Bottle Cap Sight Word Game

When it comes to early reading skills, most schools rely on teaching kids not only phonics, but also sight words.

To make learning those sight words more fun, we have done a variety of hands-on sight word activities.   

This easy to make bottle cap sight word game is easy to make and lots of fun for kids to play at home or to use in pairs in the classroom.  

We love using plastic bottle caps in learning activities.  For another simple idea, check out our very simple to make bottle cap word sort.  

Bottle Cap Sight Word Game

Materials Needed:

• Plastic Bottle Caps
• Black Permanent Marker
• Sight Word List (optional) 

This bottle cap activity can easily be modified to fit the needs of your child.  

Use your permanent marker to write one sight word on top of each plastic lid.  

On the bottom of each lid write a number 1-3.  

These numbers are for “points” during the game, so I wrote a 1 on the easiest words, with the letter blend in the beginning of the word, and I wrote 2 or 3 for harder words where the blend was at the end of the word.  

Of course, you can assign points as you see fit.

You can play the game two different ways. 

For both ways, start with the words lined up, easy to see.

To play the sight word game in pairs:  Each child takes turns reading a word on a bottle cap.  

If they read the word correctly they place it in front of them.  When all the words have been read they flip the caps over and add up their points.  The one with the most points wins!   (See how I sneaked a bit a math in there, too?)

To play the sight word game alone:  The child sees how many words they can read in a minute (or longer, depending on the level of your child).  

Again, when they finish, they flip the words over and add up their score.  The next time they play they try to beat their previous score until they are able to read all the words in the time given.

Yes, I am aware that the words we used aren’t necessarily thought of as “sight words.”  

However, this activity could be done with any list of words — including the popular Dolch and Fry word lists often used at school, making it a fun way for sight word practice at home. 

It could also be done during center time in a classroom setting. 

Bottle caps make a great tool when it comes to learning.  

We have had lots of fun with our bottle cap sight word game this week, and I plan to add words to it in the future as we work on other letter blends.

You may also enjoy:

• Apple Activities for Kids 
• Nerf Gun Sight Word Shoot 
• Drive to the Sight Word