Preschool Sight Word Activities
Sight words refer to those words that are most frequently seen -- on signs, in texts and in other daily reading. Teaching sight word recognition is one of the first stages of literacy instruction because these basic words are so often seen. Sight word identification begins as early as preschool; if you're a preschool teacher, there are several engaging activities that you can incorporate into instruction to foster successful sight word recognition in your students.
Other People Are Reading
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Color Words
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In this activity, children match color words to their corresponding colors. On one set of index cards, draw different colored circles, and on another set write color words using a crayon or marker that matches the name of the color you are writing. Spread the cards out, face up. Students take turns picking up a colored circle and finding the matching color word. If a child has trouble finding the correct word, enlist the help of the rest of the class to find the correct color word.
Sight Word Muncher
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Students feed a hungry monster with this sight word activity. Decorate a new trash can with a revolving or step lid to look like a monster. On index cards or small pieces of paper, write a variety of sight words that you've been working on with your students. Hand out a sight word to each of your students. Act as the monster's voice and state a sight word that you are hungry for; the student holding that sight word must feed it to the monster. For example, if you say, "I'm hungry for the word `it,'" the student holding the word "it" should feed the card to the monster.
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Flashlight Words
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Turn off the lights in your classroom when engaging in this sight word activity. In a darkened room, shine a flashlight on a sight word, perhaps a word on the class calendar or on your shape board. Upon shining the flashlight beam on a word, students shout out the illuminated word. Keep a record of all of the sight words your students are able to read.
Sight Word Hop
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Promote physical fitness and gross motor skill development while engaging children in sight word recognition. Use sidewalk chalk to write several sight words on the ground. Have students line up; one child at a time hops on the words, reading each word as he lands on it. Alternatively, you can state a word and ask a specific student to hop onto the word you have said.
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References
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