Elementary Year 5s 35 lessons per year # 1 Target: What's your name? I'm __ 名名 Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory AEIOU Song (5-10 mins) What's AEIOU Animals ALT demonstrates sounds. Sings song with HRT taking turns to say “I'm __” “I'm __”. Sing song with students. HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it is. HRT should ask “what's Intro into phonics. Explain that English letters have “onyomis.” Demonstrate the sounds the letters make twice, then sing the song once. When you get to the first “I'm __” point to yourself and insert your name, then point to the HRT and they should realise that they should say “I'm __” Or you can tell them about the song beforehand. Get half the class to say “I'm __” with you, and half with the HRT. Don't worry if they're not getting it straight away, because they will after the first couple of verses. Stick a magnet over the U without telling them what it means. When they sing “U” without clapping (you need to clap, though), say something like “ara-?” with a surprised expression on your face, and they should be able to figure it out. Start the verse again, and if some sing “U”, repeat the procedure. It's better if you don't overtly explain it to them, and they will pick it up by themselves. When you overtly explain 1 / 77
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Transcript
Elementary Year 5s 35 lessons per year
#
1 Target: What's your name? I'm __ 名前
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
AEIOU Song
(5-10 mins)
What's this?
(5 mins)
AEIOU
Animals
ALT demonstrates sounds. Sings song with HRT taking turns to say “I'm
__” “I'm __”.
Sing song with students.
HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
Intro into phonics. Explain that English letters have “onyomis.”
Demonstrate the sounds the letters make twice, then sing the song once.
When you get to the first “I'm __” point to yourself and insert your name,
then point to the HRT and they should realise that they should say “I'm __”
Or you can tell them about the song beforehand. Get half the class to say
“I'm __” with you, and half with the HRT. Don't worry if they're not getting it
straight away, because they will after the first couple of verses.
Stick a magnet over the U without telling them what it means. When they
sing “U” without clapping (you need to clap, though), say something like
“ara-?” with a surprised expression on your face, and they should be able
to figure it out. Start the verse again, and if some sing “U”, repeat the
procedure. It's better if you don't overtly explain it to them, and they will
pick it up by themselves. When you overtly explain something, rather than
simply drawing the students' attention to something, they stop being active
learners, and it is detrimental to their learning.
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
1 / 62
5 corners
(5-10 mins)
Ball toss
(5-10 mins)
Dictation
(5 mins)
AEIOU
"I'm __"
AEIOU
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
card is.
ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks
and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.
Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and
one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids
should run to the right area.
Toss a small, soft ball around the classroom, students say their name “I'm
__” then pass ball on. They sit down after they throw the ball to another
student.
ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's sound,
and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the idea of
what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no particular
order, watching the students to see that they are writing the correct letters.
ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if some got it
wrong.
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.
Before explaining the game, ask the students what kind of game they think
it is, and what they should be doing. Usually they can figure it out, but if
they really can't get it, just explain it.
Encourage safe moving!
Students will naturally start to realise they should watch your mouth
carefully too to help the figure out which sound is which.
Some classes need to be told not to throw the ball hard, but most won't.
Use the words “memo paper” as they have similar meanings in Japanese
and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand
what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.
You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this, though the first time you
do it, it'll take a bit longer. Try to run through at least 15 letters each time
(not 15 different ones), with the ones that the students seem to have a bit
of trouble with coming up more often.
You can say “yokukangaeta” before any corrections to help students not
2 / 62
Ball toss
(5-10 mins)
Anything ALT and HRT toss ball between each other a few times saying “I like __s.”
Encourage students to guess the meaning. Then throw the ball to the
students who say “I like __s” with their suki-na whatever before passing the
ball on and sitting down. Draw the children into the game by making sure it
looks fun.
worry about making mistakes.
Before tossing the ball to students, you can get them to guess what “I like
__” means. Try to lead them in the right direction without just giving them
the answer, for example, a heart gesture with your hands to hint at "like". I
would be very surprised, however, if not one of your students already
knows what "like" means. Never, ever jut translate something straight off
for your students, always get them to guess the meaning, or try to think
through it first.
After the first 3-4 students, you shouldn't really need to prompt students on
what to say, but sometimes the weaker ones will still need a bit of help.
Some classes need to be told not to throw the ball hard, but most won't.
2 Target: What's this? It's a/an __ これは何?
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
AEIOU Song
(5 mins)
What's this?
(5 mins)
BDCTG
Fruit,
animals, etc
ALT demonstrates sounds. Sings song with HRT taking turns to say “I'm
__” “I'm __”.
Sing song with students.
HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
card is.
Students should remember the song from last time and you'll find you won't
need to spend any time correcting mistakes. It should only take about 2-3
mins this time.
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
3 / 62
5 corners
(5 mins)
Car race
(10 mins)
BDCTG,
AEIOU
Fruit, animals
etc
ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks
and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.
Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and
one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids
should run to the right area. Halfway through the game, or as soon as
you're sure that the students have got the new consonants down, change
the corners to AEIOU.
ALT and HRT demonstrate the game. Lay the cards out in a circle on the
desks, place 1 eraser per player on opposite sides of the “race track.”
Janken to decide who moves. If win with rock, move 3 spaces, if scissors,
move 2, and if paper, move 1 space. The non-mover asks the mover
“what's this?” and the mover replies “it's a/an __.”
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.
Encourage safe moving!
Students will naturally start to realise they should watch your mouth
carefully too to help the figure out which sound is which.
The point of this game is to create a real situation where the students will
need to use the question "what's this?" Therefore it's important to include
vocab cards that they don't know how to say in English. They'll want to
keep playing the game, but can't do so unless they come and ask either
the HRT or the ALT how to say the vocab in English. Creating a real need
to use the target language like this is an effective way of getting the
students to internalise and remember the target language.
You'll need enough card sets for 1 set between 2 students, depending on
the class.
Make sure each pair gets a set containing about 30-40% cards they don't
know.
HRT and ALT should move around the class to help students use the target
language.
The “aim” of the game can be to catch the other player up, or you can just
4 / 62
Dictation
(5 mins)
Nonsense
words
(5 mins)
BDCTG,
AEIOU
Combo
families eg A,
AT, DAT,
EDAT,
KEDAT etc
ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's sound,
and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the idea of
what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no particular
order, watching the students to see that they are writing the correct letters.
ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if some got it
wrong.
ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,
ab etc and challenges the students to say them.
have the kids keep moving round if the class is not a competitive one.
Use the words “memo paper” as they have similar meanings in Japanese
and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand
what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.
You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at least
15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the students
seem to have a bit of trouble with coming up more often.
You can say “yokukangaeta” before any corrections to help students not
worry about making mistakes.
Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order
to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different
combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without
such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in
order to do so.
This activity is simple, fun, and enjoyable for the students, and doesn't take
much time, no more than 2-3 minutes per lesson. You should start off with
VC combinations first, because it helps the students to let go of the CV
order of Japanese. Always try to let the kids have a go at pronouncing it
first before you demonstrate it for them, because just feeding the students
the answers will stop them becoming active learners willing to experiment
for themselves.
3 Target: Numbers 1-10 数字1-10
5 / 62
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
AEIOU Song
(5 mins)
What's this?
(5 mins)
5 corners
(5 mins)
Counting
cards
PMNS +1
Numbers 1-
10
PMNS+1,
AEIOU
Anything
ALT demonstrates sounds. Sings song with HRT taking turns to say “I'm
__” “I'm __”.
Sing song with students.
HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
card is.
ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks
and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.
Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and
one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids
should run to the right area. Halfway through the game, or as soon as
you're sure that the students have got the new consonants down, change
the corners to AEIOU.
Divide the class into small groups. One child has a pile of cards. The
number calling child calls out a number and the child with cards counts out
Get the students to suggest 1 previously covered letter to add to the set to
make it 5.
Students should remember the song from last time and you'll find it should
only take about 2-3 mins this time.
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.
Students should remember this game from last time, and will know what to
do.
Small groups of 2-3 would work best for this game.
6 / 62
(10 mins)
Dictation
(5 mins)
Nonsense
words
(5 mins)
PMNS,
BDCTG,
AEIOU
Combo
families eg A,
AT, DAT,
EDAT,
KEDAT etc
the appropriate number of cards. The card counter then asks a question
about the card eg “What is it?” and the other children should answer eg “It’s
a banana.”
ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's sound,
and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the idea of
what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no particular
order, watching the students to see that they are writing the correct letters.
ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if some got it
wrong.
ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,
ab etc and challenges the students to say them.
Use the words “memo paper” as they have similar meanings in Japanese
and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand
what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.
You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at least
15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the students
seem to have a bit of trouble with coming up more often.
You can say “yokukangaeta” before any corrections to help students not
worry about making mistakes.
Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order
to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different
combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without
such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in
order to do so.
This activity is simple, fun, and enjoyable for the students, and doesn't take
much time, no more than 2-3 minutes per lesson. You should start off with
VC combinations first, because it helps the students to let go of the CV
order of Japanese. Always try to let the kids have a go at pronouncing it
first before you demonstrate it for them, because just feeding the students
the answers will stop them becoming active learners willing to experiment
for themselves.
7 / 62
4 Target: People who like __(s) XXが好きな人
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
AEIOU Song
(5 mins)
What's this?
(5 mins)
5 corners
(5 mins)
KHQJ+1
Anything
KHQJ+1,
AEIOU
ALT demonstrates sounds. Sings song with HRT taking turns to say “I'm
__” “I'm __”.
Sing song with students.
HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
card is.
ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks
and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.
Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and
one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids
should run to the right area. Halfway through the game, or as soon as
you're sure that the students have got the new consonants down, change
the corners to AEIOU.
Get the students to suggest 1 previously covered letter to add to the set to
make it 5.
Students should remember the song from last time and you'll find it should
only take about 2-3 mins this time.
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.
Students should remember this game from last time, and will know what to
do.
8 / 62
Fruit basket
(10 mins)
Dictation
(5 mins)
Nonsense
words
(5 mins)
Anything
KHQJ,
PMNS,
BCTDG,
AEIOU
Combo
families eg A,
AT, DAT,
EDAT,
KEDAT etc
ALT uses English and gestures to get students to make a circle with their
chairs. Use the sentence “People who like __” for the game.
The game should go on for no longer than 10 mins. Always stop games
before your students want to, so that next time they will want to play them
even more.
ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's sound,
and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the idea of
what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no particular
order, watching the students to see that they are writing the correct letters.
ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if some got it
wrong.
ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,
ab etc and challenges the students to say them.
You can introduce the sentence by saying “tatoeba, ‘people who like red’ to
yuttara nani ga okoru?” and the students should be able to tell you that kids
who like red will change seats (90%+ of classes will get it straight off, in my
experience).
You can write the sentence on the board and prompt students so they can
say it.
ALT/HRT don't need to be a part of the game. It's good if they can just be
in the background and the students take ownership of the game
themselves.
Use the words “memo paper” as they have similar meanings in Japanese
and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand
what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.
You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at least
15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the students
seem to have a bit of trouble with coming up more often.
You can say “yokukangaeta” before any corrections to help students not
worry about making mistakes.
Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order
to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different
combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without
such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in
order to do so.
This activity is simple, fun, and enjoyable for the students, and doesn't take
much time, no more than 2-3 minutes per lesson. You should start off with
VC combinations first, because it helps the students to let go of the CV
9 / 62
order of Japanese. Always try to let the kids have a go at pronouncing it
first before you demonstrate it for them, because just feeding the students
the answers will stop them becoming active learners willing to experiment
for themselves.
5 Target: Do you like __(s)? Yes I do/ No I don't XXが好き?はい・いいえ
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
AEIOU Song
(5 mins)
What's this?
(5 mins)
5 corners
(5 mins)
LWVF+1
Anything you
think the
students
would be
interested in
learning
LWVF+1,
AEIOU
ALT demonstrates sounds. Sings song with HRT taking turns to say “I'm
__” “I'm __”.
Sing song with students.
HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
card is.
ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks
and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.
Get the students to suggest 1 previously covered letter to add to the set to
make it 5.
Students should remember the song from last time and you'll find it should
only take about 2-3 mins this time.
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.
Students should remember this game from last time, and will know what to
do.
10 / 62
Car race
(10 mins)
Dictation
(5 mins)
Nonsense
words
Anything
LWVF,
KHQJ,
PMNS,
BCDTG,
AEIOU
Combo
families eg A,
Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and
one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids
should run to the right area. Halfway through the game, or as soon as
you're sure that the students have got the new consonants down, change
the corners to AEIOU.
ALT and HRT demonstrate the game. Lay the cards out in a circle on the
desks, place 1 eraser per player on opposite sides of the “race track.”
Janken to decide who moves. If win with rock, move 3 spaces, if scissors,
move 2, and if paper, move 1 space. The non-mover asks the mover “Do
you like __(s)? and the mover replies “Yes I do/ No I don't”
ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's sound,
and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the idea of
what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no particular
order, watching the students to see that they are writing the correct letters.
ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if some got it
wrong.
ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,
ab etc and challenges the students to say them.
About 30-40% of cards should be new vocabulary so that the students will
come to you or the HRT to ask what they are, and they should have
English printed on them so they can also try to sound them out for
themselves.
You'll need enough card sets for 1 set between 2 students, depending on
the class.
HRT and ALT should move around the class to help students use the target
language.
The “aim” of the game can be to catch the other player up, or you can just
have the kids keep moving round if the class is not a competitive one.
Use the words “memo paper” as they have similar meanings in Japanese
and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand
what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.
You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at least
15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the students
seem to have a bit of trouble with coming up more often.
You can say “yokukangaeta” before any corrections to help students not
worry about making mistakes.
Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order
11 / 62
(5 mins) AT, DAT,
EDAT,
KEDAT etc
to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different
combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without
such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in
order to do so.
This activity is simple, fun, and enjoyable for the students, and doesn't take
much time, no more than 2-3 minutes per lesson. You should start off with
VC combinations first, because it helps the students to let go of the CV
order of Japanese. Always try to let the kids have a go at pronouncing it
first before you demonstrate it for them, because just feeding the students
the answers will stop them becoming active learners willing to experiment
for themselves.
6 Target: I like __(s) XXが好き
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
AEIOU Song
(5 mins)
What's this?
(5 mins)
YZRX+1
Anything you
think the
students
would be
interested in
learning
ALT demonstrates sounds. Sings song with HRT taking turns to say “I'm
__” “I'm __”.
Sing song with students.
HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
card is.
Get the students to suggest 1 previously covered letter to add to the set to
make it 5.
Students should remember the song from last time and you'll find it should
only take about 2-3 mins this time.
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
12 / 62
5 corners
(5 mins)
Basketball
(10 mins)
Dictation
(5 mins)
YZXR+1,
AEIOU
Anything
A-Z
ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks
and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.
Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and
one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids
should run to the right area. Halfway through the game, or as soon as
you're sure that the students have got the new consonants down, change
the corners to AEIOU.
Divide the class in half and each half makes a circle around a smallish box
on the floor. Students take turns to say “I like __(s)” and then throw a large
dice into the box. If they get it in, they get 10 points for their team. If not,
they get the number of points on the dice.
ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's sound,
and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the idea of
what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no particular
order, watching the students to see that they are writing the correct letters.
ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if some got it
wrong.
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.
Students should remember this game from last time, and will know what to
do.
If students don't know the name of what they want to say in English,
encourage them to ask “what's __?”
Use the words “memo paper” as they have similar meanings in Japanese
and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand
what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.
You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at least
15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the students
seem to have a bit of trouble with coming up more often.
You can say “yokukangaeta” before any corrections to help students not
worry about making mistakes.
13 / 62
Nonsense
words
(5 mins)
Combo
families eg A,
AT, DAT,
EDAT,
KEDAT etc
ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,
ab etc and challenges the students to say them.
Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order
to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different
combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without
such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in
order to do so.
This activity is simple, fun, and enjoyable for the students, and doesn't take
much time, no more than 2-3 minutes per lesson. You should start off with
VC combinations first, because it helps the students to let go of the CV
order of Japanese. Always try to let the kids have a go at pronouncing it
first before you demonstrate it for them, because just feeding the students
the answers will stop them becoming active learners willing to experiment
for themselves.
7 Target: I don't like __(s) XXが好きじゃない
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
Nonsense
words
(5 mins)
Combo
families eg A,
AT, DAT,
EDAT,
KEDAT etc
ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,
ab etc and challenges the students to say them.
Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order
to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different
combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without
such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in
order to do so.
This activity is simple, fun, and enjoyable for the students, and doesn't take
much time, no more than 2-3 minutes per lesson. You should start off with
VC combinations first, because it helps the students to let go of the CV
order of Japanese. Always try to let the kids have a go at pronouncing it
first before you demonstrate it for them, because just feeding the students
14 / 62
What's this?
(5 mins)
Chopstick
spelling
(10-15 mins)
Shopping List
(10 mins)
Anything
Anything
phonically
regular
HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
card is.
Dictate letters or letter combinations and have all of the children write the
letters on pieces of paper. Either all of the letters of the alphabet or just
those needed for the game. Divide all of the children into teams, and give
one child from each team a pair of chopsticks. The children then tear up
their pieces of paper, and all the children from one team mix their letters
together. Place a row of flashcard on the board or in a prominent place.
Each team then races to spell the words by picking up the letters in
chopsticks and racing to put them in a place equidistant from each team.
When one child is finished with a letter, they hand the chopsticks over to
the next child, like a relay.
Divide the class into 2 teams. One team writes 10-15 letters on the board
(eg c, d, s, t etc). The first child from the other team makes a sentence
the answers will stop them becoming active learners willing to experiment
for themselves.
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.
Make sure if the flashcard has English on the front that it is well covered.
To save time, you can give each team a set of laminated letters to use.
The first time will take about 15 mins, but thereafter you should spend no
more than 10 mins on it.
15 / 62
Dictation
(5 mins)
Ball toss
(10 mins)
A-Z, VC
patterns
Anything
using one of the letters on the board to make a word that starts with that
letter. “I don't like cakes” (cake for c) and the second child on that team
might say “I don't like cakes and strawberries.” The team continues with
the remaining letters and gets additional points for every item they can add.
ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's sound,
and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the idea of
what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no particular
order, watching the students to see that they are writing the correct letters.
ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if some got it
wrong.
ALT and HRT toss ball between each other a few times saying “I don't like
__s.” Then throw the ball to the students who say “I like __s” with their suki
ja nai whatever before passing the ball on and sitting down. Draw the
children into the game by making sure it looks fun.
