The Vocabulary Scoot Boogie!

My current course (in case none of ya can tell) is all about literacy in the classroom. I have been focusing on this a lot and only have 2 weeks until the class is done! I have learned some amazing new things and wanted to share another one of my favorites with all of you.

I call it... 

The Vocabulary Scoot Boogie!

I added the "Boogie" part for Halloween.

According to my 5th graders... 

the Boogie Monster attacks those who

fail vocabulary tests. 

You have been warned!

Bwahahahahaha!

My mentor calls it... 

Vocabulary Rotations

YAWN!!

Shhh... 

don't tell her I changed her title!

I like mine better! =P

Anyways....  It is another type of fun game-ish activity. 

You will need: Half-size anchor chart paper, a sharpie, and each group of kids will need a package of colored pencils or markers. 

I learned how to make fancy-schmancy picture collages!!

You need 1 piece of paper per vocabulary word. Then with a sharpie right the word in the middle of the page. Break up your students into groups - you will need 1 group for every vocabulary word and 1 activity for each group. 

When I helped with this activity... we had 9 vocabulary words so 9 groups and 9 activities. Each activity or rotation is 2 minutes long. Set the timer... it helps. 

~~ TIP ~~

This teacher has a timer that is magnetic so it sticks to the whiteboard!

Genius and so easy to use. 

No more losing the timer!

~~~~~~~

Each group was given 1 piece of paper and students were required to stand during this activity and only talk to those in their group regarding the topic. Since it was a short time limit, they had to work quickly to complete the task. 

Why stand? So students were not sitting at other students desk and disturbing others personal space. I would have never thought of that!

Rotations: Each activity goes along with the word in the center of the page. You can switch them out to what you are focusing on but here are the 9 rotations we used. 

Rotation 1: Write the definition

Rotation 2: Use the word in a 7-up Sentence

Rotation 3: Draw a picture

Rotation 4: Spelling Pyramid

Rotation 5: Synonyms

Rotation 6: Antonyms

Rotation 7: Part of Speech

Rotation 8: Syllabication

Rotation 9: Presentation

There are 3 things that are ALWAYS done. Students always write a definition, draw a picture, and present the word. 

Presentation: After each group has traveled around the room to the various words, the last group has to present it to the class. This is how the vocabulary words are introduced each week. The last group has to determine if what the other groups did was correct. 

If you look at the pictures above... you can see a big red x over a word. This is where the students were trying to come up with synonyms for revolutionary. They struggled. The answers were hilarious and the presenting group said that their answers were wrong but they couldn't come up with anything better. 

Soooooo.... the computer was turned on and together the students used an online thesaurus to try and correct it.  During the assignment, they had access to a physical dictionary and thesaurus but they were not very helpful. 

There is a winner. The group who traveled and answered all the questions correct AND were the quietest AND stayed on task... won a piece of candy. This was hard for me... I would change it up. 

I would assign each group a color to work in so I could see who's work was whose at a glance and not have to continually ask. I would also make sure groups were more evenly matched in academic abilities. 

What are your favorite activities for teaching vocabulary?