Animal bingo

How animal bingo works in class

Animal bingo gives every student a different card of animals. You call one animal at a time, students cover it, and the first full line wins. Check the winning card against your call sheet.

You can call the name, show the picture, make the sound or give a clue. The 3×3 and 5×5 cards can have an optional free space in the center; 4×4 cards have none. Counters or dry-erase pens on laminated cards work as markers.

Match the card to your readers

The same animals work from pre-K to grade 5. What changes is how you call them.

Pre-readers: big pictures on 3×3

On illustrated cards, every square shows a picture with the animal's name under it. Pre-readers match the picture. We suggest 3×3 for pre-K: switch the grid in the generator to get 8 animals and a free space instead of 16 animals. We suggest 4×4 for K–1, the grid the generator opens with here.

Hold up the call sheet picture as you say the name. For animal sounds bingo, make the sound instead, like a cow's moo or a frog's ribbit. Students find the animal that makes it.

Early readers and ESL: picture and word

In animal picture bingo, the word under each picture links the spoken name, the spelling and the image. With ESL beginners, say the name first. Point to the picture on the call sheet only if nobody finds it.

For a harder round, print words-only cards. Students then have to read every square to find the animal you called.

Older students: call a clue, not the name

From grade 3, read a clue instead of the name. "I have eight arms and live in the ocean" points to the octopus. Sounds, habitats and diets all make good clues.

The generator doesn't write clues: it prints the animal names. Prepare your clues yourself: jot one next to each name on the call sheet, then say it aloud. Check that each clue fits only one animal.

Narrow the animal set

The prompt above mixes farm, zoo, pet and ocean animals. Change a few words to match your unit, such as "30 ocean animals for second graders" or "farm animals for a preschool class."

Before any picture is drawn, you can rename, remove or add items. "Suggest 6 more items" adds ideas, up to 60 in total. Keep animals that look different from each other, so young players don't mix up two similar pictures. Prefer to write your own description? Start a blank animal bingo set.

Running a game with 30 students

The call sheet lists every animal, with its picture on illustrated sets. Cut it up and draw from a bag, or tick animals off as you go. Print on Letter or A4, with 1, 2 or 4 cards per page.

Two students can still finish different lines on the same call, so pick a tie rule before you start. For game length and tie rates by grid, see classroom bingo.

Words only or with pictures