Enlivening Vocabulary Review with Vocabulary Gladiators

I wanted students to review vocabulary and was trying to determine the right way to engage them, so they wouldn’t view it as the same-old-same-old.

What started as a one-class activity, transformed into two. Students started in groups of three and wrote contextual sentences with the terms.  After sharing out, individuals wrote several more sentences. Each student then chose the best one whether it was created by the group or the individual student.

A tournament bracket was rolled out, and students’ attention was aroused. I placed each student in the bracket. Each would face off head-to-head with another. The winner was determined by an anonymous vote. (Students were reminded of what they should look/listen for in a quality contextual sentence.)  Students worked through the bracket until we had a class champ. Students who were eliminated were still exposed to the vocabulary and spent time evaluating the quality of their peers’ work. High energy permeated each class as they competed.

I spun the energy into day two. 

No one questioned the desks arranged in a circle but quite a few eyebrows were raised at the props in the middle of the circle.

They started class by adding more contextual sentences to their list from the previous day. Again, I had them mark the best one, whether from this or the previous class.

We celebrated the champion from the previous class, and I announced vocabulary gladiators.  Donning the fake shields and swords and helmets, any challengers could face the champ in a one-to-one showdown. Each student’s sentence would be shared, and again, there would be an anonymous vote.

There was a moment of hesitation as the students processed what I said.  Then, students quickly looked over their sentences and shot their hands up.

Between being a gladiator dressed in battle gear, competing with their peers, and watching their bolder peers take to the center ring, all students were engaged. Even those who did not enter the ring to challenge as a gladiator were evaluating and considering their sentences.  Some who did not volunteer to challenge toward the beginning did so by the end. They had listened to the others’ sentences, evaluated their own, and gained enough confidence in their revisions that they took the risk to stand before their peers.

The activity was simple but fun. Students were engaged, processed the information, and gained from the experience. One change I might make is for the sentences to be presented anonymously, especially during the bracket. I felt, at times, some students would through their support behind a weaker sentence to support a friend.

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If you have strategies to engage students with vocabulary or to use play for learning, or, if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share in the comments. I would appreciate hearing from you.