Sight word games for first grade

1st Grade Sight Word Games Your Child Will Love!

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One of the best ways you can help your child learn to read sight words is through engaging and fun educational games. I have pulled together this list of my absolute favorites for 1st grade sight word games your child will love!

Table of Contents

A List Of First Grade Sight Words

Although I rarely use grade level in our learning,  as a reference, I thought it would be good to take a look at an official list of sight words for first grade.

Why Children Struggle To Learn Sight Words

Many children struggle when presented with a sight word as part of their reading practice. This is because sight words rely solely on familiarity and memorization for the child to be able to identify and read it. 

The younger your child is, the less exposure they’ve had to these words, and the less likely they are to be able to immediately recall them. 

Even if your child is well beyond the first grade, these words can cause difficulties for many readers, and may require an out-of-box approach to learning them. 

The Power Of Adding Play To Learning To Read

If you’ve been following our site for any length of time, you’re already know that we are game obsessed.

Children are doing so much more than simply having fun when they are engaged in play. Playing games works on a host of skills, including:

• Verbal communication
• Self-regulation
• Turn-taking
• Sharing
• Listening
• Cooperation
• Focus and attention
• Following directions
• Creativity
• Social skills
• Learning to handle wins and losses
• Cognitive skills such as counting, color/shape/pattern recognition, strategy, problem solving, early literacy, etc.

It has been said that play is the science of childhood.  There is something to be said for the hands-on, experiential learning that playing games together provides. Research has shown that student outcomes are much better in both understanding and retention when an element of play is added to the learning.

First Grade Sight Word Games: Multi-Sensory And Hands-On

These games are perfect for practicing sight words. All of them contain hands-on and multi-sensory learning that is ideal for this age group. 

Sight Words Splat

Sight Words Splat is a card game that helps kids practice quick recall of sight words. 

Zingo

Zingo from Think Fun is a personal favorite. It’s the Bingo of sight word games with a little extra multisensory action as kids “feed” the cards into the Zingo case. 

Matching Letter

Matching Letter helps with the basics of reading sight words, and also spelling them!

Dino Stomp

Dino Stomp is perfect for kids who love to move as they learn. Stomp on the sight words as you practice. 

Pop For Sight Words

Pop is an easy, grab and go game to help your first grader practice their sight words.

Sight Word SWAT

Sight Word SWAT is fun even for mom! Kids literally swat sight words as they practice with their very own “fly swatters”. This one is a favorite!

More First Grade Sight Word Games

I have curated an entire list that can help you see all that’s available for first grade sight word games. In addition to the above games, you may also want to consider:

• Slam Shifts!
• Rhyming Puzzles
• Sight Word Magnets
• BINGO cards for sight words

Looking For More Educational Games For Kindergarten and First Grade?

Playing educational (and non-educational) games with your first grader is something you’ll never forget!

Looking for  more gameschooling resources?

Never Board Learning is a private online community for creative parents and educators who embrace play-based learning and gameschooling. This is a wonderful way to add more educational games and interest-led learning to your homeschool routine.

Never Board Learning features a private community forum (not Facebook), guest speakers, live Q and As, day-in-the-life family spotlights, a private blog, and access to a growing printable resource library. 

Play can boost connection, fuel learning, and revolutionize your homeschool routine. We all know play is an essential part of child development, but how do you fit it in when you have a huge homeschool to-do list?

In this digital course, you’ll learn how to add more play to your homeschool day with gameschooling. Gameschooling is the intersection of play and homeschooling and it can change your entire homeschool atmosphere for the better! 

Join the fun today!

Visit the NBL and MLP Amazon Storefront for more gameschooling, homeschooling, and book recommendations!

13 Highly Effective And Fun Sight Word Games To Help Your Kids Learn

What Are Sight Words?

What’s the most common word in the English language? It’s the. Imagine pausing every time you ran across this word in a book, on a poster, or in a magazine. Even the simplest texts would become grueling to read.

Common words in the English language (like the) are often grouped together in the early stages of reading — these are what we mean when we speak about sight words. Sight words aren’t easy to sound out or decode, especially for young readers who are just learning the rules to sound out words, so we memorize them (or, in other words, recognize them by sight).

