How to use Flash Cards

Effectively:
A Complete Guide

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 Slap Game
Level: All levels

Time: 5-15 minutes (depending upon the variation or variations used)

Aims: To have children recognize vocabulary words or grammatical structures.

Also children will be able to use correct game language.

Materials: Picture cards appropriate for the variation. Fly swatters

Procedure: 1. Spread the cards out on the floor or on a table.

2. Have the children hold their fly swatters at their sides.
3. Call out a word of one of the cards on the table.
4. The first student to slap their fly swatter on the card should say
the name of the card and then gets to keep the card.
5. If two children slap the card at the same time, they should say,
Lets do Rock, Paper, Scissors. The winner gets to keep the
card.

Variation 1: You can have several copies of the same card on the table or floor.
This increases the chance that other children will be able to get a card as well. It
is fine if one child can get more than one card in this variation.

Variation 2: Say a sentence with the word. For example, for the word cake, you
could say, I eat cake on my birthday.

Variation 3: Give hints without actually saying the word. The children have to
guess which card you are describing.

Variation 4: Have the children ask you questions about the card you are
thinking about. For example, is this a car?

Remarks: Children can get quite excited when doing this game, so it is

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important for them to stay fairly calm and quiet so that they can hear the words
of clues. Also, for younger children it is a good idea to make sure that they get
at least a few cards. Towards the end of the game, you can increase the
challenge by having the children close their eyes and rearrange the cards. With
their eyes still closed call out a word or say a sentence.

Bingo
Levels: All

Time: 5-15 minutes

Aims: To have children recognize vocabulary words or grammatical structures.

Materials: Small pictures of vocabulary to be practiced or reviewed. You should

have more pictures than number of squares on the game board sheets. For
example, for a 3X3 grid there will be 9 squares. You should have between 12
and 15 pictures. These can be in grids of 3X3, 4X4, or 5X5. Anything more than
this and it becomes very difficult to get Bingo.

Procedure: 1. Hand out the bingo board sheets and the small pictures to be
placed in the grids.
2. Tell the children to put the small pictures in any grid they would like.
3. When the children have finished, call out one word. If a child has that
picture anywhere on his or her game board, he or she should
say, Yes! and turn that small picture over. If not, he or she
should say, Oh, no.
4. Continue calling out the names of the cards. When a child has
only more card to go, he or she should say, Only one more!
5. When all the pictures in a row (vertical, horizontal, or diagonal)
are turned over, the player should shout out, BINGO!! in a
loud voice.
6. Make sure to stop when you have said less than the number of
cards you have prepared. For example, if you have prepared 25
cards for a 4X4 grid, you could stop at 19 or 20.

Variation 1: There are many different types of Bingo besides standard up,
down, and across. For example, X Bingo where both of the

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 diagonal rows have to be turned over. H Bingo where the two sides
and the middle row have to be turned over. This would only work
with 3X3 and 5X5 grids. Z Bingo, Y Bingo, and so on are also
possible.

Variation 2: Say sentences with the word. For example, I like to go hiking.

Variation 3: Give hints about the word. For example, This sport uses a ball and
a bat.

Variation 4: Have the children ask you questions about the word. For example,
Is this animal big?

Fruit Basket

Levels: All (Works best with younger children and groups approximately the
same age.)

Time: 10-15 minutes

Aims: To have children recognize vocabulary words or grammatical structures.

Materials: TACs or Flash cards

Procedure: 1. Have the children sit in a circle. Use plastic stools or chairs.
2. Using the TACs or flash cards, go around to each child and show
them their cards. Because the number of children is low, you can
have one child be two or three different things. For example, one
child is apple and banana, one child is orange and lemon, and so
on.
3. Call out a word. The children who are that word have to stand up
and
move to another seat. You the teacher also run to a seat, so on
child is left in the middle. That child has to call out a word and the
process repeats.
4. Sometime during the game, call out Fruit Basket! and all

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 children
have to stand up and find a new seat.

Variation: Describe the word that you are thinking about. For example, this
fruit is
red.

Vocabulary Race Game

Level: All

Time: 5-20 minutes depending on the variation used

Aims: Children will be able to say the word represented by the picture, or use
the word in a correct sentence or question.

Materials: Cards or TACs for review. If cards, they should be printed on thicker
paper, or laminated.

Procedure: 1. Divide the children into two teams.

