Engaging Vocabulary Games for Early Elementary World Language Classrooms
Denise and I have been using the Early Elementary Partner Conversations MEGA-Bundle as the foundation of our kindergarten and first grade curriculum for a few years now. We love how this curriculum has boosted our students’ confidence, their comprehension, and their willingness to practice interpersonal communication with their partner. Another benefit has been increased vocabulary acquisition, as each lesson presents ten vocabulary items that are connected to a meaningful question. Because we spend so much time practicing the vocabulary in context, they retain it better than ever.
To practice the vocabulary, we have a routine of using vocabulary games. The students love these, and since they are part of the routine, little instruction is required to start each game. For each of these games, all you will need is a set of flash cards. Here are our favorites:
Charades
Have a student draw a vocabulary card and act out what is on the card. This works best for vocabulary sets that lend themselves to acting (animals, verbs, etc.) The classmate who guesses can have the next turn! Pro tip: when you get to the last card, instead of calling on one student, call on the whole class to shout out the answer. That way no one feels cheated out of a turn! (The video example below shows conversation 6a of our Level 1 French program.)
Repeat if correct
Students repeat after you if you say the correct word, but if you say the wrong word, they are to stay quiet. For this one, when I say the incorrect word, I love to bring back vocabulary from the previous lesson. Another one that makes the students laugh is saying a funny cognate like “la pizza!” or “le chocolat!” when I point to something like a picture of a cow. This type of joke is the epitome of first grade humor!
Where is the paper clip?
Lay out the cards for the students to see. Ask them to close their eyes, and hide a paper clip or other small object under one card. Have them guess where it is in the target language, prompting them to say “It’s under the _____.” (In French, “c’est sous le/la _____.” I love this one because I don’t actually have to remember where I put the paper clip - they keep guessing until we find it.
What is missing?
Have students close their eyes, take one card away and ask them what’s missing. You will inevitably have students peeking, but they do not realize that the game is less about figuring out what the teacher took away, and more about showing that they can recall the vocabulary word.
Bingo
Kids LOVE to play bingo, and it reinforces the vocabulary very well. Play bingo as a class or have students play in partners or small groups using the vocabulary cards. I mostly have them work in groups of three or four. I encourage the students to speak only in the target language, and I give them a “cheat sheet” to support them in that. (image below) Here is a short clip of my kindergarten students playing bingo in groups.
When doing group bingo, these are the materials I set out before the students enter the room.
We hope these ideas will be helpful for you as you teach a language to young learners! To learn more about the resources we have created for this age group in French and Spanish, click here or click on the products below. Please know that if you are interested in buying individual lessons, they are available on our TPT store.
