Sight words, sight words, sight words. Say what you may, but I firmly believe that sight word recognition really helps a struggling reader get rolling. Of course, sight words are only one piece of the reading puzzle, but the more you know the further you go. In my school district, we use the Dolch Sight Word lists as base lists for data. The kids practice words from the list all the time. My kids were so sick of flashcards but I really needed them to practice. Well who doesn't like a little game to help.
I created this game probably two years ago. When I changed schools, my game was lost in transit :(. I just try to tell myself that some kid somewhere is playing this game and having a blast everyday! And then I decided since it had been such a great centers activity, I'd make it again. So, it's really simple and with a little free time on your hands, you can make it too. What I did was I took a few boxes of ziti and a Sharpie marker. I wrote (very carefully and tediously) one word per each piece of pasta. Then I picked up a pot at the local Christmas Tree Shop and a serving spoon. I also got some cheap bowls at the dollar store. To play, simply have the students scoop out some soup. I have them read the words one by one and place the each piece of pasta they can read in their bowl. If they can't read a word, they throw it back in the pot. After their scoop is done, they pass the spoon to the next person and take turns. They play until their bowl is full. They can then count and see how many pieces they got when they are done.
It's a simple game, but its a great way to practice those tricky words. I teach all the words in isolation throughout the school year so this is really a review game. I have a box of pasta for each level of sight words and I rotate them throughout the year.
Just one word of advice-- Don't loose all the pasta that you spent hours writing sight words on, or you will have to be like me and recruit someone to help you rewrite all those words :)
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