2. One child from each team stands at opposite sides of the row
of cards.
3. Each child says the word on the card, moving toward the
middle of the row. When the two children meet, they do Rock
Paper Scissors. The winner stays and the loser is replaced by
another member of the team who begins from the beginning
of the row. The team whose members all finish is the winner.

Variation: Children have to say sentences or questions using the words on the
cards.

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 Concentration

Level: All

Time: 5-15 minutes

Aims: Children will be able to say or use the words represented by the cards.

Materials: Small cards for the target vocabulary.

Procedure: 1. Place the cards face down on a table or the floor.

2. Child 1 turns over one card and says the word represented by
the
picture. Child 1 then turns over another card and says the
word represented by the picture. If the two cards match, he or
she should say, Match. If they dont match, he or she should
say, No, match this time, and turn the cards back over
replacing them in their original location
3. When a match is made, the child gets to keep the pair. If
there is no match, the next child takes a turn. Continue the
game until all cards have been matched.
4. To make the game more challenging, you can rearrange the
cards from time to time. This ensures that all children have an
equal chance to get cards.

Variation 1: The children use the words in sentences when they turn them over.

Variation 2: The children use the words in questions when they turn them over.

Variation 3: The tutor asks the children questions about the card and they must
answer correctly before continuing.

Charades

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Level: Appropriate for slightly older children (grades 3~)

Time: 10-20 minutes

Aims: Children will be able to use gestures to explain a word or idea. Children
will be able to recognize what another child is trying to communicate
through gestures.

Materials: Nothing is necessary, but cards showing the intended vocabulary

word or message can be prepared ahead of time.

Procedure: 1. Whisper a word, or show a child a card without the other

children
seeing what is on the card.
2. The child must then act that card out using only gestures. The
other
children try to guess what it is.
3. When the word has been guessed, the child doing the gesturing can
say, Yes, thats right. Then another child begins.

Variation 1: To make it more difficult instead of using only words, use

longer concepts or even sentences. For example, The book
is on the table. Or, The man is eating an ice-cream cone.
The other children have to guess the correct full sentence.

Shiritori

Level: Higher Level (generally children who can recognize letters and spell)

Time: 5-10 minutes

Aims: Children will be able to think of words that begin with a specific letter.

Materials: Nothing

Procedure: The teacher says a word and the children must think of a word that

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begins
with the last letter of the previous word. This continues until a child
is unable to think of a word in which case, they skip two turns.

Variation: This can be done with children who are able to write words. Have
them
write words that begin with the last letter of the previous word.
Spelling mistakes result in minus points.

Guess What I Have

Level: Intermediate-Advanced

Time: 10-20 minutes

Aims: Children will be able to guess what a person has by asking many
questions.

Materials: Picture cards showing various object

Procedure: 1. Put many cards with pictures of different objects on them in a

cloth
bag.
2. Child one takes one card out of the bag and looks at it closely
without the other children seeing. He or she then gives the
tutor the card.

3. The other children then ask child one questions about the
object.
Child one should answer, either Yes, No, or Maybe.
When
another child knows the answer, he or she should raise their
hand
and say, I think I know what it is. If the child is correct, he or
she receives five points. Encourage the children to use many
different key structures and points.

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 Take A Card Game
Level: High Beginner ~~

Time: 10-20 minutes

Aims: Children will be able to ask and answer questions

Materials: Small picture cards. There should be 4 of each card per set.

Procedure: 1. Each child receives five cards from the dealer.

2. If a child receives two of the same cards, he or she can put
them
down in front of themselves for one point. One pair of cards
equals one point.
3. The remaining cards are put in the middle of the table in a
neat
stack. One card is turned over.
4. The dealer begins by asking the person to his or her left a
question about the card that is turned over. For example, if
the key point is Do you ~~? The dealer will ask, Do you eat
bananas? If the person to the left of the dealer has a banana
in his or her hand, he or she should answer, Yes, I do. The
player to the left of the dealer can then receive the card is he
or she wants it. If not, he or she can say, No, thank you. I
pass.
5. If a player picks up the card, that player should turn over
another card from the deck. If a player passes, that player
should turn over another card from the deck and place it next
to the first card so that two cards are showing.
6. If a player passes or answers No, I dont, and the person
who asked the question wants any of the cards in the cards
that are showing, he or she can take all of the cards from the
point that he or she wants. He or she can then throw away for
points as many pairs of cards as he or she can make.
7. This continues until there are no more cards. At the end of the
game, each player counts the number of pairs thrown away.
The player with the most points is the winner.

