Haul Them In! is yet another format for practicing sight words. This version focuses on distinguishing between “look-alikes.”

 

NEW: A ready-made Haul Them In game is available on Teachers Pay Teachers under my seller name, On Your Mark.

 

 

This is a game for two people: a dealer and a player. It uses a deck consisting of 64 cards, on which you’ve printed the 16 words from one of the Dolch word lists (below) four separate times. You will also need a 3 minute timer.

The dealer arranges the top 9 cards in a 3 by 3 grid for the player and sets the timer. The player’s job is to spot 2 cards with the same word, read the word, and pick the cards up as a “trick.” The dealer then replaces these two empty spots with two new cards, and the player searches for a new match. In instances where there are three cards with the same word on them in the 9 card grid, the player may still only take 2. In instances where there are no matching cards, the dealer should put out an extra column of cards. The object of the game is to see how many cards can be gotten in three minutes.

When a child picks up two words that don’t actually match, it’s important for her to focus in on the differences. Then the dealer puts the words back in the deck, so they’ll come up again. There is no penalty for a mismatch, just another chance to get it right. On subsequent rounds, the player sees if she can get more pairs before the 3 minutes run out.

 WORD LIST #1: from Dolch Pre-primer and Primer List

from        for                me               my

on            in                   no                not

yes          you                out               our

is             it                    like               look

WORD LIST #2: from Dolch Pre-primer and Primer List

with        went            that              they

now            she            the              will

and          said              be                by

say          saw              was              know

Word List #3: from Dolch Primer and First Grade List

his           her               has             when

one          on                here           were

take         talk             walk           where

them       they            went            want