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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2022 14:49:43 GMT 9
Hello all, I hope you are all doing alright as we deal with this summer heat in Japan. As my position is gaining more job duties to fill my time before tourism (hopefully) opens up, I am attending 4 nursery schools a week, or one nursery school a day. This was a larger number of nursery schools to teach at for one week than I originally expected. Nonetheless, I am faced with several challenges to consider when creating activities for these ESL nursery school lessons: - Some classes are 30 minutes and others are 45 minutes long. I have heard that 30 minutes is pretty standard for nursery school class time in Japan. However, this means I have less time to prepare activities and games, let alone teach my lessons! I can only designate about 15 mins for activities in my 30 minute classes.
- Two of my class sizes are quite bigger than the others, as in about 20 students in one class. And the students in these larger classes get very competitive and cry a lot whenever any competition game is involved like four corners or karuta.
- I can't use a projector to display videos or play a song for the students to follow lyrics to. Instead, I primarily use large image flashcards for students to learn words from and play games like What's Missing or Bingo with them, among others.
Because of these challenges, I have several questions for any CIR who may have been or is in a similar situation to mine: 1. What are some quick and easy games that you have done with your students that they can easily understand and enjoy? I am looking for activity ideas that are low to no prep that aren't just the standard activities like four corners, what's missing, or bingo. Since I don't have toy foods (only a few fruits and veggies), I would like any game ideas to successfully teach nursery students things like food in English or bugs, etc. 2. Are there any resources outside of ALTopedia and others that you have found useful for ESL game and lesson ideas for nursery school students? I find the elementary school activity ideas enjoyable, but I feel the students I work with are way too young for most of them, and it is a struggle to even get them all to understand simple game instructions like four corners. Songs are great for filling time, but this will only work for so many lessons until students lose interest or are overwhelmed, which I don't want. Anyway, sorry if this comes off as extremely difficult or picky! I promise I am not trying to be difficult to work with here, but my resources (physical and time-wise) are limited and I am at my wits end for ESL nursery school game ideas that aren't four corners, bingo, or What's missing? lmao I would appreciate any help you all could offer me here. Thank you!! : ) |
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Post by Springjay on Jul 15, 2022 15:20:44 GMT 9
I've only taught elementary schools, but maybe some of these games will help inspire ways to adapt them for even younger kids? If not I'm sorry :c
For explainations, are you not allowed to use Japanese? Because even in ES, you can't really go 100% only English for 1st and 2nd graders, so for nursery school I think it's really unrealistic to expect the kids to follow along any English instructions...
1) maybe this is too similar to four corners, but a game I've done with 5~6 year olds was laying a couple colored papers on the floor (and either label them with a number or a shape, depending on what your target language is) and one "oni" comes to the front, turns their back on the class, and counts 1~10. During that time, other kids go stand on one of the papers (their choice where to move to). After oni finishes counting, he/she calls out a random number/shape and turns around. Whoever is standing on the paper that oni called becomes the new oni. If nobody is on the paper, the same kid becomes oni again. (I realize this might be a harder one if you have too many kiddos though, unless you can divide them into groups).
2) fruits basket. Students put their chairs in a circle (minus one, as one oni needs to be in the middle). If they know how to ask any kind of Q (or even something like I like___. Alternatively, you can tape picture cards onto their chairs instead and have the oni call out a random card. If the students' answer/card matches they have to stand up and race to sit down in another chair (can't be one immediately on their left or right). Last kid standing is the new oni
3) can you do crafts? there are lots of simple paper crafts you can do
4) I can find an example on Google if this explaination doesn't make sense, but there are pics of a really simple animal or plant or whatever, that is covered in circles with numbers on them. And each number = a color they use to color the sheet, which when completed will reveal the "hidden" animal or whatever the pic might be
5) I Spy. Can be used for colors and shapes, maybe size if you use your hands to convey big and smalll. let the kids go over and touch what they think their answer might be (I often use their clothes or things on their desks as answers).
