Students enjoy being active learners in a classroom. Teachers can use vocabularygamesthatencourage active participation to increase students' vocabulary retention. Vocabulary games thatreview all the words students have learned help solidify those new words into long-term memory.Games can help students learn to use their vocabulary words in everyday situations. Let students playthese games as a special treat to keep them engaged in the learning process.

Basketball
Use an empty trashcan and a softball to play vocabulary basketball. Divide the class into two teamsand allow one team member at a time to come up to the front and giving the correct vocabulary wordfor the definition you give. If he is successful, he can try to make a basket to earn two points for histeam. If he misses, the other team can try to steal and make the two points, in addition to taking their regular turn. Have a designated lineup so everyone gets a chance to play in order. The team with themost points at the end wins.

Baseball
Turn your classroom into a baseball field. Designate places for first, second and third base. Use a spotin the front of the classroom--such as the podium--as home plate. Have all members of the first teamcome up to the front and form a line beside home plate. The teacher, who will stand in the middle of theclassroom, will be the pitcher. The teacher gives out vocabulary definitions. As students give thecorrect vocabulary word, they can move one base. If they miss, they are out and have to go to theback of the line. After three students miss, the inning is over. Runs are made by students making itaround the bases and back to home plate. In order to make one run, the team needs to get four vocabulary words correct to get a runner back to home plate. Keep up with the batting order so youcan start the next turn with the students who have not had a turn yet. Encourage positive feedback for all the players.

Tic Tac Toe
Divide the class into the X team and the O team. Flip a coin to see which team goes first. Choose oneplayer from each team to call out the right vocabulary word for the definition you give out. The quickestplayer gets to put his X or O in the spot of his choosing. Both teams should be quiet while the twostudents chosen play. The other students are not allowed to help the two players guess the word or choose a spot on the tic tac toe board. Play multiple times so each student gets a chance to help her team.

Guess That Word
Another interactive vocabulary game lets students work in pairs to earn points. Give one studentdefinition cards to read out to his partner. His partner should to give the correct vocabulary word asquickly as possible. Stop them after 60 seconds and give them one point for every word they gotcorrect. The team with the most points wins. If you have enough time, reverse teams so the other partner gets a chance to guess the words. Add up the two scores to find the winner. Turn this game intoa tournament by assigning some students to be scorekeepers and timekeepers. Have several pairsplay simultaneously and allow teams to compete against each other to be the final winner.