Use the words “memo paper” as they have similar meanings in Japanese
and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand
what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.
You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at least
15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the students
seem to have a bit of trouble with coming up more often.
You can say “yokukangaeta” before any corrections to help students not
worry about making mistakes.
After the first 3-4 students, you shouldn't really need to prompt students on
what to say, but sometimes the weaker ones will still need a bit of help.
Some classes need to be told not to throw the ball hard, but most won't.
8 Target: What __ do you like? I like __(s) 何の_が好き?
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
Nonsense
words
(5 mins)
Combo
families eg A,
AT, DAT,
EDAT,
KEDAT etc
ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,
ab etc and challenges the students to say them.
Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order
to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different
combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without
such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in
order to do so.
16 / 62
What's this?
(5 mins)
Chopstick
spelling
(10 mins)
Categories
eg fruit,
animals,
colours,
sport, food,
drinks, etc
Anything
phonically
regular
HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
card is.
Dictate letters or letter combinations and have all of the children write the
letters on pieces of paper. Either all of the letters of the alphabet or just
those needed for the game. Divide all of the children into teams, and give
one child from each team a pair of chopsticks. The children then tear up
their pieces of paper, and all the children from one team mix their letters
together. Place a row of flashcard on the board or in a prominent place.
Each team then races to spell the words by picking up the letters in
chopsticks and racing to put them in a place equidistant from each team.
This activity is simple, fun, and enjoyable for the students, and doesn't take
much time, no more than 2-3 minutes per lesson. You should start off with
VC combinations first, because it helps the students to let go of the CV
order of Japanese. Always try to let the kids have a go at pronouncing it
first before you demonstrate it for them, because just feeding the students
the answers will stop them becoming active learners willing to experiment
for themselves.
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.
Make sure if the flashcard has English on the front that it is well covered.
To save time, you can give each team a set of laminated letters to use.
The first time will take about 15 mins, but thereafter you should spend no
more than 10 mins on it.
17 / 62
Car race
(10 mins)
Dictation
(5 mins)
Basketball
(10 mins)
Categories
eg fruit,
animals,
colours,
sport, food,
drinks, etc
A-Z, VC
patterns
Anything
When one child is finished with a letter, they hand the chopsticks over to
the next child, like a relay.
ALT and HRT demonstrate the game. Lay the cards out in a circle on the
desks, place 1 eraser per player on opposite sides of the “race track.”
Janken to decide who moves. If win with rock, move 3 spaces, if scissors,
move 2, and if paper, move 1 space. The non-mover asks the mover
“What __ do you like?” and the mover replies “I like __(s)”
ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's sound,
and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the idea of
what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no particular
order, watching the students to see that they are writing the correct letters.
ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if some got it
wrong.
Divide the class in half and each half makes a circle around a smallish box
on the floor. Students take turns to say “I like __(s)” and then throw a large
dice into the box. If they get it in, they get 10 points for their team. If not,
they get the number of points on the dice.
About 30-40% of cards should be new vocabulary so that the students will
come to you or the HRT to ask what they are, and they should have
English printed on them so they can also try to sound them out for
themselves.
You'll need enough card sets for 1 set between 2 students, depending on
the class.
HRT and ALT should move around the class to help students use the target
language.
The “aim” of the game can be to catch the other player up, or you can just
have the kids keep moving round if the class is not a competitive one.
Use the words “memo paper” as they have similar meanings in Japanese
and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand
what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.
You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at least
15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the students
seem to have a bit of trouble with coming up more often.
You can say “yokukangaeta” before any corrections to help students not
worry about making mistakes.
If students don't know the name of what they want to say in English,
encourage them to ask “what's __?”
18 / 62
9 Target: What's this? It's __ これは何?
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
AEIOU Song
(combos 1)
(5 mins)
What's this?
(5 mins)
5 corners
(5 mins)
Car race
EE,
OW(cow),
OO(foot), IR,
OY
Days,
weather
EE,
OW(cow),
OO(foot), IR,
OY
Days,
ALT demonstrates sounds. Sings song with HRT taking turns to say “I'm
__” “I'm __”.
Sing song with students.
HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
card is.
ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks
and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.
Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and
one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids
should run to the right area.
ALT and HRT demonstrate the game. Lay the cards out in a circle on the
Students should remember the song from last time and you'll find it should
only take about 2-3 mins this time.
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.
Students should remember this game from last time and will know what to
do.
About 30-40% of cards should be new vocabulary so that the students will
19 / 62
(10 mins)
Dictation
(5 mins)
Chains
(10 mins)
weather,
anything else
you want to
include
A-Z, VC
patterns, new
combos
Days of the
week
desks, place 1 eraser per player on opposite sides of the “race track.”
Janken to decide who moves. If win with rock, move 3 spaces, if scissors,
move 2, and if paper, move 1 space. The non-mover asks the mover
“what's this?” and the mover replies “it's a/an __.”
ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's sound,
and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the idea of
what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no particular
order, watching the students to see that they are writing the correct letters.
ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if some got it
wrong.
Students stand up and toss the ball among themselves. The first student
will say "Sunday", throw the ball, and then sit down. The second student,
"Monday" and so on.
come to you or the HRT to ask what they are, and they should have
English printed on them so they can also try to sound them out for
themselves.
You'll need enough card sets for 1 set between 2 students, depending on
the class.
HRT and ALT should move around the class to help students use the target
language.
The “aim” of the game can be to catch the other player up, or you can just
have the kids keep moving round if the class is not a competitive one.
Use the words “memo paper” as they have similar meanings in Japanese
and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand
what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.
You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at least
15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the students
seem to have a bit of trouble with coming up more often.
You can say “yokukangaeta” before any corrections to help students not
worry about making mistakes.
10 Target: Numbers 1-10 数字1-10
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
AEIOU Song OO(moon), ALT demonstrates sounds. Sings song with HRT taking turns to say “I'm Students should remember the song from last time and you'll find it should
20 / 62
(combos 2)
(5 mins)
What's this?
(5 mins)
5 corners
(5 mins)
Counting
cards
(10 mins)
EA(sea), AY,
OR(horse),
CH
Numbers 1-
10
OO(moon),
EA(sea), AY,
OR(horse),
CH
Anything
__” “I'm __”.
Sing song with students.
HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
card is.
ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks
and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.
Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and
one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids
should run to the right area.
Divide the class into small groups. One child has a pile of cards and
another child calls out a number. The child with cards asks "how many
cards?" and the number calling child calls out a number. The child with
cards counts out the appropriate number of cards. The card counter then
asks a question about the card eg “What is it?” and the other children
should answer eg “It’s a banana.”
only take about 2-3 mins this time.
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.
Students should remember this game from last time and will know what to
do.
Small groups of 2-3 would work best for this game.
21 / 62
Dictation
(5 mins)
Nonsense
words
(5 mins)
A-Z, VC
patterns, new
combos
Combo
families eg A,
AT, DAT,
EDAT,
KEDAT etc
ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's sound,
and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the idea of
what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no particular
order, watching the students to see that they are writing the correct letters.
ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if some got it
wrong.
ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,
ab etc and challenges the students to say them.
Use the words “memo paper” as they have similar meanings in Japanese
and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand
what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.
You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at least
15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the students
seem to have a bit of trouble with coming up more often.
You can say “yokukangaeta” before any corrections to help students not
worry about making mistakes.
Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order
to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different
combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without
such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in
order to do so.
This activity is simple, fun, and enjoyable for the students, and doesn't take
much time, no more than 2-3 minutes per lesson. You should start off with
VC combinations first, because it helps the students to let go of the CV
order of Japanese. Always try to let the kids have a go at pronouncing it
first before you demonstrate it for them, because just feeding the students
the answers will stop them becoming active learners willing to experiment
for themselves.
11 Target: People who want a/an __ XXが欲しい人
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
22 / 62
AEIOU Song
(combos 3)
(5 mins)
What's this?
(5 mins)
5 corners
(5 mins)
Fruit basket
(10 mins)
OW(window),
AI, OA, SH,
TH(this)
Anything that
can be used
with "want"
OW(window),
AI, OA, SH,
TH(this)
Anything
ALT demonstrates sounds. Sings song with HRT taking turns to say “I'm
__” “I'm __”.
Sing song with students.
HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
card is.
ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks
and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.
Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and
one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids
should run to the right area.
ALT uses English and gestures to get students to make a circle with their
chairs. Use the sentence “People who want a/an __” for the game.
The game should go on for no longer than 10 mins. Always stop games
before your students want to, so that next time they will want to play them
even more.
Students should remember the song from last time and you'll find it should
only take about 2-3 mins this time.
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.
Students should remember this game from last time and will know what to
do.
You can introduce the sentence by saying “tatoeba, ‘people who want a
hamster’ to yuttara nani ga okoru?” and the students should be able to tell
you that kids who want a hamster will change seats (90%+ of classes will
get it straight off, in my experience).
You can write the sentence on the board and prompt students so they can
say it.
23 / 62
Dictation
(5 mins)
Nonsense
words
(5 mins)
A-Z, VC
patterns, new
combos
Combo
families eg A,
AT, DAT,
EDAT,
KEDAT etc
ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's sound,
and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the idea of
what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no particular
order, watching the students to see that they are writing the correct letters.
ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if some got it
wrong.
ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,
ab etc and challenges the students to say them.
ALT/HRT don't need to be a part of the game. It's good if they can just be
in the background and the students take ownership of the game
themselves.
Use the words “memo paper” as they have similar meanings in Japanese
and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand
what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.
You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at least
15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the students
seem to have a bit of trouble with coming up more often.
You can say “yokukangaeta” before any corrections to help students not
worry about making mistakes.
Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order
to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different
combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without
such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in
order to do so.
This activity is simple, fun, and enjoyable for the students, and doesn't take
much time, no more than 2-3 minutes per lesson. You should start off with
VC combinations first, because it helps the students to let go of the CV
order of Japanese. Always try to let the kids have a go at pronouncing it
first before you demonstrate it for them, because just feeding the students
the answers will stop them becoming active learners willing to experiment
for themselves.
24 / 62
12 Target: Do you want a/an __? Yes I do/ No I don't XXが欲しい?はい・いいえ
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
AEIOU Song
(combos 4)
(5 mins)
What's this?
(5 mins)
5 corners
(5 mins)
Car race
(10 mins)
OU(cloud),
TH(thin), CK,
EA(bread)+1
Anything that
can be used
with want,
anything that
came up in
Fruit Basket
last time
OU(cloud),
TH(thin), CK,
EA(bread)+1
Anything
ALT demonstrates sounds. Sings song with HRT taking turns to say “I'm
__” “I'm __”.
Sing song with students.
HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
card is.
ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks
and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.
Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and
one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids
should run to the right area.
ALT and HRT demonstrate the game. Lay the cards out in a circle on the
desks, place 1 eraser per player on opposite sides of the “race track.”
Janken to decide who moves. If win with rock, move 3 spaces, if scissors,
Get the students to add one letter to make it 5.
Students should remember the song from last time and you'll find it should
only take about 2-3 mins this time.
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.
Students should remember this game from last time and will know what to
do.
About 30-40% of cards should be new vocabulary so that the students will
come to you or the HRT to ask what they are, and they should have
English printed on them so they can also try to sound them out for
25 / 62
Dictation
(5 mins)
Nonsense
words
(5 mins)
A-Z, VC
patterns, new
combos
Combo
families eg A,
AT, DAT,
EDAT,
KEDAT etc
move 2, and if paper, move 1 space. The non-mover asks the mover “Do
you want a/an __?” and the mover replies “Yes I do/ No I don't”
ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's sound,
and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the idea of
what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no particular
order, watching the students to see that they are writing the correct letters.
ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if some got it
wrong.
ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,
ab etc and challenges the students to say them.
themselves.
You'll need enough card sets for 1 set between 2 students, depending on
the class.
HRT and ALT should move around the class to help students use the target
language.
The “aim” of the game can be to catch the other player up, or you can just
have the kids keep moving round if the class is not a competitive one.
Use the words “memo paper” as they have similar meanings in Japanese
and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand
what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.
You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at least
15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the students
seem to have a bit of trouble with coming up more often.
You can say “yokukangaeta” before any corrections to help students not
worry about making mistakes.
Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order
to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different
combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without
such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in
order to do so.
This activity is simple, fun, and enjoyable for the students, and doesn't take
much time, no more than 2-3 minutes per lesson. You should start off with
VC combinations first, because it helps the students to let go of the CV
order of Japanese. Always try to let the kids have a go at pronouncing it
first before you demonstrate it for them, because just feeding the students
26 / 62
the answers will stop them becoming active learners willing to experiment
for themselves.
13 Target: I want a/an __ XXが欲しい
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
Nonsense
words
(5 mins)
What's this?
(5 mins)
Combo
families eg A,
AT, DAT,
EDAT,
KEDAT etc
Food, drink,
clothing,
video games,
pets, etc
ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,
ab etc and challenges the students to say them.
HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
card is.
Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order
to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different
combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without
such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in
order to do so.
This activity is simple, fun, and enjoyable for the students, and doesn't take
much time, no more than 2-3 minutes per lesson. You should start off with
VC combinations first, because it helps the students to let go of the CV
order of Japanese. Always try to let the kids have a go at pronouncing it
first before you demonstrate it for them, because just feeding the students
the answers will stop them becoming active learners willing to experiment
for themselves.
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
27 / 62
Chopstick
spelling
(10 mins)
Toss!
(10 mins)
Dictation
(5 mins)
Anything
Anythiny the
students
might want
A-Z, VC
patterns, new
combos
Dictate letters or letter combinations and have all of the children write the
letters on pieces of paper. Either all of the letters of the alphabet or just
those needed for the game. Divide all of the children into teams, and give
one child from each team a pair of chopsticks. The children then tear up
their pieces of paper, and all the children from one team mix their letters
together. Place a row of flashcard on the board or in a prominent place.
Each team then races to spell the words by picking up the letters in
chopsticks and racing to put them in a place equidistant from each team.
When one child is finished with a letter, they hand the chopsticks over to
the next child, like a relay.
Divide the class into 2 groups (one for the HRT and one for the ALT), and
clear enough space for the kids to stand in a circle around a set of
flashcards on the floor (one set per group). Students take turns to throw a
beanbag onto a card, and say “I want a __” and take the card. Try to have
enough cards for 2 per student, and add in some previously not covered
vocab. If the student doesn't know how to say the animal the beanbag
landed on, encourage them to ask either the ALT or HRT “what's this?” or
“what is it?” and give the answer.
ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's sound,
and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the idea of
what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no particular
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.
Make sure if the flashcard has English on the front that it is well covered.
To save time, you can give each team a set of laminated letters to use.
The first time will take about 15 mins, but thereafter you should spend no
more than 10 mins on it.
You'll need at least enough flashcards for one per student. Try for two per
student though.
If any students get upset that they don't like any of the cards in the set their
team has been given, don't worry, simply teach them "I don't want __(s)"
Use the words “memo paper” as they have similar meanings in Japanese
and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand
what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.
28 / 62
Ball toss
(10 mins)
Anything
order, watching the students to see that they are writing the correct letters.
ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if some got it
wrong.
ALT and HRT toss ball between each other a few times saying “I want a/an
__” Then throw the ball to the students who say “I want a/an__” with their
hoshii- whatever before passing the ball on and sitting down. Draw the
children into the game by making sure it looks fun.
You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at least
15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the students
seem to have a bit of trouble with coming up more often.
You can say “yokukangaeta” before any corrections to help students not
worry about making mistakes.
After the first 3-4 students, you shouldn't really need to prompt students on
what to say, but sometimes the weaker ones will still need a bit of help.
Some classes need to be told not to throw the ball hard, but most won't.
14 Target: What __ do you want? I want a/an __ 何の_が欲しい?XXが欲しい
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
Letter tiles
(10 mns)
What's this?
(5 mins)
No vocab
Categories
eg food,
drink, video
Divide the students into pairs or 2 teams. They have letter tiles with vowels
in one colour (eg blue) and consonants in another (eg red). There should
be plenty of each for each child to choose from. One child makes either a
vowel-consonant sequence or a vowel-consonant-vowel-consonant
sequence (eg emak), and challenges the other child/ team to say it. The
second child/ team then adds another vowel-consonant sequence and
challenges the first child/ team to say it. Sequences can be continued as
long as wanted.
HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
It doesn't matter how long the words get. The purpose of this exercise is to
make puzzling out English spelling a game and a fun challenge for the
students.
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
29 / 62
Dictation
(5 mins)
Car race
(10 mins)
game, pet,
etc
A-Z, CVC
patterns, new
combos
Categories
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
card is.
ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's sound,
and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the idea of
what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no particular
order, watching the students to see that they are writing the correct letters.
ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if some got it
wrong.
ALT and HRT demonstrate the game. Lay the cards out in a circle on the
desks, place 1 eraser per player on opposite sides of the “race track.”
Janken to decide who moves. If win with rock, move 3 spaces, if scissors,
move 2, and if paper, move 1 space. The non-mover asks the mover
“What __ do you want?” and the mover replies “I want a/an __”
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.
Use the words “memo paper” as they have similar meanings in Japanese
and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand
what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.
You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at least
15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the students
seem to have a bit of trouble with coming up more often.
You can say “yokukangaeta” before any corrections to help students not
worry about making mistakes.
About 30-40% of cards should be new vocabulary so that the students will
come to you or the HRT to ask what they are, and they should have
English printed on them so they can also try to sound them out for
themselves.
You'll need enough card sets for 1 set between 2 students, depending on
the class.
HRT and ALT should move around the class to help students use the target
language.
The “aim” of the game can be to catch the other player up, or you can just
have the kids keep moving round if the class is not a competitive one.
30 / 62
Chopstick
spelling
(10 mins)
Ball toss
(5-10 mins)
Anything
Anything
Dictate letters or letter combinations and have all of the children write the
letters on pieces of paper. Either all of the letters of the alphabet or just
those needed for the game. Divide all of the children into teams, and give
one child from each team a pair of chopsticks. The children then tear up
their pieces of paper, and all the children from one team mix their letters
together. Place a row of flashcard on the board or in a prominent place.
Each team then races to spell the words by picking up the letters in
chopsticks and racing to put them in a place equidistant from each team.
When one child is finished with a letter, they hand the chopsticks over to
the next child, like a relay.
