Speaking and Writing Activities with Playing Cards

Getting students to actively use language in meaningful ways doesn’t have to be complicated. Sometimes, all it takes is a deck of playing cards and a little structure. In this post, I’m sharing one of my favorite sets of no-prep activities that consistently get students speaking while having fun and building confidence along the way.

In Cœurs, Carreaux, Trèfles et Piques / Corazones, Diamantes, Tréboles y Picas, students pull one red and one black card to create a subject-verb pair or subject-picture pair. They write complete sentences, flipping new cards each round. It’s quick, simple, and gets students thinking beyond isolated words.

In Le Chemin / El Camino, students lay the whole deck of cards out as a winding path. They roll dice to move their game piece and create sentences based on where they land. I love how this brings energy and movement to the classroom, and students stay motivated to keep communicating.

Match Nul / Partido Empatado is all about quick thinking. Students flip cards, and the highest card wins the chance to create a complete sentence using a subject and verb or picture from the game board. It’s fast-paced and perfect for encouraging spontaneous language production.

Each game also comes with support pages — adverbs, conjunctions, negatives, questions — to help students add complexity to their sentences. I’ve found this really empowers students to push beyond basic structures and communicate more fully.