6) how different animals sound in Japanese vs English
7) if they know any numbers, you can have a connect-the-dot worksheet where they listen and draw a line to the next number. Probably easiest to just do in order 1-10 or something. Then let them color the picture after they've connected all the dots
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2022 17:12:12 GMT 9
Thank you for your reply! To answer your first question, I am discouraged from using Japanese to explain game rules. According to the senseis at these schools, I can only explain rules in Japanese once, and then I have to talk in English the rest of the time.  It doesn't help that students get bored with craft projects and prefer physical movement games like 4 corners or Simon Says. hue I love your activity ideas though, and I wrote them all down! I am just going stir crazy since these kids are adorable and I want them to enjoy learning English with the lessons. However, I feel like lately, I am not delivering them that satisfaction with my activities since many of them are too similar tbh. The websites I have found online for preschool ESL activities have been helpful to an extent, but a lot of the activities require supplies and prep that I don't have. I'm not trying to make excuses or make any of this up - I deal with these limitations with each nursery school visit. hue I'll keep thinking of songs or new ideas that can fill these short lesson times. The other preschool/kindergarten thread on here helped. I can't believe one CIR teaches at 8 nursery schools hue. Thank you again for your help!  |
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Post by しくchill on Jul 15, 2022 19:06:00 GMT 9
Hello! Your nursery school visit format sounds very similar to mine, except that we said everything english first, then japanese, so that gave me... a little bit more leeway. That said -- It's me again ! I have been doing some presentation about my home country for 4-6 years old for a little while now and thanks to everyone's advice its been going quite well ! Now, here is the catch, I have a couple lessons coming up with 3 years old. Obviously I have been told to do it with 遊び感覚 - so I am thinking of reading a book in French (super very simple, translate each sentence) and maybe do a few songs with hand gestures. However the lesson is 1h and I don't really know what to expect, have some of you had classes with very smol kiddos ? I'll take any advice or games that keep them easily entertained without being too difficult  If you can get help from the teachers, and if the kids are allowed to move around, I have a game that's been successful at preschools even with the smallest kids. You teach some basic vocab, for instance, animal calls as they tend to differ by language, or animal names, colors, etc. Then, you and the teachers each hold a card with an animal/color/etc. picture and stand in different corners of the room. You have the kids stand in the middle and you say "Which animal makes This sound?" and the kids have to run over to the person holding the picture of that animal. Repeat as needed, can kill 5-10 minutes and fit in with the picture book if it happens to include animals or other simple vocab to teach. It works well because the kids don't really need to understand the word completely, as long as one goes in the right direction they will all follow...and if you react to them going to the wrong card they'll head a different way. We also like to teach like "jump," "skip," "crawl," "STOP" and have them respond to commands, works the same way as they can copy your actions, and can be used as a warm-up or to kill 3-5 minutes at the end. I used this game at probably every single one of my visits because the kids respond to it really well. Another game starts with all different colored cards scattered across the floor (at least one for every kid in each color -- will prevent tears/SMACKDOWNing). The kids stand in a circle around the cards, and you call out a color. The kids have to find a card in that color and bring it to you. The only problem I never quite figured out a way to get the kids to stop from running and sometimes slamming into each other, even in a relatively large space... oops...No one ever cried from getting slammed into or knocked down, for what it's worth -- only if they couldn't find a card. A variation on that is, if the kids are developmentally able to like, be aware of the colors they are wearing? (it was NG for 3 year olds and just fine for 4 year olds) they stand in a circle around you. You call out a color, and everyone wearing that color raises their hand, jumps up and down, comes to high-five you (risky but an option nonetheless), etc. My favorite was just "raises their hand" or "points to it" because they stay still but are still like, at least standing up and engaging their bodies? And then I could walk around to the kids wearing that color and be like Ooh, yes, I see it!! Very good!! Best of luck!! I personally struggled a lot with planning nursery lessons as well, but I believe in you! If you can recruit the teachers to help with games or offer suggestions based on what the kids are learning, all the better as well. |
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Post by Dee on Jul 19, 2022 14:08:36 GMT 9