ALT and HRT toss ball between each other a few times asking “What __ do
you want?” "I want a/an __" Then throw the ball to the students who ask
and answer the question before sitting down. Draw the children into the
game by making sure it looks fun.
Make sure if the flashcard has English on the front that it is well covered.
To save time, you can give each team a set of laminated letters to use.
The first time will take about 15 mins, but thereafter you should spend no
more than 10 mins on it.
After the first 3-4 students, you shouldn't really need to prompt students on
what to say, but sometimes the weaker ones will still need a bit of help.
Some classes need to be told not to throw the ball hard, but most won't.
15 Target: People who want to eat __ XXが食べたい人
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
5 corners
(5 mins)
What's this?
Any 5 letters
the students
choose
Food
ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks
and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.
Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and
one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids
should run to the right area.
HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
Students should remember this game from last time and will know what to
do.
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
31 / 62
(5 mins)
Chopstick
spelling
(10 mins)
Fruit basket
(10 mins)
Anything
Food
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
card is.
Dictate letters or letter combinations and have all of the children write the
letters on pieces of paper. Either all of the letters of the alphabet or just
those needed for the game. Divide all of the children into teams, and give
one child from each team a pair of chopsticks. The children then tear up
their pieces of paper, and all the children from one team mix their letters
together. Place a row of flashcard on the board or in a prominent place.
Each team then races to spell the words by picking up the letters in
chopsticks and racing to put them in a place equidistant from each team.
When one child is finished with a letter, they hand the chopsticks over to
the next child, like a relay.
ALT uses English and gestures to get students to make a circle with their
chairs. Use the sentence “People who want to eat a/an __” for the game.
The game should go on for no longer than 10 mins. Always stop games
before your students want to, so that next time they will want to play them
even more.
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.
Make sure if the flashcard has English on the front that it is well covered.
To save time, you can give each team a set of laminated letters to use.
The first time will take about 15 mins, but thereafter you should spend no
more than 10 mins on it.
You can introduce the sentence by saying “tatoeba, ‘people who want to
eat a hamburger’ to yuttara nani ga okoru?” and the students should be
able to tell you that kids who want to eat a hamburger will change seats
(90%+ of classes will get it straight off, in my experience).
You can write the sentence on the board and prompt students so they can
say it.
32 / 62
Dictation
(5 mins)
Ball toss
(10 mins)
A-Z, CVC
patterns, new
combos
Food
ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's sound,
and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the idea of
what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no particular
order, watching the students to see that they are writing the correct letters.
ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if some got it
wrong.
ALT and HRT toss ball between each other a few times saying “I want to
eat a/an __" Then throw the ball to the students who say their tabetai- food
before passing the ball on and sitting down. Draw the children into the
game by making sure it looks fun.
ALT/HRT don't need to be a part of the game. It's good if they can just be
in the background and the students take ownership of the game
themselves.
Use the words “memo paper” as they have similar meanings in Japanese
and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand
what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.
You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at least
15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the students
seem to have a bit of trouble with coming up more often.
You can say “yokukangaeta” before any corrections to help students not
worry about making mistakes.
After the first 3-4 students, you shouldn't really need to prompt students on
what to say, but sometimes the weaker ones will still need a bit of help.
Some classes need to be told not to throw the ball hard, but most won't.
16 Target: Do you want to eat __? Yes I do/ No I don't
XXが食べたい?はい・いいえ
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
5 corners
(5 mins)
Any 5 letters
the students
choose
ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks
and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.
Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and
one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids
should run to the right area.
Students should remember this game from last time and will know what to
do.
33 / 62
Counting
cards
(10 mins)
Letter tiles
(10 mins)
Noughts and
crosses
(10 mins)
Food
No vocab
Anything
Divide the class into pairs. One child has a pile of cards. The child with
cards asks "how many cards?" and the other child calls out a number. The
child with cards counts out the appropriate number of cards. The card
counter then asks “Do you want to eat (a) __?” and the other child should
answer "Yes I do/ No I don't"
Divide the students into pairs or 2 teams. They have letter tiles with vowels
in one colour (eg blue) and consonants in another (eg red). There should
be plenty of each for each child to choose from. One child makes either a
vowel-consonant sequence or a vowel-consonant-vowel-consonant
sequence (eg emak), and challenges the other child/ team to say it. The
second child/ team then adds another vowel-consonant sequence and
challenges the first child/ team to say it. Sequences can be continued as
long as wanted.
Also called "tic tac toe." Divide the class into 2 teams. Draw a 5x5 grid on
the board and write numbers in the corners of each of the squares. Place
flashcards in each of the squares. The flashcards can be of vocab items or
phonics sounds, or a mix of both. The first student on one team picks a
number and either tries to say the card, or make a sentence with it. The
card is then either covered with a particular colour magnet, or a mark is
made in the square with chalk. The first student from the other team then
does the same. The teams try to make as many rows, columns, or
diagonals of 3 as possible, with extra points being awarded if they can
About 30-40% of cards should be new vocabulary so that the students will
come to you or the HRT to ask what they are, and they should have
English printed on them so they can also try to sound them out for
themselves.
You'll need enough card sets for 1 set between 2 students, depending on
the class.
HRT and ALT should move around the class to help students use the target
language.
It doesn't matter how long the words get. The purpose of this exercise is to
make puzzling out English spelling a game and a fun challenge for the
students.
The students are allowed to consult with team members before choosing a
card and trying to complete the task.
34 / 62
make 2 or 3 lines at once.
17 Target: People who want to drink __ XXが飲みたい人
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
AEIOU Song
(5 mins)
What's this?
(5 mins)
Chopstick
spelling
(10 mins)
Any 5 letters
the students
choose
Drinks
Anything
ALT demonstrates sounds. Sings song with HRT taking turns to say “I'm
__” “I'm __”.
Sing song with students.
HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
card is.
Dictate letters or letter combinations and have all of the children write the
letters on pieces of paper. Either all of the letters of the alphabet or just
those needed for the game. Divide all of the children into teams, and give
one child from each team a pair of chopsticks. The children then tear up
their pieces of paper, and all the children from one team mix their letters
together. Place a row of flashcard on the board or in a prominent place.
Students should remember the song from last time and you'll find it should
only take about 2-3 mins this time.
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.
Make sure if the flashcard has English on the front that it is well covered.
To save time, you can give each team a set of laminated letters to use.
The first time will take about 15 mins, but thereafter you should spend no
more than 10 mins on it.
35 / 62
Fruit basket
(10 mins)
Shopping list
(10 mins)
Dictation
(5 mins)
Drink
A-Z, CVC
patterns, new
combos
Each team then races to spell the words by picking up the letters in
chopsticks and racing to put them in a place equidistant from each team.
When one child is finished with a letter, they hand the chopsticks over to
the next child, like a relay.
ALT uses English and gestures to get students to make a circle with their
chairs. Use the sentence “People who want to drink __” for the game.
The game should go on for no longer than 10 mins. Always stop games
before your students want to, so that next time they will want to play them
even more.
Divide the class into 2 teams. One team writes 10-15 letters on the board
(eg c, d, s, t etc). The first child from the other team makes a sentence
using one of the letters on the board to make a word that starts with that
letter. “I want to drink coffee” (coffee for c) and the second child on that
team might say “I want to drink coffee and milk.” The team continues with
the remaining letters and gets additional points for every item they can add.
ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's sound,
and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the idea of
what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no particular
order, watching the students to see that they are writing the correct letters.
ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if some got it
You can introduce the sentence by saying “tatoeba, ‘people who want to
drink milk’ to yuttara nani ga okoru?” and the students should be able to tell
you that kids who want to drink milk will change seats (90%+ of classes will
get it straight off, in my experience).
You can write the sentence on the board and prompt students so they can
say it.
ALT/HRT don't need to be a part of the game. It's good if they can just be
in the background and the students take ownership of the game
themselves.
Use the words “memo paper” as they have similar meanings in Japanese
and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand
what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.
You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at least
15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the students
36 / 62
wrong. seem to have a bit of trouble with coming up more often.
You can say “yokukangaeta” before any corrections to help students not
worry about making mistakes.
18 Target: Do you want to drink __? Yes I do/ No I don't
XXが飲みたい?はい・いいえ
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
AEIOU Song
(5 mins)
What's this?
(5 mins)
Letter tiles
(10 mins)
Any 5 letters
the students
choose
Drinks
No vocab
ALT demonstrates sounds. Sings song with HRT taking turns to say “I'm
__” “I'm __”.
Sing song with students.
HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
card is.
Divide the students into pairs or 2 teams. They have letter tiles with vowels
in one colour (eg blue) and consonants in another (eg red). There should
be plenty of each for each child to choose from. One child makes either a
vowel-consonant sequence or a vowel-consonant-vowel-consonant
Students should remember the song from last time and you'll find it should
only take about 2-3 mins this time.
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.
It doesn't matter how long the words get. The purpose of this exercise is to
make puzzling out English spelling a game and a fun challenge for the
students.
37 / 62
Car race
(10 mins)
Noughts and
crosses
(10 mins)
Ball toss
Drinks
Anything
Anything
sequence (eg emak), and challenges the other child/ team to say it. The
second child/ team then adds another vowel-consonant sequence and
challenges the first child/ team to say it. Sequences can be continued as
long as wanted.
