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16 Ways to Make Practice Sheets Fun

Practice Sheets are a key part of the All About Reading program, and for good reason: they help kids develop fluency, which is the ability to read smoothly, accurately, and with expression. In fact, many of you call them “fluency sheets” because they are so helpful in guiding students toward fluency.

But as helpful as Practice Sheets are, they aren’t necessarily the most exciting component of the reading lessons. If you’re looking for ways to spice them up, we’ve got you covered! Download this collection of activities and sample Practice Sheets and then read on! And be sure to scroll to the end of this blog post for a special bonus download!

Click to download 16 fun practice sheet activities

16 Games and Activities for Practice Sheets

Ready to have some fun and build fluency at the same time? There’s no shortage of ideas here…just pick an activity and give it a try!

Cartoon monster

Feed the monster. Print and cut out the monster (page 7 or 10) and the appropriate Practice Sheets from the download. Have your child read each strip and then feed them to the monster. For a fun alternative, check out our adorable Feed the Puppy game.

Game dice

Number the rows of words and sentences on the Practice Sheets from 1 to 6, repeating the numbers as necessary. If your child rolls a 2, he reads the words in the rows you marked with the number 2. If he rolls a 3, he reads the words in the rows you marked with the number 3.

Mother and son buddy reading together

Read with a buddy. Take turns reading lines on the Practice Sheets with your student. Learn more about how buddy reading can help your child in this blog post.

Package of dot stickers

Use sticker dots to reduce your student’s frustration. Break up the Practice Sheets into more manageable chunks using sticker dots to create a “starting dot” and a “stopping dot.”

Magnifying glass over a word

Play hide-and-seek with words and sentences. Cut up the Practice Sheets and hide the pieces around the room. When your child finds one of the pieces, he has to read it before searching for the next piece.

Colorful ABC letters

Choose a letter and have your student search for and read only the words, phrases, or sentences that begin with (or contain) that particular letter.

Splat graphic

Play Swat the Words. Print and cut out the splat graphic from page 9 or 12 on the download. Attach the splat graphic to a new flyswatter, a plastic ruler, or even just your student’s hand. Cut out words from the Practice Sheet and lay them on the table. Have your student find and swat each word as you read it out loud.

Covering a practice sheet with a strip of paper

Break up the Practice Sheet by covering it with a piece of paper, making the page seem less overwhelming for your child. Slide the paper down to uncover one line or section at a time.

Yellow and green highlighters

Make progress more concrete. Allow your student to track his progress using colored highlighters or fun stickers. Simply have him mark the words or sentences as he reads them.

Hopscotch game board

Play Fluency Hopscotch. Write fluency words in each square of a hopscotch grid. Gather a different marker for each student, such as a beanbag, stone, or bottle cap. Follow standard hopscotch rules, but when the student stops to pick up his marker, he reads the word(s).

Stack of snowballs

Play Fluency Snowball Fight. Cut the Practice Sheets into strips and tape them to the wall. Have your child read the words. After each strip is read correctly, have your child stand back and throw a snowball at the strip! Use Ping-Pong balls, Nerf balls, styrofoam balls, or even crumpled paper as snowballs.

Word search

Use an online word search puzzle maker to create your own word search puzzle using your child’s fluency words. Have her read the words as she finds them.

Car

Make a word road. Cut the Practice Sheets into strips. Place the strips end to end on a long table or on the floor to make a road. Have your student drive a matchbox car over the words as he reads them.

Illustrated cat

Illustrate the words. Select a few words from the Practice Sheets and have your student draw a picture for each one. For even more fun, ask your child to make a collage of the words and pictures.

Open book with pen and illustration

Silly sentences. Have your student read a word from the Practice Sheet and make up a silly sentence using the word. Have a contest to see who can make the other players laugh first.

Happy and sad emojis

Have fun with emotions! Cut out the emojis from page 9 or 12 on the download. Put the emojis in a basket. Cut the Practice Sheets into strips and put those in another basket. Have your student pick a strip from one basket and an emoji from the other basket. Now ham it up by reading the word using the selected emotion.

Bonus Download!

Here’s one more FUN way to help your child zip through those practice sheets! Reading is always more fun with a buddy and our All About Reading mascots are here to help! First download your Reading Buddies, then select the character that correlates with your child’s reading level or just pick your favorite! Either way, practice sheets are about to get a lot more fun!


What is your child’s favorite way to use the Practice Sheets? Let me know in the comments below!

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Jessica Larimore

says:

These are great! Thank you!

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Jessica!

Mari M

says:

Love the free resources available on the website.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Thank you, Mari! It’s wonderful to hear that the resources here are appreciated.

Holly

says:

Already a success:
Cut up the words and phrases and split in 2 piles (one for student and one for me). We took turns reading a word into a fan, letting it fly with the “wind,” and then, at the very looked to see whose word sailed the furthest. A hoot.