Hi! I spend my morning at a kindergarten teaching kids from 3-6 years old. It can be tricky especially if you don't have access to props or things. I use mostly flashcards to teach the kids English vocab and mix in games and songs. Big colorful pictures (irasutoya is a great resource btw) work really well. I think it's crappy that you can only explain something in English once. These kids need the rules explained multiple times before they get it. I speak to the kids mostly in Japanese and work in the English vocab that they know. Here are some of the games and things that I use regularly. I hope some of it will be helpful to you. Group Games Played with Flashcards- Passing Game First, split the class up into two or more teams. My classes are usually anywhere between 15-25 kids, so I usually just do two teams. Each team lines up in a row facing me. I hand the first kid from each team a flashcard that represents an English vocabulary word. Once I say “ready, set, go” they proceed to pass the flashcard to the kid behind them while saying the English vocab word out loud. Once the flashcard gets to the end of the row, the last kid has to run to the front to bring me the flashcard and say the corresponding English word. That student then lines up at the front of their team which lets everyone get a turn as a runner. Whichever team gets to me first and can successfully say the vocab word gets a point. This game is repeated several times and the team with the most points wins. - Color Search This game is played when students are learning colors. In a large hall area or gym, I lay out various colored hoops, cones, mats, extra flashcards or whatever else is available. The students line up at one side of the hall. I say a color in English (if they are just starting colors, I will also show a color flashcard) which the students repeat. Once I say “ready, set, go” they have a short amount of time to find an object that is the corresponding color and sit down next to it, keeping their hand on the object. However, they do not have to choose an object that has been laid out. They can use anything (floor, walls, clothing, etc.) that they can find. Once most of the kids have found a corresponding object, I start a countdown of "3, 2, 1" to let the stragglers know to find the color. I then check to make sure everyone is correct. If someone chose a different colored object, I ask them what that color is in English. All the kids return to one side of the hall repeat. I also liked the color game that Shikujam mentioned. When I teach colors I tend to ask "Greenを着ている人いる？" and then ask for each color in turn. - Dice Game I created a large die using a cardboard box, and taped photocopies of flashcards to the sides. I prop up flashcards around the big hall in a big circle, using chairs or large blocks, or just lay them on the floor. In the middle I put two of the thick exercise mats the kindergarten uses for tumbling practice as a "starting base". To start I play music on the CD player using a CD of English children’s songs. While the music plays the kids have to run around and pick a flashcard and sit next to it before the music stops. If anyone has not chosen a flashcard by the time I stop the music, they are “out” and have to go sit on the mats in the middle. I roll the die and say the English word for whichever comes up. All the kids gathered at that flashcard are now “out” and must go sit on the mats in the middle. Repeat until only one kid is remaining. They are the declared champion. Once there are kids sitting in the middle I will let them take turns rolling the large die and saying the word. - What's Missing? Line up a series of flashcards where everyone can see them, and review the words with the kids. Have them close their eyes while you remove and/or rearrange the flashcards. Once you are done have the kids open their eyes and guess which one is missing. - Simon Says (or Say Please) This can work with a variety of vocab. I like to use it with action words like sit down, stand up, walk, run, jump, clap. School-yard GamesDuck, Duck, Goose Red Light, Green Light Red Rover Hand-play SongsThese are my go-to songs that all the kids love! For some of these I created simple hand movements for the kids to follow along. - Good Morning "Good morning, good morning, good morning to you. Good morning, good morning, and how do you do?"- Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes Once the kids get used to it, try speeding it up each time you sing it, the kids will love it. - One, Two, Three Banana - Itsy, Bitsy, Spider - Finger Family - Other songs from "Super Simple Songs" on youtube |
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balluk
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Post by balluk on Jul 25, 2022 14:03:24 GMT 9
Heya,
I do nursery visits too and here are some games my pred left in a list for me. Each lesson usually teaches four to six words of a certain theme (i.e. colours, body parts) and the lesson is basically just games to practice them, plus a little "hello" and "goodbye" at the end. I've also been using a glove puppet that "only speaks English" to practice individually with the kids things like "my name is..." etc.
Fruit salad: kids sit in a circle and are allocated one of 3/4/5 words. When the word is
called, they have to swap places with one another and the person calling has to try and find
a seat as well
Sword game: kids stand away from board with swords behind their back. When vocabulary
is called they have to run up and touch it. Can work with teacher holding cards but slightly
more dangerous for sensei!
