This activity is reserved for Total Teacher Access subscribers.

Already have a TTA subscription? Click here to log-in or buy a subscription.

How to use this school vocabulary activity

Share the PDF or print a copy for your students. Each card contains 5 words or phrases. One of them doesn’t fit the rest.

Students must find the odd one out and explain why. Simple!

For example: “Lesson doesn’t fit the rest because the other words are different stages of schooling.”

Play as a group or let your students try to find all 9 answers individually. Then, check the answers as a class. Give a point for each correct answer (the odd one out and the explanation).

Here is a list of answers for you, just in case:

1:  Subject – the others are objects in the classroom;

2:  University – the others are subjects at school;

3:  Ruler – the others are people at school;

4:  Course – the others are verbs related to school;

5:  Term – the others are types of things students must do at school;

6:  Lesson – the others are stages of education;

7:  Information – the others are books you might find in a classroom;

8:  Recess – the others are subjects or lessons at school;

9:  Bookshelf – the others are places or rooms in a school.

Whether you use it as a warm-up, a time-killer, or an end-of-lesson activity to introduce the next class, it’s a good alternative to the usual vocabulary prompts in most textbooks.

Ideas to take it further:

1. Give a time limit!
2. Have students add elements to each box after the mystery has been solved.
3. Students make their own odd one out box and challenge the class.

Looking for more?

*This activity is based on one of our bigger resources.