Free Digital Play Dough Theme Preschool Sight Word Activities

One of the most exciting parts of teaching young children is witnessing the birth of a reader! Mastering sight words is an essential part of this process. Free Play Dough Theme Preschool Sight Word Activities for Google Slides and Seesaw is an amazing resource to help your child learn these high frequency words! With these engaging, colorful Google Slides, young learners will have the opportunity to read, type and build Dolch word lists!

Preschoolers will improve computer skills as they type and use the mouse to create words. I love that the kids are learning sight words in an interactive way! These slides are a great tool to introduce, practice and assess the first sight words of preschool!

What are sight words?

Sight words are words that can be identified with automaticity. Typically, they do not follow grammar rules and they cannot be decoded (sounded out). Readers need to see these words as one piece rather than individual letters to be sounded out.

What is the Dolch pre-primer list?

The Dolch sight words make up 50 to 70 percent of general text. The pre-primer list contains 40 of these words. About half of these words are among the most commonly used words for kids in grades kindergarten through second grade. Also, about a third of all written material is comprised of 25 words; ten of these words are included below in the Dolch Pre-Primer Word List! So the Dolch list is a great way to start your child on his/her journey to reading!

Why do I need to teach sight words?

Why memorize sight words? Once Sight Words are memorized, it frees up space in your brain. This space can then be used to process less frequently used vocabulary and increase comprehension!

So the more words children have in their arsenal, the better they can understand more complex text!

How many sight words should a preschooler know? The quick answer.. as many as possible!

Depending on school districts, children need to know anywhere from 20 to 50 sight words by the end of kindergarten. You want to prepare your child for the rigor of Kindergarten by mastering high frequency words early. Knowing more words will improve reading skills!

How do I use the slides?

• Click on the link below to get the activity.
• Choose which version you want Google Slides or Seesaw. Once you click on the link it will open the appropriate app.
• Don’t forget to Make a Copy!
• Rename the activity so that it is easy for you to find on your computer!
• Your child will begin by clicking on a slide.

Your child should then read the word aloud.

The “type it” box is next. In Google Slides, just click the box and when it is outlined in blue, your child can type the letters. In Seesaw, the “T’ will need to be clicked to begin typing.

The last box is the build it box. In Google Slides, just click the letters and drag them into the box. Using Seesaw, using the pointing finger to click and drag!

WOW! Your kiddo just encountered the same word three times and we know REPETITION is the key to mastering sight words! Yippee!!

Once a slide is completed, just click on the next slide to practice a new word.

Revisit each slide multiple times. Especially the slides that your child finds more challenging! The slides can be used to introduce, review or assess sight word mastery!

You can print and laminate the slides for even more practice!

Dry erase markers can be used to write the words in the “type it” box so that the slides can be used multiple times!

AND…. wait for it… you can break out the real life play dough and have your child build the actual word in the “build it” box! HOW FUN IS THAT????

What else can I do to help my child learn these words?

According to research, children need to be exposed to a new word about 17 times to master it. Using these slides will provide a great tool teaching sight words to preschoolers. Since kids need multiple opportunities, here are just a few more ways to practice sight words:

• Use multiple writing utensils like sidewalk chalk, markers, crayons, dry erase markers or watercolors when writing sight words over and over again!
• Fill a pan with sugar, salt or pudding and let your child draw the word. Messy but so much fun!
• Build the sight words with wiki sticks, clay or pipe cleaners. Hands on experience is the best!
• Use shaving cream in the bathtub to write words on the walls!
• Use letter stamps or stickers to build the words.
• Play a memory game with sight word flash cards. You will need to make 2 sets of flash cards for this one!
• Hide sight words around the house. Send your child on a scavenger hunt to find a specific word.
• Hunt for sight words in books, magazines or online.
• Write the words on index cards. Cut each letter apart. reassemble the word.
• Write the words on an imaginary giant chalkboard.
• Use magnetic letters to build the words on your refrigerator.
• HAVE FUN!