The latest free resource created by the IHF Handball at School Working Group, the IHF ABC Handball Cards, became available in August, offering a wealth of different games for children to simultaneously learn about handball, have plenty of fun and practice English — or, in the case of native English speakers, another language. 

Download the cards here, then print, craft and be ready to play!

The following language combinations are available: 
•    English/German and German/English
•    English/French and French/English
•    English/Spanish and Spanish/English

Seven educational games

The games available using the cards are Quick Match, Matching Pairs, I Spy, ABC Match, Categories, ABC Hop Scotch and Slap the Card. There are 52 cards in the deck and many of the games challenge children to learn the translations of the terms in their own language into English, as well as to practice English pronunciation. 

•     Quick match: Display the cards face up, then reinforce memory of handball terms by finding pairs of cards as fast as possible. 
•     Matching pairs: Place the cards face down, then try to find pairs by turning over two cards at a time and saying the terms on the cards out loud. 
•     I spy: Starting with the cards face down, choose a card and describe the item or term “I spy” style for others to guess. E.g. “I spy something that you can play handball with. It’s small and round.” 
•     ABC match: A game all about speed. Start with the cards face up, randomly arranged, and start a stopwatch. Put the cards in alphabetical order in one language, then match the same terms in the other language below. 
•     Categories: Players need a piece of paper and a pen for this game, and to note the following categories on their paper: City/place, name, animal, thing, handball. Draw cards one at a time and write which category each term belongs in. 
•     ABC hopscotch: This game requires the English cards, to help practice translations in the companion language. Place the cards face up, forming a path for players to hop through. Hop along the path, sounding out the initial letters on each English card and then saying the full term in the other language on the cards. 
•     Slap the card: There are two versions of this game and two players are needed. In the first, a card is placed in front of the players and the first to slap the card and say the sound of the first letter in the word as well as the term correctly wins. Alternatively, using the cards in the companion language (i.e. not the English) players can be challenged to slap the card drawn and say the English translation of the word on the card. 

Full instructions, including some more variations of the games, are available in the downloadable PDFs themselves. Most games can be played with one child, as well as in groups. 

About the H@S Working Group

The H@S Working Group is responsible for not only the IHF H@S programme, launched in 2011 but also for the development of children’s handball the world over in general. Led by Chair Dr Ilona Hapkova, the H@S Working Group actively guide global education related to children’s handball, and have been a key part of other educational initiatives such as the IHF Virtual Academy. 

The resources provided by the H@S Working Group enable anyone to start playing, teaching or coaching children’s handball right now. Find resources such as the Teacher Guidelines, IHF Youngsters’ Training Diary and promotional materials on the IHF website, as well as information on how to apply to be part of the H@S programme.