Sight word games for kindergarteners

25 Crazy Fun Sight Word Games

Turn early reading into a sight word game and you’ll have a reader for life! A sight word game is a perfect opportunity for kids to practice sight words and build their reading skills. Sight word games can be a great way to help your little learner improve their reading skills, vocabulary and fluency. They are easy to set up and play, and your child will have a lot of fun.

Fun and Learning Sight Word Games for Kindergarteners

Reading skills can be hard work which is why we adore the idea that mastery of reading sight words can be turned into a game! Using toys, games, and activities will give your early reader a chance to see reading as fun, rather than hard.

Related: More Sight Word Games

Whether you are in the classroom, at home, or just having fun on the go, here are some of the best free sight word games we found online.

1. Word Building with Duplo Blocks

Learn all about how letters form words with letter matching and Duplo blocks! This letter matching game from The Printable Princess could be used for any word learning!

2.

“Bob” for words by hanging the words each on a word card your kid is learning from a door frame and letting them pull them down as they read it correctly. This game Via The Pleasantest Thing makes practice silly fun!

3. Opposite Matching Game

If you love opposites (and who doesn’t?), you’re going to love playing this opposite matching game from Kids Activities Blog! This combines sight words with non-sight words to let kids challenge their reading while concentrating on the word definitions. This more advanced reading activity can work great for kids in first grade!

4. Sight Word Toss Game

Toss the lid into the cupcake tin and say whatever word it lands on. Changing out the words can keep this game evolving while engaging children to continue playing. This fun game from Growing Book By Book is so much fun!

5. Pick Up Stick Sentences

Can your kiddo figure out how to line up the pick-up sticks to write a whole sentence? Whoa! That’s like next-level learning in this fun activity by J Daniel 4’s Mom!

6.

Sift through the “I Spy” bin and figure out how the different letters match up to make words. Happy ready from Mess For Less!

7. Shark Fin Word Game

Match up the teeth to the shark fin words just like in the book Shark in the Park. This learning activity from Growing Book by Book has a lot of bites!

8. Roll a Sight Word Alien

This game of chance will give you either the coolest or the weirdest alien ever. It is all a matter of rolling the dice and playing along with what can be read. FUn game from Play Dough To Plato!

9. Sight Word Beach Ball Toss

Toss the word ball and practice words while the kiddos enjoy fun kinetic movements. This reading activity from Kids Activities Blog is great for the classroom and is a favorite of many Kindergarten and First Grade teachers.

10.

Think your little is ready for a rousing game of blackout bingo? Well, this sight word blackout from This Reading Mama is even more fun because they’ll be learning words as they play! Grab the common words Sight Word challenge Bingo-style or create your own with your child’s sight word lists.

11. Connect the Word Game

Connect the Duplo blocks to spell out words according to this printable from Mom Inspired Life! Teach kids to read with this word smash idea using blocks you already have at home (or in the classroom)!

12. Spot the Sight Word Dominoes

Match up these sight word “dominoes” and see where the game takes you! Grab these high-frequency words that students in kindergarten through second grade typically need to know by sight. Clever game matching sight words perfect for literacy centers.

13. Sight Word Go Fish

Go fishing in your living room and learn all about whatever words you catch! Common sight words are so much easier to memorize through this game by Play Dough To Plato!

14.

This shaving foam mystery bin is going to be a blast! Your kids are going to learn to letter and word recognition while searching through this goopy mess of fun game from Mess For Less!

15. Free Printable: Gumball Word Game

This gumball machine printable from Paly Dough to Plato is definitely fun you’re going to ‘chew’ on for a bit…get it?  Early reading skills and learning sight words have never been more engaging!

16. Picture & Magnetic Letter Board Activity

Learn sight words by learning their picture pairs with this magnetic word board idea from Miss Giraffe’s Mom! The big colorful sight word cards work perfectly with your magnetic letters for young readers.

17. Word Parking Lot Activity

They paved paradise and put up a sight word parking lot (unavailable). This parking lot by Juggling with Kids is truly sight-reading heaven! This is an easy and fun way to learn for pre-K, preschool and Kindergarten.

