The trouble with grasping word problems is often that the concept is too abstract for the student. Give your students props to physically represent what is going on in the word problem. If the problem is about fruit, give them pieces of fruit to manipulate. If the problem is about money, let them handle some fake money. Phrase the word problems like instructions at first so they're told to set aside or combine a certain number of items.
This is an elaboration on making the abstract concept more tangible, with the bonus of getting a larger group working together as a group. You can even hold this play for an audience, like their parents or other students. Write a play containing several word problems and have the children act them out together. You can go all out with costumes, so it feels more like dress-up than math.
Write word problems for a specific student or group of students, like a class. Use the names of the students and locations they are familiar with, like the cafeteria or library. This can be a time-consuming project for a teacher, but that little bit of personalization will help get the students excited about a class.
Many math classrooms boast posters with key words that can be found in word problems. Instead of relying only on a poster, make up several different Bingo game boards featuring word problem key words. If you feel it necessary, you can add numbers into the mix as well. Have your children keep track of key words while solving word problems in class, and reward any child who gets a Bingo.