These words occur so frequently that readers, including very young readers, need to know them instantly. And once your child learns basic sight words, they won’t need to spend a lot of time trying to decipher these high-frequency words.

Sight words are dually helpful in this way: they help your child instantly recognize familiar words and help them bypass trying to sound them out because, phonetically, they often don’t make much sense!

Why, for instance, doesn’t the word was rhyme with has? Why doesn’t have rhyme with gave? The first of each is phonetically irregular, despite the fact that they’re some of the most common words in the English language.

As adults who learned to read many years ago, we don’t think twice about why we pronounce sight words the way we do. We also don’t consider why was and has or have and gave don’t rhyme.

Our reading of these words happens automatically, and that’s what helps us read fluently. But early readers who are learning the rules of the English language need a little help.

That’s where sight word games come in. We’ve compiled a list of fun activities that you can do with your young reader to help them learn sight words. And these activities are great for both you and your child.

For you, a majority of the activities require minimal supplies and prep time, which is great for a busy parent. For your child, the games are lots of fun, so they can learn without even realizing it.

But before we get to these fun activities, let’s be clear on the specific sight words your child will need to be familiar with.

What Words Should You Use For Sight Word Games?

Decades ago, an educator named Edward Dolch developed a list, used widely by teachers, of the words most frequently used in children’s books. He identified 220 “service words” and 95 nouns. The words are broken down by levels: pre-primer, primer, first grade, second grade, and third grade.

Some of the 315 words that comprise the two lists are very easy for kids to learn: a, I, it. Others offer more of a challenge. For instance, the pre-primer list includes you, said, and where.

Here is a list of the 45 sight words we include in our Beginning Reader and Growing Reader pathways:

And, a, the, on, is, to, I, was, you, your, yes, no, do, they, with, that, are, said, girl, boy, were, this, look, like, want, has, of, what, see, go, play, here, very, good, his, her, there, where, have, walk, talk, know, blue, green, little.

Are Sight Words Just High-Frequency Words?

The short answer: not quite. But it’s a little more complicated.

While the terms sight words and high-frequency words are often used interchangeably, there are some key differences.

High-frequency words, as the name suggests, are the most commonly found words in our written language. For example, like, the, it, etc., are all high-frequency words. And some of them follow standard phonetic patterns while others don’t.

On the other hand, though sight words may frequently occur in text, what sets them apart is that they do not fit standard phonetic patterns or the applicable phonetic rules are more advanced. Therefore, they often need to be memorized.

In essence, many high-frequency words can become sight words once a learner reads them instantly without trying to decode them.

One of the best ways to help kids get to this stage of word recognition is to continue exposing them to sight words. This is where games come into play!

13 Fun Sight Word Games To Help Your Child Learn

Parents wear many hats — companion, guidance counselor, teacher, and so on — and all of them are crucial. But one of the most enjoyable parts of being a parent is cutting up with your child and having a little bit of fun.

The good news? Your child can learn and have fun at the same time while playing these games!

We know how invested you are in your child’s future. We want to help you set them up with the best tools for success in the easiest, most enjoyable way possible. So here are some sight word games that will get their brain working and their belly laughing!

1) Sight Word Twister

This is a version of the popular game Twister. If you want to try this game, choose between six or twelve words to work with at a time.

That number will depend on your child’s comfort level with sight words, their attention span, and the amount of time on your hands! Feel free to start small and work your way up with additional rounds.

Write each sight word you chose on a blank index card. Then, clear a space on a wooden or linoleum floor and tape each word so that they are all just a little bit apart from each other (make sure your little one can still reach!). Now the fun begins.

Tell your child to find one of the words — have, for instance — and place an elbow on the word. Then they must put their knee on a second word and their nose on a third. You can go on to a fourth, fifth, or sixth word, or you can stop at three.

Your child isn’t the only one who has to twist and turn. In our experience, children want you to play along with them and be just as silly about the shapes you make with your body!

Plus, giving your child the chance to choose the word you have to touch helps them practice reading their sight words. Being the “game boss” will give them another opportunity to learn!

Your child may have a blast with this game and insist they want to keep going, but it’s best to limit your play to two or three rounds per player. That will help keep them from getting bored with the game (and give their brain a chance to rest!).

