Most coursebooks have word lists.

They are usually ignored as teachers seldom use them.

But we can ask students to discuss questions like:

Which words have positive/negative meaning and why?
Which 5 words they could most like to take to a desert island?
Which words will be most useful for them in the future?
Are there any words which look or sound like words in their language?
Which words are easy/difficult to pronounce?

Any other ideas?