Vocabulary Games
Activity
Title: Post-It
Spelling
Level:
Any (best with
primary)
Skill
Focus: Spelling/Vocabulary
Materials:
Paper cards with
letter of all vocabulary words (each sheet of paper has one letter)
Procedures:
1.
Students
are first taught vocabulary words with an example on spelling.
2.
Students
are then each handed one letter car (or multiple cards if there are more letter
than students).
3.
Teacher
reads a vocabulary word out loud and students have to arrange themselves to
correctly spell the word.
Activity
Title: Syllable
Tracking
Level:
Any (best with
primary)
Skill
Focus: Spelling/Vocabulary
Materials:
syllable cards,
tape, board or wall
Procedures:
1.
Teacher
will have vocabulary words broken up by prefixes, roots, other syllable types
or suffixes and written on the syllable cards.
2.
Broken
up words/syllable cards will be taped randomly on the board.
3.
Students
will be asked to create a word using the syllable cards.
4.
Teacher
should model how to read the word, first segmented and then blended.
Activity
Title: Vocab
ABCs
Level:
Any
Skill
Focus: Vocabulary
Materials:
board, chalk
Procedures:
1.
Teacher
writes two sets of ABCs in vertical columns on the board.
2.
Students
compete in teams to write as many words as possible, on per letter, in the time
provided.
*Themes
can make this as simple or as complicated as the teacher desires. Example:
Nouns, sports words, past tense verbs, adjectives for people. Good as a warm-up
activity.*
Activity
Title: Musical
Chairs
Level:
Any
Skill
Focus: Vocabulary/Grammar
Materials:
chairs, music
Procedures:
1.
Chairs
are set up in a circle with one fewer than the number of students.
2.
Each
chair has something on it (a vocab pic, vocab word, definition, prompt – Ex.
“Say a sentence that uses the future simple tense.”)
3.
Teacher
also writes a review question, definition, etc. on the board.
4.
Teacher
pays music while students rotate around chairs.
5.
When
the teacher stops the music, the students sit in the chairs.
6.
The
person without a chair must do what is written on the board.
7.
The
students in the chairs must answer their question, state their vocabulary word,
etc.
8.
The
last student sitting is the winner.
Activity
Title: What Am
I?
Level:
Intermediate
Skill
Focus: Vocabulary
Materials:
paper
Procedures:
1.
Teacher
writes down vocabulary words on pieces of paper.
2.
One
at a time, students will place the vocabulary word on their foe heads so that
the other students can see the word, but they cannot.
3.
The
“it” student must NOT look at their word.
4.
Student
who is “it” asks questions of their classmates to try and guess the vocabulary
word.
Activity
Title: Hot
Potato Vocabulary
Level:
Any
Skill
Focus: Vocabulary
Materials:
Object, music
Procedures:
1.
Students
form a circle and being passing around the objects as the music plays.
2.
When
the teacher stops the music, the student who has the object must act out the
vocabulary word, answer a question about the vocabulary word, etc.
*To
make the game more challenging, the teacher can set it up so that the student
the object landed on previously has to ask the current student a question using
the vocabulary word.*
Activity
Title: Vocab Tag
Level:
any
Skill
Focus: Vocabulary
Materials:
paper
Procedures:
1.
Students
stand in a large circle.
2.
Students
are randomly assigned one vocabulary word written on a piece of paper.
3.
Each
student then holds the paper facing the other students so that everyone can see
the word and the student knows what word he/she has.
4.
One
student is placed in the center of the circle and must tag the student whose
word is called.
5.
When
a student’s word is called, the student must yell out another student’s word
before the student in the center tags him/her.
6.
One
student should be speaking at a time.
Activity
Title: Race to
Spell
Level:
Any
Skill
Focus: Spelling/Vocabulary
Materials:
paper, tape
Procedures:
1.
The
teacher tapes individual letters in a group at random on the blackboard or
wall. (Be sure to make multiples of the most common letters.)
2.
The
teacher chooses a relevant vocabulary word and the student builds the word as
fast as possible.
3.
The
teacher can time the students and they can either build words individually or
in groups/pairs.
*Variation:
The students can choose the word that will be spelled, but it is harder to keep
the difficulty level the same unless they have a set of words to choose from.*
Activity
Title: The Vocab
Choo Choo Train
Level:
Any
Skill
Focus: Vocabulary
Materials:
hats (or other
container), paper
Procedures:
1.
Students
are split into groups of three.
2.
New
vocab will be written on small pieces of paper and put into a hat.
3.