ALT and HRT demonstrate the game. Lay the cards out in a circle on the
desks, place 1 eraser per player on opposite sides of the “race track.”
Janken to decide who moves. If win with rock, move 3 spaces, if scissors,
move 2, and if paper, move 1 space. The non-mover asks the mover “Do
you want to drink __?” and the mover replies “Yes I do/ No I don't”
Also called "tic tac toe." Divide the class into 2 teams. Draw a 5x5 grid on
the board and write numbers in the corners of each of the squares. Place
flashcards in each of the squares. The flashcards can be of vocab items or
phonics sounds, or a mix of both. The first student on one team picks a
number and either tries to say the card, or make a sentence with it. The
card is then either covered with a particular colour magnet, or a mark is
made in the square with chalk. The first student from the other team then
does the same. The teams try to make as many rows, columns, or
diagonals of 3 as possible, with extra points being awarded if they can
make 2 or 3 lines at once.
ALT and HRT toss ball between each other a few times asking "Do you
About 30-40% of cards should be new vocabulary so that the students will
come to you or the HRT to ask what they are, and they should have
English printed on them so they can also try to sound them out for
themselves.
You'll need enough card sets for 1 set between 2 students, depending on
the class.
HRT and ALT should move around the class to help students use the target
language.
The “aim” of the game can be to catch the other player up, or you can just
have the kids keep moving round if the class is not a competitive one.
The students are allowed to consult with team members before choosing a
card and trying to complete the task.
38 / 62
(5 mins) want to drink __?" "Yes I do/ No I don't" Then throw the ball to the students
who ask and answer the question before sitting down. Draw the children
into the game by making sure it looks fun.
After the first 3-4 students, you shouldn't really need to prompt students on
what to say, but sometimes the weaker ones will still need a bit of help.
Some classes need to be told not to throw the ball hard, but most won't.
19 Target: I like __/ I don't like __ XXが好き・好きじゃない
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
Nonsense
words
(5 mins)
What's this?
(5 mins)
Combo
families eg A,
AT, DAT,
EDAT,
KEDAT etc
Anything
ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,
ab etc and challenges the students to say them.
HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
card is.
Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order
to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different
combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without
such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in
order to do so.
This activity is simple, fun, and enjoyable for the students, and doesn't take
much time, no more than 2-3 minutes per lesson. You should start off with
VC combinations first, because it helps the students to let go of the CV
order of Japanese. Always try to let the kids have a go at pronouncing it
first before you demonstrate it for them, because just feeding the students
the answers will stop them becoming active learners willing to experiment
for themselves.
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
39 / 62
Dictation
(5 mins)
Toss!
(10 mins)
Chopstick
spelling
(10 mins)
A-Z, CVC
patterns, new
combos
Anything that
can be used
with "like"
Anything
ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's sound,
and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the idea of
what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no particular
order, watching the students to see that they are writing the correct letters.
ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if some got it
wrong.
Divide the class into 2 groups (one for the HRT and one for the ALT), and
clear enough space for the kids to stand in a circle around a set of
flashcards on the floor (one set per group). Students take turns to throw a
beanbag onto a card, and say “I like __s” and take the card. Try to have
enough cards for 2 per student, and add in some previously not covered
vocab. If the student doesn't know how to say the animal the beanbag
landed on, encourage them to ask either the ALT or HRT “what's this?” or
“what is it?” and give the answer.
Dictate letters or letter combinations and have all of the children write the
letters on pieces of paper. Either all of the letters of the alphabet or just
those needed for the game. Divide all of the children into teams, and give
one child from each team a pair of chopsticks. The children then tear up
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.
Use the words “memo paper” as they have similar meanings in Japanese
and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand
what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.
You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at least
15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the students
seem to have a bit of trouble with coming up more often.
You can say “yokukangaeta” before any corrections to help students not
worry about making mistakes.
You'll need at least enough flashcards for one per student. Try for two per
student though.
If any students get upset that they don't like any of the cards in the set their
team has been given, don't worry, tell them they can use "I don't like __(s)"
instead.
Make sure if the flashcard has English on the front that it is well covered.
To save time, you can give each team a set of laminated letters to use.
The first time will take about 15 mins, but thereafter you should spend no
more than 10 mins on it.
40 / 62
Basketball
(10 mins)
Anything that
can be used
with "don't
like"
their pieces of paper, and all the children from one team mix their letters
together. Place a row of flashcard on the board or in a prominent place.
Each team then races to spell the words by picking up the letters in
chopsticks and racing to put them in a place equidistant from each team.
When one child is finished with a letter, they hand the chopsticks over to
the next child, like a relay.
Divide the class in half and each half makes a circle around a smallish box
on the floor. Students take turns to say “I don't like __(s)” and then throw a
large dice into the box. If they get it in, they get 10 points for their team. If
not, they get the number of points on the dice.
If students don't know the name of what they want to say in English,
encourage them to ask “what's __?”
20 Target: People who like __/ don't like __ XXが好き・好きじゃない人
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
Letter tiles
(10 mins)
No vocab Divide the students into pairs or 2 teams. They have letter tiles with vowels
in one colour (eg blue) and consonants in another (eg red). There should
be plenty of each for each child to choose from. One child makes either a
vowel-consonant sequence or a vowel-consonant-vowel-consonant
sequence (eg emak), and challenges the other child/ team to say it. The
second child/ team then adds another vowel-consonant sequence and
challenges the first child/ team to say it. Sequences can be continued as
long as wanted.
It doesn't matter how long the words get. The purpose of this exercise is to
make puzzling out English spelling a game and a fun challenge for the
students.
41 / 62
What's this?
(5 mins)
Dictation
(5 mins)
Fruit basket
(10 mins)
Memory
Anything
A-Z, CVC
patterns, new
combos
Anything
Anything
HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
card is.
ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's sound,
and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the idea of
what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no particular
order, watching the students to see that they are writing the correct letters.
ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if some got it
wrong.
ALT uses English and gestures to get students to make a circle with their
chairs. Use the sentence “People who like __(s)” for the game. Halfway
through you can change it to "don't like"
Divide the children into 2 teams and lay out some cards. One child has a
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.
Use the words “memo paper” as they have similar meanings in Japanese
and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand
what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.
You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at least
15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the students
seem to have a bit of trouble with coming up more often.
You can say “yokukangaeta” before any corrections to help students not
worry about making mistakes.
You can write the sentence on the board and prompt students so they can
say it.
ALT/HRT don't need to be a part of the game. It's good if they can just be
in the background and the students take ownership of the game
themselves.
You can get them to practise plurals by getting the students with the list to
42 / 62
(10 mins) list of all the cards on a piece of paper, using pictures if they can’t read
well. The child with the list calls out the first card on the list (eg ball) and a
child from the other team touches the card. The child with the list then calls
out 2 cards (eg ball, shirt) and a child from the other team touches the
cards in order. The turn continues until the child/ team touching the cards
makes a mistake. They get points depending on how far they got, eg 8
cards in order yields 8 points.
say things like "I like dogs, shirts, and watermelons"
21 Target: Do you want to study __? Yes I do/ No I don't
XXが勉強したい?はい・いいえ
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
Noughts and
crosses
(10 mins)
What's this?
(5 mins)
Anything
School
subjects
Also called "tic tac toe." Divide the class into 2 teams. Draw a 5x5 grid on
the board and write numbers in the corners of each of the squares. Place
flashcards in each of the squares. The flashcards can be of vocab items or
phonics sounds, or a mix of both. The first student on one team picks a
number and either tries to say the card, or make a sentence with it. The
card is then either covered with a particular colour magnet, or a mark is
made in the square with chalk. The first student from the other team then
does the same. The teams try to make as many rows, columns, or
diagonals of 3 as possible, with extra points being awarded if they can
make 2 or 3 lines at once.
HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
The students are allowed to consult with team members before choosing a
card and trying to complete the task.
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
43 / 62
Counting
cards
(10 mins)
Letter tiles
(10 mins)
Ball toss
School
subjects
No vocab
School
subjects
card is.
Divide the class into small groups. One child has a pile of cards and
another child calls out a number. The child with cards asks "how many
cards?" and the number calling child calls out a number. The child with
cards counts out the appropriate number of cards. The card counter then
asks a question about the card eg “Do you want to study __?” and the
other children should answer eg “Yes I do/ No I don't”
Divide the students into pairs or 2 teams. They have letter tiles with vowels
in one colour (eg blue) and consonants in another (eg red). There should
be plenty of each for each child to choose from. One child makes either a
vowel-consonant sequence or a vowel-consonant-vowel-consonant
sequence (eg emak), and challenges the other child/ team to say it. The
second child/ team then adds another vowel-consonant sequence and
challenges the first child/ team to say it. Sequences can be continued as
long as wanted.
ALT and HRT toss ball between each other a few times saying "I want to
study __" Then throw the ball to the students who say their benkyoushitai-
subject before sitting down. Draw the children into the game by making
sure it looks fun.
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.
Small groups of 2-3 would work best for this game.
It doesn't matter how long the words get. The purpose of this exercise is to
make puzzling out English spelling a game and a fun challenge for the
students.
After the first 3-4 students, you shouldn't really need to prompt students on
what to say, but sometimes the weaker ones will still need a bit of help.
Some classes need to be told not to throw the ball hard, but most won't.
