Launching Over Japan

Today I think I’ll talk a little about some of successful activities I’ve used in the Japanese classroom. I’ll state now that I didn’t come up with all of them, however I did add some of my own touches to them. If you are a teacher in Japan(or elsewhere) and want to use them, please feel free to. However, please leave me a comment and let me know how it went. I’m always curious to see how some of these activities work with other teachers. Here is today’s activity.

Blackboard Dash

Activity Type: Warm Up/Review
Grade Level: Grade 6 to High School 3rd Grade

This is a farily easy game to setup. All you need to do is clear out the front of the classroom of tables and chairs. Usually there is a teacher’s desk right in front. Just move it to the side. Now, you need a vocabulary list. I like to use the vocabulary they most recently used and mix in some minimal pairs (light/right), opposite(hot/cold) and other assorted words. Now here comes the time consuming part:

You need to write all these word down on a blackboard or white board. I write down between 20 and 40 words each time. Soemtimes I get the students to do it for me.

Now, you want to divide the class into groups. I usually base this off of their rows. However, sometimes, if it is a small class, I combine the rows, or form new groups. Once I have those set up, I write down the team names on the board and get ready to explain the rules.

I try to do this in simple English, but that gets difficult when talking to 6 graders. Get some help from the teacher that is with you, or use whatever Japanese you can to convey the message. The rules are simple. One person in each group gets a piece of chalk. I will go to the back of the class and shout out　one of the words on the board. The students now have to race up to the front to circle the correct word. One the correct word is circled, you I award the group their points and the student passes the chalk to the next student. I usually start simple and work my way up. Here is how I set up the scoring.

Round 1 - Simple words 1 point/group Total 5 points
Round 2 - 5 Short sentences containing the word - 2 points/group Total 10 points
Round 3 - Hints about what the word is or opposites - 3 point/group total 15 points
Round 4 - Bonus Hard hints - 5 points/group total 10 point

The group with the most points is the winner. I warn you know that this game can be a little rough near the blackboard, but I’ve never had any injuries from it. What I love about this game is that the kids really get into it. Towards the end, if two teams are close in points and it comes down to a hard question, you can cut the tension with a knife. I think it is a great way to practice listening comprehension.

Source: I believe I got this from the JET resources book and expanded on it. If you are a JET programme participant and have this book, I highly recommend it.