Paper Football Sight Words

What do you do when your Kindergarten student would rather play paper football than practice sight words?  You combine his love of flicking folded paper across the table with introducing new words!  This Paper Football Sight Word game will get the most resistant student excited about scoring sight word touchdowns!


Sight word paper football game for Kindergarten students and beginner readers.


Paper Football Sight Word Game

This post contains affiliate links.  This sight word activity is really easy to throw together.  I used Jenga game pieces and a sheet of Green Cardstock to make the football field pretty easily.  To make the goal posts, tape the pieces into a goal post shape using little “donuts” of tape.  Stick more tape to the bottom piece to keep the goal post in place.  Here’s a hint that we shared about the Jenga pieces over on our Instagram page.  Grab up a Jenga game at your dollar store or $5 store for cheap play.  we use these blocks for all kinds of creative play and learning.   (Follow us on Instagram so you can see our daily fun!)
How to make a paper football.

Next you’ll make a paper football.  We used a strip of brown paper bag for a nice brown football.  

How to fold a paper football:

Now, I know that many of you, my lovely readers were note-passing-in-grade-school-on-up-through-high-school-who-passed-so-many-notes-your-locker-was-filled-a-third-of-the-way-with-folded-triangle-notes KNOW how to fold a triangle shaped paper note (I mean football).

This was you, too…right?

But.  Just in case you didn’t fill your locker with paper triangles of notes from friends, here is how you fold a paper football:

Cut a small paper bag in half, long-ways.  Then, cut down the sides so you have a long strip of paper that makes up both sides of the paper bag.  

Starting at one side of the strip, fold over a triangle.  Continue to fold the triangle over and over down the length of the strip of paper.  When you get to the end of the strip, tuck the remaining paper into the folds of the triangle.  Add a bit of tape to keep your football’s shape as you play paper football.

Sight word paper football game for Kindergarten students and beginner readers.
Then, on your Green Cardstock, draw lines for each of the 10 yard lines.  You can add numbers in for the lines.  (Practice counting off by tens with your child while doing this!)

Sight word paper football game for Kindergarten students and beginner readers.

To practice sight words, write a sight word on each yard line.  Start playing paper football. When the point of the football falls close to a word, have your child read the sight word. 

Looking for more Kindergarten sight word activities?  Try these: