Top 7 most exciting new card games that primary school teachers should know about

How to play: The teacher introduces a crossword puzzle, explaining how many rows and columns it has and where the key word is located. Then, the teacher asks a series of questions, allowing students to volunteer to solve the puzzle. If someone answers correctly, they write the word in the corresponding spot and earn points or recognition. If they answer incorrectly, the opportunity is passed to other students. The player who identifies the correct key word the quickest wins the game.

This game can be used for any lesson, particularly literature lessons, to introduce a new topic in a fun way at the beginning of class or during a review session to reinforce what has been learned.

Objective: Understand the meaning of words to correctly match them with corresponding images. Improve quick thinking and self-confidence.

Materials: A set of pictures (images of animals, objects, etc.) and corresponding word cards (pre-written).

How to Play: Distribute the pictures and word cards among the groups. The teacher sets the challenge for each group to match the pictures with the correct words. The group that completes the task correctly and fastest wins the game.

This game can be used as an introduction to lessons related to animals, objects, or other topics that will be covered in the upcoming lesson.

Storytelling is a method where the teacher uses a relevant short story to highlight the main idea of the upcoming lesson. When using this approach, teachers should select brief, relatable stories that directly align with the lesson's content, avoiding lengthy or off-topic narratives.

For example, introducing the lesson on "I Remember Uncle Ho" (by Thanh Hải):

The teacher would tell the following story:

“At a conference in France, Uncle Ho was treated to a formal banquet. Before leaving, he picked a delicious apple from the table and placed it in his pocket. Everyone was surprised and watched him closely. As he stepped outside, many overseas Vietnamese and French people were there to greet him. Uncle Ho waved to them and, noticing a mother holding her child, he handed the apple to the baby. His gesture moved everyone from curiosity to admiration for his kindness.”

Who is this story about?

What was Uncle Ho’s attitude toward children? (Students answer)

And how do children feel about Uncle Ho? How is this expressed? Students are encouraged to find the answer through the poem "I Remember Uncle Ho" by Thanh Hải.”

New Lesson: The Conditional Pairing "If... Then"

How to Play: Select a group of 10 students (5 boys and 5 girls).

Each boy writes a sentence starting with “If”, and each girl writes a sentence starting with “Then”. After 2 minutes, invite one boy to come up and read his sentence, then ask a girl to read hers. The game continues, with students taking turns standing up to read their sentences (similar to a call-and-response song). Applaud and cheer for meaningful and well-constructed sentences.

For example, for the new lesson on "Multiplication Table of 7":

• When teaching the “Multiplication Table of 7,” the teacher assigns two teams to compete, each with 3 students who take turns writing on the board. Team 1 will write the multiplication table of 5, while Team 2 will write the multiplication table of 6. The team that completes the task correctly in 2 minutes wins. After the game, the teacher can use these multiplication tables to introduce the lesson: You have already learned and practiced the multiplication tables of 5 and 6, and now we’ll focus on the multiplication table of 7 together.

For example, for the new lesson on "Area of a Square":

• Prepare several isosceles right triangle shapes and distribute 4 pieces to each of two groups. When the teacher says, “Start,” the teams compete to assemble the shapes into the figure shown on the board. The game lasts 2 minutes, and the first team to complete the correct shape wins, receiving applause. After the game, the teacher writes down the side length of the square and asks the students to calculate the perimeter. Once completed, the teacher will introduce the new lesson on how to calculate the area of a square using the formula learned in the exercise "Area of a Square".

For example, for the new lesson: Gentle wind, strong wind. Storm protection (Science 4):

Instructions for the game:

• The teacher calls out and performs a hand gesture.
• The students respond with words and copy the hand gesture.
• The teacher says: Wind blows! Wind blows!
• The students respond: Whoosh, whoosh! Whoosh, whoosh!
• The teacher says: Rain falls! Rain falls!
• The students respond: Pitter-patter! Pitter-patter!
• The teacher says: Big storm! Big storm!
• The students respond: Flooding! Flooding!

The teacher asks the students to follow the verbal commands, not the hand gestures. The entire class stands in place and participates in the game. Any students who break the rules are called up to the front and given a fun penalty such as: “Hop on one foot, crawl like a worm, wiggle like a snake, or sing a song from the lesson.”