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Game 1: Memory
Time required:
15 minutes or more
Materials:
word cards
Preparation:
Create a set of Memory cards. Each card should contain
one of the vocabulary words. You may have to create
multiple sets of cards depending on the size of your
class—or, better yet, have students create
the cards.
Place cards face down on a hard surface, in columns
and rows.
Procedures:
1. Divide the class into groups of 4 to 6 students.
Each group should have one set of cards face down.
2.
Student 1 flips over two cards.
Student 1 reads the words on the cards
to the rest of
the group. If the cards form a match of an animal and
its
offspring(e.g., sheep and lamb), Student 1 keeps
the two cards and takes another turn.
If the two cards do not match (e.g., sheep and pig),
Student 1 should flip the cards back over so that they are
face down again, and Student 2 takes a turn.
3.
Each student takes a turn. When all the pairs of
matching cards have
been found, the student who has
taken the most pairs is the winner.
Variations
1.
When a student flips over two cards that don’t match,
have the student say what the correct matches for the
two cards would be.
2. Keep the cards for future use. Mix in new cards with the
old cards as students learn more vocabulary.
3. Give each student one Memory card. Students walk
around the room trying
to find their “match” by reading
the word on their card (easier) or by describing the
word (more difficult).
Students remain standing until
everyone has found a
match. Have each pair read its cards aloud.
4. Have students form teams and hold a class tournament
using multiple
sets of Memory cards.
Each team plays every other team in the class
(or, if time is limited, each team plays a specified number
of games). The team that wins the most games is
declared the winner.
Game 2: Spring Forward
Time required:
10 minutes or more
Materials:
blackboard or whiteboard, chalk
Preparation:
Write one group of words on the board (e.g., the names of the animals but not the offspring). Every student must reach all the words.
Procedures:
1.
Divide students into two teams. Have each team stand in a line with the
first person in each line standing in front of the board.
You may want to put tape on the floor or draw a line that the first person on each team must stand behind—about three or four steps away from the board.
2. Have a place on the board to keep track of each
team’s points.
3.
Read one word from the group of words that is not on
the board—in this case, the “offspring” group.
For example,
if sheep is on the board, say the word lamb.
4. The first student from each team races to the board
and slaps the correct word (students should slap sheep
if you say the word lamb).
5. The first student to slap the correct word gets a point
for his or her team.
6.
Both students go to the end of the line, and the next
two students take
the next turn. Make sure all the
students have a chance, or continue
until all the
vocabulary words have been sufficiently reviewed.
(The words may get erased when students slap them.
Be ready to rewrite the words so that everyone can
read them.)
Variations
1. Have a student volunteer read the vocabulary words.
2. Have multiple games going on at once if the class is
large.
3.
Have students participate from their seats:
Two students stand and,
when they know the answer,
slap their desk.
Call on the first person to slap the desk, and that student
must call out the correct answer.
4.
Have students write their answer on a piece of paper
and hold up their
paper as soon as they are finished.
Check to make sure the answer is
correct (and is spelled
correctly).
This is a quieter version that
focuses on writing; it also
allows the whole class to participate .
Time required:
20 minutes or more
Materials:
vocabulary grids
Preparation:
1.
Create vocabulary grids. In each grid, write vocabulary
words in half the boxes. One grid should have words
from one category (in this case,
animals); the second
grid should have words from the other group of words
(off-spring).
A box containing a word in the first grid should be
blank
in the second grid, and vice versa (e.g., in the Example
Grids, sheep is written in Box 1A of the Animals Grid,
but 2A is blank; in the Offspring Grid, 1A is blank,
and kitten appears in 2A).
Preparation:
1.
Create vocabulary grids. In each grid, write vocabulary
words in half
the boxes. One grid should have words
from one category (in this case,
animals); the second
grid should have words from the other group of words
(offspring).
A box containing a word in the first grid should be blank in
the second grid, and vice versa (e.g., in the Example
Grids, sheep is written in Box 1A of the Animals Grid, but
2A is blank; in the Offspring Grid, 1A is blank, and kitten
appears in 2A).
Example Grids:
(Animals, A B C D E, 1 sheep cow bird ,m 2 pig goat,
Offspring, A B C
1 puppy cub, 2 kitten fawn bunny.
2.
Create enough grids for every student to have
either an Animals Grid or
an Offspring Grid
(there should be an equal number of each).
You can make copies or have students create grids.
Optional preparation:
Create
grids on large pieces of paper and post one
grid on one side of the
classroom and one grid on the
other.
(Students should sit back-to-back so each student can
see only one of the grids posted on the wall.) Have
students copy the grids into their notebooks.
5.
Students alternate asking and answering until both
students have completed their grids.The team should
then yell “Finished!” and hold up their grids.
Check the grids for accuracy. If there is a mistake,
that team is not the winner; the two students should
continue until they have filled out the grids correctly.
Extension
1. Once a pair is finished, have them work togethe
r to create two similar grids but with the words in a
different order.
2. Each pair swaps the grids it created with another pair.
3. Play the game again, this time having the student
describe the vocabulary word (“It’s a small soft animal;
people often have them as pets; they say ‘meow’”)
rather than simply saying “kitten.” (Students cannot
use either cat or kitten in the description.)
4. Student 2 should write the word that is a match for
the word on Student 1’s card. For example, if Student 1
is describing a kitten, Student 2 should fill
in the grid with
the word cat.
Variations for Vocabulary
Use different voc. sets, such as present/past tense
of irregular verbs.
