Vocabulary Activity: Fortunes

I always struggle making vocabulary engaging (beyond the gestures and worksheets).  One activity that always has my students excited to interact with words is called Fortunes.  I true Chinese fortune fashion, we create fortunes for each other using vocabulary words in context.  This activity allows for creative writing while being brief.  With the time constraints on teachers in our high-stakes testing situation, Fortunes is an activity that can be completed in under 10 minutes.



Procedure:

1. Pass out a small slip of paper to each student.
2.  Ask students to write a "fortune" on the slip of paper in a complete sentence.  I use the slide (image below) to guide their fortune writing.  I place emphasis on the no death/dismemberment section because, let's be honest, middle schoolers love that kind of gore and, though it catches their attention, it has no place in the ELA classroom.
3. Have students fold up their fortunes and place them in a hat/container.
4. Redistribute the fortunes by having each student choose one out of the hat/container.  
5. Read the fortunes aloud and see what their futures hold!  Note: they LOVE doing this part!