Vocabulary Fun!

This week's readings focused on the importance of vocabulary instruction. Vocabulary building is crucial to reading comprehension and concept development. However, vocabulary is often left up to students to build outside of school or pick up in other subjects. If a vocabulary lesson is incorporated in a classroom it is often copying definitions and writing sentences using the new word. This type of instruction can be effective but there are several fun and creative ways to incorporate new vocabulary into your classroom. I have witnessed several activities that I think are great ideas and I wanted to share them with you. I have compiled a few simple ways to encourage vocabulary building in your future classroom.

• Crossword of the Week: This activity is a fun and easy way to build vocabulary weekly. I was introduced to this activity in 6th grade but it can be used in upper elementary grades. Simply generate a crossword puzzle using vocabulary words you will use in your classroom that week. Give the students the puzzle on Monday and allow them to work on the puzzle during their free time or at home. At the end of the week make sure to go over the puzzle and discuss the words. You can even make it a competition to see which students can finish the puzzle first. 
• Word of the Day: This activity is easy and allows you to focus on a new vocabulary word every day. You can make this a part of your daily routine. My 3rd grade teacher used this activity as part of our morning activities. Every morning we would copy our schedule in our agendas. At the end of our activities we would copy down our word of the day and the definition. We would then talk about the word with our neighbor and create a sentence together using the word. 
• Dictionary of the Year: This activity is year long vocabulary project. Create a vocabulary journal at the beginning of the year that will be filled with new vocabulary words by the end of the year. Give your students a new word every week and give them a definition and sentence using the word. Then encourage your students to find 2 new words a week on their own. It could be a word they discover in school or at home. At the end of the year they will have their own '3rd Grade Dictionary' and they can see all of the words they learned that year. This is a fun project and the students will feel accomplished when they see how many new words they have learned.
• VerbaLearn: This is a really neat Web 2.0 tool that is geared towards middle school, high school, and college students. This website allows you to create a study list of vocabulary words and it generates quizzes, crossword puzzles and flashcards for you. The coolest part about the website is that you can get your vocabulary words on MP3 so you can review your vocabulary words anywhere! Although the website is for older students I think that it could be used for upper level elementary students. Here is a video that shows you how the website works.

There are so many activities that can increase vocabulary building in your classroom. These are a few ideas that I think are excellent ideas to incorporate in the classroom and I will definitely use them in the future. What are some other creative ways to incorporate new vocabulary daily?