44 / 62
22 Target: I want to study __ XXが勉強したい
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
Nonsense
words
What's this?
Combo
families eg A,
AT, DAT,
EDAT,
KEDAT etc
School
subjects
ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,
ab etc and challenges the students to say them.
HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
card is.
Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order
to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different
combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without
such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in
order to do so.
This activity is simple, fun, and enjoyable for the students, and doesn't take
much time, no more than 2-3 minutes per lesson. You should start off with
VC combinations first, because it helps the students to let go of the CV
order of Japanese. Always try to let the kids have a go at pronouncing it
first before you demonstrate it for them, because just feeding the students
the answers will stop them becoming active learners willing to experiment
for themselves.
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
45 / 62
Chopstick
spelling
Ball toss
Memory
Anything
School
subjects
Dictate letters or letter combinations and have all of the children write the
letters on pieces of paper. Either all of the letters of the alphabet or just
those needed for the game. Divide all of the children into teams, and give
one child from each team a pair of chopsticks. The children then tear up
their pieces of paper, and all the children from one team mix their letters
together. Place a row of flashcard on the board or in a prominent place.
Each team then races to spell the words by picking up the letters in
chopsticks and racing to put them in a place equidistant from each team.
When one child is finished with a letter, they hand the chopsticks over to
the next child, like a relay.
ALT and HRT toss ball between each other a few times saying "I want to
study __" Then throw the ball to the students who say their benkyoushitai-
subject before sitting down. Draw the children into the game by making
sure it looks fun.
Divide the children into 2 teams and lay out some cards. One child has a
list of all the cards on a piece of paper, using pictures if they can’t read
well. The child with the list calls out the first card on the list (eg ball) and a
child from the other team touches the card. The child with the list then calls
out 2 cards (eg ball, shirt) and a child from the other team touches the
cards in order. The turn continues until the child/ team touching the cards
makes a mistake. They get points depending on how far they got, eg 8
cards in order yields 8 points.
about making mistakes.
Make sure if the flashcard has English on the front that it is well covered.
To save time, you can give each team a set of laminated letters to use.
The first time will take about 15 mins, but thereafter you should spend no
more than 10 mins on it.
After the first 3-4 students, you shouldn't really need to prompt students on
what to say, but sometimes the weaker ones will still need a bit of help.
Some classes need to be told not to throw the ball hard, but most won't.
46 / 62
23 Target: When do you want to study __? I want to study __ on (Monday)
XXが何曜日に勉強したい?_曜日に勉強
したいです
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
Letter tiles
What's this?
No vocab
Days of the
week
Divide the students into pairs or 2 teams. They have letter tiles with vowels
in one colour (eg blue) and consonants in another (eg red). There should
be plenty of each for each child to choose from. One child makes either a
vowel-consonant sequence or a vowel-consonant-vowel-consonant
sequence (eg emak), and challenges the other child/ team to say it. The
second child/ team then adds another vowel-consonant sequence and
challenges the first child/ team to say it. Sequences can be continued as
long as wanted.
HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
card is.
It doesn't matter how long the words get. The purpose of this exercise is to
make puzzling out English spelling a game and a fun challenge for the
students.
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
47 / 62
5 corners
Car race
Ball toss
Any 5 letters
the students
choose
School
subjects
School
subjects
ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks
and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.
Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and
one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids
should run to the right area.
ALT and HRT demonstrate the game. Lay the cards out in a circle on the
desks, place 1 eraser per player on opposite sides of the “race track.”
Janken to decide who moves. If win with rock, move 3 spaces, if scissors,
move 2, and if paper, move 1 space. The non-mover asks the mover
“When do you want to study __?” and the mover replies “I want to study __
on __”
ALT and HRT toss ball between each other a few times asking "When do
you want to study __?" "I want to study __ on __" Then throw the ball to
the students who ask and answer the question before sitting down. Draw
the children into the game by making sure it looks fun.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.
Students will remember the game and will know what to do.
You'll need enough card sets for 1 set between 2 students, depending on
the class.
HRT and ALT should move around the class to help students use the target
language.
The “aim” of the game can be to catch the other player up, or you can just
have the kids keep moving round if the class is not a competitive one.
After the first 3-4 students, you shouldn't really need to prompt students on
what to say, but sometimes the weaker ones will still need a bit of help.
Some classes need to be told not to throw the ball hard, but most won't.
24 Target: Dream Timetable 夢時間割
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
Dictation A-Z, CVC
patterns, new
ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's sound,
and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the idea of
Use the words “memo paper” as they have similar meanings in Japanese
and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand
48 / 62
What's this?
Dream
Timetable
Ball toss
combos
School
subjects
School
subjects
what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no particular
order, watching the students to see that they are writing the correct letters.
ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if some got it
wrong.
HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
card is.
Get the students into groups of about 4-6, and hand out A3 sized blank
timetables. Encourage them to use English to discuss what subjects they
want to study and when, and fill them in.
ALT and HRT toss ball between each other a few times saying "I don't want
to study __" Then throw the ball to the students who say their benkyou
shitaku nai- subject before sitting down. Draw the children into the game
by making sure it looks fun.
what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.
You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at least
15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the students
seem to have a bit of trouble with coming up more often.
You can say “yokukangaeta” before any corrections to help students not
worry about making mistakes.
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.
49 / 62
25 Target: Dream Timetable 夢時間割
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
Dictation
What's this?
Dream
timetable
A-Z, CVC
patterns, new
combos
School
subjects
ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's sound,
and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the idea of
what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no particular
order, watching the students to see that they are writing the correct letters.
ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if some got it
wrong.
HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
card is.
Get the students back into the groups from the previous lesson and get
them to finish their timetables using as much English as possible. They
can decorate them when they're finished.
Use the words “memo paper” as they have similar meanings in Japanese
and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand
what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.
You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at least
15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the students
seem to have a bit of trouble with coming up more often.
You can say “yokukangaeta” before any corrections to help students not
worry about making mistakes.
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.
50 / 62
Basketball School
subjects
Get them to practise their presentations for next lesson, too, using "On __
we want to study __ and __ and __ and __ and __" or something similar.
You can have one student present each day, or the whole group can say
the whole thing together
Divide the class in half and each half makes a circle around a smallish box
on the floor. Students take turns to say “I want to study __” and then throw
a large dice into the box. If they get it in, they get 10 points for their team.
If not, they get the number of points on the dice.
26 Target: Dream Timetable 夢時間割
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
Noughts and
crosses
Presentations
Anything Also called "tic tac toe." Divide the class into 2 teams. Draw a 5x5 grid on
the board and write numbers in the corners of each of the squares. Place
flashcards in each of the squares. The flashcards can be of vocab items or
phonics sounds, or a mix of both. The first student on one team picks a
number and either tries to say the card, or make a sentence with it. The
card is then either covered with a particular colour magnet, or a mark is
made in the square with chalk. The first student from the other team then
does the same. The teams try to make as many rows, columns, or
diagonals of 3 as possible, with extra points being awarded if they can
make 2 or 3 lines at once.
Students get into their groups and present their timetables.
The students are allowed to consult with team members before choosing a
card and trying to complete the task.
51 / 62
Fruit basket Let the students choose what grammar point they want to use.
27 Target: School in my home country 私の国の学校
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
Shopping list
ALT takes
questions
about school
in their home
country
Shows
photos if time
Divide the class into 2 teams. One team writes 10-15 letters on the board
(eg c, d, s, t etc). The first child from the other team makes a sentence
using one of the letters on the board to make a word that starts with that
letter. “I don't like cakes” (cake for c) and the second child on that team
might say “I don't like cakes and strawberries.” The team continues with
the remaining letters and gets additional points for every item they can add.
ALT should also talk about the differences and similarities with their home
country's school system, but give the students a chance to ask questions
first. Try to find pictures of typical classrooms and photos from around the
school too, as the students find these fascinating.
28 Target: School in my home country 私の国の学校
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
52 / 62
Letter tiles
ALT takes
questions
about school
in their home
country
Shows
photos if time
No vocab Divide the students into pairs or 2 teams. They have letter tiles with vowels
in one colour (eg blue) and consonants in another (eg red). There should
be plenty of each for each child to choose from. One child makes either a
vowel-consonant sequence or a vowel-consonant-vowel-consonant
sequence (eg emak), and challenges the other child/ team to say it. The
second child/ team then adds another vowel-consonant sequence and
challenges the first child/ team to say it. Sequences can be continued as
long as wanted.
ALT should also talk about the differences and similarities with their home
country's school system, but give the students a chance to ask questions
first. Try to find pictures of typical classrooms and photos from around the
school too, as the students find these fascinating.
It doesn't matter how long the words get. The purpose of this exercise is to
make puzzling out English spelling a game and a fun challenge for the
students.
29 Target: Would you like a __? Yes I would/ No I wouldn't
XXはいかがでしょうか?はい・いいえ
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
Nonsense
words
Combo
families eg A,
AT, DAT,
EDAT,
KEDAT etc
ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,
ab etc and challenges the students to say them.
Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order
to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different
combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without
such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in
order to do so.
53 / 62
What's this?
Chopstick
spelling
Anything the
students
might want
Anything
HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
card is.
