WTH is this?

• Key words: vocabulary, speaking, verb usage (Do you know…)                                         
• Learner English skill level: Intermediate (third year junior high school)                                
• Learner age level:                                                                                                          
• Preparation time: 20 minutes                                                                                          
• Activity time: 50 minutes for all activities                                                                          
• Materials: one regular size deck of cards (see below), one oversize deck of the same cards 

What the heck is this? That's the question I asked myself after pulling this one out of the mold encrusted box cluttering my closet. Then I remembered I used this activity to review and practice the target phrase, "Do you know what this is?" It also introduces and helps students practice saying the appropriate response, "I think it is a/an _____." The deck consists of 20 pairs of cards that when correctly matched form a picture (a hat, a cup, etc.).

First introduce and practice the phrase: "Do you know what this is?" Then introduce and practice the appropriate response, "I think it is a/an _____." Next, using matching pairs of cards, review the vocabulary you see written on the card set. Use A4 (about letter size) size cards or larger to introduce the vocabulary.

There are twenty matching cards in the deck that when matched correctly depict twenty different objects. After you've gone over the vocabulary words for each of those objects, hang one card on the board (half a picture) along with a few possible matches and ask the class: "Do you know what this is?" Give the first student to answer correctly one of the two matching cards and repeat the exercise as many times as you think necessary.

When you're finished, ask six students (maybe those who collected the most cards) to come up to the front of the class so they can help you model the next part of the exercise. Give each student one card (void of any text). Then have them hold the card out and in turn ask each person in the group of six, "Do you know what this is?" Once a student has found the person with the matching card, who uses the appropriate response, they can both return to their seats. Next ask another group of six up to the front of the class to model the exercise once again. This time instead of asking the question in turns, the students ask in random order all at once. As before, once they find the person with the matching card they may return to their seats.

Next distribute one card to every student in the class. Ask everyone to stand up and repeat the exercise they have just watched, only this time involving everyone in the class. Once two students have found a match to their card they can return to their seats.

All the students should have been able to ask the target question more than a few times. When everyone is finished and seated, look at each student's card and ask them individually: "Do you know what this is?" This will give all the students a chance to use the appropriate response phrase and you a chance to see what they have learned.

That's basically what this is.

Here is the card set. I printed the text on the cards for the purpose of introducing the vocabulary, but it’s not necessary for the deck the students use in the exercise since they have already reviewed the words before hand.Use the card set below to review and practice the target phrase, "Do you know what this is?" and it's appropriate response, "I think it is a/an _____." When two cards are matched correctly they reveal a picture. There are 40 cards in a set that when paired make 20 pictures.

Gone Fishin'

• Key words: vocabulary, speaking, verb usage (Do you have…)                                         
• Learner English skill level: Beginner                              
• Learner age level:                                                                                                          
• Preparation time:                                                                                       
• Activity time: 15 minutes for all activities plus instruction time                                                                         
• Materials: one regular size deck of cards (see below), one oversize deck of the same cards 

There is perhaps no better way to idle away the hours than fishing and a perfect occasion to talk about the haves and have-nots of this world. This game uses a regular deck of playing cards to practice these phrases:

"Do you have a _____ _____ ?" and "Yes, I have a ______ ______ " or "No, I don't have a ______ _____."

Since we're using a deck of cards the words in the blank spaces will be either "red" or "black" followed by some number between two and ten or "ace, king, queen, or jack."

After reviewing and drilling the vocabulary and grammar to be used explain how the game is played. One way to do this is to model the game for the class with the assistance of a couple of students. Use a shorter deck when modelling the game to save time.

Deal five cards to each player and put the remaining cards in the deck face down in the center of the table. Keeping the cards in their hands and out of view of the other players, each player discards any matching pairs they have in their hand and places the matching pairs in individual piles before them. Once they have discarded their matching pairs and decided who will go first (by some means like high card low card, rock, scissors, paper, etc.) the game can proceed.

The starting player begins by looking at a particular card in his hand and asks any other player in the group if he/she has a matching card.

If a player has a eight of hearts or eight of diamonds (the red eights) he/she will choose another player in the group and ask them: "Do you have a red eight?" If the player who is asked the question has the card, he/she replies: "Yes I do" or "Yes I have a red eight." The player then hands over the card to the player who asked the question. The player who asked the question takes the card and places it along with the matching card from his/her hand on top of his/her individual discard pile located in front of them. The game continues with the next player to the right asking a question.

