Are you looking for a fun literacy center activity that you can set up for independent learning? Try our free printable sight word game for kindergarten kids. This free fall-themed game is fully editable and perfect for fall literacy centers.
A WORD FOR PARENTS
You may be wondering why we have such an emphasis on sight words for young learners. Sight words are those words that are often used in reading and writing. The goal is for children to recognize these words without having to sound them out. When they can do that, fluency levels rise. But more importantly, they will experience success in their reading.
This activity works well with these resources:
In 1996, Dr. Fry published a book titled “Fry 1000 Instant Words.” In his research, Fry discovered that
- The first 25 words make up approximately 33% of the words found in published items.
- 100 words comprise approximately 50% of all written material.
- 1000 words make up approximately 90% of everything we read.
Sight words play an important part in any balanced reading program. Being able to instantly recognize even the first 25 sight words is going to increase fluency. Pair that with phonic skills and you will have confident readers.
If you are interested, you can download a copy of the first 100 Fry’s words here
THE BEST WAY TO LEARN SIGHT WORDS
There really is only one way to learn those sight words. That is to practice, practice, and practice some more. Children love games, so incorporating sight words into a game is a great way to sneak in some practice.
I would also add that the best way to internalize sight words is to use them in context. Children do this best through writing and reading. The more the children use their words in writing, the easier it is for them to recognize them when reading. There is a huge correlation between reading and writing.
KINDERGARTEN SIGHT WORD BOOKS
This is a BUNDLE of Sight Word Books with matching printables. Each book is a predictable pattern, so the kids can focus on learning the sight word. (Rather than decoding all the surrounding text!) It includes printables to provide opportunities for students to practice using the words. Get your copy here.
FALL PRINTABLE SIGHT WORD GAME
We’ve created a FREE printable sight word game for one or two players. This fall-themed game is perfect for this time of year. Students move to the finish line reading and writing sight words along the way. You can use it in literacy centers, or for early finishers.
Teacher Tip: send the link of this post home to parents, so they can download the game.
You may recognize the similarity between this and the winter sight word game. This is quite intentional and is designed to save you time. Your students only need to learn how to play once. Then you keep their interest by swapping out the theme and /or words at regular intervals.
FULLY EDITABLE
The game is fully editable. It has space for 24 words so that you can change it to meet the needs of your students. You can choose 24 individual words, or repeat 12, or even 6. It just depends on your needs.
Of course, this game can be used for more than sight words. You can use word families, blends, digraphs. Enter any words your class needs to learn, and those words will autofill all the sheets. It makes preparation really easy.
We have provided color and black and white version of the board. Each game comes with a recording sheet. This ensures that your students practice writing the words as well as reading them.
MATERIALS NEEDED
- Free printable sight word game pdf (below)
- Cardstock
- Copy paper
- Dice
- Game pieces. You can use anything that you have handy, mini erasers would work well. These mini Jack O lantern erasers would be perfect or some more traditional pieces.
- Laminator (optional)
GETTING THE GAME READY
Prepping the editable sight word game is really easy!
- Download the free file (below).
- Use the words we provided or type in your own.
- Take a moment to check the game boards to ensure all the words fit into the squares.
- Print the game boards onto cardstock and laminate for durability.
- Print the recording sheets onto paper.
HOW TO PLAY THE GAME
There are 2 ways to play the game.
- Students can play by themselves. Demonstrate how to roll a dice and move the game piece accordingly. They read the word they land on. They then find it in the list of sight words on their recording sheet and then write it down. Roll again until they reach the finish line.
- Alternatively, have students to play with a partner. Invite them to take turns rolling the dice and moving their game pieces. As before they read the word they land on and record it on their sheet. If they land on a square with a leaf, they get an extra turn.
BONUS SHEET
Once again, we’ve provided a writing sheet. This helps make that connection between reading and writing. Students can choose any one of the sight words they recorded. Then write a sentence about fall and draw a picture.
GRAB YOUR COPY
Ready to play? Click on the download button below to grab your free printable sight word game and bonus sheet.
MORE SIGHT WORD ACTIVITIES
Click through for sight word