Vocabulary games elementary school students

If they fool the other kids, they get a point. Whoever guesses correctly gets a point. In this version of vocabulary bingo, the kids match the definitions with the word.

The first person to get four in a row wins. First, decide whether you are going to focus on antonyms or synonyms. Talk about what an antonym or a synonym is, making sure the kids understand the concept before beginning. The first player who gives a correct antonym or synonym takes one step forward. We found a good resource with a list of antonyms and synonyms at Free Language Stuff.

Educational Games. There are plenty of ways to help children build a good vocabulary. Instructions: Give the kids a word along with a definition. Teams will take turns being the actor. Either give the team a word card, or just whisper the word in their ear. The team or the student will go to the front and act out the word. The audience will guess what word they are. You can give the audience teams buzzers or just let them call out answers. You can give teams a point for getting answers correct, or you can just play for fun.

If you want to use word cards, you can grab these free editable word cards HERE. This is a super simple game. Students will play in a small group and only need word cards or even definition cards! Players take turns flipping a card and giving the definition or if it is a definition card, they give the word.

If they are correct, they roll the die to see how many points they get. The winner is the person with the most points when time is up or all the word cards are gone. With TpT for Schools, your administrator can review, purchase, and send TpT resources directly to you.

Jamie is a full-time curriculum designer and educational blogger. She loves creating resources that help teachers save time while keeping students engaged and learning. You can visit her store and blog for more fun ideas and resources.

You can also connect with Jamie on Facebook , Instagram , and Pinterest. I love using games to practice and review vocabulary words. Games are engaging and fun, and students will remember more when they are having fun! Games can be used in centers or as a whole group activity. I have come up with ten different games that are super simple and can be played with any list of words.

You can play these games with ELA words, science words or even math vocabulary. You will find lots of free printables throughout this post that will make it super easy to start playing these games in your classroom tomorrow!

Each student will need one of the free game boards. If you want to be able to use them over and over, laminate them and have students use dry erase markers. Otherwise, they can use any writing utensil. Provide a long list of vocabulary words. Students will need 24 words, so it is a good game to play at the end of the unit to review. You can also mix math, science and ELA words for a review of multiple subjects!

Students will write a different word in each box. They decide which words and what order to write them in so that every board is a little different. When you are ready to play, gi ve students a definition. Students determine the word. If they have that word on their board, they can cover it or color it. The first person to get five in a row is the winner. Y ou can download the game board for free HERE. I have animal sound buzzers that I love because each team gets their own animal sound.

The kids LOVE it. But be sure to do some training about proper use. I take a point if I hear a buzzer at an inappropriate time. If the student correctly defines the word or uses is in context, they get to claim that square. Vocabulary Bingo A similar idea to the checkers game, you can have students create their own Bingo card , with a vocabulary word in each space: Once the cards are assembled, read the definition of each word.

Students should be able to determine what word you defined and put a counter on that square. As an extra incentive, provide a prize for winners. It could be a free homework pass, candy, or small toy! Pictionary A great way to get the whole class involved is by playing Pictionary: Split the class into 2 teams. Have one student from each team come to the board.

Assign them one vocabulary word to draw. Repeat with different members of each team coming to board until all the vocabulary words have been drawn, then tally the points, and declare a winning team!

Charades Charades is set up similarly to Pictionary. Circle Rotations To get everyone up and moving, try a circle rotation exercise: Split the class in half, and have them form two concentric circles in the room, facing each other. Hand out flashcards to each student with a vocabulary word on one side and its definition on the other.

Students in the inner circle can test the students in the outside circle and vice versa. Have the students in the outside circle rotate one person to their left each time until everyone has seen each word. Trashcan Basketball Another physically engaging group activity is trashcan basketball: Divide the class into 2 or 4 teams. Have each team take turns answering a vocabulary question.

If they can answer correctly, the team gets 1 point.