Charades
Write the Words to Know on small scraps of paper, one (1) word per paper, and drop the words into a bucket or hat. Choose one (1) volunteer to come up and grab a word. This person must try to act out the word without speaking or writing. Let the others try to guess the word. Once the word is guessed, repeat this process with different actors" until all the words have been guessed.
Pictionary
Instead of acting, players draw the Words to Know! Split the group into two (2) teams. Grab a marker and use a whiteboard or paper. Give one artist a word to draw. The artist cannot say anything or write down words. Allow up to 1-2 minutes for teammates to guess what is being drawn. If a team guesses correctly, award a point. Teams take turns until all the words are drawn. The team with the most points in the end wins!
Post-It Shuffle
Write the definitions on papers and hang the papers around the room. Write down the Words to Know on post-its to make one (1) set per team. Split the group up into teams of 3-5 people. Give each team a set of Words to Know post-its. Read the Words to Know (and definitions) out loud with the whole group. Tell teams they have to get up and stick each post-it onto the correct paper. Play music while teams walk around and try to match the words and definitions.
Raise a Card
Write the Words to Know on index cards to make one (1) set per team. Split the group into teams of 3-5 people. Give each team a set of Words to Know index cards. Read one definition to see if each team can find the word that was defined. Once the word is found by the team, one (1) person from each team raises the card up high for you to check. Make this a competition by keeping track of which team raises the correct card first! If you’d like less prep, you can also just give 1 card per group.
Pyramid
Write the Words to Know on post-its to make one (1) set per team. Use those post-its to create a pyramid shape (3 on bottom and 2 on top) on pieces of paper. Split the group into teams of 3-5 people. Give one (1) player on each team a Words to Know Pyramid. The pyramid holder must describe each word by giving hints to teammates without using the actual word. When teammates guess correctly, the pyramid holder can take off the post-it and move on to the next word. The team that guesses all the words first wins!