WORD ACROSTIC – VOCABULARY PRACTICE FOR LANGUAGE LESSONS
There are so many vocabulary building activities that you can use in the language classroom and this one is one of my absolute favourites! Not only is this vocabulary building activity completely NO-PREP, it’s also very high impact and can be used at the beginning of a topic as a starter, as well as used as revision. I recently used the acrostic vocabulary builder to introduce the topic of ‘Healthy Lifestyle’ with one of my older groups. Some found it tricky, others enjoyed the challenge – there were a lot of food items on the list!
What Do You Need To Carry Out This Vocabulary Building Activity?
TEACHER:Whiteboard and marker pen STUDENTS: exercise book and pen
When Could You Implement The Activity?
This acrostic vocabulary building activity can actually be used at anytime in the teaching process. However, I think it works extremely well at the beginning of a topic to assess current knowledge, as well as at the end as a revision activity.
How Do You Play The Vocabulary Acrostic ‘Game’?
1. Firstly, give the students a broad topic, i.e. Travelling, Education, Health etc and write this word down the left hand side of the the whiteboard, one letter after the other. 2. Students must write one great topic related word which starts with each letter of the topic word. Advise students they will get points for their words and prizes will be awarded, i.e. Trip Ride Aeroplane Voyage Excursion Lake Look Indicate Norway Gallivant 3. Once most students have finished, or after a set amount of time, share your ideas as a group. Award a point for the most original related-word (class can decide), as well as one for the most letters in a word / overall.
This acrostic vocabulary game is a no-prep vocabulary practice activity and really effective in revising vocabulary and sharing ideas! Remember to get students to create sentences, questions and responses using the words to get them familiar with the vocabulary in context. Also, don’t forget to set rules, i.e. minimum of 3 letters and must be directly related to topic. This will hopefully help you to avoid arguments at the end!