Flash Card Social Games

Many families have flash cards at home, either in hopes of teaching children words or because some children love looking at them over and over again.  Looking at flash cards on their own is not a very social engaging activity.  There are many socially engaging childhood games, however, that may incorporate a deck of simple flashcards with pictures of common items and/or animals.

Here is a list of such games that you may play with your child using just a deck of
simple flash cards.  If you don't have such flash cards, you can buy them in a department store like Target, CVS, or an office store (e.g. Office Depot) for less than $5 or you can make them yourself using index cards and newspaper ads or magazines (i.e. cut out/glue the pictures on the cards).  Some of these games may be played while traveling on an airplane or in the car.

Playing these games may improve receptive/expressive language skills, speech skills, and social
language-use/pragmatics skills! Most importantly, playing games is fun!

1) Category Memory
Each player picks a category (e.g. animals, foods, clothing, yellow things, round things, etc.).
Then lay out all the cards face down in a square. Players take turns trying to find cards that
belong to their categories. If they find such a card, they keep it. If the card does not belong,
the player puts it back in its original spot. The player with the most cards at the end wins.

2) The “It” Card
Pick one card randomly from the deck to be the “it” card. Then shuffle all the cards (including
the “it” card, which will be referred to by what's on the card, e.g. fork). Place all the cards face
down in a square. Players take turns turning over one card per turn to try to find the “it” card.
Each player should say during their turn “I got a________. It's not the [it card]” or players can
say to what category each item belongs.

3) Secret Card
Arrange all the cards face down in a square. One player hides a penny (or small piece of
paper) under one of the cards. Then the other players take turns asking yes/no questions to
try to eliminate as many cards as possible until they discover the secret card (e.g. Is it
something we eat? Is it a clothing? Is it something red? Etc.). Once a player finds the
penny, s/he may hide the penny next.

4) Hopscotch
Arrange the cards in a hopscotch-style board on the floor (i.e. vertical line with some
horizontal lines intersecting). Use a penny, small rock, or bean bag to toss on the cards.
Players take turns tossing the object, and hopping in one foot to that object. Then the player
names the object, and two things about it (e.g. A horse---it's an animal, and it has a mane).

5) Bean bag Toss
Arrange the cards in any design desired on the floor or a large table. Use a bean bag, ball of
socks, penny, or small ball to toss on the cards. Players take turns tossing the object, and
naming the card. Then the player can name two things about the card (using category,
function, color, size, shape, etc.).

6) What's on my forehead?
Use a ring of scotch tape to tape a card with the picture facing out on each player's head
(alternatively, you can use a strip of paper as a crown with the card attached to it). Players
take turns asking questions of the other players to try to guess what's on their cards. You can
ask yes/no questions or wh-questions (e.g. who, what, where). E.g. Where do you find me?
What do you do with me? What color am I? Etc.

7) Road Race
Arrange the cards in two long vertical lines like roads. Use two small toy vehicles (or dice and
two small objects) to “race” along the cards. If using toy cars, the two players should take
turns pushing their cars along the cards. Each player names the card and something about it
for the card where the car landed. Then remove the card from the road. Play progresses
until all cards have been removed. If playing with dice and pawns, players take turns rolling
the dice to see how many spaces their pawn should move (and then name the card and the
facts).

8) Go Fishing
Put a paper clip on each card. Then attach a small magnet from your fridge on a small stick,
fork, or disposible chopstick using a piece of string. Place all the cards in a bowl, box, or hat.
Take turns going fishing for cards. Name the cards, and something about each card. Another
option is to try to create a story using card in a sentence to build on the previous card.

9) Twister
Arrange all the cards face up on the floor two to three inches apart. Players take turns giving
directions to the other players where to put their feet and hands (and maybe other body
parts!) on particular cards (e.g. Put your right foot on the rabbit, and your left hand on the
bed). You can practice one-step, two-step, or three-step directions by deciding how many
actions to do. You can also make the game more complicated by giving clues to the card
instead of the actual object name (e.g. Put your left food on something yellow that swims and
quacks).

10) Hide and Seek
Players play traditional hide and seek by taking turns hiding the cards around the room, and
looking for them. You can also give clues to hide or look for the cards (e.g. Put the pencil
under something you sit on; The pencil is hiding behind something you sleep on, etc.).

11) Bowling
Use empty drink bottles or even toilet paper rolls and a small ball. Place the bottles on the
cards, and roll the ball to knock them down. Take turns, and say the name of the cards you
got or something about the cards. For more challenging play, you can also give clues to the
other player to try to get the target card.

Shirit Megiddo, M.S., CCC-SLP, BCS-CL