Idioms Flashcards
Common idioms with picture clues.
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Read both halves, then cover the meaning and come back to it. The recall is where the learning happens, and idioms need spaced repetition more than most vocabulary because there is nothing to reason from. Ask for a situation the student would use each one in — hit the books before a test, in hot water after a mistake — which anchors it to a context rather than a card.
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
- HintReread the key sentence, or point back to the clue in the text or picture.Log as cued
- Two choicesOffer the literal meaning and the intended one, and ask which the speaker means.Log as cued
- ModelThink aloud: say how you worked it out, then the student says the answer and why.Log as cued
Adjust it
Read it aloud to the student and offer two choices from the start.
Ask the student to say which words gave them the clue, not just the answer.
Matching IEP goal
Given short texts or spoken prompts, Student will explain the intended meaning of figurative language 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
Fourteen idioms paired with their meanings: it's raining cats and dogs means it's raining very hard; break a leg means good luck; hit the books means start studying; spill the beans means tell a secret; bite off more than you can chew means take on too much; butterflies in my stomach means feeling nervous. Supplying the meaning makes this a teaching set rather than a test.
What to listen for
Watch which idioms have a visual hook. Butterflies in my stomach and in hot water map onto a feeling and are remembered; on the same page and once in a blue moon are arbitrary and are not. That difference tells you which ones need more repetition rather than more explanation. Notice whether the student can produce one spontaneously, which is a much later stage than recognising it.
Carrying it home
Ask the family to point out idioms in conversation rather than explaining them. Noticing one and asking what it means is a normal exchange, and it happens several times a day without any planning.
What's in this activity
- Break a leg! = Good luck!
- Piece of cake = very easy
- In hot water = in trouble
- +11 more
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- Third through sixth, and it is useful for older students learning English as an additional language.
- Do I need to sign in?
- No, all fourteen cards play free.
- How is this different from the elementary idiom game?
- That one asks the student to choose a meaning from four options. This supplies the meaning alongside the idiom, which makes it a teaching set rather than a check.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.