I taped (blue tape is our favorite “toy”) words and phrases in a “parkour course” around the house. My grandson followed the course: jumping across the floor, leaping on to furniture, crossing a chair bridge, crawling under a row of chairs, long-stepping up stairs, and (yes) climbing the walls!

We stood at the top of the stairs, each with a pile of words/phrases/sentences. Taking turns, we let them go over the rail to 1) watch them flutter beautifully down 2) to “scored” circles drawn on the wood floor with chalk. We add paperclips for more ballast.

I separate the sentence fragments and full sentences in 2 rows (I’ve tried them upside down, like The Memory Game and right side up. Naturally the latter goes more quickly!) My grandson reads the fragment and then the complete sentence that goes with it.

I want to try…
…putting magnets on the backs of the words, phrases and sentences, scatter them in the bathtub and “fish” for them with a big paperclip on a string.

That’s a few. My grandson has ADHD and is very active and creative. It is difficult to have him do any activity twice. It is a challenge, and a joy, to think up new methods to challenge and please him!!

(I already get the newsletter, thanks :)

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

What great ideas for making the fluency practice sheet active, fun, and social, Holly! Thank you so much for sharing them, as I know many other families will find these ideas enjoyable too!

Charity

says:

This are fun tips. We also use a board games. We read a row before each turn.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Great way to approach the fluency practice sheets, Charity! Thank you for sharing!

Stacy

says:

My daughter likes it when I put an M&M at the end of the row. Fluency isn’t her favorite, but that makes it a little more bearable.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

M&Ms are a great motivator, Stacy!

Lindsey Kaspar

says:

Thank you! These are all great ideas!

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Linsey!

Jess

says:

We use colored highlighters and the student pronounces the letter while marking it. It gives them a choice of color for each word. Also, splitting it up into a multiple lessons and doing a few from each group does well.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Great tips, Jess! I found splitting up the fluency practice sheets over a few days helped my child as well.

hawwa

says:

The reading buddy idea sounds great! One of my students loved and found it easy when he gets to split or colour the word.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

I’m pleased to hear some of the ideas here worked well with your students!

Gena

says:

I love all these ideas! Going to make the reading buddies this weekend! Thank you.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Gena. I hope your students enjoy the reading buddies!

warda

says:

reading with expression , I tried it with my two boys 5 and 10years old and we had a lot of fun . I will try them all !!!

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Thank you for letting us know thta your boys enjoyed this activity, Warda!

Tandi Cortez

says:

My son will love the Reading Buddies!

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Great to hear, Tandi!

Andrea D

says:

More ways to make learning fun are always appreciated!

Merysa Rios

says:

These are great ideas!! I will definitely be using these for when I start homeschooling again in the fall! :)

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Glad you like these, Merysa!

Tracy

says:

I have been homeschooling for 20 years (with about 15 to go!) and some of these ideas are new to me! I hope to use AAR this summer to help a struggling reader and would like to try some of them.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

I’m glad we could help a veteran homeschooler find some new ideas, Tracy!

Mary O

says:

This are great ideas to help kids enjoy learning more! Children retain so much more when they are engaged and feel like they are playing rather than working! Thanks!

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Such great points, Mary! Thank you.

Lamusah zakari

says:

Is so great, thank u

Katherine Erismann

says:

My silly “ants-in-his-pants” 7 year old LOVES feeding the monster with All About Reading! Thanks for the fun game to get him motivated to learn more and more!

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

I love that feeding the monster is helping to motivate your little one, Katherine!

Laura

says:

My daughters loves the feed the monster activity, especially if the practice sheets have a lot of practice words. It makes it easier to break up the words when the list is long. She will remember to “feed the monster” at breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc so she is less likely to get overwhelmed.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

I love that your daughter wants to feed the monster at each meal, Laura! What a great way to get get in extra review that your child thinks is play!

Katie

says:

These are some fun ideas-we used the monster this past week-it was a hit!! Building a word road is something I’d like to try this week.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Thanks for letting us know the Feed the Monster activity was a hit, Katie! I hope the road one is as well received.

Kelani Kline

says:

My daughters LOVES feeding the monster! She also likes when we take turns reading and highlighting the words.

Ellen

says:

I love it. I will definitely try some of these ideas!

Keith and Jamie Lorenz

says:

These are great ideas!!

Katelyn

says:

Soooo many helpful ideas!

Diane Charboneau

says:

Excited to try these!

Luba Kuzminov

says:

I love this pre pressing program! We had so much fun with it! Would live to get into the next level of reading!

Luba Kuzminov

says:

Love this program! We had so much fun with pre reading we would love to try the next level

Jodi

says:

These look great!

Kristen Easter

says:

I need to focus on making it more fun, thanks for the suggestions.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Kristen. Sometimes taking a bit of time to make it more enjoyable makes a huge difference in the child’s perception of reading. When children have fun learning to read, they are much more likely to enjoy reading later on!

Lyndsey Marrinez

says:

My son loves practice sheets!

Heather

says:

Fantastic ideas!!!