Go Fish is one of my favourite vocabulary games, because it requires the students to use a complete sentence in the question form, as well as a vocabulary word. I try to include a quick game at least once a week, it’s also a fun way to review past vocabulary near the end of a lesson when little minds are getting tired. It has the advantage of visual aid, too, so if a child can’t remember the word they can just show the card to the group and the game will continue on.
Often I play the game with homemade flashcards. You can look online for free flashcards and printable games. Teach the Children ESL has a lot of great free printable that I like to us. You can also buy some very nice decks of cards to have on hand for anytime the children need a game to play. Plus, the children prefer the store bought cards to my homemade paper printouts. 😉 My all-time favourite decks of cards are Old Maid Playing Cards By Toysmith” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Old Maid
by Toysmith and National Geographic Food Chain Card Game (Go Fish)
” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Food Chain Card Game
by National Geographic kids. As you can see from the photo, my decks of cards are well-loved. 😀
Sometimes you will have a student that wants to show the card instead of using the word. Also, keep your ears open for the correct sentence structure… I have one little four year old (native German speaker) that switches his sentence around to reflect the German word order “Have you a _______?” instead of “Do you have a ______?”
If you need instructions to the game, dltk-kids has a good tutorial.
What are some of your favourite links to free flashcards and printable for learning English?
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