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 8. If the children want to keep playing even after all the cards
from the middle are gone, they can simply count the number
of points they have, and then return the cards to the middle.
The dealer should try to shuffle the cards before play
resumes. Technically, this game could go forever, or until the
children grow tired of it.

Variation: The conversation key point used for this game could be incorporated
into a
much longer conversation that the children had to say before getting
the card.

Go Fish!
Level: Upper beginner to Advanced

Time: 15-30 minutes

Aims: Children will be able to use a key point in order to play the game.

Materials: Small picture cards. There should be 4 of each card per set.

Procedure: 1. Each child receives five cards from the dealer.

2. If a child receives two of the same cards, he or she can put
them
down in front of themselves for one point. One pair of cards
equals one point.
3. The remaining cards are spread out in the middle of the table
or the floor. The cards should not be in a neat stack. This is
the pond in which the children will go fishing.
4. The dealer asks the person to his or her left a question based
on the
key point being practiced. The questions need to be yes/no
questions.
5. If the person whom the dealer asked answers Yes, he or
she must give the dealer that card. If, No, the person asked
must say Go Fish, and the dealer must take one card from
the cards spread in the middle of the table.

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Example: Dealer: Excuse me. Can you build a fire?
Child: Yes, I can. Here you are. (Hands over build a fire card to
dealer.)

Dealer: Excuse me. Can you swim?

Child: No, I cant. Go Fish!
Dealer: (Takes one card from the pond.)

6. This continues until there are no more cards. At the end of the
game, each player counts the number of pairs thrown away.
The player with the most points is the winner.
7. If the children want to keep playing even after all the cards
from the middle are gone, they can simply count the number
of points they have, and then return the cards to the middle.
The dealer should try to shuffle the cards before play
resumes. Technically, this game could go forever, or until the
children grow tired of it.

Variation: The conversation key point used for this game could be incorporated
into a
much longer conversation that the children had to say before getting
the card.

Fishing Game

Level: Beginner~Intermediate (This game is likely to simple for advanced

children,
but they might enjoy it from time to time.)

Time: 10-20 minutes

Aims: Children will be able to make questions or sentences using one word or
concept
on a card.

Materials: Small picture cards with paper clips or magnets attached. Fishing

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lines
with a magnet attached at the end.

Procedure: 1. Put the cards in a blue bucket.

2. Child one tries to fish one card out of the bucket.
3. Using the card that the child has fished out of the bucket, he
or she
must make a sentence or question using the key point being
practiced. If the child makes a correct sentence of question,
he or she gets to keep the card for five points. The tutor
should say, Thats good. The other children should say,
Wow! Nice catch! If the answer is not correct, the teacher
should say, No, thats not right. The other children should
say, Catch and release! The card is then returned to the
bucket.
4. The tutor is the judge of whether a sentence or question is
correct.
5. Continue the game until there are no more cards in the
bucket.

Variation 1: The children can use the cards to make questions that they ask
to the
other children. If the other children can answer, they get an
extra
point while the player who asked keeps his or her five points.

Variation 2: The player can ask a question to his or her teammates. If the
teammates can answer the question correctly, the team gets an
extra point.

Dice Game

Level: Intermediate-Advanced

Time: 10-15 minutes

Aims: Children will be able to randomly create and say sentences or questions

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using
the key point in focus.

Materials: One large dice with numbers or words written on each face. (There
are
many ways to make this dice, but I suggest using thick paper and
cutting out the pattern we provide.)

Procedure: 1. Write the key words for each number on the whiteboard. For
example, 1=play 2=eat 3=hike 4=paint, etc.
2. To begin the Dice Game, have each child roll the dice. The
child who
rolls the highest number goes first. If two children roll say, a
six, they roll again to see who has the highest.
3. After the first child has been chosen, the children should go in
a
clock-wise direction.
4. Child one rolls the dice and whatever number comes up, he
or she
must use the corresponding word in a sentence or question
using the days key point. For example, if a child rolls a three
and the days key point is the simple past tense, the child
could make a sentence like, I hiked in the woods.
5. The tutor decides whether the sentence or question is correct
or not.
If it is, the student can get one point. If not, play passes to the
next child. The children should be told that they cannot make
the same sentence as another child.

Variation 1: The child who rolls the dice makes a question which he or she asks
to the
child next to him or her. If the question is correct, the first child
receives five points. If the child being asked a question is able to
answer correctly, he or she receives 3 points.

