Get Outside! Sight Words in Summertime

Learning "sight words" or "popcorn words" doesn't have to be a drag! We have compiled a list of fun ideas to boost your child's sight word knowledge, all while enjoying some fun in the sun! 

Need a list of sight words? Click here for a list of high-frequency words by grade. 

Now, to the fun part! Let the games begin!

1. Sight Word Soccer:

Supplies Needed:

• Index cards with sight words written on them
• Tape
• Cones, cans, buckets, or another similar object
• Soccer ball
• Goal or area marked as a goal

How to Play:

• Tape one index card to each cone.
• Ask your child to say the words as they dribble around the cones. Ask your child to circle back and re-try the word if they can’t say it.
• Allow your child to shoot for a goal at the end.

Other Ways to Play:

• Option 1: Call out a word and ask your child to kick the soccer ball towards the correct cone to knock it over.
• Option 2: Call out a word and ask your child to dribble over to it.

2. Jungle Gym Sentences:

Supplies Needed:

• Index cards with words written on them that make a complete sentence when put together
• Tape
• Playground

How to Play:

• Tape index cards to different places around the playground.
• Challenge your child/children to find all of the index cards.
• Once all cards have been found, work together to put the words in an order that makes sense.
• Read the sentence out loud together. This is even more fun if you make the message something related to a run reward! Example: “You did a great job climbing all around, so we will be getting ice cream as a reward!”

3. Sight Word Basketball:

Supplies Needed:

• Basketball
• Sidewalk Chalk

How to Play:

• Write different sight words on the pavement.
• Call out a word and ask your child to dribble to the correct spot.

Other Ways to Play:

• Play a math version by writing equations on the pavement, like “2 + 4” or “6 x 6”, and then call out the answers. Ask your child to dribble to the equation that matches the answer you called out.
• Play a phonemic awareness version by writing different phonemes on the pavement, like “m” and “ou”. Call out the sound and ask your child to dribble to the matching letter or blend.

4. Sight Word Sprint:

Supplies Needed:

• Index cards
• Markers

How to Play:

• Write sight words on index cards, leaving one letter off. For instance: "__at" or "sa__d." Your child might fill in the blank space in the first example with "c" making the words "cat". Your child should fill in the letter "i" in the second example, making the word "said", but other options like sand do exist as well. 
• Scatter the cards around your lawn or living room.
• Ask your child to run around and fill in the missing letters. Some words may have more than one correct answer.
• Make this more fun and challenging by making it a race with a sibling, peer, or parent!

5. Sight Word Swim:

Supplies Needed:

• Pool or pond access
• Any type of ball that floats

How to Play:

• Throw a ball into the pool. If two children are playing, see who can get the ball first.
• To score a point, the child who gets the ball first must read it out loud. If they don’t read it correctly, the other child may have a turn.

Other Ways to Play:

• Write on diving sticks instead of floating balls if your child feels comfortable diving to the bottom of the pool. Ask your child to dive to get the stick.
• Once your child resurfaces, ask them to say the word written on the stick out loud. Make this even more fun by timing how long it takes to retrieve and say the words on all of the diving sticks, and then attempting to beat your own record!

6. Water Gun Game:

Supplies Needed:

• Squirt guns or a hose
• Sidewalk chalk

How to Play:

• Write sight words on the pavement with sidewalk chalk.
• Call out a word and ask your child to squirt or hose down the correct word.
• To make this more fun, squirt your child if they squirt the wrong word, or let them squirt you if you do!

7. Water Balloon Battle:

Supplies Needed:

• Water Balloons
• Containers or Buckets
• Sharpie

How to Play:

• Divide your family or your children’s friends into two teams. Divide the water balloons equally between the two teams.
• Designate an area to play on your lawn or around a field.
• The object of the game is to hit the other team with as many water balloons as possible. The first team to get rid of all of their balloons is the winner.
• To throw a balloon, the person throwing must shout the sight word and then aim it at a member of the opposing team.
• If the balloon doesn’t pop, the person who threw it must retrieve it and try again.
• If a person throws a balloon without saying the sight word, they may be hosed down, squirted, or forced to run a lap around the field. (You choose the “punishment”)

8. Water Painting:

Supplies Needed:

• Sidewalk Chalk
• Water
• Paint brushes

How to Play:

• Write sight words in sidewalk chalk on the pavement.
• Encourage your child to “paint away” the words with water by tracing the letters with their brush.

9. Sight Word Hopscotch

Supplies Needed:

• Sidewalk Chalk
• Stone

How to Play:

• Draw a hopscotch with chalk with words written inside the boxes.
• Ask your child to toss a stone into one of the hopscotch boxes. Ask your child to read the word and hop to the box.

10. Sight Word Bowling

Supplies Needed:

• Bowling pins, cans, bottles, or something else that can be knocked down
• Index cards with sight words written on them
• Tape
• Ball

How to Play:

• Tape your index cards to your pins.
• Set up your pins on any flat surface, inside or outside.
• Take turns bowling down the pins, following regular bowling rules.
• Once a pin or set of pins is knocked over, remove them. To get the point for each pin, the player must say the sight word taped onto the pin out loud.
• The winner is the person who gets the highest score after 10 rounds, or however many rounds you establish. 

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