I went in to school today for the first time since school ended in May. I'm in a new room, so I spent time unpacking boxes and putting things in their new homes. Here's a look at one of my cabinets which contains a lot of the tools in my vocabulary practice toolbox:
On the right hand side are white boards and dry erase markers. I don't know quite why, but students are more willing to drill on vocabulary or grammar on white boards than paper. I'll take whatever I can get, and we usually practice on white boards once or twice a unit.
We use Quizlet a lot, which has digital flashcards and vocabulary practice activities, but I will always have 1 or 2 students in a class who prefer low-tech, paper flashcards. That's fine with me, and I keep a supply of index cards around for them. (They're also useful for students who forget their digital device or have lost the privilege of using it that day.)
I also have letter tiles from old board games like Scrabble. I really emphasize to students that they need to practice vocabulary actively. They need to write, type, or otherwise form the words, rather than just looking at a list. Letter tiles are another way for students to form words - I haven't used them that much but hope to do so more in the future.
On the bottom left shelf I have some letter stamps and ink pads. I haven't used these yet, but I'd like to give students the option of stamping vocabulary words for practice. I'd also like to give students the option of making a collage out of letters cut out of magazines, and I have the boxes on the left for storing cut-out letters. It might seem a little elementary school-ish, but I think at least some of my students would think it's fun. Whatever it takes...
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