Sight words are words that students are exposed to frequently when they are reading. When a student can read and spell these words automatically it will significantly speed up their reading comprehension.  I use sight word building activities as a simple and engaging way to give students practice spelling and writing common sight words.

With my students, I did not spend a large amount of time focusing on sight words. I liked to use short and simple activities that are hands on. Most of the time I focused on having students practice sight words in context. Occasionally I would have them practice spell and write the sight words.

Build the Letters

Legos are a popular toy with my own children. I created a set of fine motor sight word practice cards as a fun way to practice basic sight words and give students a chance to use blocks while they are learning. The main purpose of this activity is to have the student trace and write the sight word, but building the word out of blocks gives it an element of fun and some additional fine motor practice for young children.

Build the Word

Students can also use letter cards to practice building sight words.  Scrabble tiles work great for this activity or you can print out letter cards. Write down the sight words that students have already been introduced to so that they can practice. You can give students only the letters that they need to build the word or have them choose from a larger set of letters.

I have a premade set of Sight word building cards for students to practice spelling basic sight words. For each word students read the word, use the letter cards to make the word and then they practice writing it.