Divide the class into two teams. Have each team line up facing each other. Use a list of vocabulary and ask the first player on Team 1 to spell a word out loud. If he gets it right the team is awarded one point and it is now the other team's turn. If he gets it wrong, the other team can steal it if the person whose turn is next can answer correctly. Team 2 would get the point and the next player on Team 2 would be up. Play until everyone in the class has a chance to spell a word. Choose vocabulary of an appropriate level of difficulty for the grade level you are teaching.
Make a list of difficult words that you would like your students to learn. At the beginning of each day, write the word on a large piece of paper affixed to the wall or a bulletin board. Write the definition on the blackboard and challenge students to remember it. Each day, go through the list of words and call on a student to give the definition. At the end of the year, see if the class can get through the entire list. If the students get the list right, give each student a prize.
Bring a variety of household and other objects into the classroom, for example, a broom, a telephone, coins, a smoke detector or anything else. Ask the students to imagine that any two of the objects have suddenly come to life, and to write a story about it. Ask the students to consider what it feels like to be these objects, what kinds of personalities the objects have, how the objects would talk. Read some of the stories out loud.
Have students read a story together, either out loud or individually. Break the class into groups of three to five students. Have each group come up with a short skit based on the story. Remind the students that the skit should be an interpretation of the plot and characters. In coming up with the skit, students are forced to talk to each other about the story just read. Alternatively, you can have students make a skit that is a sequel to the story.