18. Craft Stick Reading Puzzle

Let your kids match up the words with this colorful stick puzzle game from This Reading Mama! Smash the sticks together puzzle-style to uncover the hidden words.

19. Shake, Shake, Shake Those Sight Words

Shake shake shake, shake shake shake, shake those sight words! Recognize those words while dancing, singing, and reading in this fun activity by I Can Teach My Child!

20. Craft Stick Sight Word Challenge

Pick a stick, any stick! These sticks have sight words, and these words are totally going to ‘stick’ for your kids!  Challenge kids to seek and find sight words with this simple DIY game from Teach me Mommy!

21. Silly Word Swat Game

Swat the words as they’re said with this fun and silly swatter game (unavailable) idea from PBS! Grab the challenging word list your child might have and create your own custom set of post-it note words!

22.

Use toys to teach your children not only sight words but sentence structure and actual reading! Grab some favorite toys, some challenging words and play this sight word game and you have a customized reading game at the perfect level for your reader. Clever idea from Kids Activities Blog!

23. Snakes, Ladders & Sight Words

Instead of Chutes and Ladders, play this fun printable with snakes, ladders, and sight words from Sight Words! Grab this free printable game and start playing this traditional board game in a non-traditional way.

24. The Very Hungry Caterpillar Sight Word Game

Here’s another fun printable board game from Play Dough to Plato that uses the themes from The Very Hungry Caterpillar to teach sight words! Readers will love moving their game pieces around the board making sure their very hungry caterpillar gets fed!

25.

Write words on the bottoms of cups and see how high your kids can make their word pyramid before it tumbles to the ground! What a fun sight word game from J Daniel 4’s Mom!

More Fun and Learning Activities for Kids of All Ages from Play Ideas

• These friendship bracelets teach about friendship, of course with your kids’ friends.
• Let your toddler learn more alphabet with these alphabet letters activities and learning play
• Summer with kids is soo fun with these seashells activities.
• Start Mathematics to your toddllers with these simple Math activities.
• Sweet tooth can turn to creative minds with these crafts made out of marshmallows!
• More fun activities for your 2-year-old with this creative list.
• Pony beads refine you kid’s motor skills! Create fun crafts with it.

Which crazily fun sight word games are you playing with your kiddo today?

Sight Words Games for Kindergarteners Online

The, and, it, is, my are just a few examples of sight words important for kids to learn at a kindergarten level. These words form the building blocks of a child’s speech and vocabulary.

Through Splash Learn’s Sight Words Games for Kindergarteners, we’ve come up with fun and enjoyable educational experiences for children to learn and incorporate sight words into their daily speech usage with ease!

Typically, as parents or teachers, you would use flashcards or books to help your child learn sight words. But do you find that these methods are not often engaging enough for your kids to pick up the basics from? 

That’s where SplashLearn’s interactive educational games step in. Based on comprehensive research, we’ve created personalized ways for your child to pick up sight words in a fun way. We’ve put together a range of almost 300+ sight words games to keep kindergarteners occupied. 

SplashLearn’s sight words games for kindergarteners are used by almost 40 million people globally, with learners located in 150+ countries around the world. Used in 1 out of 3 schools, these sight words games comprise engaging audiovisuals to help kids:

• identify, 
• read, 
• listen and 
• speak sight words. 

These sight words games comprise a mix of 

• Dolch Sight Words and 
• Fry Sight Words

In other words, these games contain the best combination of sight words in the English dictionary that help your child practice their English skills. 

• Identifying words: These ELA games help kids to practice and identify sight words. These games have built-in timers, making the experience thrilling and fun while covering the basics of the curriculum. 

• Swift reading: SplashLearn’s sight words games help kids quickly pick up and read sight words. By journeying through an interactive video-based game, kids pick up the pace of identifying and decoding sight words. This ultimately helps build a solid foundation for reading as kids can quickly put sight words together in sentences. 

• Recognizing sounds: We understand that identifying sight words through sound is as important as recognizing them through sight. There are games dedicated to helping your child identify sight words by listening to them in addition to reading alphabets on the screen.  

SplashLearn’s adorable characters take your kid through an array of imaginative lands: from minecarts to adventures across the sea, the games use a variety of backdrops to keep children excited. The games are designed using easy and engaging shapes and colours that are sure to keep your kids occupied for hours. 

