About This Activity

Overview

The Body-Parts Monster Card Game is a fantastic way to provide students with a fun-filled opportunity to practice color and body-part vocabulary.

Students will need to know at least 35 vocabulary words to play this game (with Set A), but most of those words are high-frequency vocabulary words, including colors and high-importance body-parts.

Currently, 3 different sets of 18 cards are available for this game.

It's a deduction card game involving monsters with a wide variety of different common human and even animal body-parts. Players need to use their verbal skills to deduce which of the 18 cards laid out in front of them matches the "secret card" in their activity partner's possession.

 

Activity Presentation Phase Instructions

 

Body-Parts Monster Card Example

Monster With A Blue Body

13 teeth, 12 toes,
10 fingers, 5 feet,
5 legs, 4 eyes,
2 mouths, 2 lips,
2 hands, 1 arm,
1 tongue, 1 knee,
1 tail, 1 nose & 1 ear

 

Body-Parts Monster Card Example

Monster With A Blue Body

19 teeth,12 toes, 
9 eyes, 8 fingers,
5 feet, 5 legs,
3 heads, 3 necks,
2 mouths, 2 hands,
2 arms, 2 lips, 1 tongue, 
1 knee, 1 tail & 1 nose

 

Body-Parts Monster Card Example

Monster With A Purple Body

15 teeth, 7 eyes,
4 fingers,
including 1 thumb,
5 feet, 5 legs,
4 mouths, 3 heads,
3 necks, 3 tongues,
2 lips, 1 hand & 1 arm

 

 

Download Game Materials

 

 

How To Play

Groups: This game is best played in pairs of two participants. One participant in each group will be the asker and the other will be the answerer.

Materials: Two identical sets of 18 Body-Part Monster Cards are needed for each pair of two participants. This means two sets of Set A, two sets of Set B, or two sets of Set C.

Time / Game Round: 1-3 minutes

 

  • The asker should lay out one set of game cards in front of them and the answerer should draw one "secret card" from an identical set of cards. The "secret card" will therefore match one of the 18 cards laid out in front of the asker.

  • The answerer can look at the "secret card," but they aren't allowed to show it to the asker. The asker can only learn which body-parts appear on the "secret card" by asking verbal questions.

  • The asker's GOAL is to narrow down which of the 18 cards in front of them matches the "secret card" possessed by the answerer.

    To do this, the asker can use the sentence patterns like "Does the monster have one or more _________________?" and systematically insert different body-parts into the blank in the sentence pattern.

    A list of recommended sentence patterns for the asker's questions is available below under Sentence Patterns to Use While Playing.

  • Based on the answerer's 'yes/no' answers, the asker can "eliminate" any cards that logically can't match the "secret card" held by the answerer. The best way to "eliminate" the non-matching cards, is to flip them over face-down. Then the asker can continue to ask more questions to further narrow down the remaining "face-up cards."

  • Each round of the game continues until the asker has narrowed down the cards in front of them to just one card. They can then ask the answerer, "Is this your card?"

 

For more detailed instructions for how to print, prepare, and introduce card-based deduction games like this one, click the blue button below.

 

Print & Prep Instructions

 

How To Play

 

 

 

Words to Learn Before Playing

The Core Vocabulary Words listed below are all words that students should learn BEFORE playing this game. Students will only need to learn the words listed for Set A to play this game with that set of cards. However, to play the game with Set B, students will need to learn the words for both Set A and Set B. Likewise, to play the game with Set C, students will need to learn the words for Set C and all previous sets.

 

Standard Use Vocabulary
Used With All Sets 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10*, blue, brown, color, gray, green, monster, orange, pink, purple, red, yellow


*Additional numbers could be used to play this game, but aren't required knowledge to be able to play. 

 

Vocabulary Words Used in Activity
Card Set A (18 Cards) arm, body, ear, eye, foot/feet, hand, head, knee, mouth, neck, nose, shoe, tail, thumb
Card Set B (18 Cards) finger, fingernail, hair, hoof, horn, shoulder, toe, tooth/teeth, wing
Card Set C (18 Cards) bone, brain, elbow, flower, heart

 

Important Notes: 

  • Currently, three different card sets for Body-Part Monster Cards are available. To play with each set of cards, students need to learn the Core Vocabulary Words listed for that set AND all previous sets.

  • The sets are arranged in order of importance. Each sequential set uses increasingly less essential body-part vocabulary words. For example, 'brain' is used less often in everyday conversation than 'hand.' Therefore, 'hand' is used in Set A and 'brain' is used (with some other lower-priority vocabulary words) in Set C. However, both words are useful, and definitely worth learning.

  • It's entirely possible (and even recommended, once your students understand the game) to combine more than one set of cards together to create a more varied and interesting card deck. 

 

Words to Learn While Playing

The following words will be used to the play this game (with every available set of cards). However, these words don't need to be pre-taught. These words can and should be learned WHILE playing the game.

 

Standard Use Vocabulary
Used With All Sets are, card, does, doesn't, have, how, is, isn't, it, many, more, no, or, the, this, what, yes, your

 

Sentence Patterns to Use While Playing

The following sentences and sentence patterns are recommended for use while playing this game. The best way to teach these sentences, is to use them in context while introducing the game and demonstrating how to play it.

 

Standard Sentences and Sentence Patterns
What color/colors is/are the monster's _________________?
The monster's _________________ is/are _________________.
Does the monster have one or more _________________?
Yes, it does. / No, it doesn't.
How many _________________ does the monster have?
It has ___ _________________. 
Is this your card?
Yes, it is. / No, it isn't.