Teachers Games for Vocabulary

Elementary School Vocabulary Games

• What's in the Bag teaches children descriptive language skills. Students take turns reaching into a bag where an object is hidden. Using only their hands to touch the object, they must describe it out loud. After five descriptive "clues," the other students try to guess what is in the bag. After the object is revealed, the class discusses other ways to describe the object.

  Quick Draw teaches children to convey meaning in a visual way. Write a number of vocabulary words on the blackboard. Students then try to quickly convey the meaning of the word by drawing on the board̵2;no speaking allowed. (This works best with nouns that the kids can draw.) Have two or three students draw the same word while the rest of the class guesses. The first student who successfully conveys the meaning of the word wins.

Middle School Vocabulary Games

• HISTO is a game--similar to Tic Tac Toe--that was invented by a social studies teacher. Make a grid of nine squares or 16 squares and distribute one to each student. Students write vocabulary words in each of the squares on the grid. When you recite the definition of one of the words, the students cross off the corresponding word. The first one to cross off all the words in a row, either across, down or diagonally, stands and says "Histo!" Winners get a prize, like a free book or a coupon for less homework.

  MadLibs is a classroom vocabulary and grammar game that can get your students laughing as they learn. Write a short narrative but leave out some words. Label each blank space with the type of word that is missing̵2;adjective, noun or verb. Without explaining why, ask students to provide adjectives, nouns and verbs, and write them on the blackboard. Then ask the students to take turns reading the MadLib narratives, filling in the blanks with the random words on the blackboard. You can find free worksheets for this game online.

High School Vocabulary Games

• The Dictionary Game introduces students to words from different subject areas and encourages creative thinking. Start by presenting a word that nobody in the class can define. Have each student make up a definition, dictionary-style, on slips of paper that are uniform in size and color. Collect the slips of paper and put them into a box or hat, along with the correct definition. Read the definitions through once, then instruct the students to vote for the correct definition as you read them again. Students get points if someone votes for their made-up definition (one point for each vote), and if they vote for the correct definition. The winner is the student with the most points.

  Free Rice is an online game that boosts vocabulary while promoting social responsibility. For each question, Free Rice shows a word, followed by four others, one of which is a synonym. For each correct answer, 10 grains of rice are donated to the United Nations World Food Program to help end world hunger.