Vocabulary Activities
Source: www.sedl.org
ACTIVITY TITLE: It's New to Me
COGNITIVE ELEMENT: Semantics Vocabulary
ACTIVITY: Before shared reading, introduce new vocabulary so that it
makes sense to the children when they encounter it in the text. After the
activity, encourage children to create their own story using some of the new
vocabulary.
Notes: When children are asked to create their own story in this task, the
teacher should consider whether the child is able to write his or her own
story independently, or if the child will need to simple dictate a story for the
teacher to write down.
Reader Type: Pre-readers, emergent readers, and developing readers
Language: English
SOURCE: Algodones Elementary--Algodones, NM
ACTIVITY TITLE: Same rhyme,
different words
COGNITIVE ELEMENT: Semantics Vocabulary
ACTIVITY: Using a familiar nursery rhyme, ask students to replace words in
the nursery rhyme with synonyms (the meaning of the nursery rhyme
should not change with substitutions of words). For example, "Mary had a
small sheep, whose hair was pale as ice..."
Notes: Antonyms can be used for a variation on this activity. For example,
"Mary had a massive sheep, whose fleece was black as coal..."
Vocabulary development is a life-long endeavor, but this activity will be
difficult for pre-literate children.
Reader Type: Emergent readers and developing readers
Language: English
SOURCE: Adapted from Fredericksburg Elementary -- Fredericksburg, TX
ACTIVITY TITLE: Semantic Word
Map
COGNITIVE ELEMENT: Semantics Vocabulary
ACTIVITY: Word maps help students make connections among several
words that are connected in meaning. Concepts become clearer when words
are grouped together by similar criteria such as ideas, events,
characteristics, and examples. Word maps work best when the teacher
allows students time to brainstorm, generate a list, and participate in wholeclass or small group discussion. Once the list is generated, the teacher can
allow small groups to work together to create a semantic word map.
Example: a group of students may brainstorm words related to flying. The
word FLYING could be put in the middle of the board, and children could
generate related words like WINGS, BIRD, AIRPLANE, JET, PILOT, RUNWAY,
CLOUDS, etc. The words can be placed in varying distance from the central
word depending on how close in meaning they are (BIRD and FLYING are
very closely related, but CLOUD may be placed further away.).
Notes: Vocabulary development is a life-long endeavor, but this activity will
be difficult for pre-literate children (because of the writing involved).
Reader Type: Emergent readers and developing readers
Language: English
SOURCE: Adapted from the Reading Teacher, V 52 No 3 November, 1998
ACTIVITY TITLE: Synonyms /
Antonyms
COGNITIVE ELEMENT: Semantics Vocabulary
ACTIVITY: Look for new or unusual words in a story and discuss them
together. Ask children to use the new words in sentences (orally, or if
possible, in writing). Talk about what the words mean, and ask the children
if they know any words that mean the same thing (synonyms) or mean the
exact opposite (antonyms). For example, if the new vocabulary is "serpent"
most children will learn that faster if they learn that "serpent" and "snake"
mean the same thing. Add the new vocabulary words to the word wall or
children's alphabet files along with the known synonyms / antonyms and
periodically remind children of the relationship between these new words
and the words the child already knows.
Notes: Vocabulary development is a life-long endeavor, so it is always
appropriate to focus on teaching children new vocabulary through synonyms
and antonyms.
Reader Type: Pre-readers, emergent readers, and developing readers
Language: English
SOURCE: Adapted from Starting Out Right: A Guide to Promoting Children's
Reading Success
Memory game
Put 20 Vocabulary / verbs on the board. Then progressively cancel them,
and let the students recreate the lists.
Variant I After an activity that requires a vocabulary set on the
board, rub out part of the words. Then ask the students to complete
the words with full spelling.
Tent cards
Take a vocabulary set. As class activity, pair the words (choose which to
pair with which by general agreement). Ask the students in groups of 4 to
make tent-shaped cards (i.e. bent over like a tent), and write one of the
paired words on each side of the ‘tent’. Place them between the players.
The game lies in remembering which word is on the hidden side. These
tent cards could be robust and reusable if you make them with selfadhesive memo paper, and so stick words on a tent face. They could be
colored attractively and kept in sets. For example sets of adjectives,
adverbs, prepositions, time words etc.
Cubing
Give students a pattern for a cube. Have them 1) Write the vocabulary
word 2) define it 3) write something personal it reminds them of 4) write a
synonym 5) write an antonym and 6) illustrate it. Hang the various
vocabulary cubes in a mobile form.
Context-Relationship Procedure
1. Give students a list of new vocabulary words and divide them into groups.
2. Have them write their own paragraphs and questions following the directions
below.
