House Vocabulary Game

This House Vocabulary Game is a particular favourite with both native English speakers and students learning English. In my experience, young students become very keen and enthusiastic about being the first to complete their base cards with the appropriate items belonging to their particular part of the house. Older students at the initial / emergent stage of learning English would also benefit from using this resource. There are opportunities for speaking, listening and reading.

The game is for 2 – 6 players and is easy to play. Each player is given a base board. The small cards are placed in the middle of the table face down. Players take turns at lifting a card, naming the item then placing it on their base board if it belongs in their part of the house. If it doesn’t, the player then replaces the card in the centre of the table face down. The winner is the first to complete his / her card. Luck and memory are involved in success so the winner isn’t always the most able student. This could be one reason for this type of game being so popular.

The base boards and cards have colour coordinated borders to aid with identification. The house scenes and items used are listed below.

Kitchen
kettle, cooker, sink, cooker, fridge, vacuum, iron, ironing board, washing machine

Living Room
coffee table, settee, lamp, armchair, rug, television, plant, clock, bookshelves

Bathroom
toilet, basin, bath, shower, toothpaste, toothbrush, towel, shampoo

Bedroom
bed, wardrobe, chest of drawers, dressing table, mirror, alarm clock, lamp, bunk
beds, cot

Garden
lawnmower, tree, watering can, spade, gloves, wheelbarrow, rake, bucket, fork

Garage
tool box, gardening tools, paint pots, bicycle, broom, workbench, car, oilcan, tyre

Included with this game are picture and word cards for learning the vocabulary used in the game. The cards can be used as a snap game (saying the names of items and reading the words as they are placed on the table) or as an individual or group matching activity