2) Pick The Word

If you want to try this game with your child, write your six sight words on index cards — one word per card. On a separate sheet of paper, list the six words twice — one list for you, one for your child.

Next, place the index cards with the words facing down. You can take the first turn. After picking a word from your list, flip four of the cards so the words are showing. If you uncover the word you’re seeking, you can cross that word off your list.

At the end of your turn, flip the cards back over, mix them up, and give your child a turn at flipping four of the cards.

If on your first turn you did not find the word you wanted, you have to hunt for the same word on your next turn. If you found the word you wanted, pick a second word from the list.

The first player to cross off four words wins. To make the game more challenging, you can turn over three cards per turn instead of four, or you can aim to find all six words instead of just four of the words.

3) Word Match Up

On a sheet of paper, write your six sight words three times. Your child’s job is to draw a line that connects each word to the two identical words on the sheet.

After drawing a line that connects the first three words, it’s time to connect the next three matching words.

This game may sound pretty easy, but here’s the hitch: your child cannot cross any line already on the page. The page gets pretty crowded with lines, so this is not an easy accomplishment. They may end up with some kooky, loopy lines — and that’s the goal!

Try it yourself. The more you stumble and struggle, the more your child will enjoy the game!

4) Word Toss

If you’d like to give this game a go, write each sight word on its own Post-it® and then stick the words on the floor. You can also stick them to a wall or a door.

Get a soft toy, like a small stuffed animal, and stand a few feet away from the words. Choose a word and say it aloud. Your child must toss the toy so that it hits the right word.

Your turn next. Your child picks a word for you to hit. The game is more fun if you miss, so don’t worry about having poor aim. You can play to see who reaches a set number of points or who has the most points after five or six rounds.

5) Sight Word Bingo

Selecting from the Dolch lists, you can make custom Bingo cards that use sight words. It makes the perfect, classic sight word game for your child!

We’re sure you know how Bingo works, but just in case, we’ll give you a refresher. Set up one regular bingo board each for you and your child. If more people are playing, you might have teams or make sure you have one card for each player.

Tell your child to pick 24 words. The same words will go on both boards, but in different places on each board. Then write the words on index cards. Turn the cards over and mix them up.

Players will take turns picking cards — reading the words and finding each word on their card. When they find a word, they will cover it with a token or a penny. The first person to get five words in a row wins. Bingo!

6) Sight Word Go Fish

Introducing your child to this game will be easier if they have prior experience with Go Fish. If they don’t, that’s OK, too! It’s easy to learn and a blast to play.

If you’d like to give this game a go, use index cards or cut pieces of paper for playing cards. You can write matching pairs of whichever sight words you want your child to focus on. It’s important that there are at least two cards for each word — the point of Go Fish is to match them!

We recommend starting with 20 cards (ten sets of words) and giving each player five cards in their hand. You can decrease the number for younger children and increase the number (or difficulty) of words as your child gets more comfortable playing.

Tip: For younger kids, you might let your child lay the words on the floor and hide them from you by using a book as a shield rather than them holding the cards in their hand, as that can be challenging.

Your child will read out the word they want to match. If the word is an, for example, and you have the other an card in your hand, then you have to hand it over. If you don’t have the matching card, then you tell them to “Go fish!” from the pile of extra cards.

If your child is a little older and experienced with some sight words already, feel free to sprinkle in words they already know.

The familiarity will help their confidence as they work with their new words. We all like the feeling of knowing how to do something correctly — reinforcing their knowledge positively (like through a game!) will help keep them encouraged to learn more.

7) Sight Word Scavenger Hunt

This option is super versatile — it can be played indoors or outdoors!

We all love a good, old-fashioned scavenger hunt. Instead of hunting pastel eggs filled with candy, though, this game has your child hunting their sight words.

If you want to try this game with your child, write the sight words you want to use on a stack of index cards and number them 1-10. It may also be beneficial to write the words on a separate sheet of paper for your child to reference so they know the selection.

Then make a list of clues for those same words on a separate piece of paper. For example, one clue might be, “I __ a cookie” (have) or, “What word rhymes with buzz?” (was).