Maru/batsu and variations: designate an action for maru and another for batsu – turning on
the spot, jumping on either side of a dividing line etc. can work – then call out vocab that
either does or doesn’t match the flashcard shown
Circle Mawashi: pass a flashcard or object around the circle, each saying what it is as they
go – change directions, increase speed and introduce multiple objects to make it harder
Snap: could play matching cards with cards, or matching pictures with words (though might
be a little difficult) – could get kids to swap when they lose so the whole class gets a go
(after giving each kid at least 2 goes)
What’s missing?: Show kids 4 cards and take one away, get them to tell you which one is
missing
Let’s draw!: kids in two teams have to run to the front of the room and draw pieces of
vocabulary – round 1 as fast as possible, round 2 as accurately as possible
Karuta to practice vocab
Simon says and variations: call out commands, or come up with actions that relate to
different vocabulary – then add in a new rule that can only do what ‘Simon says’ – can also
practice numbers – Instead of Simon, if say PLEASE then do, if not then don’t…
Circle Counting: in a circle, each kid says one word, and the kid next to them says their
word and adds a new one – could have them show off their pictures/figurines or grab
pictures to help prompt the kids
Duck Duck Goose: kids sit in a circle, you tap each on the head calling them ‘duck’, when
you call a kid something else they have to chase you round the circle to get back to the
empty space. Can change vocabulary to suit lesson
Bean bag toss: flashcards are laid out and the kids line up to thrown a bean bag. They have
to say the word the bean bag lands on. Variation – can blindfold kids so they can no longer
aim, or make them throw facing backwards
Where’s it hiding?: get the kids to find cut outs / objects in the classroom; get the kids to
run to a particular colour/shape/object in the classroom
Make a face: make different expressions using magnets to practice emotions
Body parts game: get the kds to touch a part of the body (head, nose, knee) to an object of a certain colour
Hope this helps!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2022 20:05:44 GMT 9
Heya, I do nursery visits too and here are some games my pred left in a list for me. Each lesson usually teaches four to six words of a certain theme (i.e. colours, body parts) and the lesson is basically just games to practice them, plus a little "hello" and "goodbye" at the end. I've also been using a glove puppet that "only speaks English" to practice individually with the kids things like "my name is..." etc. Fruit salad: kids sit in a circle and are allocated one of 3/4/5 words. When the word is called, they have to swap places with one another and the person calling has to try and find a seat as well Sword game: kids stand away from board with swords behind their back. When vocabulary is called they have to run up and touch it. Can work with teacher holding cards but slightly more dangerous for sensei! Maru/batsu and variations: designate an action for maru and another for batsu – turning on the spot, jumping on either side of a dividing line etc. can work – then call out vocab that either does or doesn’t match the flashcard shown Circle Mawashi: pass a flashcard or object around the circle, each saying what it is as they go – change directions, increase speed and introduce multiple objects to make it harder Snap: could play matching cards with cards, or matching pictures with words (though might be a little difficult) – could get kids to swap when they lose so the whole class gets a go (after giving each kid at least 2 goes) What’s missing?: Show kids 4 cards and take one away, get them to tell you which one is missing Let’s draw!: kids in two teams have to run to the front of the room and draw pieces of vocabulary – round 1 as fast as possible, round 2 as accurately as possible Karuta to practice vocab Simon says and variations: call out commands, or come up with actions that relate to different vocabulary – then add in a new rule that can only do what ‘Simon says’ – can also practice numbers – Instead of Simon, if say PLEASE then do, if not then don’t… Circle Counting: in a circle, each kid says one word, and the kid next to them says their word and adds a new one – could have them show off their pictures/figurines or grab pictures to help prompt the kids Duck Duck Goose: kids sit in a circle, you tap each on the head calling them ‘duck’, when you call a kid something else they have to chase you round the circle to get back to the empty space. Can change vocabulary to suit lesson Bean bag toss: flashcards are laid out and the kids line up to thrown a bean bag. They have to say the word the bean bag lands on. Variation – can blindfold kids so they can no longer aim, or make them throw facing backwards Where’s it hiding?: get the kids to find cut outs / objects in the classroom; get the kids to run to a particular colour/shape/object in the classroom Make a face: make different expressions using magnets to practice emotions Body parts game: get the kds to touch a part of the body (head, nose, knee) to an object of a certain colour Hope this helps! Heya, thank you so much for your reply! Holy cow, I will definitely make note of all of these activities, as they are absolute life savers for my nursery school visits that I will start up again at the end of next month. I really, really appreciate these and I love how simple they are in nature yet still educational and enjoyable! :DDD You are very lucky your predecessor left something nice like a list for you! |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2022 9:42:20 GMT 9
