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.
How to use it in a session
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.
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.
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.