Sight Word Bingo Game
Smash some sight words in this silly game that stars Roly the cat. In Sight Words Demolition, first graders will knock down a building by identifying high frequency words. First, they will listen to the instructions, then find the sight words mentioned in the narration. Practice your sight words by playing our bingo game. Play Sight Word Bingo. Start your free trial now and get 20% off your first year with code. About the Dolch Word List - The Dolch Word List is a list of English sight words by Edward William Dolch, PhD. The list is comprised of 220 words grouped by level, and includes pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, verbs and nouns.Headphones or speakers are required for this activity. Trouble Playing This Game?
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Kids can have fun and practice their words with this free sight word bingo game.
Sight Word Bingo Game
Sight word bingo is so much fun you’ll have no problem getting your kiddos to practice their sight words. This game varies slightly from the bingo that we all know and love but it is just as exciting. This free printable includes a traditional set and a set for practicing their writing. Below are some ways you can play the game, but if you are ready to get started just scroll to the bottom and grab your free sight word bingo boards.
Related: Sight Words Flash Cards for Kindergarten
Pro-Tip: This game is meant to be played after the words have been introduced through reading and other practice games like these sight words worksheets. You can play this game before all the words have been introduced, but be ready to support them by telling them the words they haven’t studied yet.
Related: Kindergarten Sight Words Match Game
Ways to Play Sight Word Bingo
Traditional Bingo Game
Each player chooses a board and a handful of chips (or whatever they will use to cover the squares). Place the sight word cards in a stack face down.
One player (or parent) calls out the sight word on the card. Every player looks for the word on the card and covers it if they find it.
They have to say the word before they can cover it. The first player to get four across, down or diagonal is the winner.
Blackout Sight Word Bingo
Each player chooses a board and a handful of chips (or whatever they will use to cover the squares). Place the sight word cards in a stack face down. One player (or parent) calls out the sight word on the card. Every player looks for the word on the card and covers it if they find it. They have to say the word before they can cover it. The first player to cover their entire board (blackout) is the winner.
Writing Sight Word Bingo
I love adding the element of writing whenever I can.
My theory is that if kids can read the word they can write the word. But, most kindergarteners need a lot of writing practice.
For this version of the game, you will need to laminate your game board or slip it into a sheet protector. You will also need a fine tip dry erase marker.
I like this one from Amazon because it has an attached eraser.
You play the game the same way except instead of covering the game board with a chip each player has to write the word.
You Might Also Like: Careers Bingo
Sight Words Bingo is our most popular sight words game. It takes the traditional Bingo game and replaces the numbers with words, motivating the child to read the sight words so they can play (and win!) the game. Children love playing Sight Words Bingo, and it is a great way to provide repetition opportunities in a large group setting.
Each child gets his or her own Bingo Card with a set of words printed on a grid on the face of the card. The adult calls out words one at a time, and each time the child hears a word that is on their card, they cover the word with a marker. When the markers line up to make a complete row (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal), the child yells “Bingo!” and they are declared the winner of that round.
To play Sight Words Bingo, you just need Bingo cards and some markers:
- Printer paper or cardstock (approximately 110 lb / 200 gsm)
- Printer
- Bingo markers or counters (approximately 20 per player)
Use our Bingo Card Generator to produce one Bingo Card for each child, and print them out (preferably on a heavy-duty cardstock paper). You want to use a mix of newer words that you are currently working on, as well as some words you need to review. The Bingo Card Generator will also create a word list that you can use to help you run the game.
Free Printable Sight Word Bingo
If you will be creating multiple sets of Bingo cards, it is useful to label each set on the back so that you can easily sort out the sets if they get jumbled together. (We learned this the hard way!)
You need some Bingo counters to mark each of the squares as the child plays the game. The counters pictured were purchased, but you can also use pennies, bread bag tags, pebbles, or anything else you have handy. If purchasing plastic markers, we prefer the markers that are plain and single-colored; multiple colors often prove too much of a distraction.
