Word Relationships

Activity: Word Relationships

Purpose: To give students a chance to “play” with vocabulary words to deepen their understanding.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Materials Needed: paper, board

Procedure:

Choose a target vocabulary word and a variety of words that have some relationship to the target word. Write the words on the board or project on screen. For example:| 

Target word: school                                                

Related words: fish, principal, house, student, teacher, attend, safety, elementary, board,  University, summer, attend

• Challenge students to describe the relationships between the target word and the other words.
• Model an example or two:
  •  "A group of fish is called a school."
  • "In a school classroom, there is often a board for the teacher to write on.
  • (Or, school leadership is called the school board.) 
• Have students write or orally share their ideas. Have other students react.