5 Vocabulary Lesson Plans for Language Development

Vocabulary Lesson Plans

How many words do your students know? It’s probably pretty good, but how do you boost it so they know even more?

We have 5 vocabulary lesson plans that can help you bump up your student’s collection of words.

Most are minimal to get started and easy to print. Like all our worksheets, these 5 vocabulary lesson plans are free to use for any purpose.

Take a look and download what you feel is most suitable for your class.

1. Emotions Spin

This in-depth activity builds students’ list of words for emotions. Put a spinner in the middle, and have students spin it. Come up with a time when you feel that emotion. If anyone needs help explaining how they feel, you can add this activity to your vocabulary lesson plans.

Emotions Spin Worksheet

2. Pass the Ball

Pass the Ball - Talking Timebomb Vocabulary Worksheet

First, you need to pick a category of words like fruits, sports, or feelings. Like “hot potato”, pass a ball around with music playing in the background. When the student catches the item, they have to say a word in that category. If the music ends, the person holding the item loses.

Pass the Ball Worksheet

3. Letter Connect

In pairs, connect the last letter of a word by thinking of a word that starts with that letter. Like the English version of the Japanese game “Karuta”, it boosts vocabulary by putting their thinking cap on.

Word Chain (Shiritori)

4. Occupations Match

If you want to have students explore their future, then you can add this “occupations match” activity to your vocabulary lesson plans. Simply, match the 11 occupations to the picture. There are some funny ones in here too.

Occupations Match Worksheet

5. Emotions Match

Emotions are a common theme in these vocabulary lesson plans because students have a hard time expressing themselves! This simple activity gets students to match emotions with emoticons.

Emotions Match Worksheet