Vocabulary Hunting: Gamifying Vocabulary Acquisition for Older Learners

Our students with beginning vocabularies can struggle when participating in our classroom reading and writing activities. What can be surprising is the types of words that cause them difficulties. I’ll share some of the common categories of vocabulary that I notice are barriers to my older students and some of my “gamified” classroom strategies and activities that are helping them increase their confidence and comprehension. From vocabulary hunts to “dialogue dupes”, these classroom-created approaches will engage all your students while providing the much-needed explicit scaffolding for your English Learners. As a bonus, I’ll share my students’ MOST requested game – a quick vocabulary diagnostic in disguise that you can use with any grade-level content area you teach!