Animal Matching Game (free printable)

This free printable animal matching game is a fun way to practice the important skill of visual discrimination. Little learners will have lots of fun with this great activity. There are many ways you can use these picture cards with young children. No matter how you use the matching cards, they will increase their observation skills as they play.

Printable Matching Game

Print the free printable animal matching game. Cut out and laminate the cards for durability. There are a few ways you can set this up.

• You can put the animal pictures in a pocket chart and challenge the children to match the zoomed in pictures to the correct animal.
• Use the pictures as a busy bag and pull them out to work with and match on the floor. Add magnets to the back of the pictures if you’d like the option to work on matching them on a vertical surface such as an easel or refrigerator.
• Turn it into a file folder matching pairs game. Print onto card stock and laminate. Glue the animal pictures onto a file folder. Put a piece of velcro next to each animal and on the back of the other pictures. Then, match the zoomed in pictures to the animals by sticking them onto the velcro. Because the pieces are attached to the file folder, it is easy to just close it up and store it.

Printable Memory Game

Use the cards to make an animal memory game. You can match the animals to close up pictures for this concentration game or print two copies and match identical pictures. This fun game is a great way to strengthen memory skills. Shuffle the cards and put them face down on a table in rows.

1. The first player flips over two cards. If they match, that player keeps the pair and goes again.
2. If they do not match, that player flips the cards back over in the same spot they were in.
3. Continue flipping over two cards to find a match.
4. Once all of the pairs have been found, the player with the most correct matches wins the game.

Younger children will enjoy looking at the pictures and identifying the names of the animals. Talk about what you notice about each different animal.

• lion
• panda bear
• cheetah
• giraffe
• zebra
• tiger

Download the Animal Matching Game

We hope you have so much fun with these free printables!

Download and print our free Zoo Animal Puzzles!

Does your little one love cheetahs? Give these cheetah activities and crafts a try.