Educators are now stressing that teaching students to be independent learners who learn to plan, structure and regulate their own learning activities, should be central to instruction. Studying word parts and origins has the potential for metacognitive instruction. Learning about the importance of context clues is also potentially metacognitive, in that it will teach students how to narrow down the meanings of unfamiliar words they come across in speech or print. A program, including six different games, was designed to devise formats through which students can learn strategies for expanding their vocabularies in a fun way. Each game employs one or both of the following strategies: learning word elements or origins, or learning about context clues. Students compete in teams so that their efforts are collaborative. They must discuss problems and employ strategies in small groups, leading to high levels of interaction and engagement independent of teacher influence. If played regularly, the games allow students to borrow strategies and knowledge from other games to help solve the problems in the new games, so that they may make discoveries appropriate to their level of development over the course of the year. (Four figures are included and 40 references are attached. Appendixes include a description of two vocabulary activities.) (MG)