• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
  • About
  • Shop
  • Press
  • Media Kit
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

teach mama logo

teach mama

helps families connect & build bridges between home & school, by amy mascott

  • early literacy
    • alphabet
    • beginning sounds
    • phonics
    • phonological awareness
    • read-aloud learning
    • rhyming
    • sight words
  • reading
    • books
    • comprehension
      • activating schema
      • connecting
      • inferring
      • predicting
      • questioning
      • retelling / summarizing
      • visualizing
    • concepts of print
    • environmental print
    • fluency
    • non-fiction
    • spelling
    • word building
    • word consciousness
    • vocabulary
  • writing
    • creative writing
    • grammar
    • informative writing
    • tripod grip
  • math
    • computation
    • counting
    • numbers
  • science
    • animals
    • plants
    • science experiments for kids
  • Activities
    • birthdays
    • cooking
      • new for us foods
    • crafts
    • foundations
      • colors
      • critical thinking
      • fine arts
      • listening
      • pretend play
      • sorting
      • speaking
    • holidays
      • new year’s
      • valentine’s day
      • president’s day
      • st. patrick’s day
      • april fool’s day
      • easter
      • mother’s day
      • teacher appreciation
      • father’s day
      • july 4th
      • halloween
      • thanksgiving
      • christmas
    • family life
      • family fun
      • giving back
      • lunchbox love notes
      • school
    • indoor activities
    • outdoor activities
  • digital literacy
    • computer time
    • iPad for learning
  • early literacy
    • alphabet
    • beginning sounds
    • phonics
    • phonological awareness
    • read-aloud learning
    • rhyming
    • sight words
  • reading
    • books
    • comprehension
      • activating schema
      • connecting
      • inferring
      • predicting
      • questioning
      • retelling / summarizing
      • visualizing
    • concepts of print
    • environmental print
    • fluency
    • non-fiction
    • spelling
    • word building
    • word consciousness
    • vocabulary
  • writing
    • creative writing
    • grammar
    • informative writing
    • tripod grip
  • math
    • computation
    • counting
    • numbers
  • science
    • animals
    • plants
    • science experiments for kids
  • Activities
    • birthdays
    • cooking
      • new for us foods
    • crafts
    • foundations
      • colors
      • critical thinking
      • fine arts
      • listening
      • pretend play
      • sorting
      • speaking
    • holidays
      • new year’s
      • valentine’s day
      • president’s day
      • st. patrick’s day
      • april fool’s day
      • easter
      • mother’s day
      • teacher appreciation
      • father’s day
      • july 4th
      • halloween
      • thanksgiving
      • christmas
    • family life
      • family fun
      • giving back
      • lunchbox love notes
      • school
    • indoor activities
    • outdoor activities
  • digital literacy
    • computer time
    • iPad for learning
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

sight word memory

home / early literacy / sight words / sight word memory
367 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print

sight word memory

Several times over the last few weeks, Maddy, Owen, and I have played Sight Word Memory. It’s an easy game, fun, and certainly worthwhile. And the cool thing about it is that it can be as long or short as we want, depending on how many word pairs we choose to use.

This is a great game to pick up now and again so that our little ones can work on their all-too-important sight words.

I could tell that finally today, my little “home-sick-for-three-days” Maddy was on the mend, because I think our game this afternoon was the longest on record.

  • Sight Word Memory: All I did to assemble this game was to print two copies of the Early Emergent Words onto cardstock. I then cut the words apart, and the game was ready!

The Early Emergent Word Cards are here to download if you’d like.

To begin, we put all of the word cards face up on the floor, and we decide on a number of words to use. When Maddy, Owen, and I play, we each chose four of our favorite words so that the total for our game was twelve.

our Early Emergent Word cards

We then each read the words we chose, flip them face down, and mix them up. Then, just like regular Memory, we put the cards in organized columns and rows.

Each time a card is turned over, the player who flipped it has to read the word. However, this little rule can sometimes be anxiety-producing for little ones who just don’t know the words yet. So when Owen flipped, I’d read the word for him, or he’d echo my reading.