Choose from Fry Sight Words for kindergarteners such as “the”, “and”, and Dolch sight words for kindergarteners like “are”, “all”, “am” - there are hundreds of games to provide your child with an extraordinary online learning experience.  

Specifically developed for the kindergarten grade, these games focus on helping kindergarteners build their reading, listening and speaking skills in terms of sight word usage. 

As a parent or teacher, you can rest assured your child spends their online time productively with the perfect blend of learning embedded into a set of games created to occupy them. 

Some other features of SplashLearn’s kindergartener games are: 

• Highly interactive
• Personalised for kids 
• Meets kindergarten curriculum requirements
• Safe to use 
• Weekly updates and progress shared with parents 

SplashLearn is free to use for parents and teachers! Loved by people worldwide, SplashLearn’s unique interactive online experiences ferry kids through a digitally attractive learning journey. By signing up for free, you can access the sight words games for kindergarteners.  

Take your child on a trip through SplashLearn’s ELA sight words games to understand how you can make your child’s learning experiences exciting and insightful. Whether it’s English or math, SplashLearn is replete with academically approved games for kindergarteners! 

Try SplashLearn for Free

Top 10 word games with children • Ursa Major School of Parenthood

The game is for joy. And the game that pleases, in itself, often provokes the development of the child much more than a specially organized educational game. Zhenya Katz tells how to play with letters and words to make it fun.

Very many games that develop verbal or sound thinking are oral. You can think of a certain object, but answer the question only “yes” or “no”. Let's say I guessed what is on my table. And the child starts asking:
− Is it big?
I say:
− No.
− Is it larger than a glass?
- No.
− Is it square?
- Almost.
− Is it iron?
- No.
− Is it wooden?
- No.
− Is it rubber?
− Yes.
− Is it black?
- No.
− Is it white?
− Yes.
− Is that an eraser?
− Yes, it's an eraser. You guessed it, well done. Now you tell me, and I'll ask.

You can guess some simple things and suddenly it turns out that it is not so easy to guess them even for an adult, although the hidden object is completely simple, everyday.

You can make word riddles. But not classical, folk, which everyone knows and which are printed in collections: a girl is sitting in a dungeon, and a scythe is on the street. Modern children have not seen how carrots grow, so they cannot guess what kind of scythe it is on the street, why the girl is sitting in a dungeon and why this has to do with carrots. That is, they are ready to learn both this text and this answer. But they cannot correlate, they did not see it, this is not an easy metaphor.

By riddles, I mean something completely different. You can describe an object by naming several of its features, giving a definition. For example, a beast that meows.
- I thought of a striped beast that eats grass.
Child says:
− Tiger?
- Not a tiger. The tiger does not eat grass. And this beast also has hooves and a mane.
− Aaah, a horse!
− Striped!
Or I can say:
− Yes, only the name of the beast begins with the letter "z".
- Striped horse on the "z" ... Aaah, a zebra!
Or I can say:
- Sour, yellow and oval.
Child:
− Oh, I know it's a fruit.
− Yes, fruit. Which one then? It is also put in tea.
− Yeah, yellow, lemon!
Or:
- Red, round, put in a salad.
I could mean a tomato, and the child says, "Radish." Great, that's fine too.

It is useful to come up with such riddles. Nothing less useful than guessing.

It is not so easy for an adult to pronounce them. Therefore, if you play tongue twisters with your child, start with yourself. Try to pronounce it quickly yourself and show the child how you practice, how you train, how you learn it.

You can play with some verses: you start, and the child remembers the right word at the end.
− Where did the sparrow have lunch? At the zoo,…
− … animals.
While the child remembers the right word, you can offer funny options.
- Stayed with a rhinoceros, ate bran ... the road.
- No, - says the child, - not the road.
− What is it? From the threshold.
− No-no, not from the threshold.
− What?
− Not much!

You can also play - name some groups of words and guess who is extra. Significantly, there can be multiple correct answers in this game. You can play it on the go, invite your child to come up with such riddles. But it is important that he explains his decision. For example, I can say: "bus, tractor, trolley bus, tram. " Which of these words is redundant? Someone can say that the bus, because it is on the "A", and all the others begin with the letter "T". Someone will say that the tram, because only he goes on rails, and everyone else does not. Someone will say that it is a tractor, because it is not public transport, but everyone else carries people. Do you understand? Any explanation is fine.