There
will be three “stations” that students be placed in charge of: vocabulary words
in a hat, illustration (pictures) of vocabulary, and vocabulary words written
on flash cards.
4.
One
student from each team will stand at each station.
5.
Station
1 will pick a word out of the hat and whisper it to student at station 2.
6.
Student
at station 2 will find the flash card and shot it to the students at station 3.
7.
Student
at station 3 will match the word p with the picture.
8.
Students
will race each other as teams. The team with the most number of correct matches
wins.
Activity
Title: Stepping Stones
Level: All
Materials:
Paper, tape
Procedure: Create a map on the classroom floor that consists of certain sentence parts, such as, “object”, “subject”, “verb”, ect. Students take turns jumping from “sentence part” to “sentence part” and speaking the appropriate “part”, therefore creating a sentence.
Procedure: Create a map on the classroom floor that consists of certain sentence parts, such as, “object”, “subject”, “verb”, ect. Students take turns jumping from “sentence part” to “sentence part” and speaking the appropriate “part”, therefore creating a sentence.
Activity
Title: Bingo
Level: Secondary, Post-Secondary
Procedure: T asks Ss to draw a 3 x 3 grid (or larger) on their paper and write one word from a recent vocab list in each square. Using the same list, the T describes words one-by-one in random order and, if the student has written that word on his/her paper then they mark it off. Continue this until someone gets three marked off boxes in a row (aka...a BINGO!). MAKE THEM YELL BINGO to get the point. :-)
Level: Secondary, Post-Secondary
Procedure: T asks Ss to draw a 3 x 3 grid (or larger) on their paper and write one word from a recent vocab list in each square. Using the same list, the T describes words one-by-one in random order and, if the student has written that word on his/her paper then they mark it off. Continue this until someone gets three marked off boxes in a row (aka...a BINGO!). MAKE THEM YELL BINGO to get the point. :-)
Activity
Title: Word Association Game
Level: All
Procedure: Decide on a topic (e.g. Seasons)
and designate the possible choices (e.g. WINTER, SPRING, SUMMER, AUTUMN). You
say a word associated with one of the seasons, e.g. ‘swimming’. A st should
answer or write SUMMER. Working in pairs is fun too!
Variation:
For higher level
sts, you can give the topic WINTER and each st must give a word related to that
season.
Activity
Title: Adjectives R’ Us
Level: Secondary, Post-Secondary
Procedure: Orally, give sts three adjectives or write them on the board. Sts then have to think of something that can be described by all three of the adjectives. E.g. – big, white, cold. Sts say ‘polar bear,’ ‘Alaska,’ etc. Do this in teams and see who can think of the most! (Or who can think of one that no one else thought of)
Level: Secondary, Post-Secondary
Procedure: Orally, give sts three adjectives or write them on the board. Sts then have to think of something that can be described by all three of the adjectives. E.g. – big, white, cold. Sts say ‘polar bear,’ ‘Alaska,’ etc. Do this in teams and see who can think of the most! (Or who can think of one that no one else thought of)
Activity
Title: Hidden
Word/Simple Crossword
Level: Secondary, Post-Secondary
Materials: Either give out handouts or write crossword on the board
Procedure: Make a list of 10 vocabulary words and think of definitions or clues to describe them. On the board or on a handout, make a list but instead of each letter, put an empty box so a word with 5 letters would be represented by 5 boxes. You read the definitions or clues aloud and the sts must fill in the boxes. There is a hidden word spelled down the list that sts must find.
Level: Secondary, Post-Secondary
Materials: Either give out handouts or write crossword on the board
Procedure: Make a list of 10 vocabulary words and think of definitions or clues to describe them. On the board or on a handout, make a list but instead of each letter, put an empty box so a word with 5 letters would be represented by 5 boxes. You read the definitions or clues aloud and the sts must fill in the boxes. There is a hidden word spelled down the list that sts must find.
Activity
Title: Hangman
Level: All
Procedure: Students are in two teams.
Teacher chooses two different vocabulary words (both of same letter-length) and
writes spaces for each letter on the board. Each team takes turns guessing
letters. If they guess correctly, teacher writes the letter in the correct
space. If they are wrong, their hangman gets a new body part. If a team’s
hangman is finished, then they lose. If a team finishes their word, then they
win.
