Printable vocabulary picture cards with your own words

Choose the words. Get a sheet of picture cards with cut lines, ready to print.

Make picture cards

Picture cards are how many children first connect a word with what it means. They are just as useful for English learners, for students learning Spanish or another language, and for students who use pictures to talk about feelings and routines. Card sets you can buy are made for someone else's word list. TeachFigs makes cards for yours.

Describe the sheet: how many cards, the words to print in quotation marks, and what each picture should show. For example: six cards for the letter B, with "ball", "bear", "boat", "bus", "banana" and "bed". Ask for dashed cut lines, and say how the words should look: large lowercase print for early readers, or the article with each noun for a language class ("la mesa", "el plato"). The three sheets below were made this way, and each caption shows its prompt.

Use them for phonics and letter sounds, sight words with a picture clue, new words for English learners, kitchen, school or family vocabulary in Spanish or another language, and feelings cards for a calm-down corner or a morning check-in. Print on card stock, cut along the lines, and use them for matching, sorting, memory games, or a word wall.

Make the cards fit your class. Ask for the people in the pictures to look like your students and their families, for pictures that are simple enough to name at a glance, and for a plain background with no clutter. For a set of matching cards, keep the same style and wording in each prompt.

Check every word before you print. Image models can misspell a word or show the wrong object, which matters most for children who are just learning to read and for language learners. Check spelling and accents in other languages too. If a card is wrong, change the description and make it again.

Example figures

Six picture cards for the letter B with dashed cut lines: ball, bear, boat, bus, banana and bed, each word in large lowercase letters under its picture.
Letter B picture cards for phonics.
PromptK-12 Textbook style, 4:3. Prompt: A printable sheet of six picture vocabulary cards for the letter B, a 3 by 2 grid of cards separated by dashed cut lines, each card a simple colorful picture with its word in large lowercase print below: "ball", "bear", "boat", "bus", "banana", "bed"
Eight Spanish vocabulary cards for kitchen items: la mesa, la silla, el plato, la cuchara, el vaso, la taza, el tenedor and el cuchillo, each under a picture of a table, chair, plate, spoon, glass, mug, fork and butter knife.
Spanish kitchen words, each with its article.
PromptK-12 Textbook style, 4:3. Prompt: A printable sheet of eight picture vocabulary cards for Spanish learners, a 4 by 2 grid separated by dashed cut lines, each card a simple colorful picture of a kitchen item with the Spanish word and article in large print below: "la mesa" (a table), "la silla" (a chair), "el plato" (a plate), "la cuchara" (a spoon), "el vaso" (a drinking glass), "la taza" (a mug), "el tenedor" (a fork), "el cuchillo" (a butter knife). Print only the Spanish words
Six feelings cards with the faces of girls and boys with different skin tones and hair: happy, sad, angry, scared (wide eyes, hands raised), calm and surprised.
Feelings cards for a calm-down corner.
PromptK-12 Textbook style, 4:3. Prompt: A printable sheet of six feelings picture cards for a calm-down corner, a 3 by 2 grid separated by dashed cut lines, each card the friendly face of a child showing one feeling with the word in large lowercase print below: "happy" (a girl with dark curly hair and brown skin, big smile), "sad" (a boy with light skin and straight black hair, a tear), "angry" (a boy with light skin and blond hair, frowning, eyebrows down), "scared" (a girl with medium brown skin and braids, wide eyes, both hands raised near her face), "calm" (a girl with tan skin and long wavy dark hair, eyes closed, gentle smile), "surprised" (a boy with dark brown skin and short hair, eyebrows up, mouth open in an O)

How it works

  1. List your words

    Say how many cards you want and put each word in quotation marks. Describe what each picture should show if the word could mean more than one thing.

  2. Choose the look

    Ask for dashed cut lines, large lowercase print, or an article with each noun. K-12 textbook gives simple, bright pictures on white.

  3. Check, print and cut

    Check the spelling and every picture. Print on card stock, cut along the lines, and use the cards for matching, sorting or a word wall.

Make picture cards

Can I use my own word list?

Yes. Put each word in quotation marks in your description. Six to eight cards per sheet keeps the words large and the pictures easy to read.

Does it work for Spanish and other languages?

Yes. Write the words in the language you teach, with the article or accents you need. Check the spelling and accents on the printed cards, because image models sometimes drop or change a letter.

Can I make cards for feelings, routines or a visual schedule?

Yes. Feelings cards, classroom routine cards and first-then pictures all work. Ask for simple pictures on a plain background with one clear word under each.

How do I keep a set of cards looking the same?

Use the same style and the same wording in each prompt, and ask for the same number of cards and the same layout. Making one sheet of six to eight cards at a time keeps a set consistent.