10 Classroom Vocabulary Games For All Ages

When to Play

You’re On a Roll is a fun and social game to play to help students in grades 3 through 12 practice their vocabulary. Individuals or groups of students can play this game, which asks them to use vocabulary words to define, provide synonyms and antonyms, connect to other words and use the words in the context of questions, sentences, and even jokes and puns.

Materials Needed

To play, all you will need is dice, a list of vocabulary words, and the downloadable game cards.

Rules

There are two ways to play this game. For both options, divide the class into groups of three to five (depending on how many dice you have) and give each group a list of vocabulary words. For option 1, have the first student in the group roll the dice and then use the first word in the list in his or her answer. The next student in the group rolls and also uses the first word in the list in his or her answer. Once all group members have used the first word, students can move on to the second word, then the third, and so on. For the second option, have the first student in the group roll the dice and then use the first word in the list in his or her answer. The next student in the group rolls and uses the second word in the list in his or her answer. This continues until all the words on the list are used. A suggested time limit per student on both of these options is 30 to 60 seconds.

Who Wins

Everyone wins! The practice is engaging and very social.

Reward Ideas

Award prizes for this game as you see fit!

When to Play

Playing Oranges to Oranges practices weekly vocabulary words and lets students in grades 4 through 12 learn together and from each other.

Materials Needed

To play, you will need Apples to Apples^®, the board game by Mattel^®, your vocabulary list, and writing implements. Let your students make green vocabulary cards from the download to swap into the game.

Rules

Divide your students into groups of five so the game moves quickly and students maintain focus. To play, follow the rules of Apples to Apples^®. Five to seven players are dealt five red cards each that are all nouns. The pile of green adjective cards that your students have created is then placed in the middle face down. The adjective cards have a word in bold, with synonyms written beneath. Every other player must then decide which of his/her red cards the starter would most likely consider the best example of the word, and give it to the starter, face down. Once the starter receives a red card from everyone, s/he shuffles them to retain players’ anonymity, turns them over, reads them aloud, and chooses a winner based on what s/he thinks best describes the adjective on her or his green card. The winner gets to hold on to the green card, and the player to the left of the starter selects a new green card.

Who Wins

The game typically continues until one person earns seven green cards. But you can vary the rules and decide how many cards are needed to “win.”

Reward Ideas

Award prizes for this game as you see fit!

When to Play

The Go Fish Vocabulary Game is a great game to play to help 1^st through 12^th grade students master tricky vocabulary words since it will support students in learning their definitions. Use words that students don’t know well to play this game.

Materials Needed

To play, you will need a completed deck of cards provided in the Go Fish Vocabulary Game download. Complete the deck with word lists of your choice.

Rules

The game is played like a traditional Go Fish game with a vocabulary spin. First, create a set of cards with ten or twenty words that students don’t know well. Have students play in groups of two to four, dealing out seven cards each if there are two players, six cards for three players, and five cards for four players. Cards that are not dealt go into the draw pile in the center of the table. Starting clockwise, the first student asks another student if s/he has a card. However, instead of simply asking for the card by naming the vocabulary word on it, the student has to ask for the card by providing the definition for the word. If the asked student doesn’t have the specific card requested, s/he says, “Go Fish for Vocab!” and the student requesting the card must select from the draw pile.

Who Wins

The first person to get five pairs wins, provided s/he can use the vocabulary words from each pair in one to three sentences. If s/he cannot, the round continues until another person gets five pairs.

Reward Ideas

Award prizes for this game as you see fit!

When to Play

Vocabulary Land is an opportunity for students to develop stronger understandings of words through multiple exposures, and a chance for students to have fun together playing a board game. The game is suitable for students in grades 4 through 12.

Materials Needed

To play the game, students need a completed game board available from the download, dice, and a marker for each child to use on the board. The game board can be printed and populated with a vocabulary word in each blank space.

Rules

Vocabulary Land is similar to Hasbro^® Candy Land™. Players will begin with markers at the Beginning Basin and roll to move markers that number of spaces forward on the board. If the player can answer the question on the new space correctly within one minute, then his or her marker may remain on the square. If the player cannot answer the question, he or she must go back to the space before the dice were rolled.

Who Wins

Play continues until someone reaches Lake Lexion and wins the game. To win, a player must complete the question on the Finish square. Play can continue to then see who will finish second, third, etc.

Reward Ideas

Award prizes for this game as you see fit!

When to Play

Vocabulary Scrabblez helps students in grades 4 through 12 to internalize vocabulary words in a unique and thoughtful way as they earn points for using words in this variation of a popular board game. As part of the game, students must also explain why each of their vocabulary words is awesome.

