How to Effectively Practice Sight Words

So you have a word wall, and you are not sure what to do with it! 

Well, you are in the right place.  Putting up a word wall in your room is pointless if you don't teach your students how to use it.  That requires you to show HOW to use the word wall.  In this post, I am going to give you lots of suggestions for using the word wall with your students, which leads to them gaining independence.  The best part is that it doesn't have to take a lot of time.  


practice your sight words the right way.  find lots of effective strategies to practice sight words

If this is your first time visiting, you may want to start with these posts first.  Click on either image to head over to the post.  


This post is all about setting up your word wall.  It answers questions about getting started.  Click on the image to head there.
In this post, I share how I introduce my words and why I think you need to highlight the rule breaker words that you teach.  

A Word Wall is just a bulletin board in your classroom unless you actively use it daily and teach your students how to use it. 


I am going to share with you some of my favorite ways to provide a daily review of the words with just a few minutes every day.  

If you have read any of my previous posts, you might know that I am a bit obsessed with whiteboards. I LOVE them!  Practicing our sight words is very important, but I don't need a piece of paper to see what the kids are doing.  This is a much better alternative and a win-win for me. Besides, I don't know about your students, but using whiteboards and markers makes everything a lot more fun.  

Whiteboard Games to Review

We play several simple games each week to review the words.  

Find and Print 


practice your sight words the right way.  find lots of effective strategies like using whiteboards to practice sight words

This is a whiteboard activity I usually do on Tuesday to ensure that my students know where to find the new words on the Word Wall.  The words are still in the popcorn bucket, but I ask students to look at the Word Wall instead to find the words.  

Once they have had a chance to write the word, one student comes and points to the word with one of my magic reading sticks and the other students all hold up their boards to show their work.  If the word is also in the Word Jail, I make sure to have a volunteer show us where it is.  

To challenge those stronger students early in the year, I have them write a sentence using the sight word.   By mid-year, this is the norm for most of the students as a means to practice our weekly words.  

Mystery Word 

This is a game I sometimes partner the students up to play to ensure that my weaker students don't get overwhelmed and give up.  

Each individual or team has a whiteboard and writes the numbers 1 - 4.  I give them a series of 4 clues that help them to identify the word I am thinking of.  I use the cards below, so I do not have to make things up on the fly!  


practice your sight words the right way.  Use Mystery word to get students to really look carefully at sight words to solve the clues.

I love playing this game, and so do my students.  It is an excellent activity for a time filler or to leave with a substitute.  The mystery word cards make it easy to play anytime.  You can check out the series of cards by clicking on the image below.

practice your sight words the right way.  Use Mystery word to get students to really look carefully at sight words to solve the clues.

Talk like a Robot 


This is not a whiteboard game, but it is a good one to get them to listen to the sounds in words and practice the phonemic awareness skill of blending sounds together.  I say a sight word slowly and enunciate every sound like a robot.  Students guess my word and then go and find it on the Word Wall to show everyone.

Partner Practice   


I love having my students working together to practice their word wall words, as well.  They listen very well to "student" teachers, sometimes better than to me!  You can read more about my Word Wall Pockets by clicking on the image below to go to that post. 

Pocket Partners is an effective way to practice sight words

It Works, It Really Does!  

All of these activities require the students to actively use the Word Wall. By playing these simple games, you are teaching students how to find words and how to scan the Word Wall for the words they are looking for. You are training your students to use the Word Wall so that when it is time for them to do some independent writing, they will hopefully use it without prompting. 

After years and years of teaching, I know that a Word Wall helps students develop their sight vocabulary, but only if you put in the time and effort to use it.  


It also works for my most struggling students.  I would often find them standing right in front of the Word Wall looking for a word they needed.


Looking for more ideas that pertain to the Word Wall and word work.  Check out my Pinterest board for more ideas.



Head over to the next post to find out how I teach Word Families, a crucial part of my Word Wall and Word Study.

Teach word families so that they stick with students.

Pin this post!


Learning to read sight words or word wall words are an important part of reading. In order to learn to read kindergarten, first grade and second-grade students need lots of opportunities to practice sight words. This blog post shares ways to practice word wall words that are fun for students but effective for learning sight words. Click the pin to find out more about Mystery Word and the other ways I suggest to practice sight words.

Until next time,


21 comments

  1. Love the idea of Word Jail! My firsties would love it!

    Susan
    Friendly Froggies

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  2. Great idea! Thanks for linking up your post with mine toay!

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    1. You are welcome. Thank you for checking out my post.
      Christina

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  3. I just love these ideas! Thank you for sharing.

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    1. Thanks Najda! I am glad you stopped by to check it out!

      Christina

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  4. Awesome tips! I wish I had room in my classroom for a word wall! All I can do is put the words on rings and make it portable, but I am totally buying the word jail! Thanks!

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    1. Another option for a Word Wall for a small room is to use the science display boards and open and close it as it is needed. The Word Jail will be a great addition. Thanks for stopping by and reading my post. Christina

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  5. Just curious - as you introduce the new 5 words for your word wall, is the introduction the same each week? On Monday you use the popcorn words and have them say it silently in their hand. What about Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday? Do you repeat the same activities each week?

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    1. Hi Constance, I do introduce them the same way every week. Then on Tuesday-Friday we play some of the word wall games I have suggested but I also do some word family work too. I will be posting all about that very soon so be sure to follow my blog so you don't miss it.

      thanks for stopping by
      Christina

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  6. So I guess I've just had a bulletin board all these years! I'm finally ready to make the jump to USING my word wall thanks to these ideas. I can't wait!

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    1. I am so happy to hear that! If you don't "use" it with your students they they don't don't really use it, especially those strugglers. Good luck.

      Christina

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  7. Thanks for sharing! I used to do a word wall, but it just always seemed like a fail because my students didn't interact with it like they should. Thank you for your great ideas! Maybe I can get a word wall up and running this year!

    Jamie
    Follow me @ Life As I Know It

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    1. Hi Jamie. Interaction with the word wall is the key. They need ownership over it to buy in and I assure you if you do the things I outlined in this series you will get them to buy in and use it. Good luck this year!

      Christina

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  8. Thanks for the great ideas. Have been teaching Grades 1 and 2 for 22 years. I have used a Word Wall for the past 15 years and think it is a necessary tool in teaching students sight words. I have always struggled with how to get my students to use the Word Wall for more than just a space to hang their spelling words on. I usually start the year off well, but after a few months, revert back to my old ways. I am determined to do better this year, so thanks for the ideas.

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    1. I am so happy to hear that. I think it is so important to teach them how to use it! I hope that you can stick with it this year. Thanks for stopping by. Christina

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  9. Im a new teacher this year, and found this series of posts very helpful. I now know exactly how to start introducing my words on my word wall. Thanks a bunch.

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    1. I am so glad that the post has helped you get started Natisha. I hope that you have a great year with your students. Thanks for stopping by. Christina

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  10. What a wonderful idea. I am homeschooling a first grader who hasn't got her letter names/sounds down yet, and a 5th grader who struggles with spelling and spelling rules. This is a fantastic idea to make repeated exposure to the words fun, and they can work together to do some of the activities. Now all I have to do is figure out where to put it! Thanks so much for the work you've put in to bring this idea to as many teachers as possible.

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    1. Hi Merle, Thanks so much for your kind comments. I hope that some of the ideas will help both of your children. Repeated exposure is the key, as well as consistency! Good luck and thank you for checking out my blog.

      Christina

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