Animal Babies Memory Pairs
Turn cards over to pair six animals with their babies, from cow and calf to frog and tadpole.
How to run it
Name every card as it is turned, and have the student say both words when they find a pair: a baby cow is a calf. Take turns with the student so they hear you name pairs and remember where cards were. For a younger child, play with the cards face up first to learn the pairs, then turn them over. The six pairs take about five minutes.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentPresent the item and wait 5 seconds of quiet before helping.Log as correct
- HintGive a clue about the word's category, what it does, or where you find it.Log as cued
- Two choicesOffer two answers, the right one not always second.Log as cued
- ModelGive the answer in a sentence; the student says it back and uses it once more.Log as cued
Adjust it
Use fewer items and start with the ones the student already knows, such as 'cow' and 'dog'.
Ask for the word in a sentence of the student's own, or a second example from the same group.
Matching IEP goal
Given vocabulary cards, Student will name, sort or define target words in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than an indirect cue.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
A memory game of six animals and their babies: cow and calf, dog and puppy, cat and kitten, sheep and lamb, horse and foal, frog and tadpole. The student turns two cards at a time and keeps a pair when the animal and its baby match. Each pair links two different words for related things, which is the kind of word relationship that deepens vocabulary beyond single labels.
What to listen for
Notice which baby names are new. Puppy and kitten are usually known, while calf, foal and tadpole often are not, and those are the words worth spending time on. Listen for whether the student can use the pair in a sentence, not just match it. A child who remembers card positions well but cannot name the baby is playing memory, not learning the words.
Carrying it home
Look at animal books or a farm visit and ask what the baby is called. Play the same game with drawn cards at the table. When the child sees a puppy or a lamb, ask what it grows up to be. Two or three new pairs a week is plenty, with the tricky ones, foal and calf, said often.
What's in this activity
- cow calf
- dog puppy
- cat kitten
- sheep lamb
- horse foal
- frog tadpole
Questions
- Who is this for?
- Kindergarten through second grade students building vocabulary and word relationships, including students who know common animals but not the names of their young.
- Is it free?
- Yes. It plays free in the browser with no login. An account adds session data, goal scoring and assignment to a student.
- Can I play it as a regular matching board instead?
- Yes. Copy it to your own library, open the copy in the Activity Studio, and switch the template to Match Up or Find the Match. The same six pairs play in either.