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 .
Game 3: Back-to-Back
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 (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).
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).
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 together 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.
