Penguin Themed Sight Word Game
This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. View our full disclosure policy here.
This free Penguin-Themed Sight Word Game is an engaging way to practice word recognition this winter. Playing games with sight words is so much more fun than simply working through flashcards. The words on these cards are ones you’ll likely find in an easy reader about penguins and other winter animals.
*For hands-on, sight word practice for the whole year, grab our EDITABLE Sight Word Games and Centers Bundle!

Penguin Sight Word Game Preparation
Penguins are a lot of fun to learn about. For instance, did you know that Emperor Penguins huddle together to stay warm in the icy Antarctic winters?
That penguin huddle is so mesmerizing! I decided to appeal to children’s imagination and make a sight word game based on it. The idea is that as you read the words you place the cards in a huddle. Words you can’t read get left out in the cold.
How to Prep
Print out the cards, and cut on the solid lines. For home use, regular paper is fine. For the classroom, you may want to print on card stock or laminate them.
Next, fold each card on the dotted lines, including the top and bottom. This extra tab gives the cards a little more stability.

Penguin Sight Word Game Instructions
To play, set the cards up in a line. Then, one by one, the child should pick up a card and read the word on the penguin’s belly.
If he can read it successfully, he waddles the card to the middle of the work area. If he can’t read it, he has it waddle around to the back of the line.
With practice, all the penguins will soon be together in a huddle, “keeping warm” in the center of the work area. The child can then rotate the cards and read them again – just like real penguins rotate from the center to the outside of their huddle.
This set includes 16 sight words that are a mixture of “penguin words” and words from the Dolch list for early readers.
The words included are: penguin, cold, black, white, under, water, fish, chick, big, little, jump, yellow, up, run, go, play.

Grab Your FREE Copy
Ready for some sight word fun? Get your free copy of the Penguin Sight Word Game by clicking the large, yellow download button at the end of the post!
Want unlimited access to even MORE of our activities and resources? Join us in the Print and Play Club!
Your planning will be so much easier with instant access to:
- hundreds of printables
- every TKC resource
- video lessons
- a digital games vault
- Pre-K and TK Scope & Sequence
- a PLAYlist of fun songs AND activities
- professional development
- additional teacher resources…
Be sure to request an invitation so that you don’t miss your chance to be part of the best early childhood club around!
- Fishing for Letters Alphabet Sensory Bin Activity - May 11, 2023
- Superhero Letter Sort - February 21, 2023
- Valentine’s Day Cookie Pre-Writing Activity - January 20, 2023