Fish Race is a game that my 3rd and 4th grade students love. It is great for practicing just about anything – vocabulary, asking and answering questions in Spanish, verbs, grammar, translating sentences, etc. It is so simple, here is how you play:
Number of Players: 2 or more
Materials Needed:
- One solid-colored fish, per player or team, made of card-stock or construction paper. (Just draw a simple fish the size of maybe a 3×5 index card. Cut it out and put sticky tack or tape on the back.)
- Sticky tack or tape to stick fish up on board.
- Dry erase or chalk board.
Instructions:
- Draw large waves across the board. Each wave is like a space where the fish move to.
- The teacher, parent, or “pretend teacher” gives a word or phrase in English and each player, when it is his/her turn, says it in Spanish.
- If the player is correct, then he/she gets to move the fish one wave.
- First fish to reach the last wave wins.
Game Variations:
- Teacher gives word or phrase in Spanish and players say in English.
- Or, players can write the answers simultaneously and show them to the teacher. Each player with the correct answer gets to move one wave.
- Or, ask a question in Spanish and have the player or team answer in Spanish with a word, phrase, or full sentence, whichever level of difficulty you want.
- You can also play in teams if you have a larger group.
Another Game Variation:
- For small groups, have players make their own fish. Each student cuts out a template of a fish and decorates it.
- Each player’s fish is placed up on board to race individually.
If my fish look worn out, it is because they are. The students ask for this game often. Hope your students like it too! Debbie