Next, simply hide the cards in places familiar to your child. You can use the backyard, a favorite park, or your whole house if it’s an extra rainy or cold day. They’ll use the clues to figure out which words to search for.

Tip: make sure you remember where you put the cards! You’ll need to keep in mind the different locations while you write out your sheet of clues. The numbers on the cards should coincide with the clues. Have fun with some wacky rhymes and hints that will get your child laughing!

The clue list can also be made optional. If you’re working in a small space, your child can always just try to find however many words you hid. If they know to look for 10 cards, then they can just run wild through the room (hopefully not upturning furniture!) searching for them.

8) Sight Word Tower

This is an easy, fun sight word game for your child to try that we guarantee they’ll love — because it involves things crashing and making a mess (but one that’s easy to clean up, we promise!).

While trying this game, you’ll need a stack of paper or plastic cups that you don’t mind writing on with a marker. Near the rim of each cup, write a single sight word you want your child to focus on (that way all the cups are the same).

Then your child simply picks up the cup, reads off the sight word, and tries to create a “tower” or “castle” out of all their sight word cups! Here’s the rub — you can only have three cups on the floor! All others must build on top of those three and cannot be inside each other.

The trick is to make sure the cups don’t fall over — if they do, you have to start again! They win once they stack all the cups (and read all the sight words!).

9) Volleyball

This sight word game is easy and simple as well. All you need is an inflatable beach ball that you can write on with a permanent marker.

For each “sliver” of the beach ball, you’ll simply write down a sight word. Then you and your child will toss the ball back and forth. If you want to simulate a proper volleyball game, then you can do this over a net propped up in a yard.

When you catch the volleyball with your hands, you have to read aloud the two words your thumbs touch. For example, your left thumb may touch the word “blue” while your right thumb touches the word “our.” Once you read the words, toss the ball back to the other player.

You don’t have to write in-between the lines on the ball, either. To make it wilder (and challenging!), you can write words all over the ball. That way the words your child “catches” are even more unpredictable.

10) Sight Word Path

All you need for this fun game is masking tape (or painter’s tape), index cards, and a marker.

First, write one sight word on each index card. Then, arrange your cards face up on the floor to make a “path.” This path doesn’t have to be straight. It can have as many twists and turns as you’d like (i.e., over the chairs, under the table, etc.).

When placing the cards, make sure they are close enough to each other that your child can step from one card to the next. Important tip: Don’t forget to tape them down with your masking tape to prevent slips or falls. Safety first!

Your child will need to stand at the beginning of the “path” you’ve created and read the word on the first card out loud to start the game. Then, when they’ve read it correctly, they step onto that card.

The goal is to read the next word, and the next, and so forth until they reach the end of the path. If you’re playing with multiple children, each child can start once the player before them has gotten to the end of the course.

Once your child is comfortable with this game, encourage them to read and walk more quickly. If they are just starting to learn sight words, you can first introduce them to easy terms and increase the difficulty as they go along.

This activity helps kids read sight words quickly and gain confidence through repetition. They’ll also be burning a lot of energy in the process!

11) Hangman

Hangman is a popular game that can also be great to help children learn sight words. To begin, grab some index cards, a marker, and some sheets of paper.

Write one sight word on each index card. Then, use your marker to draw a Hangman “scaffold” on a sheet of paper. (You can also use a chalkboard and chalk for this activity if those are available. )

Next, place the sheet of paper in front of your child, and put the index cards face down next to it. To play, have your child draw a card from the stack and read it aloud. Give them five to 10 seconds to do so.

If your child mispronounces the word on their card, show them how to add the first body piece to the hangman structure (e.g., the head). That index card will then return to the bottom of the stack for them to try again later.

(Remember to help them pronounce this word before returning it to the stack so that they’ll be better prepared next time.)

If they pronounce the word correctly (yay!), move that card to a “correct” pile. Then, continue playing until all the Hangman body pieces have been added — head, torso, arms, and legs.

Once the game is over, have your child count all the cards from their correct pile and tally this as their score. If you’re playing with more than one person, the one with the most cards is the winner! Note: Each child will need their own sheet of paper with the Hangman structure.

