Printable Sight Word Memory Match

Turn two cards over and read them aloud — a match is a keeper. Every Dolch level and Fry set comes as cut-out pairs split into decks of 12, which is about as much as a young child can hold in their head at once.

Players
1–4
Prep
Print and cut
Inside
12 pairs per deck
You need
Scissors
Jump to the downloads

How to play sight word memory

The rules everybody already knows, with one addition.

  1. 1

    Cut out one deck and shuffle

    Use a single set to start — every card from one deck, face down in a grid.

  2. 2

    Turn two cards over

    Read both aloud. Reading them is the rule that makes this a sight word game rather than a memory test.

  3. 3

    Keep a pair, or turn them back

    A match is kept and the player goes again. No match, and they go back face down in the same spot.

  4. 4

    Most pairs wins

    Count them up at the end and read the winning pile back through.

What's in the PDF

Decks of 12 pairs

12 pairs is 24 cards on the table — a real game that still ends before a five-year-old loses interest.

The whole list, split into sets

A long level arrives as several decks rather than one unplayable pile, so you can work through it a deck at a time.

Cut lines on every card

Straight cuts only. A child old enough for scissors can make their own deck.

Ways to change it up

One deck, four games.

Go Fish

Deal five each and ask other players for the word you need by name.

Snap

Faster and louder. Good for words a child already knows well.

Flashcards

Half a deck is a flashcard stack — no need to print the cards separately.

Sight word memory — frequently asked questions