The Dolch sight words list includes high-frequency words that early readers most quickly identify because of how often they appear in texts. 

This board game includes 53 Kindergarten-specific words from the Dolch list. To play, students will practice reading the sight words, moving along the game board as they identify each one. 

How to Make Sight Words Fun

Use this resource as a reading center activity, with your guided reading group, or as a whole class activity (see below) to practice reading high-frequency words by sight.

Players take turns choosing a card and reading the word out loud. If they read it correctly, they move to the next spot on the board that contains the same picture as the card. If they do not read it correctly, they stay where they are. Play continues until one player lands on FINISH!

The Kindergarten Dolch sight words included in this game are: 

all, am, are, at, ate, be, black, brown, but, came, come, do, did, down, eat, find, for, get, good, have, he, into, like, must, new, no, now, on, out, please, pretty, ran, ride, saw, say, she, so, soon, that, there, this, too, under, want, was, well, went, what, white, who, with, yes.  

Scaffolding and Extension Tips + More Kindergarten Dolch Word Activities

This resource can be used as a fast finisher activity in your reading classroom! You can also use this game to create full-class learning opportunities like scoot activities, lesson reviews, formative assessments, and more. 

Challenge students who grasp the content to write the words on a whiteboard or piece of paper. They can also put the cards in alphabetical order.

Invite struggling students to use a visual reminder, like an anchor chart or an alphabet display, to practice sounding out unfamiliar words. 

Scavenger Hunt

Number each sight word card and hide them around the room when your students are not around. When they return, set them loose—as soon as they find a card, they sound out and write the sight word on a blank sheet of paper numbered 1-53. When they’ve written the word, they leave the card in the same spot they found it, and then set off to find the others. NOTE: You may want to make a rule of only 1 student at a card at one time so things don’t get crazy. You could also cut down on the number of cards in play by segmenting the cards by the number of phonemes, allowing you to play this game multiple times. 

Swat! 

During small group instruction, create a grid of sight word cards on top of a table and give each student a fly swatter. Read the word on one of the cards. The first student to swat the sight word correctly sets the card aside in their own pile to keep score. The student with the most cards wins. 

Knock Off

Have your students stand up and make a line across the room. Project a sight word on the screen and use our Random Name Picker widget to draw a student’s name to answer. If the student correctly identifies the word, they tap the person on their left or right to send them back to their seat. If the student answers the card incorrectly, they must sit out. Play continues until there is only 1 student standing.

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 drop-down 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 a Teach Starter Collaborator. 

Don’t stop there! We’ve got more sweet sight word activities and games to keep your Kindergarten students hungry for reading: 

resource pack

My Little Sight Word Book Resource Pack

A set of little books with activities for 20 different sight words along with an editable Word version to make your own.

teaching resource

Dolch Word Fishy Find – Game

A fishing game for students to review Dolch sight words.