I’d say, Owen found the word, ‘did’ and . . . . let’s see. What will he find next? ‘Yes!’ ‘Did’ (I’d point to it) and ‘yes’. Two good three-letter words, but not a match. Owen, remind me again–which word was ‘did’ and which word was ‘yes’? (Hopefully he’d point to the correct ones and be able to identify each.)

For Maddy’s turns, she read all of the words. If she made a mistake (like for look sometimes gets her), I’d say, Are you sure? Check all of the letters and try again.

Owen’s testing his memory and his reading skills.


Each time
(or every other time so it didn’t get annoying), I would make comparisons between the words:

-Oh! Wow–‘do’ and ‘you’ rhyme, but they don’t look like they rhyme, do they?
Or,

-‘No’ and ‘go’! I found two rhyming words, but they’re not a pair. Or,

-‘Are’ and ‘and’. What do you notice about these two words? How are they alike/ different?

When players found pairs, they’d have another turn. Once all of the cards were gone, we’d take turns following two steps: we’d read all of the words on our cards, and then we’d count them. The player with the most pairs wins.

Today, after we matched all of the cards (it was a longgame!), Maddy wanted to make sentences with the words. So she hunted for words and strung them together to make sentences and stories. You can’t do too much with a bunch of sight words, but she stretched her brain, giggled at non-sense phrases, and was finally ready to quit. I think next time, I’ll combine some of the other lists to increase the difficulty level. Today, she was under the weather–I didn’t want it to be too much for my bambina this time.

fyi:
If you’d like to up the excitement level of your game–if your little players are ready and able–then here are other word cards to use:

  • Early Emergent Word Cards
  • Upper Emergent Word Cards
  • Early Fluency Word Cards
  • Fluency Word Cards

Or, if you’d like, stay simple:

  • Alphabet Letter Cards

Playing games and having fun with Sight Words is definitely the way to go. Here’s why:

Emerging readers need to have a solid bank of sight words that they can read automatically so that they can focus their attention on understanding the text and on decoding new words. Reading researcher (and one of the authors of my most favorite teaching tools ever–Words Their Way), Francine Johnson has said that “a large and stable sight vocabulary continues to be the hallmark of a successful reader” (The Reading Teacher, 1998).

And in the September 2008 issue of The Reading Teacher, in a really interesting article about how teachers can help young English-Language Learners acquire a sight word vocabulary, Helman and Burns conclude by saying that “an extensive sight word vocabulary develops alongside and contributes to proficient reading.”

It makes sense. So we’ll play some games, read some words, and hopefully get my kindergartner back to school before the week is over, right? Interesting stuff–and certainly worth sneaking into our little ones’ days!

Thanks for subscribing to teachmama! Have a good one!

You May Also Like...

  • how to prepare your child for kindergarten -- summertime prep
    how to prepare your child for kindergarten -- summertime prep
  • photo books for kids and family: 15 best, coolest, most clever and creative
    photo books for kids and family: 15 best, coolest, most clever and creative
  • make this summer rock: Smart Summer Challenge 2018!
    make this summer rock: Smart Summer Challenge 2018!

About amy mascott

teacher, mother, dreamer. lover of literacy, fun learning, good food, and three crazy-cool kids. finder of four-leaf clovers | dc metro ยท http://about.me/amymascott
tweet with me: @teachmama

Previous Post:literacy lava 3 is here!
Next Post:marshmallow mania

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sidebar

amy mascott profile blog

join the coolest club around:

  • About
  • Contact
  • disclaimer
  • terms of use
  • privacy policy
  • Site-Map

Instagram


our books

setting the stage for rock-star readers
raise a reader

Find Us On Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Helpful Links

  • About
  • Contact
  • Press
  • Media Kit
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy

Follow Us On Instagram

View
Open
Thank you @upliftyogaolney for a fun and joy-filled afternoon of yoga with goats! ๐Ÿง˜๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ

#goatyoga #marylandyoga #sundayworkout #motherdaughtertime #yogawithgoats #ourfaves
View
Open
loved our first @saltvinemd experience 

cannot wait to return!
View
Open
Had THE BEST dinner at Olneyโ€™s newest restaurant, @saltvinemd โ€”

Our hostesses were kind and welcoming, our server was THE BEST, and food was delivered to our table by SUPER food runners. 

