Teaching Idioms is Hard! Try Idiom Games to Enhance Vocabulary

Many idioms are well known to adults and children, but let’s face it: Learning idioms is one of the most challenging parts of English for young writers and English learners. We’ve been working hard to build some fantastic resources to help you improve your instruction and daily grammar lessons using these fun phrases.

What are Idioms?

Idioms are fun and unexpected and open the door to a world of new language. Our students are going to hear, see, and use this type of figurative language regularly. Idioms are expressions whose meaning cannot be derived from the meanings of their component words. Most idioms are created to save time when speaking, so knowing how to teach them to kids can be confusing. 

This game – Idioms Four in a Row – is a perfect way to introduce common idioms to your students and spark classroom conversations that build mastery of the English language.

Download & Print — It’s Child’s Play! 

Use the dropdown arrow on the Download button to get your preferred resource copy. It is available as 

• Color Idioms PDF
• Black and White Idioms PDF
• Color Idioms Google Slides
• Black and White Idioms Google Slides.

Print the document of your choice, place it in a literacy center or station, and put your students to work! 

This resource was created by Lindsey Phillips, a teacher in Michigan and Teach Starter Collaborator. 

While you’re here, check out more idiom games and activities to fill your lesson plans:

teaching resource

Idioms: What Are They and What Do They Mean? PowerPoint

An editable PowerPoint presentation to use when teaching idioms.

teaching resource

Idioms Go Fish Card Game

Understand the meaning of common idioms with a classroom game of Idioms-Go Fish!

teaching resource

Literary Devices Posters

Explore the various literary devices used by authors with the set of colorful classroom posters.