How to use flash-cards

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, “Let’s
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 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.
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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 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.”
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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 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.”
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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.
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
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represented by the picture. If the two cards match, he or she should
say, “Match.” If they don’t 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
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, that’s right.” Then another child begins.
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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 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
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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.
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 don’t,” and the person who
asked the question wants any of the cards in the cards that are
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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.
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
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spread in the middle of the table.
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 can’t. 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 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.
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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,
“That’s good.” The other children should say, “Wow! Nice catch!” If
the answer is not correct, the teacher should say, “No, that’s 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 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,
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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 day’s key point. For example, if a child rolls a three and the
day’s 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 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
12
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 team is
the X team and one is the O team. Please explain that this is not
ま
る＆ばつ
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.
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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.
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 don’t
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.
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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.)
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 other’s game sheets when they are drawing
their battleships.

3. The game begins when one child asks his or her partner a question.
That child’s 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 partner’s battleship. Then the
parts change and the first child’s 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 child’s 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 don’t. Miss!
Do you ~~ every day every
week
every
night
every
afternoon
every
Monday
every
Sunday

every
Friday
play
tennis
eat cake
go hiking
swim
pick
flowers
fish
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climb a
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 partner’s 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: It’s next to the fence.
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.
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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: It’s 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 (
福笑い
)
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

blindfolded child should ask, “What is this?” The other children
should reply, “It’s 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
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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.
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
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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 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.
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Example Game
Collect the Cards
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 don’t.
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
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