Word walls can be an amazing tool for readers and writers, but they are only useful when they’re referenced repeatedly. The portable word wall is a space saver and gets the students to interact and engage with the words, but what are some engaging sight word centers that can be implemented?
I was recently trying to think of ways to incorporate our portable word wall in our everyday learning even more than we already do. I love it when my students show independence during their work as well as have fun while learning. With that idea in mind, I created Sight Word Centers for use with the portable word wall. My first grade daughter cannot get enough of these centers and has learned her sight words all the way to the Dolch Third Grade list!
There are 9 fun and engaging sight word centers and each one comes with directions like the one pictured below.
In the past, I have found that my students like to just look at the words or quickly pretend to read them. There was a need for them to be engaged with the words not just in isolation, but also in context. These centers are varied so that students can interact with the words in different ways. They have the opportunity to be hands on with the magnetic mat. I have found that it is very helpful for my students that need the muscle memory. They also have opportunities to show their understanding of the words through sentence writing and illustrations.
Grammar can be hard to teach in isolation. Grammar should be coupled with other activities in order for students to truly grasp grammatical concepts. With these centers, they are able to work on the writing conventions and other grammatical concepts such as singular and plural nouns.
I asked my students what their favorite part about these centers were, and they mostly answered that they feel like they are playing games and not doing schoolwork. Young kids love to play. Young kids need to play. These centers have been a hit with my students because they feel like they’re playing and enjoying their friends’ company. They have been a hit for me because I get to see their progress with the understanding of the sight words as well as their independence in writing and grammar.
These centers can be used with a classic word wall, but the portability is what makes them seamless. If you want to learn more about the portable word wall and how it has been effective in my classroom and in countless other classrooms, please read all about The Portable Word Wall and Why You Need One!
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Happy Teaching!
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