My kindergartener came home with his first list of sight words, and my job was to help him remember them. We’re going to need some sight word activities to get started! The good news? Teaching activities for sight words for Kindergarten is my jam.
I have lots of free sight word activities that are low prep and fun. I’ve even chucked in printable sight word activities to use on repeat. If you’re after a sight word activity, you’ve come to the right corner of the web. Grab a coffee and sit back with these word activities.
RELATED: Here are 30 Kindergarten activities to keep hands-on learning alive!
What is a Sight Word?
Simply put, sight words are commonly used words in print that are practiced again and again to help keep the early reader moving along. A sight word activity for Kindergarten might include ‘and, the, of,’ etc.
Sight word activities engage children so they can learn through repetition. They do not always follow a phonetic rule. So, when using a sight word activity, you must repeat letter sounds so children can recognize common letter patterns.
Keep in mind memorizing words is different from sounding words out phonetically. Read more about how to help your child with word families.
Why You Need to Use Sight Word Activities with Your Kids
Making sight word activities and saying them aloud will help the words stick, developing your kid’s reading and speaking skills. Sure, you can practice with traditional notecards, but why not spice things up and learn through play?
Children remember what they do, see, and touch. So, slide over the worksheets, and let’s learn through movement to engage the brain.
Here, my son uses his magnetic letterbox to add the words written on the painter’s tape. I write the words on the tape before he comes home from school, and we play this game to review the sight words.
We have a magnetic wall, but you don’t have to. Instead, try playing this sight word activity on the back of a baking sheet pan. Fun fact, most baking sheets are magnetic!!
- Magnet board – place the magnet board somewhere your little one can reach – remember, cookie sheets work too!
- Painters tape – write the sight words on the painters tape and stick them randomly on the board.
- Magnetic letters – see if your child can spell out the word using the magnetic letters!
RELATED: We love alphabet toys because you can use them for years. Here is our favorite toy list to help learn the ABCs!
My Top List of Sight Word Activities for Your Kids
Sensory Play Sight Word Activities
- Letter Stamping Sight Words – (from Friends Art Lab) a great sight word activity for creative kids. Write out some sight words on paper and stick them to an easel. Get yourself some letter stamps and paint, then encourage your child to spell out the word using the stamps. Easy!
- Magic Paper Towel Activity – (from Messy Little Monster) get a paper towel and fold it in half. Write the sight word on one piece and an image related to that word on the other (e.g., draw a fish for the word ‘fish’). Ask your child to read the word ‘fish,’ then they place it into a shallow dish of water. The image of the fish will magically appear behind the word!
- Shaving Cream Sight Words – (from Happy Toddler Playtime) write your sight words over a blank sheet of paper then place them under a clear sensory bin. Cover the words with shaving cream then invite your little to uncover the words! Once they’ve made a discovery ask them to read it out loud and draw the sight word in the shaving cream.
Movement Sight Word Activites
- Blowing Down Sight Words – (from Toddler Approved) get small pieces of paper and write out your sight words, then stick them to light-weight building blocks. Your child can use a party blower to hit the word as you read them out.
- Color Words Drive-In – (from Danya Banya) use some tape to mark out a road and parking spaces. Write out different names of colors on a strip of paper and match it up with the parking. Get your child to ‘park’ the color car that matches the word.
- Puddle Jumping Sight Word Activity – (from Fantastic Fun and Learning) paint some paper plates blue and cut them into the shape of puddles. Shout out the sight words and watch your little one jump onto the right puddle!
- Sight Word Basketball – (from Toddler Approved) put your sight words on foam pieces (you can cut the foam into shapes) and place them on the ground. Call out a word so your kid can dribble a basketball to it, or ask them to bounce on a sight word while they read it out.
- Sight Word Parking Lot – draw a parking lot outside using chalk and write the sight words in each parking space. Read out words so your child can drive their plastic car, scooter, or bike into the space!
- Sight Word Spider Web – (from Toddler Approved) make a webshape using tape (it doesn’t have to be perfect, just give it a go!). Cut out some spider shapes and write your sight words on each one. Call out the words so they can find the correct spider.
