The Magic Box of Words: Fun and Simple Classroom Activities
Years ago I created something I’ve ever since called the Magic Box of Words. It’s a simple tool that has helped my students learn new vocabulary and practise their speaking skills. All you need to do is write words on small pieces of paper and put them in a box.
That’s it. You’re good to go.
Now, to make this activity work you can’t just pick random words and use them. You need to choose the words you’ve used with your students, write them down at the end of the lesson and place them in the box, to be used on the next lesson.
Obviously, I don’t want to do everything myself, so I engage my students in various ways:
- I ask them to choose most memorable/ important words and then I write them down
- I ask them to make the cards that we will use (then they can have their own boxes as each student can make something just for themselves)
- I ask them to make simple drawings next to the word (that’s a great activity not only for younger students as it helps visualize the word)
Once the cards are ready, put them in the box and use them in various moments of the class. Let me share my favourite ideas on how to make your lesson funnier with this simple tool.
Warm-up
When you see your students somewhat sleepy and demotivated, take a Magic Box of Words from the shelf to let them know there’s a game afoot. That will help you start your lesson with a funny, engaging activity that will make your students laugh… and revise quite a lot of vocabulary!
- Word of the day: choose a word from the box and make it the word of the day. Write it on the board and ask students to use it in different contexts throughout the lesson.
- Word association: ask students to draw two words from the box and say how they are related (or different).
- Word question: ask students to draw a word from the box and use it in a question. You may choose this activity as a whole-class or in-pairs kind of exercise.
- Word charades: ask students to draw a word from the box and act it out without speaking. The other students have to guess what the word is.
- Word hangman: ask one student to choose a word from the box and write lines for each letter on the board. The other students have to guess the letters of the word before they run out of chances.
- Word categories: ask students to draw a word from the box and say what category it belongs to (e.g. animal, food, colour, etc.). If your students regularly draw the words, it may be quite an interesting activity!
- Word sentences: ask students to pick three words from the box and use them in one sentence. They can write or say their sentence, and you can use this activity as an individual exercise, in pairs or in groups.
Brain break
Is that a zombie attack or just a mid-lesson crisis? If you see your students falling asleep, time to get the Magic Box of Words and make them play for a moment.
- Word scramble: ask students to draw a word from the box and rearrange the letters to make a new word.
- Synonyms/antonyms: ask students to draw a word from the box and write or say a synonym/ antonym for it.
- Word story: ask students to draw a word from the box and use it in a short story. They can write or say their story, and you can use this activity as an individual exercise, in pairs or in groups.
- Word crossword: ask students to make crossword puzzles with words from the box. Then share the puzzles with other students who try to solve them.
- Word challenge: ask students to draw as many words as they can from the box in one minute and use them in any way they like (e.g. sentences, stories, questions, etc.). The student who uses the most words wins.
Cool-down
Once you write down the new words, you may test them, so that your students will remember them longer.
- Word definition: ask a student to draw a word from the box and write or say its definition.
- Word rhyme: ask students to draw a word from the box and write or say a word that rhymes with it. It’s a great activity to have in small groups – plus they can write their own poems!
- Word bingo: ask students to make bingo cards with words from the box. Then call out words at random and have students mark them on their cards. The first student to get five words in a row wins.
- Word jokes: ask students to draw two words from the box and use them in a joke or pun. They can write or tell their joke to the class or in pairs.
I hope these ideas inspire you to use the Magic Box of Words in your classroom. It’s a simple tool, but it’s very easy to adapt to various groups and students, as you can have a lot of boxes on your shelf, since they require only in-class work.
Enjoy!
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