Animal Groups Collective Noun Card Game
Herds, flocks, packs, troops, schools, and pods... These cards represent my attempt to put order
into an area that defies being ordered: the collective nouns of animals.
There are many lists of collective nouns for animal groups out there, but they often contain words
only found on lists of collective nouns. I tried to include collective nouns that are actually in use.
I also tried to order them so that the herds I choose were all ungulates, the packs were all hunting
social carnivores, the schools were all fish. That is, I tried to illustrate the 'herdiness' of herd
and the 'packiness' of pack. In reality, many animals that aren't ungulates can take on the collective
noun herd.
However, flock, which is generally associated with birds, has a strong association with sheep and since
this is a culturally important metaphor (think of the various religions), I used the collective noun flock
for sheep as well as birds.
Games to Play with These Cards: Fish
This game plays like the game fish, but with a catch: First, they have to ask if the other student has
the collective noun and then they have to ask about the animal associated with the collective noun. They
have to match both collective noun and the associated animal to get the point.
S1: Do you have a pack?
S2: Yes, I do. (Or: No, I don't. Go fish.)
S1: Is it a pack of wolves?
S2: Yes, it is. (Or: No, it isn't. Go fish.)
In order to play this game, you will have to print off two sets of cards and glue them onto poster board and cut them out.