STORM BOY - 2 DONKEY Card Games - Vocabulary and Comprehension

Storm Boy is a timeless Australian classic and the vocabulary used by its author, Colin Thiele, provides a wealth of material for the classroom.

These games target vocabulary extension and comprehension. There are 45 cards in each set, with 22 pairs and a DONKEY card to add the fun. Each pair of matching cards has a word or words on one, and an illustration or explanation on the other. It suits up to six players with a short version (about ten minutes or so) and a longer version if time permits.

You can use the cards as a matching activity prior to introducing the DONKEY card and learning how to play the game. It's the fun that motivates students and the repetition that comes with wanting to play provides the practice that brings academic benefits for all ability levels.

The words I have used are:

Set A: tussock, Coorong, humpy, sedge, Adelaide, Murray River, pelican, ibis, crane, kerosene lamp, molly-hawk, bandicoot, bandicoot, blunderbuss, thistledown, mussels, cockles, whorls, midden, horseshoe, sea urchin, sanctuary

Set B: egret, moorhen, pelican, wickerwork, sinker, mulloway, Antarctic, boobyalla, tugboat, harpoon gun, bosun’s chair, Coorong National Park, penny, iron stove, lantern, shovel, forlornly, sedately, decoy, nautilus, whelk, murex

The maps I have included were sourced from Coorong Country mainly, but the public domain provided map locations for Adelaide, Murray River and Coorong.