3. Afterwards have them exchange their paragraphs with other groups and
come up with the meaning of the words.




Sentence 1
Sentence 2
Sentence 3
Sentence 4
Uses word in context.
Does not use the word, but further explains it
Uses the word and contrasts it to an antonym
Uses the word and defines it
4. Next, a multiple choice item is created to check meaning.
Example:
Joe was very happy to move to a safe, quiet suburban are. His neighborhood
had a community pool and lots of kids his own age to play with. The suburban
area was very different from the downtown or urban district he had once lived in.
The suburban neighborhood on the outskirts of town, near the big city was just
the place for Joe.
Suburban means:
______a type of car
______a neighborhood on the outskirts of town
______another name for city
Morphemic Analysis
Teach students various word parts and their meanings to help them
determine new words. For example, leuko means white; hemo means blood
bi (two)
biangular
bicycle
bilinear
biplane
bimodal
bicuspid
binomial
bifocals
Word Jar -- for independent reading
The following information is written on a strip of paper and then added to the Word
Jar.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Word
Name of book and page number
Sentence in which the word was used
Dictionary definition
Student’s name
At the end of class, a word is chosen from the Word Jar and read. Students try to
guess the meaning of the word (excluding the student who contributed the word).
The word is then read in context, the dictionary definition is given, and the word is
added to the Word Wall.
Vocabulary Frames
Vocabulary Frames are a flashcard method for learning new vocabulary. Do not
use Vocabulary Frames for every vocabulary word encountered. Words that
introduce new concepts are best used with Vocabulary Frames.
Top Right Corner: Write the word’s definition
Top Left Corner: Write the word’s opposite and cross it out
Lower Left Corner: Write a silly sentence that uses the definition of the word
Lower Right Corner: Draw a graphic to help you visualize the concept
In the Center: Write the word
Isolate any prefixes
Isolate the root
Note the meaning of the root
Isolate any suffixes
Label the part of speech in parenthesis
K.I.M. -- for vocabulary words and new ideas
Write the term or key idea (K) in the left column, the information (I) that goes along
with it in the center column, and draw a picture of the idea, a memory clue, (M) in
the right column.
The key idea may be a new vocabulary word, or a new concept. The information
may be a definition or it may be a more technical explanation of the concept. The
memory clue is a way for students to fully integrate the meaning of the key idea into
their memories. By making a simple sketch that explains the key idea, students
synthesize and interpret the new information, making it their own. Then, students
can reference their drawings to easily remember new key ideas.
K
Key idea
I
Information
1. drought
Little or no rain over a period of time
2. coup
Takeover of government by military
3. sovereignty
Political independence
M
Memory Clue
Vocabulary Cards--Pass the Hash
Team: Five members (1High, 3 middle, 1 low)
Goal: Be able to spell, use synonyms, identify part of speech, define, and use in context
Materials: List of 5 words, index cards, pencils, student dictionaries for each member
Procedure: Each student writes one word on an index card. The cards are passed around
the team.
1. The first member looks up the part of speech and writes it on the card.
2. The second member writes down the definition.
3. The third member writes out the synonym.
4. The fourth member writes a sentence for the word.
5. The fifth member illustrates the sentence.
Vocabulary Blocks http://litsite.alaska.edu/uaa/workbooks/readingvocabulary.html
Vocabulary Blocks work much like K.I.M. and Vocabulary Frames. Students receive
a piece of paper with several blocks on it. Their vocabulary words go in the upper
left corner of each block, with a short definition in the box directly below. In the
upper right-hand corner goes an antonym of the vocabulary word, and in the lower
right-hand corner, a drawing of the definition of the word.
You can take each student’s drawings and photocopy them onto a new piece of
paper, to test the students. Provide photocopied pictures with a list of the vocabulary
words; students must then match each drawing with its corresponding word.
Gaunt
Fat
Thin and bony
Tumult
Perseverance
Cessation
Persistent effort
Quiet
Noisy commotion
Solicit
Indifference
To seek, to beg
Context Prediction Chart
Directions: Read over the words listed below in the context of the story. With your
partner, decide if you know a meaning for the word that would fit the context. List
the word and your guess for the meaning of the word under the appropriate column.
Just list the word in the first column if you can't predict the meaning from the
sentence.
I still need help finding a
meaning for this word.
I think I know a meaning I know a meaning for
of this word.
this word.
Prior Knowledge Survey
Use the following rating system to answer the questions below:
0 = Haven't a clue
1 = Know I have heard it, but I can't define it
2 = Know I have heard it, have some sense of its meaning
3 = Have a good sense of its meaning when I see it or hear it
4 = Can define it and explain its meaning to someone else