Activity
Title: Last Letter Category
Level: Secondary, Post-Secondary
Procedure: Students choose a category. One-by-one each student must name a word that fits in this category. The last letter or each word is used as the first letter of the next word. (Example for category ANIMALS: FishHorse; HorseElephant)
Level: Secondary, Post-Secondary
Procedure: Students choose a category. One-by-one each student must name a word that fits in this category. The last letter or each word is used as the first letter of the next word. (Example for category ANIMALS: FishHorse; HorseElephant)
Activity
Title: Category Pick 10
Level: Secondary, Post-Secondary
Procedure: Students are in teams. Teacher gives category (or asks Ss to choose). Students have 2-5 minutes to write as many words as they can think of in this category. Teacher writes 10 secret words in this category, which they don’t show the students. After the time is up, the teacher reads his/her 10 words. The teams get one point for each of the teacher’s words they wrote. Most points wins!
Level: Secondary, Post-Secondary
Procedure: Students are in teams. Teacher gives category (or asks Ss to choose). Students have 2-5 minutes to write as many words as they can think of in this category. Teacher writes 10 secret words in this category, which they don’t show the students. After the time is up, the teacher reads his/her 10 words. The teams get one point for each of the teacher’s words they wrote. Most points wins!
Activity
Title: CHAIN 4:
Spelling Chain
Level: Secondary, Post-Secondary
Procedure: Review spelling of vocabulary words by having students spell words in a line. Each student says one letter until the word is complete. One point for each complete word. If they make a mistake, they have to start over with a new word.
Level: Secondary, Post-Secondary
Procedure: Review spelling of vocabulary words by having students spell words in a line. Each student says one letter until the word is complete. One point for each complete word. If they make a mistake, they have to start over with a new word.
Variation:
Spell it
backwards!
Activity
Title: Flyswatter
Level: All
Materials:
2 Flyswatters
(rolled-up pieces of paper)
Procedure: Divide your class into 2 groups. Choose 2 students and ask them to go to the back of the classroom. Display a list vocabulary words on the blackboard (or around the room). Give both students a fly swatter (or rolled-up piece of paper). The objective of the game is that you will say a word and they students will look for the word, then run and “fly swat” it. The first team to succeed gets a point.
Procedure: Divide your class into 2 groups. Choose 2 students and ask them to go to the back of the classroom. Display a list vocabulary words on the blackboard (or around the room). Give both students a fly swatter (or rolled-up piece of paper). The objective of the game is that you will say a word and they students will look for the word, then run and “fly swat” it. The first team to succeed gets a point.
Variation:
Use real objects
or papers with words written on them and post them around the room. Wild n’
Crazy Kidz!
Activity
Title: Switching Chairs Level: Primary
Procedure: Students sit in a circle with
chairs. One student stands in the middle and calls out a color. All sitting
students wearing this color must stand up and find a new chair. The student
without a chair is now the student in the middle.
Variation:
Middle student
calls clothing names or color/clothing combination.
Activity
Title: Pictionary
Level: Secondary, Post-Secondary
Materials: Slips of paper with vocab words written on them
Procedure: Divide the students into teams. One student from one of the teams chooses a slip of paper with one of the new vocabulary words on it and draws it on the board without writing any words (Mongolian or English) or saying the word. The drawing student’s team guesses what the word is. If they guess correctly they get one point. The next team draws. It is sometimes necessary to have a time limit on drawing. This works best for easy to draw words, like animals, clothing, food, sports, and so on. Combining verbs and nouns makes it extra exciting!
Level: Secondary, Post-Secondary
Materials: Slips of paper with vocab words written on them
Procedure: Divide the students into teams. One student from one of the teams chooses a slip of paper with one of the new vocabulary words on it and draws it on the board without writing any words (Mongolian or English) or saying the word. The drawing student’s team guesses what the word is. If they guess correctly they get one point. The next team draws. It is sometimes necessary to have a time limit on drawing. This works best for easy to draw words, like animals, clothing, food, sports, and so on. Combining verbs and nouns makes it extra exciting!
Activity
Title: Vocabulary Contest
Materials:
Flashcards,
Candy*
Procedure: Divide the class into groups of 4. Layout flashcards on each groups table. T’s say one of the words. First group to hold up the corresponding flashcard gets a point. T says the next word. Group with the most points wins candy.
Procedure: Divide the class into groups of 4. Layout flashcards on each groups table. T’s say one of the words. First group to hold up the corresponding flashcard gets a point. T says the next word. Group with the most points wins candy.
Variation:
T can say
vocabulary word in Mongolian, and S must hold up corresponding word in English.
Activity
Title: Vocabulary List
Materials:
Paper, pens
Procedure: T says words. S’s write the words on paper. After enough time given to S’s, T writes each word on the blackboard and pronounces. T says next word. Repeat until complete.
