Sight Word Review Made FUN!

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For years in Adam's classroom, he has created sight word games as a way to review with his students.  Honestly, who hasn't created their own sight word games to review with their students?!  There are so many fun ways to get kids to review their words, but Adam stuck with one simple game that changed themes throughout the year!  This took away the need to constantly teach new rules and left more time for practicing the actual skill.

You've all played similar games before with this same idea in mind.  Students sit in a circle and pass a can around.  Inside the can are sight word cards and some fun themed cards.  If a student pulls a sight word card, he or she reads the word and keeps the card.  BUT WAIT!!!!  What if the student can't read it???  I knew this question would come up, and here's the simple answer:  LET A FRIEND HELP!  BUT WAIT!!!  ISN'T THAT CHEATING?!  You know just as well as I do that kids learn best from each other.  So, in this case, I would allow the child to lean over and ask a friend for help.  When that friend reads the word, the child is now associating that written group of letters with the word that was just told to him or her. Isn't peer learning great?!
Ok, let's move on. The can has made its way around the circle, and now a student pulls out a "special" card that has a themed image on it. Everyone says the phrase associated with that card, and the student who pulled it must put their word cards back in the can. In the example below, the theme is ZOMBIES and the phrase is "BRAAINNSSS" (said in your best zombie voice, of course). The "can" in this game is a brain mold that we found at Dollar Tree. The cards are stored in a small clasp envelope with the title and directions laminated to the front and back.  We keep all of our games like this in the envelope for easy storing!
      



Now comes the BEST part!  These games do not involve a winner or a loser!  These are team games and the whole class works together!  When we play these in our classrooms, we set a timer and time the first day we play it.  Then, it becomes a class goal to empty the can faster than that time when we play it again!  
You can find the Zombie game and all of our Fall-themed options in this pack on Teachers Pay Teachers.  Each game has a color and black & white option AND they are editable to include your own words!  Happy reading!


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