20 Spanish Vocabulary Games
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The BEST way to learn Spanish vocabulary is IN CONTEXT. This is often done in reading and telling stories. However – like I’ve shared before on my blog – sometimes the curriculum you need to use and the pacing you have to follow just isn’t with us and we need to do some “practice” to remember vocabulary. Here are 20 vocabulary games and activities you can use in Spanish class!
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20 Spanish Vocabulary Games
- Matamoscas
- Partner Matamoscas
- Bingo with words, phrases, or pictures
- Taboo or Head’s Up
- Pictionary
- Guess Who
- Memory
- Mi Lápiz
- 2 Truths & a lie
- Corre en Círculos
- Maze Games
- Pop – Not so Wimpy Teacher
- Blank Board Games
- Charades & Reverse Charades
- Telephone
- Strip Bingo – Comprehensible Classroom
- Telephone Pictionary
- Levántense si..
- Pop Up -Señora Chase
- Scattergories
Learn how to play these Spanish Vocabulary Games
Matamoscas & Partner Matamoscas
In this game, students race to be the first to touch an image, word, or phrase on a game board. Here’s a quick walkthrough:
Click here to see the full post and example boards!
Bingo
Oldie, but a goodie! Have students create their own boards or use a free generator to play with words, phrases, or pictures of your vocabulary.
Taboo, Head’s Up, Catch Phrase – don’t say that word!
These games are all the same style, and they’re really just sneaky circumlocution games. Give students a set of cards of the vocabulary. A student draws a card, then they have to get their teammates to guess the word WITHOUT saying the word at all. Here’s a simple way to scaffold the game for your novices!
Pictionary
Students take turns illustrating a word or phrase while their partner or group guesses. You can play this with students in the front of the room on the whiteboard, or in small groups using scratch paper or mini whiteboards!
Guess Who
While this classic game is usually used for descriptions, you can use it for other things, too! Rooms in a house, activities, even clothing! Check out this free guess who game using winter vocab for a fun way to mix it up.
Memory
In this pairing game, students match a word or phrase to an illustration, or translation. You’ll probably have to run through the rules once first – and make sure to set the “house rules”. For example, I like to play where if a student gets a match, they keep going! This is a fun game to play with a DIY vocabulary set, like I shared about in this post.
Mi Lápiz
¡Mi Lápiz! is a review game known by many names. Some people simply call it, “The Dice Game”, others call it “¡Seis!”, or “Surrender in Seis”. There’s almost ZERO set-up, but the engagement is huge!
Click here for the details on this one.
Two Truths and a Lie
This one is simple – students come up with two truths and a lie, then guess which is the lie! I love to play this as a way to mix up weekend chat, but you can easily theme it for any unit. I highly recommend having your novices write them down first, and if you’re going to collect them, have them mark which is the lie.
Corre en Círculos
You can play this scavenger hunt style game to review vocabulary in a few different ways: translation, using images, or even with riddles like in this set for family vocabulary! As an added bonus, there’s a whole bunch of different ways you can play with the cards. Learn more about how to play this game here and grab a free set to use!
Maze Games
These Spanish puzzle worksheets are one of my favorites for a low energy day for you! Students solve their way through the maze by choosing the correct path through. When they’re done, you can have them go back and complete any boxes they didn’t use to create their path for additional practice. Learn more and grab a freebie here!
Pop! – Not So Wimpy Teacher
This is one from our elementary friends – Jamie from Not So Wimpy Teacher has a fun game where students pull a card. They can give the definition in English, or if you play with pictures, students provide the Spanish. If they pull a card that says “pop!” they have to put all their cards back. She has her students play with cute popcorn bags!
Free Blank Game Boards PDF
Easy peesy – print off the blank board, write in words or verbs that you want students to use, then just make copies. Boom! This is a free resource available in my Freebie Library for newsletter subscribers.
If you are already a newsletter subscriber, click here to head to the Freebie Library!
Charades & Reverse Charades
You’re probably familiar with charades as a party game where one person acts out a word or phrase and the other guests have to guess. In reverse charades, a group of people act and one person guesses. I found this to be more comfortable for my freshmen! I often just split their groups in half – the group acting goes out in the hall, I tell them the word or phrase, and then they all go in. They can’t start acting until I say go, but when I do, the group that guess first gets the point!
Telephone
Another childhood favorite – students line up. Tell the first student a word or phrase in the language and they whisper it to each other until they get to the end of the line and have to either say or write the word or phrase. Mix this one up by getting two lines going and having them race to whisper and be the first to put it on the board!
“Strip” Bingo
This quick version of Bingo from the Comprehensible Classroom is so much fun! Instead of playing with a whole board, students get a strip of paper, draw lines to divide it into 5 boxes, then record words or phrases in each box. Then you play bingo as normal, but they can only mark off the box if it’s on the end of their strip! When they get to the last box, they have to hear the word or phrase to be able to tear that one in half.
Telestrations/Telephone Pictionary/Write Draw Pass
This one is similar to Telephone, but instead of whispering and listening, students are reading, drawing, and writing! Start the student with a sentence. They illustrate in the space provided. Then, they fold back the paper so only the illustration is visible and they pass it to the next student in line. That student looks at the illustration and write a sentence in Spanish based on what they think the illustration is representing.
Levántense si..
You can play this one a few different ways! Have students stand up if.. or move places if.. or raise a hand if.. – totally up to you and your students! Either way, call out a word or phrase in the target language based on the vocab you want to practice and students will do the action. For example, “Stand up if you like to play tennis”, or “Raise your hand if you’re wearing purple today”. Easy and flexible for your vocab list!
Pop Up!
Pop up is a game from Señora Chase and she has a great video showing how to play here. The gist is that you split your class into 2 and number them off so each student has a classmate they’re racing on the opposing team. Then, you’ll say a phrase in Spanish, slowly, several times (giving them time to process!). Call out a number and the student(s) who were that number try to POP UP and say the word or phrase in English as quickly as they can! First student gets a point for their team, and then then next round starts!
Scattergories
This is one of my favorite party games because it’s a word game! To play, students race against the timer as they write down answers to categories – each beginning with a certain letter. They score points for jotting down things no one else did. The more out-of-the-box the answers, the less likely someone will have it, and the more points earned.
Your Favorite Spanish Vocabulary Games
What other vocabulary games do you play with your classes? Comment below and let me know what else I should add to the list!
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