Wednesday words: Year 4 vocabulary teaching activity

It's Wednesday so we're celebrating the wonder of words. Each week, we'll bring you a fun, flexible and creative vocabulary teaching activity that you can be easily implemented in the classroom. The activities are all taken from Rising Stars Vocabulary, a new programme that will build essential vocabulary skills for Reception to Year 6. Each teaching unit is based around a collection of linked focus words which your pupils will explore through meaningful activities.

Wednesday Words: Can we describe an intelligent predator?

This week's activity is for Year 4 and looks at how to describe an intelligent predator. In this case, the predator is the Octopus.

This activity is taken from a wider teaching unit. You can download the whole unit here

The focus words for this unit are:

marine, mollusc, intelligence, camouflage, expel, paralysing, crevices, entirely, blurs, vision, propulsion, interfere, cavity.

Tell the children that they are going to be finding out about the octopus.

Write the words marine and mollusc on the whiteboard. Say the words and ask the children to repeat them. Explain that marine describes something to do with, or found in, the sea. An octopus is a marine creature. Molluscs are marine creatures with a soft body like a slug or octopus; they can have shells like snails and mussels. Read through the text and ask the children to listen out for the focus words.

Activity: Act it out

Display the words: intelligence, paralysing, crevices, blurs, vision.

Tell the children they are going to play a game of Simon Says to help them remember the meaning of the new words. Explain the rules of Simon Says (the children have to do what you tell them, as long as you say ‘Simon says’ first).

Explain that instead of an instruction, you’re going to give them a word and they have to do the following actions. Mix up and repeat the words:

  • intelligence: tap your head
  • paralysing: stop stock still
  • blurs: hands sweep in front of your eyes
  • vision: make glasses in front of your eyes with the fingers of your hands

This activity has been taken from Rising Stars Vocabulary Lower Key Stage Two and is part of a wider teaching unit. You can download the whole unit here.

Find out more and buy online here.


english, English and Literacy, literacy, primary, teaching, vocabulary

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