Games with vocabulary in the classroom

If they are different then click on red circle to hide the word again. The game becomes more and more fun as it progresses because students start to remember where they saw the words. Download ready to use matching games and a blank template here. Assign a word to the 4 corners of the classroom. Then, choose one student to come to the front and close their eyes.

Then the other students have 5 seconds to move to one of the corners of the classroom. The students standing in the corner with assigned with that word are out, and must sit down. The game continues like this until one student is left. That student is the winner, and can be the next student to come to the front and close their eyes. TIP: Many students moving around the class can be quite dangerous.

For safety, instruct students not to run and make sure there are no bags, coats, books, etc, on the floor that the student can trip on. Printable board games are easy to prepare and a great way to get kids talking using the vocabulary from that lesson. Download many printable board games and board game templates, and find detailed instructions on how to play them, here. Then students must try to guess what the word is by guessing letters of the alphabet.

In the traditional hangman game, if students guess wrong too many times, then the teacher would draw a man hanging from his neck on the board. Even though it is just a stick figure drawing, the idea seems quite gruesome and maybe not appropriate for children. Think of a word and draw lines on the board corresponding to the letters in that word. Why one word defeats another is arbitrary and up to the students; as long as students are using the vocabulary words correctly in sentences, they can determine the winner for any reason.

Award prizes as you see fit. You might consider hanging all the brackets up for students to compare and perhaps even have multiple winners in categories such as: most creative use of words, best illustrated bracket, best use of short sentences, best use of puns in sentences, etc.

You might give all students who picked the winning word a prize or put their names on a big basketball in recognition. Designed for students in grades 3 through 12, it challenges them to know related words and use that knowledge in a guessing style game. All you need to play is a completed set of cards. Students will need to write synonyms on the cards before play begins. Students will use a list of related words or synonyms to help his or her teammate guess the vocabulary word, without saying the word.

These games allow students to interact with each other, play, and compete and maybe even win some recognition or prizes for their vocabulary prowess. No matter what, everybody wins better lexicons in the process! Take your 3 rd through 12 th grade students out to the ballgame with this baseball-inspired vocabulary game.

Want to appeal to your digitally-savvy 4 th through 12 th grade students? Transport students to a world of words, gold coins, elixirs, armor, and more with this fun Video Game. A classic memory game can reap academic rewards for students in Grades K through 8 and reinforce the connection between words and visuals.

Put vocabulary to use in a challenge that also includes creative writing skills as students write cohesive stories using their vocabulary words in grades 4 through Get students on their feet in a vocabulary version of Mother, May I? Contact Us Find a Sales Rep 1. Mathematics Sadlier Math Grades K—6.

Core Program Preview Buy. Full Access Preview Buy. Progress in Mathematics Grades K—6. Progress Mathematics Grades K—8. National Program Preview Buy.

New York Buy. Critical Thinking for Active Math Minds. Grades 3—6 Preview Buy. Preparing for Standards Based Assessments. Grades 7—8 Preview Buy. Print Program Preview Buy. Interactive Edition Preview Buy. Vocabulary for Success. Grades 6—10 Preview Buy. Grades 3—5 Preview Buy. Grammar for Writing. Grades 6—12 Preview Buy. Writing a Research Paper. Grades 6—12 Buy. Writing Workshop. Reading From Phonics to Reading.

Grades K—3 Preview Buy. Close Reading of Complex Texts Grades 3—8. Sadlier Phonics. ELA Blog. Math Blog. You're On a Roll. Materials Needed To play, all you will need is dice and a list of vocabulary words, plus the printable game cards. Vocabulary games are perfect for that task, as they provide a communicative atmosphere where children can express themselves.

But the popularity of using vocabulary games in a classroom goes beyond that. Vocabulary games provide a fun-filled and relaxing learning atmosphere.

Learning can be stressful for kids who are anxious when answering in front of authority or in front of their classmates, which is why learning through games is a wonderful opportunity. Instead of memorizing a certain word order, or several definitions, children will have to actively construct the answers from previous knowledge. Games are challenging, motivating, and amusing.

This means that most of the time, children will be learning new words or reinforcing newly acquired knowledge, without even realizing it. Here are some easy-to-implement, fun, and meaningful vocabulary games for the classroom. You can play this game with a time limit or not, depending on how hard you want to make it for the kids.