Procedure: T says words. S’s write the words on paper. After enough time given to S’s, T writes each word on the blackboard and pronounces. T says next word. Repeat until complete.
Activity
Title: Matching Pictures
Level: Primary, Secondary
Level: Primary, Secondary
Material:
Pictures
illustrating vocabulary
Procedure: T introduces new vocabulary (write on board). T presents S’s with pictures illustrating vocabulary. S’s work in teams/or alone to match pictures with vocabulary.
Procedure: T introduces new vocabulary (write on board). T presents S’s with pictures illustrating vocabulary. S’s work in teams/or alone to match pictures with vocabulary.
Activity
Title: English Collage
Material:
Magazine
clippings (i.e. product labels)
Procedure: Have all S’s bring in an English clipping (i.e. product labels). Cut them up and past onto paper to make a collage(s). Discuss the English words etc.
Variation: Can do with pictures. Have S’s describe what is happening in the pictures.
Procedure: Have all S’s bring in an English clipping (i.e. product labels). Cut them up and past onto paper to make a collage(s). Discuss the English words etc.
Variation: Can do with pictures. Have S’s describe what is happening in the pictures.
Activity
Title: Word Scramble
Materials: Cut-up Words
Procedure: Choose a word relevant to your lesson, ideally 5-10 letters long. Cut up word into individual letters. Divide students into groups and give each group a set of letters, have them make as many words as they can with their letters. Have each team write the words they made.
Procedure: Choose a word relevant to your lesson, ideally 5-10 letters long. Cut up word into individual letters. Divide students into groups and give each group a set of letters, have them make as many words as they can with their letters. Have each team write the words they made.
Activity
Title: Around the World
Level: All
Materials: None
Procedure: Ss stand in a circle. One S is chosen to be “it”. That S stands behind/next to another S. The T presents a vocabulary word. The first S to say the word winds and gets to move to the next S.
Level: All
Materials: None
Procedure: Ss stand in a circle. One S is chosen to be “it”. That S stands behind/next to another S. The T presents a vocabulary word. The first S to say the word winds and gets to move to the next S.
Variation:
For lower
levels, just say the word or act it out or use it in a sentence. Then they just
have to listen for it.
Alphabet Games
Activity
Title: Backwriting
Level: All
Procedure: Have students in pairs. Each
student takes turns drawing a letter on their partner’s back with their finger.
The partner should guess. (Older students can try to spell words).
Variation:
To make it a
competition, divide class into two teams. Have one pair from each team come to
the board and write the letters their partner is drawing on their back. Have a
student from the other team watch to make sure it’s correct. The team that can
spell the most letters in 1 minute wins.
Activity
Title: Human
Alphabet
Level: All
Procedure: Clear lots of space in your
classroom. Divide the class into teams. After you say a letter, the students
must work together to make the shape of the letter using their bodies.
Variation:
For older
students, assign them to spell full words while standing (one person= one letter.)
Have other groups guess what word they spelled.
Activity
Title: Alphabet Soup
Level: All
Materials:
Slips of paper
for each letter of the alphabet
Procedure: Put all the letters on small slips of paper in a bowl. Go around the room allowing each student to choose a letter and try to say its name (or sound, if that’s what you’re teaching). If they get it right, they can keep it. If they don’t, it goes back in the soup. The student with the most letters wins.
Procedure: Put all the letters on small slips of paper in a bowl. Go around the room allowing each student to choose a letter and try to say its name (or sound, if that’s what you’re teaching). If they get it right, they can keep it. If they don’t, it goes back in the soup. The student with the most letters wins.
Activity
Title: Alphabet Relay
Level: All
Materials:
Slips of paper
for each letter of the alphabet
Procedure: Yay for practicing Alphabetical order! Divide Ss into teams. Place slips of paper with each letter written on it on a table at one side of the classroom (once alphabet set for each team). Teams line up at the other side of the room. When T says go, students go one-by-one to retrieve letters (in alphabetical order) and bring them back.
Procedure: Yay for practicing Alphabetical order! Divide Ss into teams. Place slips of paper with each letter written on it on a table at one side of the classroom (once alphabet set for each team). Teams line up at the other side of the room. When T says go, students go one-by-one to retrieve letters (in alphabetical order) and bring them back.
Activity
Title: ABC Scramble
Level: Primary
Materials: ABC letters cut up
Procedure: Divide Ss into groups and give them the letters of the alphabet. They have to race to put them in order. Then say words that they need to spell out.
Level: Primary
Materials: ABC letters cut up
Procedure: Divide Ss into groups and give them the letters of the alphabet. They have to race to put them in order. Then say words that they need to spell out.
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