Looking to change up your vocabulary routine without out adding any additional prep? For most of these vocabulary practice activities, there is absolutely no prep required. All students need is something to write with and write on.
Many of these vocabulary activities are ideal for whiteboards and dry erase markers, if you utilize those in your 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade class.
If the no prep vocabulary activities below are helpful, then you will love these other no prep ELA ideas.
Guess the Vocabulary Word
For this fun vocabulary activity, have students write a sentence that uses one of your vocabulary words. Instead of writing the word out, however, students should draw a blank.
Students can share their sentence with a partner or with the class - and their partner or a classmate gets to guess what the missing vocabulary word is!
Make sure students understand that a good sentence will include a lot of clues that make it EASY for their peers to guess the vocabulary word.
Activities like this require good partnering procedures.
Illustrate the Vocabulary Word
This fun activity is similar to "Guess the Word," only students draw a picture instead of write a sentence.
Once again, their illustration should include a lot of good clues to help their peers easily be able to guess what vocabulary word is being illustrated.
Act it Out
Give individuals or partners a few minutes to come up with a way to act out one of the vocabulary words. Then have students share with a partner or the class.
Once again, classmates or partners can guess what word is being acted out.
Need some no prep figurative language practice? These worksheets include engaging poems with figurative language along with questions, activities, a student reference chart, and more. And as an added bonus, the worksheets walk students through the process of creating their own short poems with figurative language.
Example and Non Example
Have students write 2 sentences using the vocabulary word - one sentence that uses the vocabulary word correctly, and one sentence that uses the vocabulary word incorrectly.
Students can share their sentences with a partner or with the class, giving them a chance to figure out which sentence uses the word incorrectly.
For a little more of a challenge, upper elementary students can write 2 or 3 additional sentences that use the word correctly.
This is similar to Find the Fib, a no prep activity that can be utilized in a lot of different ways.
Write a Short Vocabulary Story
Provide 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade students with a list of the vocabulary words, and then have students try to include all of the words in a short story.
This vocabulary practice activity is easy to differentiate - some students could be asked to use ALL of the words in their story, while others could be asked to use 2 or 3.
Vocabulary Practice Tic-Tac-Toe
This is a no prep, whole class game. Have students draw a tic-tac-toe board on a sheet of paper or on their whiteboard. Then, students should fill in each of the boxes with one of the weekly vocabulary words.
If you have fewer than 9 vocabulary words, then choose a few words for review and have students add those to their tic-tac-toe boards.
Once the whole class is ready, call out a clue for one of the words. You could give a definition, use it in a sentence, provide a synonym or antonym, etc. Students cross out the word on their tic-tac-toe board that goes along with your clue.
Repeat this until one of your students gets 3 in a row, and then play again.
Free Vocabulary Graphic Organizer
This is the only vocabulary practice idea that requires a little thought ahead of time, since you have to make copies.
Print off copies of this free vocabulary graphic organizer and have upper elementary students fill it in for a few of their vocabulary words.
Never Stress Over Sub Plans Again!
Make copies, find a fiction book, and you'll be ready for any emergency that comes your way!