This game is great for young students learning to spell basic words, but it can be played by middle schoolers learning new vocabulary. Begin by asking the students to get in a line. Present them with a vocabulary word that is to be spelled out. Start with the first person in line saying the first letter of the word, the second person supplying the next letter and so on. After the word is spelled out, the next person turns around and says, "sparkle" to the person behind. The person who was "sparkled" is now out. The game continues until one person is left.
This game helps students with brainstorming skills and word-letter associations. Prepare two sets of 26 cards that are the same size but different colors. On one set write a letter from the alphabet on each card. On the other set, write a topic, such as, "last names," "sold at Wal-Mart," "verbs," or any word that can have a list generated from it. Example topics can be found in the resources. Have students take turns drawing a card from each deck. Give them three minutes to come up with as many words as they can that begin with the selected letter and the selected topic. Play for fun or award prizes.
This activity lets students take charge of their learning by choosing vocabulary words to study from a difficult reading. Begin by assigning the students a clip with unfamiliar and difficult vocabulary. A copy of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" is available in the resources section. Have students highlight words they do not know how to define. When they are finished, have them choose five words they want to learn. Make it into a game by compiling all the words from each student on the board. Look for five that were the most commonly unknown. The student whose list most closely corresponds to the selected words on the whiteboard wins.
There are many words that are a shortened form of a longer word, like "gym" for "gymnasium" and "limo" for "limousine." It is likely students as well as adults may be unfamiliar with some of the longer words, since the shorter version is more commonly used. Create a deck of cards. On one side, place a commonly used short word and on the other write the word in its longer form. A list of words is available in the resources section. Put students in groups of three. Present the short words and ask the groups to write down the word in its long form. See which group can correctly identify the most long-form words. Assign individual groups to look up words no one knew.