Musical Words! Brain Friendly Review Games!

When I was a student teacher, I used to play a game called "Spelling Stop" with my second graders! It ran a lot like musical chairs, except nobody was ever "out".  I taped a sign to the back of three to four chairs around the room.  The kids walked around while music played.  When it stopped, they took a seat.  If they were in a seat with a sign, they were given a spelling word to spell.  The kids loved it!

A few years later, I had my own third grade classroom, and I was looking for a way to review test vocabulary with my kiddos.   I wanted to briefly review the terms they would be likely to encounter on our state test, but I wanted to do it in a brain friendly, interactive way.  So, "Vocabulary Stop" was born.  I use it to review terms like main idea, synonym, antonym, homophone, cause, effect, central idea, selection, etc.  You can also use it with Tier II vocabulary words from stories!  It works just like "Spelling Stop", except that the kids explain what their word means.  They give definitions.  You could give them the definition and ask for the term, if that works better for your class. :)  Our Reading OAA will be on February 27th.  Guess what we'll be playing next week!

If you're interested, I'm including the signs I use with my class.  Help yourself, & enjoy!

 Vocabulary Stop!

Spelling Stop!