How it works
These sight word games for first grade ask one question 100 ways: which word fits? Each card shows a short sentence with a gap and two look-alike words, such as It ___ hot with was or saw. The child reads it, chooses, and flips the card to check. Play on screen, alone or against a timer, or print the cards for table games.
Read the full guide
How pick the word works
One of the two words on a card is the sight word. The other is a look-alike (was and saw), a sound-alike (to and two) or the wrong verb form (have and has). Two choices keep the card short and put the child's eyes on the exact pair that gets confused. The child reads the sentence both ways, says which one sounds right, and presses Show answer. Then press Got it or Missed it.
Three ways to play on screen
Flip mode needs no typing, so it suits a shared screen: the class reads, votes with a show of hands, and you flip. Press Quiz and the child types the word, then presses Check. Capital letters do not matter. Press Timed, pick 1, 2 or 3 minutes, then Start round. The best score for each length is kept in this browser. The Show only buttons cut the deck to one kind of word, such as the 12 question-word cards.
Print the cards for table games
After one card, the first Print button makes sheets of 12 cards, each 60 mm square: a sheet of sentence sides, then a sheet of answer sides. An answer side shows the word in large type with the finished sentence under it. Print on both sides for cards to flip. Print on one side only and you get two decks, sentences and words, for the table games below. For these games skip the fold-over button, which prints each word beside its sentence. Choose a word group first to print only that set.
- Sight word matching game: print one group on one side of the paper, cut the cards apart and mix them. The child pairs each sentence with its word, then checks it against the finished sentence printed on the word card.
- Sight word memory game: lay the same two decks face down, sentences on the left and words on the right. Turn over one of each. If the word fits the sentence, read it aloud and keep the pair.
- Sight word go fish: print the answer-side pages of one group twice, so every word has a twin. Deal 5 cards each. Players ask for a word by reading it from a card in their hand, and lay down pairs.
- Sight word tic tac toe: lay 9 word cards in a square. To claim a card a player reads the word, says a sentence with it and covers it with a counter. Three in a row wins.
- For a whole-class round, put the deck on the board in flip mode and split the class into two teams. For bingo, put the same words on bingo cards and call each one by reading a sentence with a gap.
Questions and answers
Do these work as kindergarten sight word games too?
Yes, with two changes. Stay in flip mode so nobody has to type, and use Show only to pick a small set, such as the 15 people words. For a child who cannot yet read the sentence alone, read it aloud twice, once with each word, and let them point. Ten cards is a fair round at this age.
Can children play sight word games for kindergarten online without an account?
Yes. The game runs in the browser, with nothing to install, no sign-in and no name asked for. The score, the best streak and the missed pile are kept in this browser only. Share shows once you pick a word group or answer a card. Its link opens the same word group and mode on another device, without the scores.
Which words are in the game?
The answers are 78 common early-reading words, from I, a and the to could, where and funny. Each is the answer on at least one card, and 22 of them, including was, want and where, get two. It is our own list, not a copy of a published one, so check it against the words your reading program teaches.
What should I do with the missed pile?
Press Missed to replay the missed cards until the pile is empty. Treat it as your teaching list and look at which wrong word won. If it is the word spelled backwards, such as on for no, have the child slide a finger under the word from left to right. If it is the wrong verb form, such as have for has, say both sentences aloud and listen.