School Supplies Go Fish

Ok guys, it's happened - I have finally dipped my toe into the Teachers Pay Teachers pond! I'll still be sharing ideas of things that work in class and free ways to do those things but if there is something I've made to use with my students and it works well then I'll be linking to those items on TpT as well.

My first product is related to school supplies - perfect for this time of year since most of teach/review this vocabulary so that we can give directions the rest of the year in the target language. Last year, I had great success with playing Go Fish with school supplies. What they played wasn't really Go Fish, but  a modified version because I wanted to emphasize specific vocabulary.

Included are 2 sets of cards, phrases for pocket chart to help scaffold, & directions for 3 games

In this version, students got 5 cards with different school supply items on them (papel, mochila, lápiz, creyones, pegamento, y tijeras).  They were looking for pairs like in the regular game. They asked other students for those items in the target language. I set up 2 levels of asking. They could ask "______, por favor." Or they could say "Necesito ______, por favor."

Either way, if they forgot to say por favor they could be told "No por favor, no turno."    I put the sentences up on the board so students could reference them with a smiley face by the first, easier way of asking and a star (for superstar level) next to the longer sentence. Each card had Necesito _____. on it as well.

If the person they asked had the card they completed the conversation with "Gracias" and "De nada"  If the person didn't have the card they said "Lo siento" and the student drew from the "agua" in the middle of the group.

Half of the class played the game while the other half of the class had flashcards, a metal cookie sheet and magnetic letters. They practiced spelling out the words and matching the pictures. Then the next class we switched. Each student got to play twice Go Fish and with the magnetic letters/flashcards.

My second graders loved both activities and I ended our mini-unit with a cut&paste activity as a formative assessment (get the freebie by clicking the picture above!) Overall, the students loved it and I was pleased that they knew not only the school supply vocabulary but could express what they needed politely.

How do you teach school supplies?  Share in the comments below or on Twitter using the hashtag #earlylang!