3 Easy Ways to Practice Sight Words

Are you knee-deep in sight word practice? We certainly are. With a kindergartner and a second grader, it’s a big part of their reading practice. Our teachers are always telling us to practice at home with our kids, which leads to the question… how can I practice at home?

A quick search on Pinterest will lead you to a million ideas. Many of these are fun and your kids will absolutely love them. But, sometimes your day calls for simple. I’ve got three of the easiest ideas ever for sight word practice in this post. Keep them in your back pocket, you’ll use them often.

A salt tray is really easy to set up. I used a 9×13 baking pan and trimmed up a piece of brightly colored paper to put on the bottom. The paper isn’t necessary, but it does make it more fun. Next I added salt (regular table salt) to the pan. I added enough salt so that it was about 1/2-inch thick over the entire bottom of the pan. Now it’s ready to go.

I wrote out a few sight words on index cards and put them near the salt tray. My daughter uses her fingers to trace the words. She uses a small 6-inch ruler to “erase” or smooth out the words when she’s done. Easy and fun.

Quick tip: When you’re putting this away, add the salt to a plastic bag to reuse. You won’t want to cook with it, but you can use it over and over in a salt tray.

I borrowed this ideas from my daughters’ school. They use it often and the kids really seem to enjoy it. Plus, it’s an easy thing for you to recreate at home. All you need is some writing paper and colored pencils. Have your child write each sight word and then trace over the words several times using different colors. They’ll practice, practice, practice while they make their pretty rainbow words.

Quick tip: Invest in some primary writing paper for home. Your child probably uses this often in school and the format help them with their letter formation. You can find it in most stores that sell school supplies.

You’ve probably guessed that this is a very popular way to practice. Because really, what kid doesn’t want to write on a window? The set-up is super easy. Just tape a few sight words to the window and grab a pack of window markers. That’s it! You’re kids will take care of the rest.

Quick tip: I’ve found that painter’s tape and washi tape both come off windows easily and leave no sticky residue.

What are your best ideas for sight word practice?