Flashcards can be used for the presentation of vocabulary as well as for supplementary games

and activities. Flashcards are a great resource and can be enlarged, colored and displayed as
miniposters around the classroom, or photocopied and given to children to color and take home.

Flashcards can be photocopied to whatever size is appropriate for the needs of the lesson. You
may wish to have one master set, photocopied onto card, colored and laminated, and then copy
other sets as you go, to use for activities in the classroom or to give to the children to take home.

Young children often go through a silent period when learning another language (preferring to
respond physically to show understanding rather than say the words aloud), so most of the
flashcard activities presented here allow them to do this. The activities outlined are teacher-
centered or parent-centered, due to the young age of the children (pair and group work activities
are usually not very practical for this age group) but as children become more familiar with the
words and more able to say the words themselves, you can encourage them to speak out, or to
allow different children to take turns to be the “teacher”.

Here are some ideas on how to use flashcards with very young children:


(multiple copies of one set of cards, so that each student has a card)
Use flashcards with songs and chants to practice the vocabulary. Multiple sets of flashcards
can be made so that each child has a card. When the song or chant is played, the children
listen for their flashcard word and hold up the card when they hear it. If they are doing this for
the first time, you might group them so all the children with the same flashcards are together.


(one set of cards from a topic)
Put a different flashcard in each of the four corners of the classroom. Call out a particular word
and have the children point, run or jump to that flashcard.


(one set of cards from a topic) Use four or five flashcards at a time. Place them on the board,
or face up on a table. Have the class turn away while you take one flashcard away. The class
try to guess which flashcard is missing.

(one set of cards from a topic)
Bring four, five or six children to the front of the class and have them stand in a line facing the
class. Give each of them a different flashcard to hold, with the picture turned to face the class.
Say each word, to remind the class, and then have the children turn their flashcards over so
the class cannot see the pictures. Say a word and the children have to call out the name of the
child (or point to the child) holding that card. To make it more challenging, have the children
who are holding the cards stand in a different position after they have turned over their card.


(one set of cards from a topic)
If you have plenty of floor space in your classroom, place four flashcards on the floor face up,
leaving pleanty of space between them. Call out one of the words and the children have to run
to the correct card and hold hands to form a circle around it (note that you may need to
practice “forming circles” as this is a spatial awareness skill which young children cannot easily
manage without practice).


(one set of cards from a topic)
If the children are ready to say the words themselves, hold up a flashcard facing out, but cover
it with a piece of paper. Very slowly being to reveal the picture and see if the class can call out
the word. If the class is not yet confident enough to say the word in English, they could say it in
their own language and you could reinforce it again in English to remind them. If you play the
game several times with the same set of flashcards, the children may be able to say some of
the words in English by the end of the game.


(one set of cards from a topic)
Show the class a set of flashcards, naming the items on the flashcard as you show them (e.g.
jellyfish, whale, etc). Shuffle the cards and attach them to the board with the picture side down.
Call out a word (whale) and have the children choose which flashcard they think it is by lining
up in front of one the flashcards. Turn over the flashcard with the longest line of children and
have them say if that is the correct flashcard or not. If it is not, allow the children from that line
to choose another line. Continue until the flashcard is revealed.

(one set of cards from a topic)
Use any set of flashcards (up to six). Quickly flash one card (for one second) and have the
children say what they think they saw (in English if they can). Flash the card again, then show
them properly and see if they were right. Encourage them to say what it is, in English if
possible. If the class is not yet confident enough to say the word in English, they could say it in
their own language and you could reinforce it again in English to remind them. If you play the
game several times with the same set of flashcards, the children may be able to say some of
the words in English by the end of the game.


(two set of cards from a topic)
Put six pairs of flashcards on the board with the picture side down. Invite individual children to
come to the board and turn over two cards at a time looking for a pair. Each time, say the
words aloud for the child (encouraging repetition from the class). If the child turns over a pair,
he/she has another turn. If not, invite another child to the front to turn over two more cards from
the board until all the pairs have been found.


(one set of cards from a topic)
Spread the flashcards face up on the table at the front of the room. Divide the children into two
teams standing in two lines. Invite the children at the front of both lines to the table. Call out a
word and the children race to swat the correct card first. The winners get a point and both
children return to the back of their lines. Continue until every child has played at least one
round. The teams try to collect the most points.


(one set of cards from a topic)
Review the words on the flashcards with the children by showing each card in turn, saying the
word aloud for the children to repeat. Ask the children to stand up, and tell the whole class to
watch out for one particular flashcard (e.g. dog) repeating the word several times so they all
know which word they need to watch out for, but don’t show the corresponding card when you
do (if you show it they’ll just wait until they see that card rather than listening to and
understanding the word itself). Shuffle the cards. In silence show them each card. The children
 must sit down as quickly as possible when they see the card that corresponds with the word
you told them to listen for. Whoever sits down first when the corresponding card is shown, is
the winner.


(one set of cards from a topic)
Review the words on the flashcards with the children by showing each card in turn, saying the
word aloud for the children to repeat. Depending on space, have 8-12 children sit in a circle on
the floor. Focusing on four of the words in the topic only, go around the circle and give each
child one word to remember (e.g. tiger, lion, giraffe or zebra). Have the children repeat the
word back to you several times so you know they have heard correctly. Make sure at least two
or three children in the children in the circle have the same word to remember, so they can
race each other! Call out a word and show the corresponding flashcard. The children who are
listening for that word have to get up, run around the circle (preferably all in the same direction
so there are no painful accidents!) and sit back down in their place as quickly as possible.
Whoever sits back in their place first is the winner. Call out the next word, until each child has
had at least two turns. If you have a large class and some children are watching while the
children in the circle are playing, encourage them to cheer until it’s their turn to be in the circle.