Dictate letters or letter combinations and have all of the children write the
letters on pieces of paper. Either all of the letters of the alphabet or just
those needed for the game. Divide all of the children into teams, and give
one child from each team a pair of chopsticks. The children then tear up
their pieces of paper, and all the children from one team mix their letters
together. Place a row of flashcard on the board or in a prominent place.
Each team then races to spell the words by picking up the letters in
chopsticks and racing to put them in a place equidistant from each team.
This activity is simple, fun, and enjoyable for the students, and doesn't take
much time, no more than 2-3 minutes per lesson. You should start off with
VC combinations first, because it helps the students to let go of the CV
order of Japanese. Always try to let the kids have a go at pronouncing it
first before you demonstrate it for them, because just feeding the students
the answers will stop them becoming active learners willing to experiment
for themselves.
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.
Make sure if the flashcard has English on the front that it is well covered.
To save time, you can give each team a set of laminated letters to use.
The first time will take about 15 mins, but thereafter you should spend no
more than 10 mins on it.
54 / 62
Counting
cards
Dictation
Ball toss
Anything that
can be used
with "would
you like"
A-Z, CVC
patterns, new
combos
Anything
When one child is finished with a letter, they hand the chopsticks over to
the next child, like a relay.
Divide the class into pairs. One child has a pile of cards and another child
calls out a number. The child with cards asks "how many cards?" and the
number calling child calls out a number. The child with cards counts out the
appropriate number of cards. The card counter then asks a question about
the card eg “Would you like a/an __?” and the other children should answer
eg “Yes I do/ No I don't”
ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's sound,
and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the idea of
what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no particular
order, watching the students to see that they are writing the correct letters.
ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if some got it
wrong.
ALT and HRT toss a ball between each other taking turns to say "I would
like a/an __" ALT then tosses the ball to a students and the students take
turns to say what they would like before passing the ball on and sitting
down.
Small groups of 2-3 would work best for this game.
Use the words “memo paper” as they have similar meanings in Japanese
and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand
what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.
You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at least
15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the students
seem to have a bit of trouble with coming up more often.
You can say “yokukangaeta” before any corrections to help students not
worry about making mistakes.
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30 Target: People who would like a __ XXはいかがな人
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
Chopstick
spelling
What's this?
Noughts and
crosses
Anything
Anything that
can be used
with "would
like"
Anything
Dictate letters or letter combinations and have all of the children write the
letters on pieces of paper. Either all of the letters of the alphabet or just
those needed for the game. Divide all of the children into teams, and give
one child from each team a pair of chopsticks. The children then tear up
their pieces of paper, and all the children from one team mix their letters
together. Place a row of flashcard on the board or in a prominent place.
Each team then races to spell the words by picking up the letters in
chopsticks and racing to put them in a place equidistant from each team.
When one child is finished with a letter, they hand the chopsticks over to
the next child, like a relay.
HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
card is.
Also called "tic tac toe." Divide the class into 2 teams. Draw a 5x5 grid on
the board and write numbers in the corners of each of the squares. Place
Make sure if the flashcard has English on the front that it is well covered.
To save time, you can give each team a set of laminated letters to use.
The first time will take about 15 mins, but thereafter you should spend no
more than 10 mins on it.
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.
The students are allowed to consult with team members before choosing a
card and trying to complete the task.
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Fruit basket
Shopping list
Anything
flashcards in each of the squares. The flashcards can be of vocab items or
phonics sounds, or a mix of both. The first student on one team picks a
number and either tries to say the card, or make a sentence with it. The
card is then either covered with a particular colour magnet, or a mark is
made in the square with chalk. The first student from the other team then
does the same. The teams try to make as many rows, columns, or
diagonals of 3 as possible, with extra points being awarded if they can
make 2 or 3 lines at once.
ALT uses English and gestures to get students to make a circle with their
chairs. Use the sentence “People who would like a/an __” for the game.
Divide the class into 2 teams. One team writes 10-15 letters on the board
(eg c, d, s, t etc). The first child from the other team makes a sentence
using one of the letters on the board to make a word that starts with that
letter. “I would like a cake” (cake for c) and the second child on that team
might say “I would like a cake and a strawberry.” The team continues with
the remaining letters and gets additional points for every item they can add.
You can write the sentence on the board and prompt students so they can
say it.
ALT/HRT don't need to be a part of the game. It's good if they can just be
in the background and the students take ownership of the game
themselves.
31 Target: I like __(s) and he/she likes __(s) 僕は XXが好きで、あの人は YYが好きですActivity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
Nonsense
words
Combo
families eg A,
AT, DAT,
EDAT,
ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,
ab etc and challenges the students to say them.
Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order
to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different
combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without
such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in
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What's this?
Chains
KEDAT etc
Anything HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
card is.
ALT and HRT first demonstrate by throwing a ball at each other. It's
probably easier if the HRT starts, and says something like "I like soccer"
then throws the ball to the ALT. The ALT then says something they can do,
then says what the HRT could do eg "I like apples and [he/she] likes
soccer." The ALT then throws the ball to a student who says something
they would like, and then what the ALT would like, before throwing the ball
to another student.
order to do so.
This activity is simple, fun, and enjoyable for the students, and doesn't take
much time, no more than 2-3 minutes per lesson. You should start off with
VC combinations first, because it helps the students to let go of the CV
order of Japanese. Always try to let the kids have a go at pronouncing it
first before you demonstrate it for them, because just feeding the students
the answers will stop them becoming active learners willing to experiment
for themselves.
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.
You don't need to teach them explicitly that "he" is for boys and "she" is for
girls. Just gently correct them when they get it wrong. If they ask, just say
something like "naze deshou ka?" and encourage them to think about it for
themselves, and go back to the game in the meantime. It won't be long
before one of the students excitedly calls it out.
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Dictation
Toss!
A-Z, CVC
patterns, new
combos
ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's sound,
and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the idea of
what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no particular
order, watching the students to see that they are writing the correct letters.
ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if some got it
wrong.
Divide the class into 2 groups (one for the HRT and one for the ALT), and
clear enough space for the kids to stand in a circle around a set of
flashcards on the floor (one set per group). Students take turns to throw a
beanbag onto a card, and say “I like __” and take the card. Try to have
enough cards for 2 per student, and add in some previously not covered
vocab. If the student doesn't know how to say the animal the beanbag
landed on, encourage them to ask either the ALT or HRT “what's this?” or
“what is it?” and give the answer.
Use the words “memo paper” as they have similar meanings in Japanese
and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand
what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.
You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at least
15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the students
seem to have a bit of trouble with coming up more often.
You can say “yokukangaeta” before any corrections to help students not
worry about making mistakes.
You'll need at least enough flashcards for one per student. Try for two per
student though.
If any students get upset that they don't like any of the cards in the set their
team has been given, don't worry, simply get them to use "I don't like __(s)"
32 Target: I want a __ and he/she wants a __(s) 僕は XXが欲しくて、あの人は YYが欲しい。Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
5 corners Any 5 letters
the students
choose
ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks
and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.
Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and
one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids
should run to the right area.
Students will remember the game and will know what to do.
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What's this?
Chains
Dictation
Anything that
can be used
with "want"
Anything
Anything
HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what it
is. HRT should ask “what's this?” before starting to pull out the card.
ALT should encourage the students to use “it's a/an __” when guessing.
Students can repeat after the ALT (“it's a/an __) when they guess what the
card is.
ALT and HRT first demonstrate by throwing a ball at each other. It's
probably easier if the HRT starts, and says something like "I want a cake"
then throws the ball to the ALT. The ALT then says something they want
then says what the HRT wants eg "I want an apple and [he/she] wants a
cake." The ALT then throws the ball to a student who says something they
want, and then what the ALT wants, before throwing the ball to another
student and so on.
ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's sound,
and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the idea of
what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no particular
order, watching the students to see that they are writing the correct letters.
ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if some got it
wrong.
It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the
students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and
discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They
become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember
things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in
humans of all ages, and it's especially important that children's natural
curiosity isn't quashed, otherwise you will have a much harder time getting
them to retain and internalise the English you expose them to.
You can say “yoku kangaeta” after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.
You don't need to teach them explicitly that "he" is for boys and "she" is for
girls. Just gently correct them when they get it wrong. If they ask, just say
something like "naze deshou ka?" and encourage them to think about it for
themselves, and go back to the game in the meantime. It won't be long
before one of the students excitedly calls it out.
Use the words “memo paper” as they have similar meanings in Japanese
and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand
what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.
You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at least
15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the students
seem to have a bit of trouble with coming up more often.
You can say “yokukangaeta” before any corrections to help students not
60 / 62
Basketball Divide the class in half and each half makes a circle around a smallish box
on the floor. Students take turns to say any sentence they want and then
throw a large dice into the box. If they get it in, they get 10 points for their
team. If not, they get the number of points on the dice.
worry about making mistakes.
33 Target: Review 復習
Activity Vocab ALT/HRT Why/Notes/Theory
5 corners
Typhoon
style make a
sentence
from the card
you chose.
Any 5 letters
the students
choose
ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks
and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.
Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and
one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids
should run to the right area.
Divide the students into 6 groups and lay out a whole lot of karuta size
cards on a table with 1 to 5 points or a typhoon written on the back of them.
Teams take turns to send one team member to the table. The student
picks a card and makes a sentence about it. The team then gets the
number of points on the back of the card. A typhoon means no points from
that card.
Students will remember the game and will know what to do.