In this article, Kristina from Sweet for Kindergarten describes 5 simple activities that can help your kindergarten students practice and develop their vocabulary.
Word of the week
- Pick a word that you want to teach your students. This word can be related to a current lesson, the current season, or just a word you want your students to know. Use this word throughout the week wherever you can (in lessons, during breaks, etc.). See the original source to see examples of how Kristina implemented her word of the week.
Missing word
- Pick a sentence and leave one word missing. Ask your students to first think about what word could be missing and then have them guess. You can also give them 3 words as options to choose from. This will help your students improve their vocabulary as well as reading comprehension.
What’s another word for?
- Say a word that has multiple alternatives. Kristina gives the example of “cup” and its alternatives: “mug, glass, tumbler, etc.” Ask your students to think of as many words that can be used in place of cup. Encourage your students to use these alternative words throughout the week.
Vocabulary call and response activity
- Say a word that can be connected with other words. For example, Kristina uses the word “bloom.” Then, say words that could “bloom,” such as flowers and plants, and words that could not “bloom,” such as lion and computer. Have your students identify which words can go with the vocabulary word.
Picture sorts
- When practicing sorting words based on sounds, you can explain the meaning of trickier words that pop up. See the original source for a demonstration.
For more information and walk-throughs of some of these activities, visit the original source linked below.
