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Game 1: Memory
Time required:
15 minutes or more
Materials:
word cards
Preparation:
Create a set of Memory cards. Each card should
contain one of the vocabulary words. You may
have to create multiple sets of cards depending
on the size of your class—or, better yet, have
students create the cards. Place cards face
down on a hard surface, in columns and rows.
Procedures:
1. Divide the class into groups of 4 to 6 students.
Each group should have one set of cards face down.
2.
Student 1 flips over two cards.
Student 1 reads the words on the cards
to the rest of
the group. If the cards form a match of an animal and
its
offspring(e.g., sheep and lamb), Student 1 keeps
the two cards and takes another turn.
If the two cards do not match (e.g., sheep and pig),
Student 1 should flip the cards back over so that they are face down again, and Student 2 takes a turn.
3.
Each student takes a turn. When all the pairs of
matching cards have been found, the student who
has taken the most pairs is the winner.
Variations
1.
When a student flips over two cards that don’t
match, have the student say what the correct
matches for the two cards would be.
2. Keep the cards for future use. Mix in new cards with
the old cards as students learn more vocabulary.
3. Give each student one Memory card. Students walk
around the room trying
to find their “match” by reading
the word on their card (easier) or by describing the
word (more difficult).
Students remain standing until
everyone has found a
match. Have each pair read its cards aloud.
4. Have students form teams and hold a class
tournament using multiple
sets of Memory cards.
Each team plays every other team in the class
(or, if time is limited, each team plays a specified
number of games). The team that wins the most
games is declared the winner.
Variations
1. Have a student volunteer read the vocabulary
words.
2. Have multiple games going on at once if the class
is large.
3.
Have students participate from their seats:
Two students stand. When they know the answer,
slap their desk
Call on the first person to slap the desk, and that
student must call out the correct answer.
4. Have students write their answer on a piece of
paper and hold up their
paper as soon as they are
finished.
Check to make sure the answer is correct (and is
spelled correctly).
This is a quieter version that
focuses on writing; it also
allows the whole class to participate .
Example Grids:
(Animals, A B C D E, 1 sheep cow bird ,m 2 pig goat,
Offspring, A B C 1 puppy cub, 2 kitten fawn bunny.
2.
Create enough grids for every student to have
either an Animals Grid or
an Offspring Grid
(there should be an equal number of each).
You can make copies or have students create grids.
Optional preparation:
Create
grids on large pieces of paper and post one
grid on one side of the classroom and one grid on the
other.
(Students should sit back-to-back so each student can
see only one of the grids posted on the wall.) Have
students copy the grids into their notebooks.
5.
Students alternate asking and answering until both
students have completed their grids.The team should
then yell “Finished!” and hold up their grids.
Check the grids for accuracy. If there is a mistake,
that team is not the winner; the two students should
continue until they have filled out the grids correctly
Extension
1. Once a pair is finished, have them work togethe
r to create two similar grids but with the words in a
different order.
2. Each pair swaps the grids it created with another
pair.
3. Play the game again, this time having the student
describe the vocabulary word (“It’s a small soft
animal; people often have them as pets; they say
‘meow’”) rather than simply saying “kitten.” (Students
cannot use either cat or kitten in the description.)
4. Student 2 should write the word that is a match for
the word on Student 1’s card. For example, if
Student 1 is describing a kitten, Student 2 should
fill in the grid with the word cat.
Variations for Vocabulary
Use different voc. sets, such as present/past tense
of irregular verbs.