Variation 2: You can make two dice and write words on them. For example on
one,
write pronouns such as I, he, she, it, etc. On the other dice write

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 verbs such as walk, run, sleep, and so on. A child rolls the dice and
has to make a sentence using the two words that come up.

Toss The Ball

Level: Upper Beginner to Upper Intermediate

Time: 5-10 minutes

Aims: To have the children ask and answer questions quickly. This is a good
review
activity for previous lessons.

Materials: A soft ball (not a softball which is hard). Chairs or plastic stools.

Procedure: 1. One child tosses the ball to another child and asks that child
a
question. The child who catches the ball has to answer within
10 seconds. That child then throws the ball to another child
and asks that child a question. The children cannot use the
same question.

Tic Tac Toe

Level: Upper intermediate-Advanced

Time: 10 -15 minutes

Aims: Students will be able to answer questions quickly and accurately.

Materials: Whiteboard and game sheets for the children. The game sheets
should be in
rows of 3X3. Question cards to ask the children (you should prepare
at least 20 different questions.

Procedure: 1. Explain the rules of Tic Tac Toe: There are two teams. One

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team is
the X team and one is the O team. Please explain that this is
not but X and O.
2. Draw a 3X3 grid on the whiteboard. Put a number in each
square.
3. The first child from the X team chooses which number to try.
4. The tutor asks the child that question. If the child is able to
answer
correctly, the team gets to put an X in any space they want on
the game board. If the answer is not correct, the first child
from the O team gets to put an O in any space they want to.
5. The tutor should alternate questions to each team.

Dialog Line Change

(This game works best with a class of 6 students. If there are five students in
the class, the tutor should take part as well. This activity can be used for
practicing new key points or reviewing previously learned key points.)

Level: Upper Beginner~Advanced

Time: 10-20 minutes

Aims: To have students ask and answer questions with speed and accuracy.

Materials: None

Procedure: 1. Have children line up opposite each other in parallel rows.

2. Using the key point in focus (new key point of review of
previous key
point), the children ask the person opposite them a question.
The child opposite has to answer and return the question. The
first child answers then one line moves to the left. The person
at the end of the line comes around to the beginning of the
line.

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Variation: Each time the line shifts, the tutor says a word that the children must
use
in the next conversation.

Concentration

Level: All

Time: 5-15 minutes

Aims: Children will be able to say or use the words represented by the cards.

Materials: Small cards for the target vocabulary.

Procedure: 1. Place the cards face down on a table or the floor.

2. Child 1 turns over one card and says a sentence using the
word
represented by the picture on the card.
If the two cards match, he or she should say, Match. If they
dont match, he or she should say, No, match this time, and
turn the cards back over replacing them in their original
location
3. When a match is made, the child gets to keep the pair. If
there is no match, the next child takes a turn. Continue the
game until all cards have been matched.
4. To make the game more challenging, you can rearrange the
cards from time to time. This ensures that all children have an
equal chance to get cards.

Variation 1: The children use the words in questions when they turn them over.

Variation 2: The tutor asks the children questions about the card and they must
answer correctly before continuing.

Battleship Game
Level: Intermediate~Advanced (children must be able to read certain words
used in the
game.)

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Time: 20-30 minutes

Aims: The children will be able to ask and answer questions using the target
key
point.

Materials: Battleship Game sheets. Pencil for children.

Procedure: 1. Pass out the Battleship Game sheet to each child.

2. The children then fill in four battleships on any consecutive
squares. The four battleships should be the following size: 1
square, 2 squares, 3 squares and 4 squares. A total of 10
squares will be filled in. Please see the example below. It is
important that the children do not see each others game
sheets when they are drawing their battleships.
3. The game begins when one child asks his or her partner a
question.
That childs partner looks at his grid and if any part of a
battleship is on the square, he or she has to answer, Yes.
Hit! The first child then records the location of his or her
partners battleship. Then the parts change and the first
childs partner asks a question. If there is no battleship in that
square, he or she has to answer, No, Miss!
4. When all parts of a childs battleship have been hit, that child
has to
say, Oh, no! You sunk my battleship!
5. Continue the game. After about 10-15 minutes, stop the
game and
have the children count the number of battleships that they
have left. The children with the most battleships left are the
winners.

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Example game sheet

Battleship Game!

Draw four battleships on your game

sheet

Do you play tennis every day?

Yes, I do. Hit!
Do you ride a bicycle on Monday?
No, I dont. Miss!