Everything we ordered we LOVED. Cannot wait to return. 

(Swipe to see what we ordered!)

#saltandvine #mocoeats #mocofood #marylandeats
View
Open
What a DAY!! 
Any book festival is a great festival, but @gburgbookfest KNOWS how to put together a celebration of books and authors!!

Loved meeting 
@evascreativity 
@zigzagzeph 
@jackieadrian_art 
@nomoreblankpageskids 
@palavergames 
@jessicadallauthor 
@keanstrategies 
@gurkirtsinghvirk 
@teegarner 
@lincolnhartlaub 
@jadesocoby 

and so many others! And loved hearing @authoralexandrarobbins speak!

#gaithersburgbookfestival #gburgbookfest #bookfestival #readingteacher #featuredreels #marylandlife
View
Open
still peaceful

#yogapractice #peaceful #sheepadoodle #bigfuzzydog #yogaeverydamnday
View
Open
The must-have guide for every woman:  The Life Council: 10 Friends Every Woman Needs is officially out in the world today! 

Congratulations to my pal @laura.tremaine ! 

This book WILL:
๐ŸŽˆEncourage you to look around at your current life landscape to really SEE your acquaintances, coworkers, neighbors, and friends
๐ŸŽˆFill you with gratitude for the friendships of your past
๐ŸŽˆOffer suggestions for how to navigate the complications of modern friendship
๐ŸŽˆGive you space to mourn the friendships that are over
๐ŸŽˆOutline 10 types of friends that can shape your life 
๐ŸŽˆHelp you name the type of friend YOU are on other peopleโ€™s Life Councils 
๐ŸŽˆInspire you to let friendship take on the important role that it deserves 
I want this book to spark a million This book WILL:
๐ŸŽˆEncourage you to look around at your current life landscape to really SEE your acquaintances, coworkers, neighbors, and friends
๐ŸŽˆFill you with gratitude for the friendships of your past
๐ŸŽˆOffer suggestions for how to navigate the complications of modern friendship
๐ŸŽˆGive you space to mourn the friendships that are over
๐ŸŽˆOutline 10 types of friends that can shape your life 
๐ŸŽˆHelp you name the type of friend YOU are on other peopleโ€™s Life Councils 
๐ŸŽˆInspire you to let friendship take on the important role that it deserves 
I want this book to spark a million conversations.

Laura, I know it will. Love you, girl. 
#TheLifeCouncil #happybookbirthday
View
Open
I was in #annapolis today demanding our lawmakers take meaningful action on gun safety. 

Are you fed up with lawmakersโ€™ inaction, too? 

Join me & turn your anger into action with @MomsDemand by texting FED UP to 644-33. #FedUp #MDpolitics 
#notonemore #dosomething #useyourvoice
View
Open
I started my teaching career at @hcpss_wlhs โ€” a place packed with really awesome educatorsโ€” and @eric.ebersole.for.maryland was one of them!

LOOK at us now! Delegate Ebersole is moving mountains in Annapolis! 

It was so cool to run into my friend while Iโ€™m here with @momsdemand โค๏ธโ™ฅ๏ธ 

Want to get involved? YOU NEED TO. 

Please text FED UP to 644-33 to find an event near you and make your voice heard!

#FEDUP #notonemore #dosomething #useyourvoice #bethechange #momsdemandaction
View
Open
I am #FEDUP and I am doing something about it. 

Tomorrow I will spend time with fellow @MomsDemand volunteers & survivors to demand our lawmakers take action on gun safety. 

Join me & turn your anger into action by texting FED UP to 644-33. #FedUp #MDpolitics

#notonemore #dosomething #useyourvoice

Copyright © 2023 · teach mama media, llc · All Rights Reserved

  • 2
367 shares