Sight Words Games: Speed Racer

This simple sight word game is such a hit with my early reader! As soon as she finishes a round, she’s excitedly asking to play again and again.

Sight Word Activities for Beginning Readers: Racer Game

We play Speed Racer Sight Words on a whiteboard but this game would work just as well on a blackboard, magna doodle, tablet or with plain old pen and paper.

How to play Speed Racer Sight Words

1. Start by writing eight to ten sight words that your child is learning on the whiteboard.

I like to include a good mix of words my Miss 5 has already mastered and four or five she is currently focusing on. Including words that she is already confidently reading gives her a greater sense of mastery and achievement and it makes the game go more quickly which makes her feel like a real speed racer!

2. Invite your child to read the words. She can read them in any order and should read them as quickly as she can, crossing them our as she goes.

By letting your child read in any order, you are giving her a greater sense of power over the learning and it also allows you to  see which words she is most confident with, and conversely, which are still a challenge.

Sight Word Activities for Beginning Readers: Racer Game

3. Optional: Add a timer, playing three or four times in a row (I mix up the same words each time) and challenging your child to beat their previous time.

If your child misreads a word, or gets stuck on a word they don’t know, stop the clock (or simply say you’re pausing the game if you are not using a  timer), and assist them to read the word they are stuck on. As high frequency sight words are so often irregularly spelt, I will generally try to find a way to help Miss 5 to learn the word. For example, for the word ‘what,’ I will say, “That a is pretending he is one of his vowel friends. He’s pretending he is an ‘o’.” Or “Can you remember what sound that tricky ‘a ‘is pretending to be?”

Sight Word Activities for Beginning Readers: Racer Game

And that’s it, so simple, hey! So you can see the game in action, I’ve included a quick video of us playing a round at home.

If you are looking for more sight word games suitable for an early or struggling reader, check out our printable Sight Word Games Pack.

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