Do you every every every every every every every

~~ day week night afternoo Monday Sunday Friday

play

tennis

eat cake

go hiking

swim

pick

flowers

fish

climb a

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tree

dream

Fill In the Picture

(This game is an information gap activity and is best used for describing people
or places, especially the location of objects or people.)

Level: Upper Intermediate~Advanced

Time: 10-20 minutes

Aims: Children will be able to elicit information from their partners to complete
a
picture or graph by using the target key point.

Materials: Game sheets (one completed, one blank), very small picture cards
for the
activity, pencils for older children.

Procedure: 1. Hand out the game sheets and small picture cards to each
child. The
children should not show each other the completed game
sheets as they are going to try to find out where their
partners objects are and place them on their own blank
sheet.
2. Using the target key point, child 1 asks child 2 a question
about his
or her completed game sheet. For example:

Child 1: Is there a cow on your farm?

Child 2: Yes, there is a car on my farm.
Child 1: Where is the cow?
Child 2: Its next to the fence.

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 3. Then child 2 asks child 1 a question about his or her
completed
game sheet. For example:

Child 2: Is there a dog on your farm.

Child 1: No, there is no dog on my farm.
Child 2: Is there a cat on your farm?
Child 1: Yes, there is a cat on my farm.
Child 2: Where is the cat?
Child 1: Its in the basket.

4. Continue the activity until all of the locations have been

found.
When the children think they are finished, have them compare
their game sheets. They should try to comment about where
they are the same, and where they are different.

Variation: Instead of asking each other questions about the game sheets, each
player
can describe his or her game sheet to his or her partner. This makes
this a good listening as well as speaking exercise.

Face Game ()

Level: Beginner~Intermediate

Time: 5-10 minutes

Aims: Children will be able to ask questions about what something is and
where
something is located.

Materials: Blank game sheet, very small picture cards.

Procedure: 1. Show the children the blank game sheet.

2. Blindfold one child and give them a very small picture card.
The

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 blindfolded child should ask, What is this? The other
children should reply, Its a mouth. The child tries to place
the very small picture in the place where he or she thinks it
should go. The blindfolded child can ask the other children for
help, for example, Is this OK? The other children should
respond accordingly. Continue doing this until all of the very
small pictures have been places on the blank sheet.
3. When all of the very small pictures have been placed on the
blank
sheet, the blindfolded child can remove the blindfold and see
the
creation.

Whisper Game

Level: Any

Time: 5-10 minutes

Aims: Children will be able to remember and accurately pass on a group of

words or
sentence.

Materials: None

Procedure: 1. Line the children up in one line. For classes of six children,
you can
make two teams.
2. Whisper the group of words or sentence in the ear of the first
child.
3. The first child then quietly repeats the group of words or
sentence to
the child behind.

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 4. When the last child in the line has heard the group of words
or
sentence, has to come to the tutor and say the group of words
or sentence. If the child correctly says the group of words or
sentence, everyone receives a sticker. If not, the try again. It
is OK to use the same sentence two or three times for
repetition.

Collect the Cards

Level: Upper Beginner~Advanced (children should be able to read the words

related to
the activity.)

Time: 10-20 minutes

Aims: Children will be able to ask and answer questions using the target key
point to determine the identity of their partner.

Materials: Game sheets. See example. (Prepare many extra sheets for the
children)

Procedure: 1. Hand out game sheets to the children.

2. Tell them to choose one person or character from the list on
the left.
3. Explain to them that they should not tell anyone their new
identity.
4. One child goes to another child and they do Rock, Paper,
Scissors.
The winner gets to ask one question to his or her partner. The
child who is asked a question must answer using information
from his or her new identity. The two children continue doing
Rock, Paper, Scissors, until one child thinks he or she knows
the identity of the other child. At this point that child should
say, Are you ~~? If the child is correct, his or her partner
must answer, Yes, I am, and then give his or her game sheet
to the child who guess who he or she was. The child without a

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 game sheet must go to the tutor and ask for another game
sheet.
5. It is fine for the children to change identities when beginning
a new
conversation with a new partner. They must not change
identities in the middle of a conversation.
6. Let the children play the game for several minutes. They will
not get tired of this for quite some time. After about 10-15
minutes, stop and have the children count the number of
game sheets they have been able to collect. The child with
the most cards at the end is the winner.

Caution: The children should only give one card to their partner
when
he or she guesses who they are.

Example Game

Collect the Cards

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A&B: Rock, Paper, Scissors, One, Two, Three!
(A is the winner)
A: Do you like cheese?
B: Yes, I do.