It is important that it is also useful for the child to come up with such problems. After all, only adults are always the bearers of the ultimate truth: first you guess, then the child. And this is not only a game, but also a process of communication. If you like to invent, then that's great.

There is such a wonderful game "Snowball". It is both verbal and developing memory. One says:
- Cat.
Second:
− Cat, dog.
Third:
− Cat, dog, hare.
Fourth:
− Cat, dog, hare, tiger.
Any words can be spoken. There is also another version of this game. Let's say the first one says:
- I'm going camping and I'm taking a spoon with me.
Second:
− I am going camping and I am taking a spoon and a bowl with me.
And so on. Everyone adds their own. But at the end, not at the beginning. That is, initially he must remember all the words that were said before him, then add his own.
When we play with a group of children, I suggest not only naming the words, but also, if someone has forgotten, you can prompt, but only with gestures.
You can name the first letter in each word, and this is also not so easy for some children. But when you have already done it, then some riddles are all one letter. For example, we think of all the words with the letter "M". I say:
- It's so big, with wheels, you can ride on it.
− Machine.
− Okay, then I'll make another guess with the letter "M". It's so tasty, cold and comes in a waffle cup.
− Oh, that's ice cream!
− It's also so sweet and made by bees.
- Med.
− And now let's try to come up with something on "M".
And this is much more difficult: to come up with a word that begins with this letter, and then describe it - this is a serious job for a child.

This game is suitable if the child already knows what the first letter is and understands the definition: “this is such a beast that meows”. If he does not name the word itself, but pronounces the description, then after that it is already possible to play. I think many people know the rules, but I'll tell you again just in case.
Contact - a game for several people, you need at least 3-4 participants. The host thinks of a word and tells all the other players the first letter, for example "K". The rest of the players begin to come up with their own words that begin with "K", for example, one says:
- Isn't this the kind of animal that meows?
The host says:
− No, it's not a cat (if he really didn't think of a cat).
The other one says:
− Isn't he like that, Cheburashka's friend?
Host:
− Gena. No, wait, "K". It's not a crocodile.
And so all the players are trying to come up with such a definition that they understand, but the leader does not understand. And if suddenly they succeed, for example, one of the players says:
- She is sweet and is eaten boiled.
The host says:
- Porridge.
− No, she grows in the field, she is tall and has hairs inside her.
The host says:
− Oh, I don't know.
Then the rest of the players start counting: up to 3, up to 5 or up to 10, as you agree. And they say “Contact!”, And then they pronounce the guessed word in unison. If the one who gave the definition and the one who said “corn” agreed, then the driver should tell them the next letter.
− All right, then I'll tell you the second letter. The second letter is "O".

And then all the players who guessed come up with “Ko”. And then, say, they came up with some other definition that the driver did not guess, then they already have three letters. And so little by little they guess the word. And whoever guessed it in the end becomes the next driver.

This game is not as easy as it might seem - it can be difficult even for adults to play it. But if you are not in a hurry, do not try to beat the child without fail, then the game process will give everyone pleasure.

If you don't try to measure who won and who lost, then it works quite well. For example, it allows you to find out how words are spelled. It can be very funny to play with children, they come up with non-trivial spelling and do not always understand which letter is next in the hidden word.

There is a similar game when it is not the beginning of the word that is important for us, but the end: everything starts with “-ok” - “Kuzovok”.
“Sasha walked into the woods, took a box truck with him.
What's on "-ok", puts everything in a box.
And we tell the child that a box is such a basket
− I found a fungus and put it in a box.
You can draw and sculpt everything you find.
− What else can be put in the container?
- Leaflet (put in box).
− What else?
- Boot.
− All right, that's fine.

