Vocabulary Games for the Classroom
Commercially Available Games:
Substitute any given words in the games with vocabulary form your thematic literature
units.
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Balderdash – Players create phony but believable definitions for given words and
earn points for selecting the correct definition.
Charades – Use vocabulary words in this improvisational game.
Outburst – Players are given a topic, and then have 60 seconds to identify related
words.
Oodles – Players try to guess vocabulary words beginning with a given letter when
given catchy clues.
Password – Players give one word clues to guide their partners to the target
vocabulary word. See PPT file!
Pictionary – Players identify target vocabulary words through sketches with a one
minute time limit.
Probe – (hangman) Players identify target vocabulary words as letters are identified
one by one.
Scattergories – Players quickly list vocabulary words beginning with a specific letter
in a specific category.
Taboo – Players try to get their team to say the secret vocabulary word, but there is a
list of words that are “Taboo” and cannot be spoken.
Teacher Made Games:
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Bingo – Visit this page to construct your own Bingo cards with your unit vocabulary
words. Have students call out vocab. definitions and identify the word that matches
the definition. http://print-bingo.com/bingo-cards-custom.php
Vocabulary Charades – Students are placed in teams and give designated team
members a term to act out. The other team members must guess the term as
quickly as possible. A point system is used and teams can compete against each
other or against their previous record.
Name that Category – Modeled after The $100,000 Pyramid, this game helps
students focus on the attributes of concepts and what is in common. The game
board or PPT template is in the shape of a triangle and the object of the game is for
the clue giver, who sees one category at a time on the game board, to list the words
that fix that category until teammates correctly identify the category name.