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Classroom Wheels

Kindergarten Sight Words Wheel

Kindergarten is when children start to recognise the small, everyday words that make up most of what they read, and short, frequent practice makes the difference. This wheel holds the 52 words on the Dolch primer list, the sight word list usually taught in kindergarten, including all, are, came, have, like, please, there, want and yes. Each spin is a mini game: the class reads the word together, a volunteer uses it in a sentence, and everyone writes it on a whiteboard or traces it in the air. Switch on Take winners off the wheel to work through the list over a few weeks, and remove words your class already knows.

Updated by Talha Shahid

What is a kindergarten sight words wheel?

A kindergarten sight words wheel is a spinner of high-frequency words that kindergarten children learn to read on sight, turning word practice into a short game the whole class can watch. The Classroom Wheels kindergarten sight words wheel holds the 52 words on the Dolch primer list, the Dolch list usually taught in kindergarten, including all, are, came, have, like, please, there, want, went and yes. After each spin, the class reads the word aloud, a child uses it in a sentence, and everyone writes it, spells it with a clap for each letter, or builds it with magnetic letters. With Take winners off the wheel switched on, a class works through the whole list without repeats. Words a class already reads confidently can be removed in Edit entries, and words from a school's own phonics scheme can be added. Each word is equally likely on every spin, and the wheel is free with no signup.

How do you use the kindergarten sight words wheel?

  1. The wheel is ready with 52 entries. Press Spin, click the wheel or press Space, and the result appears in the middle.
  2. Open Edit entries to change the list for your class, or press Use my class instead to spin your students' names.
  3. Press Present (or F) to show just the wheel on the board. Turn on Take winners off the wheel in Settings if you don't want repeats.

Ways to use it in class

  • Sight word clap: spin a word, then the class claps once for each letter as they spell it out loud together.
  • Word detective: spin a word and ask children to spot it on the class word wall, in a big book or on a classroom label.
  • Build it: children make the spun word with magnetic letters or letter tiles before checking it against the wheel.

Put this wheel on your class website

Paste this code into Google Sites (Insert, then Embed), a class blog or your learning platform, and students can use the wheel there. It shows just the wheel, with no ads, and loads nothing about your students.

What's on the kindergarten sight words wheel?

All 52 entries, ready to spin. Edit them on the wheel above to fit your class.

  1. all
  2. am
  3. are
  4. at
  5. ate
  6. be
  7. black
  8. brown
  9. but
  10. came
  11. did
  12. do
  13. eat
  14. four
  15. get
  16. good
  17. have
  18. he
  19. into
  20. like
  21. must
  22. new
  23. no
  24. now
  25. on
  26. our
  27. out
  28. please
  29. pretty
  30. ran
  31. ride
  32. saw
  33. say
  34. she
  35. so
  36. soon
  37. that
  38. there
  39. they
  40. this
  41. too
  42. under
  43. want
  44. was
  45. well
  46. went
  47. what
  48. white
  49. who
  50. will
  51. with
  52. yes

More ready-made wheels

Questions teachers ask

Can I change what's on the kindergarten sight words wheel?

Yes. The Kindergarten Sight Words Wheel starts with the 52 entries listed above. Open Edit entries to add, remove or reword any of them, one per line. Your changes last until you leave the page, and Restore brings back the original list.

Can I spin my students' names instead?

Yes. Press Use my class instead to swap the kindergarten sight words wheel's entries for your saved class, with absent students left off. Press the back button in the same place to return to the 52 entries.

Is every entry on the kindergarten sight words wheel equally likely?

Yes. Each of the 52 entries has the same 1 in 52 chance on every spin: the result is chosen with your browser's cryptographic random number generator before the wheel moves. Turn on Take winners off the wheel in Settings to go through every entry once before any repeats.

Will ads show on my projector?

No. Press Present (or F) and the screen shows only the wheel and the Spin button, in large type for the back of the room.

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