Many people play cities when they think of a city with the last letter, but cities for young children are too difficult, they do not know so many names. Therefore, you can play with ordinary words. And I say, for example:
- Cat. What is its last letter? "T". So, now you need to come up with a "T". Come on.
- Tractor.
− Yeah, then I'll come up with an "R". I say "rukaV", come on, let's think about what his last letter is?
And here comes an interesting thing. The child says:
- "F"?
I say:
− You know, this can be checked. Let's think, the jacket has one sleeve, and if there are many? Two sleeves. We say "two arms" and not "two arms"
The child agrees:
− Of course, armVa.
- Great, now you know. The sleeve is the last letter "B". See, we checked it out.
It is absolutely not necessary to say that later you will learn this at school. And this is a great way to understand, to check which letter to write.

I guess some letter, and then the children suggest words, and I say if this letter is there, and if so, how many times it occurs. For example, they say:
− Cat.
I answer:
− There is no such letter, none.
Children continue:
- Mountain.
I confirm.
- One.
They say:
- Pineapple.
Me:
None.
They say:
− Fish.
Me:
− One.
And then they can already guess what letter it could be. For example, now I thought of "R".
Or you can ask the child to think of a letter, and then it will be his turn to try to understand which letters are and which are not. And this is a pretty serious analysis.

Author: Zhenya Katz, educator, author of the method of playing teaching children
Series of online lectures "Play and Children"

Watch the free open lesson "Play and Children" with Zhenya Katz.

Word games and exercises for children in kindergarten, Card file of word games in kindergarten

Playing activity of a preschooler > Games for children What is round and what is oval?

Game progress: The teacher asks the child to name as many round and oval objects as possible. The child starts the game.

If he cannot name, the teacher starts: “I remembered that an apple is round and a testicle is oval. Now you go on. Remember what shape is a plum, and what is a gooseberry? That's right, the plum is oval, and the gooseberry is round. (Helps the child name objects and compare them in shape: ring-fish, hedgehog-ball, cherry-leaf cherry, watermelon-melon, acorn-raspberry, tomato-eggplant, sunflower-seed, zucchini-apple) .

In case of difficulty, the teacher shows the child a set of pictures and together they divide them into two groups.

“Flies - does not fly”

Game progress: The teacher asks the children to quickly name objects when he says the word “flies”, and then name other objects when he says the word “does not fly”.

The teacher says: “Flies”.

Children call: “Crow, plane, butterfly, mosquito, fly, rocket, dove”, etc. Then the teacher says: “Does not fly”. Children call: “Bicycle, chamomile, cup, dog, pencil, kitten”, etc. The game continues: the words “flies”, “does not fly” are called by one of the children, and the teacher names the objects together with the children. The game can be played while walking.

"Edible - inedible"

The game is played by analogy with the previous one.

"Alive-non-living"

Game progress: First, we explain that we call all living objects "WHO", and inanimate objects "WHAT". Here are some examples.

Then we play questions and answers. You can use picture books.

What is growing? Who is growing?

Who flies? What flies?

Who swims? What is floating?

Who is the biggest? What is the biggest?

Etc.

“What happens below and what happens above?”

Game progress: The teacher invites the children to think and name something that happens only upstairs.

If the children find it difficult, he prompts: “Let's look up, above us is the sky. Does it happen below? No, it always happens only at the top. And what else happens only at the top? Where are the clouds? (stars, moon) . Now think about what happens only below? Look at the ground. Where does the grass grow? Where does she go?” (plants, ponds, earth, sand, stones, etc.) .

After that, the children independently enumerate the objects of nature that exist only above and those that exist only below.

"What can be sweet?"

Game progress:

The teacher offers the children: Listen carefully, I will call something that is sweet. And if I make a mistake, then I must be stopped, I must say: “Stop!”

The teacher says: "Sugar, marshmallows, raspberries, strawberries, lemons."

The children listen attentively and stop him on the word where he “wrong”. Then the children themselves name what is sweet.

“Answer quickly”

Game progress: The teacher, holding the ball in his hands, becomes a circle with the children and explains the rules of the game: “Now I will name some color and throw it to one of you ball. The one who catches the ball must name an object of the same color. Then he himself calls any other color and throws the ball to the next one. He also catches the ball, names the object, then his color, etc.”

For example, “Green,” says the teacher (makes a short pause, giving the children the opportunity to remember green objects) and throws the ball to Vitya.

