Shadow Matching Cards
Cut along the dashed lines. Match each animal to its shadow, or turn the cards over and play pairs.
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Free worksheet from maggiegames.com
Shadow Matching Cards Worksheet
Sixteen cards: eight animal photos and their eight shadows. Cut them out for a matching game, a memory game or snap. Free to print, at home or in class.
About this sheet
Cards do what a worksheet cannot: they move. A child who cannot manage a pencil line can pick up a photo and put it down on the right shadow, which is the same discrimination with none of the fine-motor cost. Uncut, the page works as an ordinary matching sheet. Cut, it is three games: lay all sixteen face up and match, which is the easiest; lay the shadows out and hand over the photos one at a time; or turn everything face down for pairs, which adds memory on top and is much harder than it looks. Print on card if you can, or glue the sheet to a cereal box before cutting.
How to use it
- Face up first. Lay out all sixteen and let the child put each photo on its shadow. That is the easiest game and the one to start with.
- Then hand them over one at a time. Shadows on the table, photos in your hand. The child takes one and finds where it goes.
- Pairs last. All cards face down, turn two at a time. This adds memory to the matching and is a real step up; use eight cards, not sixteen, the first few times.
- Print on card, or glue to a cereal box. Paper cards curl and tear by the second game.
What it practises
Visual discrimination, the ability to notice how two shapes differ from one another. It is the skill underneath telling a b from a d later on. Drawing the connecting line adds a little fine-motor and left-to-right tracking practice on top.
If the pencil work is the hard part rather than the matching, the online version of this game uses the same animal photographs and needs only a tap.
Questions
Is this worksheet really free?
Yes. Print it as many times as you like, at home or in a classroom. No account and no sign-up.
How do I get the PDF?
Use the download button above for the ready-made PDF, or press Print and choose Save as PDF.
What age is it for?
Roughly three to seven. Younger children usually do better with the four-pair Pets sheet.
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