A&B: Rock, Paper, Scissors, One, Two, Three!

(B is the winner)
B: Do you like apples?
A: No, I dont.

Rock, Paper, Scissors, One, Two, Three!

(A is the winner)
A: Do you like bananas?
B: Yes, I do.
A: Are you Zippy?
B: Yes, I am.
(B hands A his or her card and gets a new one from the tutor)

Zippy Bananas Cheese

Violet Apples Carrots
Pom Pom Oranges Bananas
Clem Cheese Apples
Joey Bananas Apples

Why use flash cards?

Howard Gardener's multiple intelligence theory reminds teachers that there are many types of

learners within any one class. Gardener's research indicates that teachers should aim to appeal to

all the different learner types at some point during the course. It is particularly important to

appeal to visual learners, as a very high proportion of learners have this type of intelligence.

Flashcards can be bright and colourful and make a real impact on visual learners. Many of the

activities outlined below will also appeal to kinaesthetic learners.

For children at reading age, flash cards can be used in conjunction with word cards. These are

simply cards that display the written word. Word cards should be introduced well after the pictorial

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 cards so as not to interfere with correct pronunciation.

Flashcards are a really handy resource to have and can be useful at every stage of the class. They

are a great way to present, practise and recycle vocabulary and when students become familiar

with the activities used in class, they can be given out to early-finishers to use in small groups. I

sometimes get the students to make their own sets of mini flash cards that can be taken home for

them to play with, with parents and siblings.

Where to get flash cards?

Buy them - Some course books provide a supplementary pack of flash cards or they can

be bought in sets.

Make them yourself - If you don't have access to professionally produced flash cards,

don't worry, it's really easy to make your own even if you're not very artistic. You can use pictures

from magazines, draw simple pictures or copy from the internet or clip art. The most important

thing is to make sure they are all of the same size, on card (different colours for different sets) so

you can't see through them. If possible you can laminate the sets as you make them and they will

last for years. The advantage of making your own, apart from the fact that they're cheap and

yours to keep, is that you can make sets for your specific needs. You may like to make a set to

use in conjunction with a story book or graded reader, or even to accompany project work.

Students make them - I have recently begun to incorporate the production of flash cards

into the classroom. After introducing a new lexical set, using realia or the course book, ask

students to produce the flash cards for you. Give each one an item to draw. They can be mounted

on card to make the set.

Activities for using flash cards

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 I have divided the activities into the following categories: Memory, drilling, identification and TPR

activities.

In this article there is an example for each type of activity. If you follow this link - Flash card

activities - you will find more examples for each type of actvity.

Memory Activities

Memory Tester

o Place a selection of flash cards on the floor in a circle.

o Students have one minute to memorise the cards.

o In groups, they have two minutes to write as many of the names as they can

remember.

Drilling Activities

Invisible Flashcards

o Stick 9 flash cards on the board and draw a grid around them.

o Use a pen or a pointer to drill the 9 words. Always point to the flash card you are

drilling.

o Gradually remove the flash cards but continue to drill and point to the grid where

the flash cardwas.

o When the first card is removed and you point to the blank space, nod your head

to encourage children to say the word of the removed flash card.

o Students should remember and continue as if the flash cards were still there.

They seem to be amazed that they can remember the pictures.

o Depending on the age group I then put the flash cards back in the right place on

the grid, asking the children where they go, or I ask students to come up and write the word in

the correct place on the grid.

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 This activity highlights the impact of visual aids. It really proves that the images 'stick' in students'

minds.

Identification Activities

Reveal the word

o Cover the flash card or word card with a piece of card and slowly reveal it.

o Students guess which one it is.

o Once the card is shown, chorally drill the word with the group using different

intonation and silly voices to keep it fun. Vary the volume too, whisper and shout the words.

Children will automatically copy your voice.

o Alternatively, flip the card over very quickly so the children just get a quick

glimpse.

o Repeat until they have guessed the word.

TPR activities

Point or race to the flash cards

o Stick flash cards around the class.

o Say one of them and students point or race to it.

o Students can then give the instructions to classmates.

o You can extend this by saying "hop to the cat" or even "if you have blonde hair,

swim to the fish" etc.

o You can also incorporate flash cards into a game of Simon Says. "Simon says,

jump to the T-shirt" etc.

If you have any suggestions or tips for using flashcards in the class you would like to share on this

site, contact us.

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