If the player who is asked the question does not have the card, he/she replies: "No, I don't" or "No, I don't have a red eight" (this is the same as saying "go fish" in the traditional version of the game). In this case the player asking the question draws a card from the deck in the center of the table and the game continues with the next player to the right asking a question.

Players should always have at least five cards in their hand. Some players will have more than five cards in their hands but those who don't should draw enough cards from the deck in the center of the table at the end of their turns to fill their hand. Towards the end of the game when the the deck in the center of the table is depleted, it will not be possible for every player to keep five cards in their hand. The game is over when the deck runs out and the players have matched all the cards in their hands.

Players try to collect as many pairs as they can. When there are no more cards remaining in the deck in the center of the table and the players have matched all the cards in their hands, the game is over. Players count the cards in their discard piles and the player with the most cards wins.

After modeling the game with a short deck, divide the class into groups, give each group a deck of cards and let the games begin. Each group should be able to play at least a couple of hands and... there you have it.

Going to the Dogs

• Key words: vocabulary, speaking, relative pronoun (Do you have a dog that has a short tail?)                                       
• Learner English skill level: Intermediate (third year junior high school)                                
• Learner age level:                                                                                                          
• Preparation time: 20 minutes                                                                                          
• Activity time: 60 minutes for all activities and instruction time                                                                          
• Materials: one regular size deck of cards (see below), one oversize deck of the same cards 

Do you have a dog that speaks English? Don't feel bad if you don't. You may have a dog that can fly or do all sorts of other amazing tricks in this variation of the classic card game, Go Fish. This game introduces and helps student use the relative pronoun, "that."

For the purpose of this lesson (and game) practice the following kinds of questions and answers with the students using the appropriate graphics displays.

Q: Do you have a dog that has spots?
A: No I don't. / Yes I do.

Q: Do you have a dog that has a long tail?
A: No I don't. / Yes I do.


The basic deck should include 40-80 cards (20-40 matching pairs) made from the following card set (using 2-4 copies of each page).

a dog that has long ears
a dog that has short ears
a dog that has big eyes
a dog that has eyeglasses
a dog that has spots
a dog that has a bird
a dog that  has a curly tail
a dog that has a long tail
a dog that has a hat
a dog that loves cats

a dog that reads
a dog that dances
a dog that has a short tail
a dog that speaks English
a dog that sleeps
a dog that drives
a dog that plays baseball
a dog that eats trees
a dog that flies
a dog that watches TV








After reviewing and drilling the vocabulary and grammar to be used explain how the game is played. One way to do this is to model playing the game with the assistance of a couple of students. Use a shorter deck when modelling the game to save time.

Deal five cards to each player and put the remaining cards in the deck face down in the center of the table. Keeping the cards in their hands out of view of the other players, each player discards any matching pairs they have in their hand and places the matching pairs in individual piles before them. Once they have discarded their matching pairs and decided who will go first (by some means like rock, scissors, paper, etc.) the game can proceed.

The starting player begins by looking at a particular card in his hand and asks any other player in the group if he/she has a matching card.

If a player has a card featuring a dog that has a curly tail, he/she will choose another player in the group and ask them: "Do you have a dog that has a curly tail?"  If  the player who is asked the question has the card, he/she replies: "Yes I do" or "Yes I have a dog that has a curly tail." The player then hands over the card to the player who asked the question. The player who asked the question takes the card and places it along with the matching card from his/her hand on top of his/her individual discard pile. The game continues with the next player to the right asking a question.

If the player who is asked the question does not have the card, he/she replies: "No, I don't" or "No, I don't have a dog that has a curly tail" (which is the same as saying "go fish" in the traditional version of the game).  In this case the player asking the question draws a card from the deck in the center of the table and the game continues with the next player to the right asking a question.

Players should always have at least five cards in their hand. Some players will have more than five cards in their hands but those who don't should draw enough cards from the deck in the center of the table at the end of their turns to fill their hand. Towards the end of the game, when the the deck in the center of the table is depleted, it will be impossible for every player to keep five cards in their hand. The game is over when the deck runs out and the players have matched all the cards in their hands.

Players try to collect as many pairs as they can. When there are no more cards remaining in the deck located in the center of the table and the players have matched all the cards in their hands, the game is over. Players count the cards in their discard piles and the player with the most cards wins.

After modeling the game with a short deck, divide the class into groups, give each group a deck of cards and let the games begin. Each group should be able to play at least a couple of hands and remember no gambling dog gone it.