- Word Wash and Scrub – (from Dayna Banya) write out your sight word activity using outdoor friendly chalk. Give your child a word and let them scrub it out. These are great sight word activities for rainy months because any chalk left will wash away!
Simple DIY Sight Word Activities
- Balloon Bash Sight Words – (from How We Learn) this super easy one adds a party element! Blow up and tie some balloons from the ceiling (make sure they’re reachable). Write your sight words on each balloon using a marker and ask your little one to hit the right balloon.
- Dot Sticker Sight Word Activity – (from Happy Toddler Playtime) free sight word activities are just as effective as fancy ones! Grab a box and draw some quick circles. Next, write a few sight words inside the circles and the same word on the stickers. That’s all! Watch your child match up the sight words on the box with the stickers.
- Christmas Tree Learning Activity – this is such a great one for the holidays and a hit for toddlers. Create a Christmas tree shape on a piece of paper using cut-up circles from a cardboard roll. Write the sight word in each circle in a certain color. Get your child to place a correct color pompom with the same color sight word!
- Domino Track (play with word cards) – this one works great with numbers, but you can also use it for sight words. Draw out a car track, split it into sections, and write the sight words in each area. Write out the same sight words on plain dominos so the child can match them up.
- Giant Word Search – this one takes a little creativity on your part! Create a word search using sight words on a large piece of paper and stick it on the wall. Write the sight words next to the paper and invite your child to discover the word within the word search.
- Letters on the Stairs – (from How We Learn) you can create free sight word activities in a few minutes! Write the words on pieces of paper and place them on different steps. Call out the word and watch your kids hop to the right stair!
- Mermaid Color by Sight Word – great printable sight word activities includes using a mermaid to learn! This printable has a mermaid split into sections with sight words. The child then colors each section using the code given on the sheet, e.g., and = red.
- Post-It Memory Game – write the sight words on a grid and stick post-it notes over the top. Your child has to lift up up two post-it notes and if the words match they remove the post-it. If they don’t they leave the post-its and continue!
- Printable Sight Word Cards – printable sight word activities are great to reuse again and again! These cards have a sentence with the sight word underlined. The child then traces out the sight word on the card.
- Rainbow Sight Words Lacing Letters – rainbows make great activities for kindergarten. Get large letter beads and printable sight word cards. Your child threads each letter on colorful pipe cleaners to create the word. Easy!
- Secret Code Puzzles – (from ABCS of Literacy) this is a great one to take your child’s sight word activities to the next level. It uses animals as codes to spell out the word. For example, a picture of a monkey means your child uses the letter ‘m’. Use different animals to create a code sight word.
- Secret Message Sight Words – (Days with Grey) get a large sheet of plain paper and write the alphabet at the top. Draw numbers 1-26 underneath each letter. Choose your sight words and ‘spell’ them out using the numbers that match the letters (e.g. for the letter A you would write the number 1). You child looks at which letter matches the number in the box to spell out the word!
- Sight Words Bracelet – (from Hello Wonderful) effortless learning and fun letter bead bracelet making.
- Sight Word Book Stamps – Days with Grey a simple kindergarten writing activity.
- Sight Word Gems – (from The Educators Spin) an incredible sight word activity for bigger kids rather than toddlers. Write the sight words on paper and then again on some clear gems using a sharpie. Watch as they match the gems with the words on the paper!
- Sight Word Paint Sample Puzzles – (from a Little Pinch of Perfect) use old paint samples to create sight word activities. Write out the word on the sample and the individual letters of each word on another sample (make sure to cut the letters up, so they’re random). Put the letters in one pile and the words in another, then get your child to create the word using the letters.
- Sight Word Pick-Up Stickers – (from Fantastic Fun and Learning) put your sight word activity on the bottom of a paper cup and each letter of the word on individual craft sticks. Place the letters in the matching cup. When your kid tips out the sticks, they can use the word on the bottom of the cup to rearrange the sticks, making the word.
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Use A Sight Word Activity to Make Learning Fun
Sight word activities are amazing for enhancing literacy learning. And remember, activities for sight words for kindergarten can be quick, free, and easy!
What’s next? Continue reading to and with your Kindergartener! Here is our favorite list of Kindergarten read aloud.
