful cardstock, and then laminate them for durability. This allows me to color-code them in smaller groups so students can words on one color at a time before advancing to the next level of difficult words.

Use the flash cards during RTI or small groups, assign them as homework, let kids practice during morning work, tape them around the room for reading the room, or let kids sort and match the words.

Grab the Dolch Version or the Fry Version from my site.

Sight Word Digital Activities

If you use Google Classroom or Seesaw, these digital sight word activities are a great addition to literacy centers and distance learning. There are ten different activities for each word!

Within the slides, students will listen to the word, say the word, spell the word, trace the word, write the word, make the word, find and highlight the word, type the word, read the word, and use it in a sentence. As kids progress through these slides for each word, their fluency skills will improve and you will see their confidence soar!

Access Fry’s First 100 Words here or grab the version for Fry’s Second 100 Words here.

Use a combination of these activities to get students excited to learn their sight words. Give your students small goals to achieve first. Once those goals are met, they can move onto the next small set. After using these resources, your students will love practicing their sight words in the classroom and at home.