15 Best Sight Words Games to Play With Kids

Sight Word games are important games that parents should play with their children. Sight Words are simply common words that appear in any reading material. Words like ‘Does’, ‘See’, ‘Can’, ‘At’, ‘Big’ and ‘Go’ are a few examples. When children learn to recognise words, they will be able to read and write faster. But learning can be quite boring. That’s why parents need to make an effort to make learning fun for their kids. Read on for some sight words game ideas.

Video: Super Fun Sight Word Games for Kids

Sight Words Games for Your Little Learner

Here are some sight word games for kids that will have your little ones pronouncing all his sight words like pros.

1. Hanging Sight Words

This one will have the kids jumping, reading and having fun as they learn. 

How to Play 

Grab some streamers, markers, tape and some index cards. Write down a word on each index card. Next, you will need to tape each card to a streamer. Start from the doorway and work your way around the room. You can tape them at different lengths to make it more interesting.

You can either say the word out loud, and your kids will have to identify and jump to grab the correct word, or you can have them jump and pronounce the word that they grab, out loud and clear.

2. Opposites Attract

This game is fun, not only for teaching your kids sight words but also for teaching them their opposites. This one is one of the first-grade sight word games as it is a little complicated for kindergarteners.

How to Play 

Write down a few sight words on small cards. Make sure that each word has a matching opposite in your deck. Start placing the cards down one by one. Your kids will need to call out “snap!” when one opposite lands on the other. You can then have them read out both words.

3. Flashlight Words

This game is very simple and is best played after dark.

How to Play 

You will need to make sight word flashcards first and tape them around the house. After it gets dark, take your children on an adventure with a flashlight. Go around the house trying to find the flashcards with the flashlight. Once the light lands on a word, have your kids read out the word.

4. Stinky Cheese

This game is quite fun, but it needs a little prep.

How to Play 

You will need to get some yellow and orange-coloured papers. Cut all of them into triangle shapes and then write down the sight words on the yellow papers. The yellow triangles are the good cheeses, while the orange triangles are the stinky cheeses. Keep all the triangles in a bag. Your kids will need to blindly put their hands into the bag and bring out one triangle. If they get the good cheese, they will first need to read out the word on the triangle and then keep the cheese. If they get a stinky cheese, they have to give back all their good cheese.

The game should be played with a timer. Once the timer goes off, the child with the highest number of good cheese wins!

5. Hide and Seek Flashcards

You will need a few sight word flashcards and some images that go with them. Fun and easy, this game can keep the kids entertained for quite a while.

How to Play 

Hide the pictures under each of the flashcards and have your kids look for them. The only way to find them is to read the word first. Once the word has been read correctly, your kids will be able to turn it over and see or get the picture.

6. Flipping Pancakes

Kids love to flip things, so this should be a pretty interesting game to play. This game is also a great way to make use of your delivery boxes.

How to Play

Cut little circles out of the boxes and then write down one sight word on each circle. Place them on the table or floor with the written part facing the surface below. Then, have the kids flip each pancake over. When each pancake is flipped over, the word should be read out loud.

7. Memory

This is another sight word game that is similar to a card game.

How to Play

Spread out the cards on a table (word side down). Then you can have the children flip two cards over at a time. They can take turns flipping two cards over at one time. When they find a pair, they should be able to read it. If they manage, they get to keep the pair. If not, they have to flip it over and try again. The one who gets the most numbers of pairs wins.

8. Sensory Word Hunt

If your kids love the sensory game, this one will become a really great way to teach them sight words.

How to Play 

Get some letters that you can bury in a tub of sensory beans, rice or sand. You can use the letter magnets if you don’t have anything else. You then write down a few words on some cards, depending on the kids’ reading level. Then, have them practice reading each card and searching for the alphabets in the tub with the sensory beans, rice or sand, and form the word.

9. Toss the Word Ball

Whether or not your children can read, you can still use this game to get your little ones to get used to how certain words look.

How to Play 

Take a beach ball with different colours. Write down all the sight words on the ball. Play pass or catch with the ball. You can have your kids read out the word or words in a particular colour facing them when they catch the ball. If your kids are not yet reading, you can always just have them point to a word, and you can read it out making sure to have them look at the word and repeat after you.

10. Popsicle Word Puzzle

Your kids can join you in making this one.

How to Play 

Your kids can help you out by colouring two popsicle sticks in the same colour. You can then join them together by laying them flat. This way, when you write the sight word and then separate the sticks, the top half of the word is on one popsicle stick, and the bottom half is on the other. When you shuffle everything, your kids will have to find the popsicle sticks that matching to get the entire word. Once you find the pairs, place them together and have your kids read them.

11. Sight Word Cup Stacking Challenge

This is a fun sight word activity to play with the kids.

How to Play 

Grab a stack of paper cups and write down the sight words on the bottom. See how high the kids can stack the pyramid before it comes down. When your kids read the word on the cup, they get the cup to stack with. You can set a time limit to make it a lot more entertaining and challenging for the kids.

12. Muffin Tray Sight Words

This is one of the fun sight word games for kindergarten children.

How to Play 

Take a few of the paper muffin cups and write down a sight word in each cup. Place them in a muffin tray and hand a bottle cap to your kids. Have them take a toss at the muffin tray. Whichever cup the bottlecap lands in needs to be read out loud.

13. Sight Word Bingo

The whole family can join in to make this more fun for your kids.

How to Play 

Make fifteen grids (5×3) on a piece of paper and write down a few words in some of them, leaving some empty. The words should be apt for your kids’ reading abilities. Read the words out loud and try to get a bingo. Your children will learn better when trying to match the words called out.

14. Magic Sight Words

This will be a little artsy fun, but it will ensure your kids learn to recognise words in a colourful way.

How to Play 

Take a large white-coloured cardboard or poster board. Write down different sight words on the paper with a white crayon. Then have your kids use watercolours on the chart. The different words will reveal themselves, and the children can read out the words that are being revealed.

15. Word Catch

This learning method is great for those kids who simply cannot sit still to learn anything.

How to Play 

Take at least ten little balls. They can be tennis balls or ping pong balls. Take a small paper or paper tape that can be written on and tape one word onto each ball. Play a game of catch. When your kids catch a ball, have them read it out.

Kids are smart, but they are easily bored. These sight word games will help them learn the basics well and also build up great memories to carry with them for the rest of their lives.

Also Read:

Interesting Word Games for Children
Writing Games and Activities for Children
Best Games for Children to Learn English