To play, divide the classroom into four or five groups of four to five children. Each member of the group should write a word on a piece of paper attached to the forehead of the member on their left without them knowing what word they got. After this, one by one, students take turns asking yes or no questions example: Is my word a verb? This game works just like a regular memory card game. The only difference is that children will have to match words with their meanings, instead of two identical objects.

Aside from practicing their memory skills, children will have to quickly recall the word when seeing the definition and remember it so they can match it once they find the appropriate word in the cards. To play this game, you can divide children into small groups, or let them play in partner-groups. The player that matches most cards wins the game. For practicing English skills, you can buy word cards online.

However, if you want to personalize the game and make it much more effective, you can make your own cards with words that children have recently learned in science, math, geography, history, and other subjects. Lightning rounds are super fun and adrenaline-packed games or contests where children, especially hyperactive ones, will get a lot of excitement and laughs.

This game is most suited for topics that children are well familiar with. After this, one player from each group comes forward and competes in defining most words in a specific time limit one or two minutes. The words can be drawn from a bowl, or as a teacher, you can pick the words, while the players try to define them.

The player who succeeds in defining more words wins a point for their group. This is a game that the whole classroom can enjoy, or you can divide students into two or three groups. Just like the classical and famous Jeopardy game, our vocabulary version is just as fun and challenging. To play, draw a table on the whiteboard, with different categories as rows and the points as columns.

The word cards should be taped on the board facing down. More points mean the words are harder to define. Alternatively, you can choose to make different answers for a different amount of points; one point for telling a synonym, two points for spelling a word, and three points for defining a word. The group with the most points wins. To play, you need to divide students into small groups or play in partner-groups.

Give each group a dice and a stack of word cards. Players roll the dice and draw a card. If not, then the executioner draws one portion of the gallows. The game ends when players guess the word, or when the picture is complete. Word search Word searches are common classroom vocabulary games. We made a sample word search you can use. Crossword Crossword puzzles consist of a series of interconnecting boxes, each of which starts blank but contains one letter by the end of the game.

Here is an example of a crossword puzzle you can use with your class or team. Here is the answer key. Word Scramble Word scrambles make great games for English class, and adults enjoy these language brain teasers as well. Here is a sample to start with. And here is the answer key. Scrabble Scrabble is one of the most popular word games for adults or children. To play: Each player draws seven letter tiles. During turns, players can play tiles or exchange them for new letters.

Players build words on the board, with each new word connecting to an existing word. Tiles have a point value assigned depending on the challenge of the letter.

When a player makes a word, tally the letter and add the score to the point board. Scattergories Scattergories is one of the most fun and simple word games for adults.

To play: One player rolls a letter die or uses a letter generator to pick the first letter. The timekeeper puts 60 seconds on the clock. Players write down one answer per category starting with the letter. When time runs out, players read the answers.

Players receive a point for every answer. Tree or Bob Ross Tree or Bob Ross is a fun video conference game that challenges players to guess a word by asking questions. Pyramid Pyramid challenges players to guess words from context clues. To play: Divide the group into teams. Give one player on each team the pyramid.

The pyramid holder must give hints to teammates describing each word without using the actual name of the item. When players guess correctly, the pyramid master can move to the next word.

Teams receive a point for every correct guess. To play: A player suggests two unrelated words. Player one gives a number of planks.

This is how many steps other players must use to relate the two words. The other players think up words that share similar traits, synonyms, or connector words to move from one term to another. An example round might look as follows: Tiger, Astronaut, eight planks Tiger — Balm — Lip — Service — Customer — Happy — Pills — Capsules — Space — Astronaut Meanwhile, Tiger, Astronaut, two planks might look like this: Tiger — meat eater — meteor — Astronaut One fun aspect about this game is there can be more than one correct answer, and opposing teams can dispute far-reaches.

Poetry Improv Poetry Improv is an exercise that challenges participants to craft verses on the spot. To play: Pick a poetry style, such as sonnet, haiku, acrostic, limerick, or free verse. Give participants vocabulary words to use within the poem. Allow five or ten minutes for groups or individuals to complete the verses.

If playing online via meeting software, then send groups to breakout rooms to work.