The following is a list of high frequency (word wall) words that your child will read in first grade and practice to identify "on sight".
Theme 1: go, on, the, and, here, jump, not, too, we, a, find, have, one, to, who
Theme 1: go, on, the, and, here, jump, not, too, we, a, find, have, one, to, who
Theme 2: five, four, three, in, once, two, upon, what, do, for, I, is, me, my, said, you, are, away, does, he, live, pull, they, where
Theme 3: animal, bird, cold, fall, flower, full, look, of, see, all, call, eat, every, first, never, paper, shall, why, also, blue, brown, color, funny, green, like, many, some
Theme 4: children, come, family, father, mother, love, people, picture, your, friend, girl, know, play, read, she, sing, today, write, car, down, hear, hold, hurt, learn, their, walk, would
Theme 5: grow, light, long, more, other, right, room, small, these, could, house, how, over, own, so, would, fly, give, good, her, little, our, try, was
Theme 6: by, climb, found, morning, out, shout, show, cow, door, horse, now, table, there, through, wall, been, evening, far, forest, goes, hungry, near, soon
Theme 7: again, both, gone, or, want, turn hard, afraid, any, bear, follow, most, tall, water, idea, build, old, piece, shoe, start, under, very, wear
Theme 8: about, because, draw, happy, teacher, part, tiny, always, arms, body, eight, ready, seven, warm, carry, kind, put, saw, butter, were, work, person
Theme 9: around, else, dance, ocean, open, talk, though, ever, after, before, buy, done, off, pretty, school, wash, baby, edge, enough, garden, sharp, together, only, watched
Theme 10: began, break, divide, head, laugh, second, sure, begin, minute, already, above, against, caught, present, thought, able, eye
ABC Order!
Print out the words and have your child place up to 10 at a time in alphabetical order while reading each word.
Writing Fun…
Write the word wall words in paint, shaving cream, baby powder, pudding, or what ever you can think of. Then have the child read the words.
I’m Thinking of …
Play a game of “I’m Thinking of…” One player starts by giving a clue about one of the sight words – for example, “I’m thinking of a word that starts like horse and has three letters.” The other player looks at the list and tries to identify the word. (his)
Read my Back!
“Write” a sight word on your child’s back. Can your child guess the word? Trace places – let your child trace a word from the list on your back. Continue taking turns tracing and guessing sight words.
On the Run
The next time you’re going somewhere with your child, play a sight word game. It’s easy – just have your child find as many sight words as he or she can on billboards, signs, and so on. If you don’t have a sight word list with you, invite your child to read the “little” words. You can play this game in a car, on a walk, even in line at the grocery store!
Spill a Sight Word
Copy sight words onto small cards. (You can cut index cards in quarters or cut sturdy paper into pieces.) Place the word cards in an empty container, such as a tall plastic tumbler or an empty tennis ball can. Invite your child to shake the container, spill out the words, and read the ones that fall face up. Give each word your child reads a score that is equal to the number of letters in the word. Record the total, then place the remaining words back in the can and shake and spill again. Add the total to the first score. Play until your child has spilled and read all of the words.
Rainbow Letters
Turn sight words into rainbows! Ask your child to write a sight word on paper in big letter. Using different-colored crayons, your child can then trace around the word again and again, reading the word each time.
Sing a Song of Sight Words
Practice sight words by singing them to a familiar tune or making up your own. If you run out of words before you get to the end of the song, just start at the stop of the list again. Some songs to try include “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Start” and “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”
Jump on It!
Copy sight words on index cards (one word per card.) Make a second set of the same words. Scatter one set face up on the floor, leaving about a foot between each card. Place the other set in a stack facedown. Turn over the first card in the stack. Have your child read the word (offer help as needed) and then hump on the corresponding card on the floor. Turn over the next card and have your child read it and jump to that word. Continue until your child has jumped on all of the words. Mix up the cards and play again!
Which Word Wins?
Sit with your child and look at a newspaper to see just how often sight words pop up in print. Ask your child to choose a sight word from the list and an article from the paper. Look for the word together. Highlight and count the word each time it appears. Try the same thing with a second sight word. Which word appears more often?
