Simon Says is a fun game for all ages. Make it even more fun and educational by using sight words. I found the idea here. This is what you do:
1. Give every student participating in the game a sight word on an index card. You can punch two holes at the top and string yard to make them into necklaces or just tape a card on each student.
2. Have the children sit in a circle or at their desks.
3. In this version of Simon Says you will call out some sight words and then give a command. The students who wear the sight word called are to do the command. For example, "Simon says and, like, the jump up." or "Simon says she, look, said spin around."
4. Make sure every student is able to participate in the game and of course, have fun!
Treasure hunts are not only fun, they can be totally educational. When writing the treasure hunt clues, use mostly sight words. I found this idea here. Make sure that the treasure at the end is something your student will be excited about (like a book, candy, pencil, etc). Here is a sample list of clues you could use on your treasure hunt, (bold words are sight words):
1. Are you ready for some fun? Look under the teacher's chair.
2. Go to the teacher's desk.
3. See the poster up on the wall? Can you see the note?
4. Look at the top of the bookshelf. Do you see the note?
5. Have you eaten your lunch yet? Look in your lunch box.
6. Do you like to play? Look on the slide.
7. It is time to end our game. Look in my bag and you will see the treasure!
Have fun playing!
Want to play more outside sight word games with your students? Try playing the game Horse with a sight word twist. This is what you do:
1. Choose one sight word that you would like your students to practice. For example: like.
2. Line up your students.
3. Player 1 attempts to make a basket. If Player 1 makes it, Player 2 must make the same basket, at the exact same spot. If Player 2 makes the basket, then Player 3 and the rest of the players attempt to make the basket as well.
4. If Player 2 does not make the basket, Player 3 gets to be the "leader".
5. Every time a player misses a shot, they add a letter to their score. The first person to get all the letters in the sight word (l-i-k-e) looses the game.
6. The last person still in the game wins!
Have fun playing in the sun!
Looking for a sight word activity that doesn't involve very much preparation? Well try playing Same or Different. Just go to this website and print off the worksheet. Use your sight word flashcards to show your student the two words listed in each row on the worksheet. Then ask your student if the words are the same or different. After your student gives a response, have him/her read the two words to you.
On each row in the worksheet, you will see two slices of cheese. Your student is to color the cheese under the 'yes' column or the 'no' column. This means that yes, the two words are the same or no, the two words are different. Kids will love coloring in what they have found. Have fun introducing these similar words to your student!
Do your students enjoy playing sports? If they do, try playing Sight Word Baseball. I found the idea on this website. Here is how you play:
1. PREPARATION: Get four levels of sight word flashcards. Each level should be on a different piece of colored paper (for example: level 1- blue cards, level 2- green cards, etc). Each color/level also represents a type of hit in the game. Make sure you make a poster that includes that information that is clear for the players to see.
2. Mark the four following spots in the room: 1st base, 2nd base, 3rd base, and homeplate.
2. TO PLAY: Divide students into two different teams. Let them choose a team name.
3. One team is home and the other are visitors. Mix up the flashcards.
4. One student draws a flashcard and goes to homeplate. Make sure to match the color with the kind of hit they are trying for.
5. If the student reads the flashcard correctly, they play according to the kind of hit on the card. (A single- move 1 base, a double- move 2 bases, a triple- move 3 bases, and a homerun- go homeplate). Be sure to have strike out cards in with the sight word flashcards.
6. If the student can't read the sight word, it is an out.
7. Once a team gets 3 outs, the other team gets a turn to "bat".
8. Play to whatever score you wish.
May the best team win!
Time to check out another awesome educational website. Type in http://loving2learn.com/ into your computer and you will find the following:
1. Early Learning links for colors, days of the week, animals, shapes, etc.
2. Learning to Read links for Pre-Reading strategies, reading levels 1-10, leveled book lists, and printable books!
3. Reading links for vocabulary, book lists, comprehension, and favorite stories.
4. Learning to Write links to the alphabet, word families, sight words, and much more.
5. The Writing Craft links to grammar, spelling, and more.
6. Math, Science, Geography, History, and Special Areas are also found on this website.
You will love finding all the wonderful things this website has to offer. Have fun sharing it with your student!
I enjoy finding great sight word resources on the computer. Check out the website called internet4classrooms.com. You will find a list of websites that include language arts skills. You will also find a brief description of each website listed. This way you will know if it could benefit your student or not.
When you get to the website, just click on the grade your student is in. Then click on literacy or math skills. Here is the link to Kindergarten Language Arts Skill Building. You will love this website. Have fun!
