Four hands-on activites for teaching academic vocabulary

Need vocabulary activities? Here we go!

Academic vocabulary is such a tall order for so many kids who have had limited language exposure. As teachers, we have to find ways to build kids’ academic vocabulary by explicitly teaching words and giving kids opportunities to practice using them.

Simply introducing a list of words at the beginning of a unit isn’t enough. The teacher saying the words isn’t enough, either!

We have to ensure that words find their way into students’ vocabularies by having them interact with them across multiple exposures, throughout the school day and week, and having them use the words in speaking and writing.

This means we need vocabulary activity ideas! Here are four of my favorite activities for teaching and practicing vocabulary!

1. Vocabulary Roll-a-Word

This activity works best with words you have previously introduced in the context of a unit or article.

Start with a list of words you want students to understand, know, and be able to use and a Roll-a-Word dice key. You can put this on the board, project it, or provide them with a handout. You could also make special dice that have directions glued or written onto each side!

This is the key I’ve used:

1= Provide the definition

2= connect it to the real world

3= Provide an antonym

4= Provide a synonym

5= Make a quick sketch

6= Act it out

Students can do this activity in pairs or groups. Have students start with the first word on the list.

Roll the dice. Whichever side is facing up tells students what the need to do with the word. Students take turns, rolling the dice and following the directions on the list.

Get Vocabulary Roll-It in 10 Vocabulary Activities for Any Word List!

2. Vocabulary Spin-It

This activity is similar to Vocabulary Roll-a-Word, but we use a spinner instead!

Provide each pair or group with a vocabulary spinner, a pencil, and a paperclip.

Use the pencil and paperclip to make a spinner and spin to find out what to do with the word!

Get Vocabulary Spin-It in 10 Vocabulary Activities for Any Word List!

3. Vocabulary Dominoes

This activity is perfect for content area words, such as science, social studies, math terms, or genre-specific terms!

This activity asks students to think about the connections between words, their context, and their meanings!

Provide each group of students with a set of vocabulary dominoes. I have an editable template in this resource so you can make them yourself with whatever word list you choose!

Each domino should be roughly rectangular shaped and have one word on one side and another word on the other.

Place one domino in the middle of the group and share the remaining dominoes out to the group members.

Group members take turns looking at their dominoes and deciding if the words they have have any connections to the words on the original domino.

These connections can include similar context, similar definitions, synonyms, antonyms, or one word could be part of another.

Get Vocabulary Dominoes in Ten Vocabulary Activities for Any Word List!

4. Vocabulary Mix & Match Trade

This is a fun preview to get kids exposed to vocabulary words for a new unit.

I use word wall cards for this fun activity!

Each student receives one word wall card. They read the definition and then move around the room to music, until the music stops. They pair up with the closest student and share their words and definitions. Then they trade cards.

When the music plays again, they move around again!