Why Does Each Topic Come in Five Different Colors? Why Aren't There More Topics Instead?

Hi there.

That's  another question I get asked a lot. Why only 16 topics when you've got 80 cards?

If you have read my previous post (Why Are There No Questions or Answers on the Cards? ) then you know that initially the idea was to have a set of card games for the sole purpose of teaching my students a group of very common verbs and then, teach them how to recycle these verbs depending on the situation.

Now let's imagine there were 80 different topic cards and each topic appeared only once during a game, then there wouldn't much "exposure" to each topic, right?  Trying to internalize each topic would be a very time consuming process.

But since every topic card comes in 5 colors, there is enough chance for everybody to repeat or "recycle" each topic during a single game. Which for beginners is a blessing because the same phrases pop-up several times during one game, guarantying plenty of exposure to the target language and lots of exercise for everybody.

Same topic, different color...

More advanced students make use of the Color Codes. Which means, that each color can have some "Function" assigned to it.  So one topic (card) can appear in various different forms during a single game.

Here is a short video of 5th and 6th grade students playing "First Out!" (one of the five LMQ games) using the Color Codes...

As you can see (and hear) they are really thinking and trying to make interesting questions. And even making mistakes is not a problem, making mistakes is all a part of the fun..

With the Color Codes you can make the games as simple or as complex as you want, it all depends on the level of your student(s) and on what you want them to learn...

So in a nutshell, having 5 of the same cards but in different colors can be a tremendously powerful thing if used well.

As for me, I still stumble on new ways to use these cards every time a student has some difficulty with something.  (I will happily share them with you in future posts)

If you are looking for more ideas/games to use with your students, be sure to check out the Thinking World Game Page. 

Well, that's it for today.  Thanks for staying till the end and if you want to be informed of new posts, please subscribe. Until next time!