If you’re playing with very young children just starting to learn sight words, you can take two turns to draw each body piece (e.g., for legs, you can draw from the waist to knees, then the knees to the feet). This will give them more chances to get words right before the game ends.

If your child or children are more familiar with sight words, begin the game with the head and torso already drawn, giving them fewer chances to make mistakes.

Also, since any mispronounced words get returned to the stack of cards, your child will be exposed to them again, giving them more opportunities to get the pronunciation correct.

12) Sight Word Discovery

Most kids love discovering interesting items in their homes or backyards. Sight Word Discovery takes this natural love for exploring and mixes it with learning.

You’ll need a few items to get started — index cards, a marker, a large plastic tub, a lot of sand, and craft sticks and rocks (these are optional).

First, write a sight word on each index card. Then, fill the large plastic tub with sand. While filling it up, randomly put the index cards into the tub. You can add some sticks and rocks to the mix as well.

For this game, your child will need to act as a paleontologist who’s on the hunt for sight words (no fossil-finding today!). Every time your child finds a new card, have them read it aloud.

Wow! Look what I found! It’s “the!”

Sometimes parents find it difficult to encourage their children to participate in learning activities or games. But, since children often love playing with sand or dirt, you don’t have to worry about that here!

13) Sight Words On Playdough

Hands-on learning activities are a great way to help children grasp many concepts. That’s because they’re very interactive, allow for creativity, and help to make abstract concepts real.

All you need to get started with this game is playdough, magnetic letters (or letter cutouts from cardboard paper), index cards, and a marker.

The goal is to encourage your child to construct sight words using the magnetic letters. They will then place these letters upright on the playdough.

To play, place a stack of index cards in front of them, face down. Each index card will have a sight word. When your child draws a card, they’ll need to read it aloud and then construct the word on the playdough.

For example, if your child draws the word like, they’ll need to read it, find the word’s letters, and place them upright on the playdough.

To make things a little more interesting, give your child a timer and ask, “How many words can you construct in five minutes?”

This is a great hands-on learning activity to help kids build their own sight words. And playing with multiple children can add some friendly competition.

What About Reading?

Here at HOMER, we’re big advocates of early childhood reading.

Not only do books expose your child to sight words (and high-frequency words), but they also help improve their vocabulary, strengthen their concentration, and expose children to the world around them.

In addition to playing the above sight word games, you can also continue to read regularly to your child to familiarize them with sight words.

Here are a few activity books you can also check out:

• Learn to Read: Sight Words Storybook (For three to five-year-olds)
• Sight Words Word Search Book for Kids (For four to eight-year-olds)
• 100 Sight Words Kindergarten Workbook (For four to six-year-olds)
• Sight Words Activity Book (For five to nine-year-olds)
• Sight Words and Spelling Workbook (For six to eight-year-olds)

Sight Word Games Are Fun And Functional

Games like these are easy to play, require very little equipment, and are highly effective. The more you play these or similar games, the faster your child will learn lots of sight words, which will make them stronger, more confident readers.

We hope you found some interesting options in this list that you’ll try with your child. Remember, sight word games are all about having fun and learning at the same time! Your child will work up their stamina the more they play these sight word games.

And as always, we’re here to offer a helping hand any time you need it. If you find yourself struggling to fit in practice time for your child’s sight words, you can leave them in our hands with the HOMER Learn & Grow app!

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Educational games and tasks online for grade 1 from Kids Smart. Fascinating exercises for first-graders

Math games and tasks, Russian language, development of logic and imagination for the first grade

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task for children of the 1st grade

Attention and memory

Objects in order

Magic cubes

Find the fragment

Wonder cubes

Collect the animal

Collect the photo 9Ol000 Russian language

Syllables

Sounds and letters

Soft and hard signs

Consonants 9Ol000

Colors

Compose a word

Room

Alphabetical order

Attention and memory

Objects in order

Magic points

Mirror cubes

Find a fragment

Miracle tolls

Take the animal

Take a photo

Pick the picture

Fifteen

Show Time 9000 multiplications

Solve an example

Mathematical signs

Addition and subtraction

Comparison of numbers

Equality and inequalities

Russian language

SLOSS

Sounds and letters

Soft and hard signs

consonants

SILLEN AND SUSCH SUSS

VOVICS

WHOLEMMANIA

Find the word

Twe

Word length

Word within a word

End letter

First letter

Start letter

English

Colors

Make a word

Room

Alphabetical order

It's time for school!
The first grade of school is very important. The child will have to adapt to elementary school, learn discipline and learn new subjects. Creating an exercise program for first-graders, we tried to make it as understandable and productive as possible for children.

