Noah's Ark

English Raven's Noah's Ark cards are designed to practice identification of animals and application of singular and plural within a general theme that millions of children around the world can relate to: the famous story of Noah's Ark the "two of every animal" requirement. Each animal is featured as a male and a female (with blue and pink backdrops respectively), and the following animals are featured:

dog | wolf | cow | camel | giraffe

Game Ideas:

Given the theme, these cards can make for a great opportunity to work collaboratively without too much personal competition. Place all the cards face-down on a table. Inform the students that together they have to help Noah gather all the animals in pairs before they can go into the Ark. Each student takes a turn flipping over two cards only. If they manage to flip over two of one animal, they need to tell Noah (the teacher) that they have two somethings, the general idea being that they will need to use the plural form very clearly. If they do not use the plural form, Noah pretends to misunderstand and grumpily tells them to go away and come back when they have found two rather than one animal for his Ark!

Also using the theme of the Ark, students can be encouraged to engage in a project. Students draw an Ark and divide it into 6 sections (or students in pairs are given one section of the Ark). Using the cards, in pairs or groups the students make judgements about which animals ought to be housed with which other animals. For example, is it really a good idea to put the wolves and sheep in the same section, or for that matter cats and dogs? If Noah's family is also to be in one of the sections, which animals are least likely to be dangerous to humans? This kind of project can be extended to include content such as food chains and habitats, and students could even 'outfit' the sections of the Ark to make them more comfortable and appropriate for each kind of animal.