Headbands With a Twist

Here's another great vocabulary activity that your kiddos will LOVE! (Caution: This activity is not for QUIET classrooms). I do this in groups of about 6 students. Each group has a stack of cards with vocabulary words written on them. Each kiddo tapes a word card to their head. The other members of the group give clues to the student. I teach older kids so we have rules like:

• You can't give away any letters. 
• You can't give word parts. 
• No rhyming words. 
• No "Duh" clues.

The student guesses the vocabulary word. If guessed correctly, they take the card off their heads. The first group to guess every word is the winner! We usually play to find the 2nd place winner as well. Adding the group competition is a huge motivator for 4th graders. 

This is really great because each group collaborates in their own way: some decide to do one card/one child at a time, with every person giving clues to help. Some groups choose to sub-group themselves into pairs (because it is faster that way). The best part is that they are constructing their own ways to define the words! 

If you do this, be prepared to do it more than once. You can't stop after one round!