This section presents educational games and tasks for grade 1 , which are aimed at training logical thinking, quick wit, attention, observation and memory development. Additional tasks will help to consolidate the knowledge of mathematics, Russian and English.

Logic games!
We would like to note that our intellectual games and educational tasks for children of the 1st grade do not replace the school curriculum, but supplement and expand it, give the child the opportunity to practice and develop skills and knowledge. Preschoolers using the Kids Smart platform can prepare for school online. It is the right games for the first grade that will help in mastering the necessary skills that will be useful at school.

Easy progress control!
Education statistics are available to parents in the service. Detailed reports show on which topics the child is making progress, and which topics need to be “pulled up” and repeated. For correct answers, the platform encourages children, gives awards and diplomas. We advise you to complete learning tasks for children in the first grade for 15-20 minutes, several times a week, regularly.

Interactive educational exercises!
Thanks to the game form, the student will be happy to perform a variety of tasks. For example, math games for the first grade is a whole collection of exercises aimed at learning mathematics, and the Word Mania section is exciting and will not leave indifferent any student who wants to expand their vocabulary.

A set of educational tasks and games for Grade 1 is a true learning assistant for your child.

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Word games in the Russian language lessons

It is known that children's interest in learning activities increases dramatically if they are included in the game situation. In play, the child does not act out of compulsion, but out of inner impulse.

The purpose of the game is to help make serious, hard work entertaining and interesting for students.
At the lessons of the Russian language, you can use word games. The peculiarities of their use are that the game is introduced into a certain part of the lesson in accordance with its tasks. An element of competition is introduced into the educational activity, and the success of the task is associated with the game result. In this case, only verbal props are used.

Task: Who will quickly replace all the words in the sentence (except auxiliary) with synonyms?

• The doctor prescribed injections for the patient.
• An angry blizzard covered the paths.
• The driver again began to carefully peer into the darkness.
• The sentry hid from the downpour under the roof of the building.

Task: Who will find foreign words and replace them with Russian ones?

• The inspection revealed many defects.
• He writes memoirs.
• Your arguments are convincing.
• Everyone worked with enthusiasm.
• We are proud of our goalkeeper.
• Information about a football match appeared in the newspaper.
• A tiny amount of copper was found in the alloy.

Task: Who will be able to find Old Slavonic (by origin) words and replace them with Russian:

• Fresh cheeks are burning with a blush.
• The elder frowned.
• A great city was built over the Neva.

Task: Pupils are asked to guess what profession they are talking about and prove the validity of their point of view.

1. He showed me his watercolors and still lifes. The impression of still lifes is a bright, colorful carpet of colors that shimmer and sparkle with all the colors of the palette.
2. Leshem he (Rimsky - Korsakov) he came up with two leitmotifs. One entrusted stringed instruments. The second is played by four horns and cymbals. The leitmotif of Santa Claus sounds harsh and depressing. The timbre of woodwind instruments conveys a feeling of the winter stiffness of nature.
3. - Surname? Istomin Valery Sergeevich.
   - What's wrong with him?
   - Infiltrate in the left lung under the clavicle.
   - And how many grams of streptomycin have you injected into this young man?
   - Fifty-two, Roman Borisovich.
   - Appoint him for a consultation with Zatsepina.

Conditions: Just like in a real auction, the one who has the last word wins the competition. If, for example, the task consisted in the selection of synonyms for the word hot (tea), then the winner is the one who finishes the list of synonyms, will name the last of them.

The game can be played when studying synonyms; for example, tasks are offered to find synonyms for words: move, said, big (house), courage, argument, laugh, longing, bad (person), etc.

one of the proposed topics: 1) clothes, shoes, 2) weapons, 3) vehicles, 4) furniture, 5) words that “retired” after the revolution, etc.