Vocabulary Taboo Review

This lesson is a twist on the card game "Taboo", where people aim to describe a word at the top of the card, but are not allowed to use the "Taboo" words printed on the card in their description.

Students will collaborate to create a Taboo Review Game with vocabulary terms from class throughout the year. Students will identify key terms for each unit (they will do this in groups so we can make sure nothing essential is accidentally left out). The next step is to introduce actual “Taboo” game to students, so they understand the process & purpose. Instead of “taboo” words, we used common/helpful descriptive terms to help students describe the word at the top of the card. Then, I assign units to specific students and/or groups, pairs, etc. Students brainstorm vocabulary terms for unit (review materials, refer to textbook, etc.). Students can get terms from the word wall or other class resource.

Next, the teacher will Create a Master Google Sheet and change sharing permissions so that students can edit the documents, as well. Then, POST on Google Classroom Site. This allows for simultaneous collaboration and instant updates in work progress and completion. Create “sheets” & rename tabs for each Unit.

Students will use their assigned Chromebook to access Google Classroom and G Suite (formerly Google Apps for Education) in order to contribute to the assignment and collaborate with classmates. Students will be assigned a specific Unit Number and will type vocabulary words into the same document (Google Sheet) accordingly. All students can be working on assignments at the same time, on their corresponding Tab. Students can help each other and check for errors and typos, as they work together. The teacher can oversee & make changes/additions as needed. Ideally this should be an ongoing process to continuously review vocabulary terms throughout the year. Students will create a Google Slides presentation with one slide for each of the vocabulary terms from their assigned unit number. This is in addition to their list in the corresponding Google Sheet Tab for their assigned Unit. Each Google Slide should have a specific word/vocabulary term (title). Text should have a bulleted list of keywords to describe that particular term. To prepare the activity to actually be used in class, the cards have to be printed and distributed amongst the students. It is helpful to print the Slide Show as a Handout (9 slides per page) and I recommend changing the orientation from portrait to landscape for printing. It is also helpful to print on card stock for the cards so that they last longer and can be used throughout the school year. If it is a big class or you want to use this as a partner or group activity, you can just print multiple sets of the deck of cards. You can also “build” the deck of cards throughout the year as new vocabulary terms are introduced.

I originally developed this lesson to use for reviewing vocabulary terms and concepts in math (before SOL tests), specifically Algebra 1 and Algebra 2. However, this can be used for any content area and any grade level as long as students can read and write/type the vocabulary words. This strategy is particularly useful for students that struggle with executive functioning skills, especially in the area of information management.