Materials Needed

To play, you will need the game Scrabble^®, by Hasbro^®, and the Vocabulary Scrabblez downloadble Scoring Sheet.

Rules

Divide students into groups of 2 to 4 players. Each player will use his or her Vocabulary Scrabblez score sheet to record his or her answers. To start, players draw a tile. The player with the letter closest to “A” plays first. A blank tile beats any letter. Return the letters to the pool and remix. All players draw seven new letters.

The first player combines two or more letters to form a word and places it in the center of the gaming area either across or down. Diagonal words are not allowed. Students complete a turn by counting and announcing the score for that turn and recording the word on the Vocabulary Scrabblez Score Sheet and drawing as many new letter tiles as were played. Players should always have seven letter tiles, as long as there are enough tiles left.

Play passes to the left. The second player, and then each, in turn, adds one or more letters to those already played to form new words. All letters played on a turn must be placed in one row across or down, to form at least one complete word. The player gets full credit for all words formed or modified on his or her turn. The two blank tiles may be used as any letters, but when playing a blank, players must state which letter it represents. A turn may be used to exchange all or some of a player’s letter tiles.

Any play may be challenged before the next player starts a turn. During a challenge, players can consult their vocabulary book or the dictionary. If this does not result in a clear decision, the teacher can judge if a word is unacceptable. If any word challenged is judged unacceptable, then the entire play is unacceptable. The player must remove the word from the board and wait until his or her next turn to play again. The game ends when all letters have been drawn or all ten rows have been filled in on the Vocabulary Scrabblez Score Sheet.

Who Wins

At the end of the game players will compare score sheets to determine the winner.

Reward Ideas

Award prizes for this game as you see fit!

When to Play

Play the Vocab-Zee Dice Game with students to practice their vocabulary words and assess their ability to use vocabulary words in context with time limits. This game is suitable for grades 3 to 12.

Materials Needed

In addition to the downloadable handout with the list of vocabulary actions and corresponding dice rolls, you will need five dice per group to play this game.

Rules

In Vocab-Zee, similar to Hasbro^® Yahtzee™, students perform vocabulary-based actions that coincide with the dice numbers they roll. Each player will take turns rolling all five dice. S/he has up to three turns to roll the best round of dice. The player rolling can set aside the dice s/he wants to keep and roll only part of the five dice. Once a player has completed three rolls, s/he earns points by completing the vocabulary action(s) based on the final set of dice. Only if s/he completes all the actions accurately does s/he earn points for his or her turn. Players have up to one minute to think before completing his or her given action(s). If a player cannot perform the action after one minute of preparation, s/he forfeits any points and the next student in the group rolls.

Who Wins

The player with the most points at the end of the game is the winner.

Reward Ideas

This game is a reward in and of itself, but you can award prizes as you see fit.

When to Play

Vocabulary Bingo is an opportunity to see if students know the definitions of their vocabulary words. It’s suitable for grades 1 through 12.

Materials Needed

To play this game, you will need bingo markers and a downloadable game board for each student, as well as writing implements for students to fill in the boards.

Rules

On the blank Vocabulary Bingo game board, each student writes only his or her vocabulary words, without hints as to what each word means. The teacher calls out only definitions or synonyms of each word to the class; each student has to match the teacher’s definition with the proper word on his/her sheet. The object of the game is to get five across, down, or diagonal on the game board.

Who Wins

Students can shout “Bingo!” if they get five across, down, or diagonal. The winning student must confirm that the words on his/her Bingo board match the definitions that have been called out by the teacher.

Reward Ideas

Award prizes as you see fit!

When to Play

Find out if your students can use their vocabulary words properly in context with a game of Vocabulary Checkers. This game is a fun spin-off of a classic checkers game for two players and is suitable for students in grades 1 through 12.

Materials Needed

To play, each pair of students will need a Vocabulary Checkers downloadable checkerboard, writing implements to complete the board, and game pieces (pennies and nickels, two different colored dots, or classic check game pieces).

Rules

Each player should put game pieces on the 12 dark squares in the first three rows closest to him or her. Players then take turns moving the checkers one space diagonally. When a player wants to make a move, she or he has to say a sentence using the vocabulary word on the space to which she or he wants to move. A player who does not use the vocabulary word correctly in the sentence does not get to move. Likewise, if a player wants to “double jump,” she or he must use both vocabulary words in the same sentence. If one of the words is used incorrectly, the move cannot be made at all. All other checkers rules apply!

Who Wins

The first player to remove their opponent’s pieces from the board wins.

Reward Ideas

Award prizes as you see fit!