Some people use a Bingo Marker that the child uses to color the square instead of a counter. This gives the children a bit of practice gripping the pens, but it also requires you to hand out fresh Bingo cards for each round.
Each child is given a Bingo Card and a handful of markers (approximately 20 per child). The children are given 90 seconds to read all the words on their card. If there are any weak readers in the class, the adult should take this time to work with those children to help them read all the words on their card; otherwise they are going to be lost for the rest of the game.
The adult takes the word list and picks a word at random from the list. The adult reads out the word, uses it in a sentence, then reads out the word again. For example, if the word was plate, the adult could call out:
Adult: Plate. I ate dinner on a round plate. Plate.
The adult then marks off the word from the list to help them remember which words have been called already. The adult takes a long pause between each word to give the children time to play the game.
When the children hear a word called out, they are supposed to look at their Bingo card and see if they can find the word on the card (not every word is on every card). If they find the word, they place a counter on that square.
To win, a child has makes an entire line (five vertical, horizontal, or diagonal squares). For the purposes of making a line, the center space (free space) is considered to be automatically filled. When a child has a line, they yell out “BINGO!”
When a child claims to be the winner, ask her to read out her four or five words that made a line (more reading practice), and check these words on her card and on your word list to make sure she actually heard and marked the words correctly. If she played correctly, that child is declared the winner, and we move on to playing the next round.
We start a new round by having each child pass their card to their left, so that each child has a new card and is given the opportunity to read new words.
You can make the game easier by reducing the number of squares from the standard 5-by-5 to 4-by-4 or even 3-by-3, and by using a majority of older, more familiar words. You can also allow each child to retain their card for a few rounds so they become more familiar with their cards. As we mentioned, you can help a weak reader at the start of the game by having them read the words to you, correcting any mistakes they have made.
You can make the game harder by using a majority of newer and less familiar words. You can also add some time pressure and increase the pace at which you read out new words, so that the children have to read the words more quickly. Speeding up the pace of the game helps children master the words, as they are forced to truly read by sight and cannot rely on crutches such as sounding out the initial letters.
Alternately, you can make the game last longer by not declaring a winner until a child covers all the squares on their Bingo card.
Bingo is not the best game for doing an assessment of individual children. But by observing the whole classroom, you can get a sense for which words are flummoxing the children and need more work, and the words that are becoming too easy and should be removed from rotation because the children have already mastered them.
Remember that if you are playing with multiple children, each child needs their own card that is different from everyone else’s. Otherwise, everyone will get BINGO at the same time! The pre-made templates below include 30 different Bingo cards made from the same word list, so you can use them for a whole classroom of kids or just one child playing multiple games.
7.1 Custom Sight Words Bingo Cards
Sight Word Bingo online, free
Use the Sight Words Bingo Card Creator to create your own custom set of Bingo cards. This generator lets you select from both existing sight words lists (e.g., Dolch and Fry) as well as allowing you to add custom words (e.g., allowing you to add students’ names or words relevant to a unit you are currently doing). The creator will also create a teacher’s word list to help you run the game.
7.2 Blank Bingo Card Templates
7.3 Dolch Sight Words Bingo Cards
7.3.a Dolch Sight Words 5×5 Bingo Cards
7.3.b Dolch Sight Words 4×4 Bingo Cards
7.3.c Dolch Sight Words 3×3 Bingo Cards
7.4 Fry Sight Words Bingo Cards
7.4.a Fry Sight Words 5×5 Bingo Cards
7.4.b Fry Sight Words 4×4 Bingo Cards
7.4.c Fry Sight Words 3×3 Bingo Cards
7.5 Top 150 Written Words Bingo Cards
7.5.a Top 150 Written Words 5×5 Bingo Cards
7.5.b Top 150 Written Words 4×4 Bingo Cards
7.5.a Top 150 Written Words 3×3 Bingo Cards
Sight Word Bingo Game Free Printable
To download a template, right-click and select Save As.
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