Classroom Activity 9
Go Fish
Level: Beginner (adaptable for other levels)
Time required: 60 minutes
Goals: To review vocabulary (in this example, numbers)
Materials: paper (thick stock works best), scissors, and markers; chalk and a chalkboard or markers and a large piece of paper.
Procedures:
1. Divide the class into groups of four or five students. Each group should work together to make its own deck (set) of 40 cards.
a) Half the deck—20 cards—will be “number” cards. Students should create two sets of these cards (20 total) by writing the numbers 1 through 10 in the center of the cards. They should write only one number on each card.
b) The other 20 cards will be “fish” cards. Students should create two sets of these cards (20 cards total) by writing the words for the numbers one through ten (one word on each card) in the top left corner of the cards. In the center of the cards, they should draw the same number of fish to represent the number.
For example, for the card showing three fish, students should write the word three in the top left corner and draw three fish in the center of the card. Encourage students to count aloud as they draw the fish on the cards.
2. Explain the game rules by using gestures and demonstration to supplement your instruction in English. Tell students their goal is to get pairs of to count aloud in English as they draw the fish on the cards.
3. Explain the game rules by using gestures and demonstration to supplement your instruction in English. Tell students their goal is to get pairs of matching cards. Show them a pair (such as a card with two fish on it and a card with the number 2 on it) and explain that they will take turns asking other players in their group for a card that matches one in their hand. Explain that two cards showing the number 2 would not be a match; a match consists of a number card and its corresponding fish card.
4. Choose one person in each group to be the dealer. This person should shuffle (mix up) the cards and give five cards to each player; the players look at their cards but should not show the cards to one another. The remaining cards should be placed face down in a pile, called the “fish pool,” in the middle of the group.
5. Write the following questions and answers on the board or on a large piece of paper: Do you have ___ fish? Yes, I do. Do you have the number ___? No, I don’t. Go fish!5. Share the following rules with the class by using explanation, demonstration, and repetition.
You might have students play one practice round first.
a) Students should locate any pairs they already have. They should take these cards out of their hands and place them where everyone can see them.
b) The player on the dealer’s left (Player! 1) goes first by asking one other player in the group (Player!2) for a card that forms a pair with one in Player! 1’s hand. For example, if Player! 1 has a card showing the number 4, Player! 1 would ask Player! 2, “Do you have four fish?” Or, if Player!1 has a card showing four fish, Player! 1 would ask Player!2,“Do you have the number 4?”
c) If Player !2 has the requested card, he or she must give it to Player! 1. Player! 1 then puts the pair face up on the table where everyone can see it. Then, Player!1 gets to take another turn, asking any other player for a card to try to make another match.
d) If Player !2 does not have the requested card, he or she says, “Go fish!” and Player!1 must take a card from the fish pool. Then the person to the left of Player!1 takes a turn. (If the card Player!1 takes from the fish pool matches a card in his or her hand, Player!1 places the pair face up so everyone can see.
e) The game continues this way until a player runs out of cards or until the fish pool is empty. The player with the most pairs of cards at the end of the game wins.