This game targets vocabulary development and comprehension when you are reading Matilda by Roald Dahl.

There are five games aligned to chapters. Donkey is a matching game that is very popular with my students. I developed it to target opposites because that was going to progress literacy skills for the students I have and the book contains great vocabulary you can use in that way. I use the game as a matching activity before playing to ensure students have comprehension and understand the concept of opposites. This makes the game inclusive so it will benefit students of all abilities.

Chapters 1-5: wrong/right, proud/ashamed, interesting/uninteresting, natural/naturally, sensitive/insensitive, usual/unusual, honesty/dishonesty, satisfactory/unsatisfactory, carefully/carelessly, comfortable/uncomfortable, powerful/powerless, certain/uncertain, thoughtful/thoughtless, permanent/temporary, delighted/disappointed, innocent/guilty, intelligent/stupid, obedient/disobedient, victory/defeat, punishment/reward, refused/allowed, possible/impossible

Chapters 6-10: deserved/undeserved, ability/disability, diluted/undiluted, respect/disrespect, doubtful/doubtless, straight/crooked, capable/incapable, quietly/noisily, reasonable/unreasonable, screwed/unscrewed, forgotten/remembered, seldom/often, rare/common, strict/lenient, naturally/unnaturally, totally/partially, politely/rudely, serious/trivial, senior/junior, punishment/reward, presence/absence, successful/unsuccessful

Chapters 11-15: sure/unsure, believable/unbelievable, decided/undecided, wary/unwary, hero/coward, credible/incredible, harmful/harmless, prepared/unprepared, include/exclude, steady/unsteady, correct/incorrect, direct/indirect, opened/closed, damaged/undamaged, visible/invisible, balance/imbalance, private/public, appeared/disappeared, inside/outside, understand/misunderstand, gently/roughly, beginning/ending

Chapters 16&17: narrow/wide, honestly/dishonestly, strong/weak, explainable/unexplainable, cautiously/recklessly, ability/inability, distant/close, easier/harder, peaceful/hostile, remote/near, bigger/smaller, lowered/raised, poor/rich, polished/unpolished, cheap/expensive, politeness/rudeness, balanced/unbalanced, limit/limitless, rigid/flexible, innocent/guilty, behaved/misbehaved, legal/illegal

Chapters 18-21: properly/improperly, surprisingly/unsurprisingly, empty/full, tough/easy, essential/inessential, succeed/fail, concentrate/daydream, ethereal/tangible, pleasant/unpleasant, motionless/moving, pertinent/impertinent, separate/connected, first/last, polished/unpolished, obvious/obscure, politeness/rudeness, apprehensive/confident, limit/limitless, rigid/flexible, pleasant/unpleasant, single/multiple, legal/illegal