Inside: Easy sight words activities for kindergarten beginning readers plus a list of recommended sight words.
Beginning readers are faced with hundreds of new words to learn as their reading skills take off!
As your child starts school, they may begin coming home with word lists (sometimes called sight words, tricky words, or high frequency words) to help build their speed and confidence with reading. You’re not alone if you both feel a little bit bored or overwhelmed by the thought of learning them all. Where to even start?
Having a couple of energetic kid-friendly sight word activities up your sleeve could help to break up the monotony of memorising words and give you a fun way to practise reading together.
Have a preschooler or kindergartener who is learning to read? Check out these other posts in our Learn to Read series:
- Teaching the Alphabet and Phonological Skills to Preschoolers
- Hands-On Phonics Activities for Preschoolers
- Fun Activities for Preschoolers to Learn Counting Syllables
- Blend and Read CVC Words for Preschoolers
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Download our Sight Word List for Kindergarten Beginning Readers
In kindergarten and preschool, besides learning to read simple phonetic CVC words, children are often expected to instantly recognise easy sight words to help them read faster and more fluently.
Most sight word lists include many high frequency words, or words that are commonly used in text. In our recommended sight word list for Kindergarten Beginning Readers, we've also included tricky words that do not follow regular phonics rules (e.g., "the," "you") or use advanced phonics rules (e.g., "she," "we," "he").
Note: The word "we" has an open syllable, meaning that the vowel at the end of the syllable is not 'closed' by a consonant (like in "wet"). With open syllables, the "e" makes a long vowel sound rather than the short /e/ sound. For younger kindergarten or preschool children, the concept of open syllables may be too advanced to understand. In this case, teaching the word as a sight word may be an easier option.
There are several easy words that require advanced phonics rules to decode. Before your little ones can grasp these advanced phonics skills, it's usually more efficient and effective for them to memorise easy sight words. This way, they can start recognizing them in their early reader books.
I've compiled a list of 20 recommended sight words for beginning readers in kindergarten or preschool! You can download the sight word list and the sight word cards here.
Play these Sight Words Activities Daily!
Engaging in hands-on memory games for learning boosts short-term memory and visual recognition. These activities also help build focus, confidence, and persistence through play.
Incorporating sight words activities into your daily routine is an effective way to help children master these important words. The key to mastering sight words is constant, regular exposure. By frequently practising these activities, children will be able to recognize and identify sight words quickly and effortlessly.
Here are 10 simple and easy-to-set-up sight word activities that you can include as part of your home learning routine.
10 Sight Words Activities for Kindergarten Beginning Readers
1) Circle the Sight Words
- Lay a piece of butcher paper on the table.
- At the bottom of the paper, write 3 to 5 sight words and circle each one in a different colour. Then, write these sight words multiple times all over the paper.
- During the activity, have the children find and circle the sight words using markers that match the colours of the circled words at the bottom. As they circle each word, have your children read out the sight words at the same time!
- Save this butcher paper for the next activity!
2) Hear and Dot the Sight Words
- Lay a piece of butcher paper on the table and write the sight words multiple times all over the paper.
- During the activity, the adult will call out a sight word.
- Children will then search for the sight word and mark it with a dot paint marker.
- This activity helps children associate the pronunciation of the words with their written form, reinforcing their ability to recognize and read sight words more effectively.
3) Grab the Sight Words
- Lay out 3 to 5 sight word cards on the table. You can use more cards for older children.
- Try for a mix of words your child is already/more familiar with and words they don’t yet know.
- Call out a word and invite your child to grab the card they think matches
- Play with siblings or friends to see who can grab the most words!
4) Sight Words on the Stairs
- Place word cards safely on the stairs at home
- Place easier words towards the bottom and harder (less familiar) words towards the top
- Practise reading and saying the words as you climb
5) Sight Words Tic Tac Toe
- Draw a 3 by 3 grid and write a different sight word in each of the 9 spaces.
- Use our sight word cards or write the sight words on sticky notes. Create two sets of the sight words in different colours.
- Play a game of tic-tac-toe: Each player reads a sight word and covers the corresponding word/space with a card or sticky note of the same sight word and colour.
- The first player to form a straight line with their coloured cards or sticky notes wins the game!
- Save this same word grid for the next activity.
6) Sight Words Search and Sort
- Write the sight words on sticky notes (or use our sight word cards) and hide them around the room.
- Have your child search for and collect the sight word sticky notes.
- Sort the sight words and paste each one in the correct space with matching sight words.
7) Smack the Sight Word
- Write 5 to 10 sight words that your child is already familiar with on sticky notes.
- Paste the sticky notes all over the wall.
- Call out a sight word, and have your child find and 'smack' the correct sight word.
8) Sight Word Memory Games
- Place the sight word cards face down on the table.
- Turn over two cards at a time.
- If the sight words match, the child gets to keep the cards.
- If they do not match, turn them face down again.
- Continue until all matching sight word pairs are found.
- Tip: For younger children, use just 5 to 10 pairs of sight words. Include a mix of words your child is already familiar with and words they are still learning.
9) Hopscotch with Sight Words
- Using chalk (if outdoors) or a maximum of 10 word cards, lay out a hopscotch course.
- The idea is to read each word before stepping in the square to complete the hopscotch course
- With repetition, you will find your child can read and complete the course faster each time!
- To make this more fun indoors: try placing each word on a pillow or paper plate
10) Sight Word Display Board
- It can be helpful and empowering for kids to take responsibility for their own learning by setting up a sight word display board. Print the sight word cards and let them be in charge of displaying the words when they have learned to read each one.
- Prepare two baskets labelled ‘words I know’ and ‘words I don’t’ and have your child move cards from one to the other.
- Also, use our Recommended Sight Word List as a checklist. Have your child check off the words that they can recognize and read.
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Questions about Kindergarten Sight Word Activities
Sight words are words your child is expected to instantly recognise through drilled practice to help them read faster and more fluently. Many schools send home sight word lists for reading or spelling practice. Often sight word lists include many high frequency words like the first 100, 200, 300 words that are most commonly used in text. They may also include simple words that do not follow normal phonics rules (e.g. the, you).
Sight words activities help children instantly recognize common words, allowing them to read more smoothly and quickly without needing to sound out each word. These activities improve their ability to recognize words by sight, which is essential for fast and efficient reading.
Sight words activities often involve memory games and repetition, which help strengthen children’s short-term and long-term memory. The key to mastering sight words is constant, regular practice. By frequently engaging in these activities, children will quickly and effortlessly recognize and identify sight words.
To help your child learn sight words, start by focusing on a small group of words at a time to keep the task manageable. Engage them in fun and interactive sight word activities, such as memory matching games, sight word tic tac toe and sight word search games, to make learning enjoyable and effective. Display the sight word cards around the house for constant exposure to help with recognition and retention. By ensuring regular practice, you can effectively support your child in quickly recognizing and remembering sight words.
What's Next?
Try these fun sight word activities for practising and learning new words to boost reading confidence with your kindergarteners and preschoolers!
Ready to move on to spelling? Check out our list of multi-sensory spelling activities and strategies to help your little ones master spelling!
Jones says
I love the ideas and activities for learning sight words. I teach kindergarten.