Vocabulary in the upper elementary and secondary classroom!

Both Tim and I are constantly working on vocabulary in our classrooms! It's so important for our students to learn all words, but especially in science and social studies. We both use explicit instruction to teach the words. See that post HERE. After introducing the words we use many resources to use the words and actually have the students apply them. Vocabulary cubes are my students favorite way to interact with their words. 

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I have used these two ways in my room. Both have worked great, but the cubes made of foam last a little longer! 

I've taken six vocabulary activities the students can complete and placed them on to the dice. The students place the word on the recording sheet, they then roll the dice and place the number they rolled on the recording sheet (this tells me which activity they are doing), then they complete the activity. 

To make the cubes I either just print out the cubes on sturdy cardstock and then glue it together. Sometimes I place tape at the edges to reinforce it.

But, these cubes only lasted a few years (the wear and tear on them probably had more to do with storage than the students!). So, this last time I made them I printed the cubes out on cardstock and glued them onto foam dice from the dollar store (bonus, you get 2 for a dollar!). I did have to print the cubes at 65% to get them to fit nicely onto the cubes. After letting them dry I used a little modge podge and a sturdy vocabulary dice was made (well...I made about 8 of them for all of my groups)!

To get your own vocabulary dice click HERE to go directly to our store!