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Animal Matching Game (free printable)

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. 

 

 

 

Mama Jenn

Sunday 6th of September 2009

Thanks for the link! I think my kiddos would like this!

Valerie

Thursday 3rd of September 2009

What a great idea! My daughter would love to do this, and it looks easy to put together. We'll be giving it a try!

Kristen

Thursday 3rd of September 2009

I love these! I just bought a puzzle like this and they have cartoon pictures, I WILL be returning it in the morning! Thanks.

http://kreativekristen.blogspot.com/

Heidi @ Blue Eyed Blessings

Wednesday 2nd of September 2009

Ooh, sounds fun! My daughter would love this! And I love the idea below, too. Any chance for her to do any sort of puzzle, she loves!

Thanks for stopping by for WFMW.

Nicole {tired, need sleep}

Wednesday 2nd of September 2009

I saw this on homeschoolshare the other day and have it on my list to do! I am addicted to printing things out, lol. They also have one similar to this of birds that M and I have done. I just love the idea of matching the magnified detail - makes a regular old matching game just a little bit more challenging. Thanks for sharing!!