Beyond Basic: Flashcards!
Flashcards are anything but basic!
Both Kimberly and I have been fans of the flashcard for as long as we can remember! We would print those Quizlet flashcards and use them in a million different ways! Until … Quizlet got rid of the printed flashcards!!! Um, what? Ugh! That was painful!
Feeling lost without our cards, we decided to create our own Barnes and Nickel version! Our cards are made to be printed back-to-back and include theme-specific icons so that we can match the lost cards to the correct unit. With 12 cards on one sheet of paper, we help you save time and paper when printing!
We seriously use these cards every day in our classrooms - the possibilities are ENDLESS! Today we are going to give you a couple of ways to get your students using flashcards, but we have much more to share, so stop back often for more ideas!
Cutting/Storing the Cards
I find that a lot of people get overwhelmed with using flashcards because they think they need to have them prepared for the students ahead of time. While this is great in theory, it takes me personally too much time to cut out a classroom set of cards. So this is what I do instead:
I print one full set of cards for every 2 students I have in my largest class. (I print these on regular paper)
Working with a partner my students spend less than 5 minutes cutting the cards
I pass out rubber bands for the partners to tie up their cards.
I collect the cards in a small bin and use them for all the other classes!
At the end of the unit, I take one set of cards and drop them in the “Vocabulary Bucket” and usually recycle the others because they have been WELL used and are pretty beat up! Sometimes students like to keep a set, too.
Using Flashcards with your students:
Candy Land
This is what I refer to when we play this game, after over 17 years of playing it, I still have not come up with a catchy name! This is one of my students’ favorite ways to use flashcards. This is a great game to play when your students have been introduced to the vocabulary or as a review!
Students can play in groups of 2-4 ( I find 2 is the best option for learning!! But I have played a whole-class version with different rules that was INTENSE! Let me know if you want to hear more about that!)
Each group needs its own set of cards
Students lay the cards on the floor/desk/table in a “Candy Land” style gameboard with an Anfang and a Ziel. (they love the freedom here to build the ultimate gameboard - I usually limit this to 3 minutes of building time!)
Cards can be either side up — German or English. Sometimes I require the English side to be facing up.
Each partnership needs a die
Students roll to see how many spaces they should move, the vocabulary word they land on they must say in the opposite language. If they get the word right, they get to stay on that card and should flip the card over, if they get it wrong I have them go back to the beginning of the board! (Mwahaha!)
The first student to make it to the end of the board is the winner!
You can make up your own rules but here are a few I use to make the game a little more of “a game”
If a student rolls a 6 - they must switch places with their partner
If a student rolls a 5 - they must go back 2 spaces
Be creative with your rule - get your students involved even! This game is something your students will enjoy time and time again, it never gets old!
War
War is a game that is usually played with regular playing cards, but about 10 years ago, I came up with a way to use my flashcards, and this quick game has been a classroom favorite ever since!
Here’s the setup:
Each student needs a partner (this does not work with groups larger than 2!)
Each partnership needs a set of flashcards, which they divide evenly
It does not matter which side of the card is facing up in the students’ pile (a mixture of English and German cards keeps students on their toes!)
How to play:
Student will hold their stack of cards in their hands
Partners will count out loud: Eins, zwei, drei….
On Drei, both students must lay a card down
The first student to translate their partner’s card wins both cards
If there is a tie (or students cannot tell who said the word first) a War is declared
During a War students lay down 3 cards from the top of their pile and then count: eins, zwei, drei - laying down the 4th card on drei.
The student who says the translation of their partner’s card first wins ALL THE CARDS on the table!! Wooo!
Once a student has all the cards in their pile, they are declared the winner and the game is over!
Try these games out with your students and let me know what you think!
Need ready-made flashcards?
Tschüß!!!
Kristy
