Word banks are a great way to teach sight words, especially for ELLs who are also working on building English vocabulary, and there are lots of ways to use word banks that are really fun for kids.

A word bank is a child's individual collection of known words, written on small cards and kept together in a bag or envelope so that the child can read them and play with them regularly. To collect word bank words, choose 6-10 words from each book a child reads and print them neatly on small cards. The words can represent the specific phonics features the child is studying, or they can be high frequency words, such as "what" or "then." The word cards for each book can be kept in a pocket that has been glued to the inside cover of the book so that the same cards can be used again and again with different children.

After a child has read the book at least two or three times, take out the word cards and see which ones the child can read automatically, that is, without having to spend time decoding. For each word that is read automatically, make a new word card, and add it to the child's personal word bank. As new books are read, repeat the process, adding new words to the word bank.

The word bank then becomes a source for familiar words that can be used in a variety of ways:

• Play Concentration — make a duplicate set of cards. Take turns turning cards up two at a time to find matches.
• Play Bingo — make cards with selected words from the word bank in the boxes. Call out words, and as each is read, have the child cover it with a token. Then switch places, and have the child call out the words as you cover them.
• Play Pick-Up — lay out 6-10 words from the word bank. Have the child pick up the words you name or describe. For example, "Pick up the words that rhyme with 'bat.'" or "Pick up the words that start like 'top.'"
• Do Word Sorts — find words in the child's word bank that have something in common, either related to meaning or to word features. Take out two or three groups of such words, and have the child sort them. For example, have the child sort words that refer to animals as compared to words that refer to plants, or words that start like "which" as compared to words that start like "that."