Strategy 3: Sight Word Games

Not only do I teach high school kids, but I also have a 5 year old son at home that attends the local preschool in my town. The teacher suggested that I start working on site words since he is advanced for his age group in her class. Therefore, what was a high school English teacher to do? Well, I used his interests to spark a creative plan and fine an exciting game for all of us to play. With this, I can easily adapt it to a high school classroom, but below you will find a link to the website I used to print the board games. My son is a fan of Chutes and Ladders as well as Candy Land. I used these two games to help teach students.

⇒Sight Word Games (Pre-K through 1)

 "Chutes and Ladders" activity: Place different vocabulary words randomly around the board. Students roll a number and must know the definition of the word in order to move. I would suggest playing in a group of four, this way students hold each other accountable for moving and knowing the word. Because students will need to say the definition out loud, everyone in the group benefits from hearing it repeated over and over. First player to the top wins. You can differentiate by allowing some students to use notes, "use a life line", provide a different synonym after each definition, multiple choice, etc. Either way, the kids are having fun and learning at the same time. After the activity is over, have them write a quick reflection piece about what words they knew, what words they struggled with, and how they can prepare for the next time they play.

"Candy Land" activity: Very similar to the actual game, just with added vocabulary. There are different colors on the board that lead all the way to "King Candy", however, you can use whatever end zone theme you'd like, or even a mini map of the school could be fun. Color coordinate the vocabulary words and/or definition. A student draws a card with the word or definition on it. They are to give the correct response and move to the appropriate color. (Color of the word=Color on the board). The same as above applies to the process of learning the vocabulary terms. It is also important to follow through with the reflection piece afterwards.

⇒"VocabularyLand" printable game board