While the Hasbro Company is credited with inventing the picture-flip game called Memory, it didn't put a patent on the memory process. During the game, players flip over two cards. If the cards match, the player keeps them. If they don't match, the player flips them back over and tries to remember their places. No special equipment is required to play the game; in fact, supermarket fliers' sizes make them an ideal choice. Two exact copies of the supermarket flier are required. Cut pictures of different foods into a small deck and lay them out in a grid. As students play, add a new rule: they must be able to name the foods in English before keeping the cards. Otherwise, they get flipped over and are ripe for the next player's picking.
One of the most basic needs people have in learning a new language is how to translate food items. Basic staples such as milk, bread, vegetables and meats are common on shopping lists, but may be a nightmare for a non-native speaker to try to ask for. Supermarket fliers make ideal (and free) picture guides for classroom study. On many fliers the name of the item, such as "cheese" or "celery," is printed under the picture. In cases where a product's brand name is printed instead of the English word, explain the basic word and the product name together. Ask students to put together a full meal from the supermarket flier by identifying each product, translating its name in the students' primary language into English.
To reinforce students' understanding of grammar and punctuation, turn to supermarket fliers. Due to the prevalence of misuse of punctuation in grocery stores and their printed materials, supermarkets have earned their own category of mistake called the greengrocer's apostrophe. Once students have a good grasp on the language, test their skills by making a treasure hunt to find greengrocer apostrophes (a plural word such as "breads" having an incorrect apostrophe added to make "bread's"), misspelled words and poor punctuation.
Teaching students words that rhyme may help them better remember their new words. Supermarket fliers often have rhyming objects, such as "tomato" and "potato" or "greens" and "beans." Point out the rhyming items within the flier or ask students to sound them out themselves, locating the rhymes within the pages.