If you can hear a pin drop during your reading lesson it might be time to put a new spin on sight words! 

🎳 This Sight Word Learning Game Is Right Up Your Alley 

Through bowling activity, students will show they can read common words by sight from the Dolch Pre-Primer list of high-frequency words.

To play, the students will choose a bowling ball card and read the sight word. If they have the matching bowling pin, they’ll remove it from their set. 

Scaffolding + Extension Tips 

Challenge fast finishers who already understand the concept to put the bowling pins in alphabetical order.

Support students who need help understanding the concepts by using an anchor chart or poster as a visual reference while working through the sight words.  

Get our 10 Best Scaffolding Strategies here! 

Turn 1 Game Into More Fun Sight Word Activities 

We created this resource for your reading center as an independent practice activity. You can also use it for small group and full-class instruction through scoot activities, lesson reviews, formative assessments, and more! 

We suggest these: 

👟 Sight Words Relay Race

Split the class into two teams and have them line up in their group on one side of the room. Place the bowling pins in a central location between teams. Shuffle and divide the cards between teams, putting the card piles face-down in front of each line. When you say, “Go!” the first player in each line will grab the top card, run to the other side of the room, read it, and bring the matching pin back to their team. Then the next person in line does the same, and so on. The team that correctly matches the pins to their cards first wins.

🎭 Charades

Divide your class or small group into 2 teams and project the word cards for referenceTeams will take turns sending up 1 student to act out the word on the card for their team while you keep score and hand the cards to the players. If after 30 seconds, their team guesses the correct word, they get 1 point. Once every student has had their turn to act out a card, the game is over, and the group with the highest points wins. 

🃏 Memory Match

Bonus points for this version of the game as it helps students with their memorization skills! Print 2 sets of bowling ball cards and lay them all face down. Each player takes their turn flipping 2 cards at a time until either finds matching words and sets the pair aside to keep score. 

Easily Prepare This Resource for Your Students

Print on cardstock for added durability and longevity. Place all pieces in a folder or large envelope for easy access. 

Before You Download

Use the dropdown icon on the Download button to choose between the PDF or Google Slides version of this resource. 

This resource was created by Lindsey Phillips, a teacher in Michigan and Teach Starter Collaborator. 

Why stop there? We have plenty more sight word activities and teaching resources for you!  

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