Over 20,000 teachers use my sight word fluency flashcards to help their students with sight word practice! When I saw that number, my jaw dropped! It’s amazing to be making such an impact in classrooms all over and I am truly honored to be part of so many classrooms.
And, teachers are so creative! Over the years, I’ve seen many of you use my sight word fluency flashcards with your students in so many ways! So, I thought I’d share how I used them in my classroom, as well as some of the creative ways I’ve seen teachers use them with their students!
Getting Started
Start by assessing students to know which group of words they should start with. Once you know what group of words they should start with, give students a word ring to get started practicing!
You can incorporate this practice into centers, small-group reading, partner reading, as morning work, or as an early-finisher activity. I’ll get into some of my most favorite creative ways to do this in just a minute…
But don’t forget to encourage students to take their ring home with them, too! Ask students to keep their word ring in their take-home folders so they can continue practice at home. Encourage parents to have their children read at least a few every night.
Now to the fun stuff…
Here are Five Engaging and Creative Ways to Use Sight Word Fluency Flashcards in Your Classroom!
1. DIFFERENTIATED CENTERS
I differentiate my centers with 3-drawer bins. I keep different-leveled word rings in each drawer so kids work with the words they need practice with. They often use these for the activities at the center, like building the words, using them in sentences, and timed fluency practice.
Write + Wipe! These also make a great write-and-wipe center. Just laminate them and kids can use dry-erase markers to find the target words on each card, then practice rereading for fluency.
Here’s another alternative… print a few on one page and have students highlight the target words after reading! I usually do this for my more advanced readers that are ready for a few stories at a time.
2. MULTISENSORY FUN
You can vary the materials they use to build the words at their sight word center to make for a fun multi-sensory activity.
Here are just a few materials your students can use to build the words:
- Wikki Stix
- Cubes
- pom poms
- play-doh
3. IN A NOTEBOOK
Have your students grab their journals, or even assign them a notebook just for this activity! In their notebook, students can draw a picture to go with the story or add one more sentence using the word!
This activity really gets them thinking and connecting, while also having fun expressing themselves through their illustration!
4. PEER READING
Buddy, Buddy! In my school, we often had reading buddies from an older class. Once a month, our reading buddies would come into our classroom and read with us! Students sat with their partners and read books from their book baggies. Some kiddos loved to read their sight word cards during buddy reading because they felt so confident and proud.
I also asked some other teachers if they’d be willing to send a couple of students to our class in the morning to work with specific students as an intervention activity. The older partner monitored my students’ reading and encouraged them to read fluently.
5. DURING GUIDED or Small-group READING
Warm Up! I love to keep word rings for each level at my reading table. At the start of each group lesson, students take a word ring and start reading it to warm up for our lesson.
Practice Fluency + Expression! I also use them to practice fluency and expression. Students reread to sound “smoother” with each reading.
Flexibility for Teachers
When it comes to sight word fluency flashcards, you have so many options! They are truly versatile, not just when it comes to activities, but also in their functionality.
Print 4 of the Same Card to One Page: My printable set has 4 different cards on one page. My digital set has each word card on its own slide. If you’re looking to print a set of the same card, just copy the slide 3 times, then select to print 4 to a page.
Make Booklets: Instead of placing them on a word ring, some teachers prefer to staple them together into small handheld booklets.
As you can see, these cards are so versatile and you can use them in so many ways your kids will not get bored of them. Which way is your favorite? Tell me below!
Sight Word Fluency Flashcards!
If you have students who are just not learning their high-frequency sight words fast enough, despite everything you’ve tried, or who can read sight words on flashcards but have difficulty recognizing them in context, my sight word fluency flashcards are what you need! These cards provide fluency, recognition, and sight word practice in context!
If you haven’t yet grabbed these Sight Word Fluency Flashcards, you can grab them as a bundle with both printable and digital options!
Looking for Dolch words? Click here for the Dolch Bundle.
I hope these tips help you to find new ways to use sight word fluency flashcards in your classroom!
Remember, you are creative! There are lots of ways to make mastering sight words fun for your little learners!
Do you use my sight word fluency flashcards? Do you know another way to use them? I’d love to hear how you use them in your classroom! If you post a picture on social media, don’t forget to tag me!