Incorporating vocabulary practice into your daily classroom routines while managing packed schedules, limited time, and the need to cover a lot of material can be challenging. Never fear…I have gathered a list of 10 of my favorite ways to seamlessly incorporate vocabulary-building activities without sacrificing the time I need to spend on ALL the other things as well.
Word of the Day
I love this vocabulary practice idea because it requires ZERO work on my part! I have my computer screensaver set to “word of the day” so when it goes to sleep while it’s connected to the smartboard it will scroll through a handful of words each day and pause every minute or so to provide the definition of one of the words. The kids love seeing what new words will pop up each day. You can extend this activity by encouraging students to use this word in various contexts throughout the day, such as in conversation or writing prompts.
Vocabulary Charades
Write vocabulary words on index cards, and then have students act them out for their classmates to guess. If they don’t know what a word means, send them to a dictionary app for help!
Word Wall
Create an ever-growing word wall in your classroom that features vocabulary words that the class has collected from novel studies or read-alouds. My favorite word wall is one we create each year using character and citizenship words so it does double-duty as vocabulary practice and character building! Encourage students to interact with the words from your word wall in various ways, such as using them in sentences or drawing pictures to illustrate them.
Vocabulary Bingo
Use the words your students have collected from in-class reading to create Bingo cards with vocabulary words. During vocabulary practice lessons, give students this blank bingo card freebie and have them put a word from the word wall collection in each square – random style. Then call out definitions for students to mark on their cards.
Vocabulary Matching Activity
Have each student write a word on one index card and the definition of that word on a second index card. Collect the cards and shuffle! Let students work in teams to match vocabulary words with their definitions.
Vocabulary Puzzles
Crossword puzzles and word searches are a great way to boost vocabulary and keep your early finishers busy as well. Stock up on a few word puzzle books the next time you’re at the dollar store.
Synonym, Antonym & Analogy Activities
Sometimes it’s easier to learn new vocabulary when we can relate it to words that mean the same or the opposite. Use these handy synonym and antonym task cards or analogy task cards for a variety of games and activities! The Thanksgiving version is linked here, since this post is dropping around November, but you can find these vocabulary task cards in a variety of seasonal and holiday themes in my store.
Word Ladders
Word ladders are a great way to work on phonics and spelling skills while learning new vocabulary. Give your students clues to help them determine what letter they need to replace in order to reach the next rung of the ladder. Students will keep replacing one letter at a time until the reach the final word at the top of the ladder.
Word Board Games and Apps
Boggle, Scrabble, Bananagrams, and Wordle! If you haven’t fallen into the Wordle craze, there’s no better time to get hooked than introducing it to your students for some gamified vocabulary practice.
Collaborative Writing
Have students work in pairs or small groups to create stories or essays using vocabulary words from your curriculum or from the word wall collection. This activity not only reinforces vocabulary but also encourages teamwork and creativity.
I hope that these 10 quick, easy, and fun ways to incorporate vocabulary practice into your daily classroom routines for upper elementary students have provided you with some inspiration and ideas. Give one or more of these activities a try to make learning vocabulary enjoyable for both you and your students.
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