"Grass", - Vitya answers and, having said: "Yellow", throws the ball to the next one.

The same color can be repeated several times, as there are many objects of the same color.

The main feature for classification can be not only the color, but also the quality of the object.

The beginner says, for example: "Wooden", and throws the ball.

“Table,” answers the child who has caught the ball and offers his word: “Stone”.

"Home" - the next player answers and says: "Iron", etc.

The next time the form is taken as the main feature. The teacher says the word "round" and throws the ball to any player.

"Sun" - he answers and calls another shape, for example "square", throwing the ball to the next player.

He names a square-shaped object (window, handkerchief, book) and suggests some form. The same shape can be repeated several times, since many objects have the same shape. When repeating, the game can be made more difficult by offering to name not one, but two or more objects.

“How are they similar?”

Game progress: The teacher invites the children to look around and find two objects that are somewhat similar to each other.

He says: “I will call: the sun-chicken. How do you think they are similar to each other? Yes, that's right, they are similar in color to each other. And here are two more items: a glass and a window. How are they similar to each other? And now each of you will name your two similar objects.

Games to eliminate the fourth "extra" word

“Be careful!”

Game progress: The teacher says to the children: I will name four words, one word does not fit here. You must listen carefully and name the "extra" word. For example: matryoshka, tumbler, cup, doll; table, sofa, flower, chair; chamomile, hare, dandelion, cornflower; horse, bus, tram, trolleybus; wolf, crow, dog, fox; sparrow, crow, dove, chicken; apple, tree, carrot, cucumber.

After each highlighted "extra" word, the teacher asks the child to explain why this word does not fit in this group of words, i.e., to explain the principle of grouping.

“Listen carefully!”

Game progress: The teacher says to the child: “I will name the words, and you will say which word does not fit: cat, fox, horse, cow; tractor, car, rocket, bus; pear, turnip, beet, carrot; book, pencil case, ball, notebook; water, thermometer, medicine, cotton wool.

In case of difficulty, he slowly repeats a certain set of words and helps the child to highlight the unsuitable for some reason.

Find out!

Game progress: What berries do you know? Now I will name the words, if among them you hear the word for a berry, then clap your hands.

Presentation words - cabbage, strawberry, apple, pear, currant, raspberry, carrot, strawberry, potato, dill, blueberry, lingonberry, plum, cranberry, apricot, marrow, orange.

"Now I will name the words, if you hear a word related to berries, clap once, if it refers to fruits - twice."

(Words can be used the same, you can come up with others.)

As a basis for systematization, there can be a topic - tools, furniture, clothes, flowers, etc.

Tell me, what are the similarities in taste? color? size?

- lemon and pear

- raspberry and strawberry

- apple and plum

- currant and gooseberry

What is the difference in taste? color? size?

Divided into Groups

Game progress: "What groups do you think these words can be divided into? Sasha, Kolya, Lena, Olya, Igor, Natasha.

What groups can be formed from these words: dove, sparrow, carp, titmouse , pike, bullfinch, zander".

"Pick words"

Game progress:

1. Match as many words as possible that can be attributed to the group wild animals (pets, fish, flowers, weather phenomena, seasons, tools and etc.) .
2. Another version of the same task.

Use arrows to connect words that match the meaning:

ball | furniture

poplar | flower

wardrobe | insects

plate | wood

coat | clothing

ant | crockery

pike | toy

rose | fish

“Similarities and differences”

Game progress: Invite the child to indicate the similarities and differences of the following pairs of words:

Book - notebook | Day - night

Horse - cow | Tree - bush

Telephone - radio | Tomato - cucumber

Airplane - rocket | Table - chair

"Find the opposite object"

Game progress: Naming any object (for example, sugar) , you need to name as many others as possible that are opposite to this one. It is necessary to find opposite objects according to the function "edible - inedible", "useful - harmful", etc., on the basis of (size, shape, condition) , etc.

"Search for an analogy"

Game progress: A word is called, for example, a briefcase. It is necessary to come up with as many "analogues" as possible, i.e. other items similar to it in various essential features (bag, sack, backpack, etc.) Game progress: Invite the child to name a group of objects in one word. We call many specific objects with one word. For example, birch, pine, oak, etc. we call trees.