Instructions: Phonics Fish

Preparation Instructions

Printing

Follow these instructions to print any Phonics Fish card sets.

1. Print the Card-Fronts

There are two recommended options for printing and preparing the cards for Phonics Fish.

Print the PDF document provided onto printer-friendly cardstock.

Print the PDF document provided onto regular printer paper (and later laminate the individual cards for longlasting durability).

If printing on cardstock, 300g cardstock is recommended, but any weight 200g or above will be sufficient.)

2. Print the Card-Backs

These cards are designed as double-sided cards. It's very important that the right phonics symbol is printed on the back of each card.

After printing the card-fronts, simply flip the print-out over and reprint the card-backs on the other side of the same sheet of printer paper or cardstock.

Activity Set-Up Instructions

Preparation

After printing, cut out each of the individual game cards.

Cut out each card from the front-side of the sheet. The front-side is the side that shows individual cards, all with their own thick black outline.
Just in case the printing alignment isn't 100% perfect, the back of each double-printed sheet is designed with enough bleed area to ensure that the right fish phonics symbols end up on the right card-backs (and don't protrude over the edge of each card).

Activity Set-Up Instructions

Printable PDF Document

See PDF Download Options

Presentation

Use flashcards to ensure that your students know the vocabulary words used in this activity. Refer to the list provided below. You may also briefly review the sentences and sentence patterns listed below.

Students will only need to know 13 core vocabulary words to participate fully in this activity.

The memory words listed below are provided for reference. However, students DO NOT need to be directly taught any of these 11 memory words. They can simply be utilized in the sentences used to communicate in the activity and students can be trusted to gradually internalize the words' meaning from context, as the same words will continue to be used in other speaking activities as they progress through this curriculum program.

Activity Presentation Phase Instructions

Vocabulary Words Used in Activity
Core Vocabulary Words	alligator, bear, cat, duck, elephant, fish, go, horse, lion, monkey, octopus, rabbit, turtle
Combination / Compound	none
Memory Words	a/an, are, do, have, here, no, thank-you, welcome, yes, you
Supplemental Words	none
Review Vocabulary Words	none

Sentences and Sentence Patterns

Do you have a _________________?

Yes, I do. / No, I don't. Go fish!

Here you are.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Practice

Show your students how to play a modified form of Go Fish with these cards by inviting one student to join you for a demonstration.

Be sure to communicate the following game rules.

At the conclusion of a round of play, the game is won by the player with the most sets of three identical cards.
If a player has three identical cards in their hand, they can place the set of three in front of them on the table (or the floor, if they are playing seated on the floor).
Players take turns playing their turns by going in a clock-wise circle.
At the start of their turn, a player can ask any other player if they have a particular cards. They should use sentence pattern "Do you have a _________________?" to ask one of the players if they have a card with a particular animal pictured on it.
If the player they ask does have 1 or more of the card they are asked about, they must say "Yes, I do." and give 1 of those cards to the player who asked.
If they player they ask does not have any of the card they are asked about, they must say "No, I don't. Go fish!"
When told to "go fish" the player must pick up one card from the deck (which should be placed as a stack (face-down) in the middle of the table.
Then the player to the right plays the next turn (starting back at rule 5 above).
Players must display the cards in their hands with the cardbacks clearly showing. The other players must be able to see the phonics clues on the backs of the cards.
Play continues until one player has no cards remaining in their hand.

Activity Practice Phase Instructions

Production:

Once your students appear to understand how to play the game (enough to begin playing), divide them into groups 3-4. A group of 2 is also acceptable if you are teaching a one-on-one lesson, but if there are only two students, the teacher should join as a third player.

Playing with 5 players will be too slow and students will be bored, so if there are 5 students in your lesson, set up two separate games (you'll need to prepare two sets of the provided cards) with the teacher playing in one of the two games (so that there are 3 players in each game).

Important! Be sure to draw your students' attention to the fact that cardbacks provide clues about the word pictured on the other side.

Activity Production Phase Instructions

Expanded Learning:

You can encourage your students to say "thank you" and "you're welcome" when passing a card from one player to another.

Activity Expanded Learning Options

Important Note

The above instructions are provided as suggestions for best practices. However, the teacher should always be the ultimate decision-maker about which learning approaches are best suited to a particular student / group of students.

Teachers are encouraged to modify the game rules if they believe that there would be a better way for their students to play it.