I've only taught elementary schools, but maybe some of these games will help inspire ways to adapt them for even younger kids? If not I'm sorry :c For explainations, are you not allowed to use Japanese? Because even in ES, you can't really go 100% only English for 1st and 2nd graders, so for nursery school I think it's really unrealistic to expect the kids to follow along any English instructions... 1) maybe this is too similar to four corners, but a game I've done with 5~6 year olds was laying a couple colored papers on the floor (and either label them with a number or a shape, depending on what your target language is) and one "oni" comes to the front, turns their back on the class, and counts 1~10. During that time, other kids go stand on one of the papers (their choice where to move to). After oni finishes counting, he/she calls out a random number/shape and turns around. Whoever is standing on the paper that oni called becomes the new oni. If nobody is on the paper, the same kid becomes oni again. (I realize this might be a harder one if you have too many kiddos though, unless you can divide them into groups). 2) fruits basket. Students put their chairs in a circle (minus one, as one oni needs to be in the middle). If they know how to ask any kind of Q (or even something like I like___. Alternatively, you can tape picture cards onto their chairs instead and have the oni call out a random card. If the students' answer/card matches they have to stand up and race to sit down in another chair (can't be one immediately on their left or right). Last kid standing is the new oni 3) can you do crafts? there are lots of simple paper crafts you can do 4) I can find an example on Google if this explaination doesn't make sense, but there are pics of a really simple animal or plant or whatever, that is covered in circles with numbers on them. And each number = a color they use to color the sheet, which when completed will reveal the "hidden" animal or whatever the pic might be 5) I Spy. Can be used for colors and shapes, maybe size if you use your hands to convey big and smalll. let the kids go over and touch what they think their answer might be (I often use their clothes or things on their desks as answers). 6) how different animals sound in Japanese vs English 7) if they know any numbers, you can have a connect-the-dot worksheet where they listen and draw a line to the next number. Probably easiest to just do in order 1-10 or something. Then let them color the picture after they've connected all the dots Hello! I wanted to thank you again and wrote down your ideas for activities to use when the nursery schools open again after summer break. I had one quick question for you, what is the name of that 4th game you mentioned and could you possibly provide an example of what it looks like? I tried googling the activity but the words I am using don't mention a similar game. : ( |
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Post by Springjay on Jul 26, 2022 10:06:33 GMT 9
I've only taught elementary schools, but maybe some of these games will help inspire ways to adapt them for even younger kids? If not I'm sorry :c For explainations, are you not allowed to use Japanese? Because even in ES, you can't really go 100% only English for 1st and 2nd graders, so for nursery school I think it's really unrealistic to expect the kids to follow along any English instructions... 1) maybe this is too similar to four corners, but a game I've done with 5~6 year olds was laying a couple colored papers on the floor (and either label them with a number or a shape, depending on what your target language is) and one "oni" comes to the front, turns their back on the class, and counts 1~10. During that time, other kids go stand on one of the papers (their choice where to move to). After oni finishes counting, he/she calls out a random number/shape and turns around. Whoever is standing on the paper that oni called becomes the new oni. If nobody is on the paper, the same kid becomes oni again. (I realize this might be a harder one if you have too many kiddos though, unless you can divide them into groups). 2) fruits basket. Students put their chairs in a circle (minus one, as one oni needs to be in the middle). If they know how to ask any kind of Q (or even something like I like___. Alternatively, you can tape picture cards onto their chairs instead and have the oni call out a random card. If the students' answer/card matches they have to stand up and race to sit down in another chair (can't be one immediately on their left or right). Last kid standing is the new oni 3) can you do crafts? there are lots of simple paper crafts you can do 4) I can find an example on Google if this explaination doesn't make sense, but there are pics of a really simple animal or plant or whatever, that is covered in circles with numbers on them. And each number = a color they use to color the sheet, which when completed will reveal the "hidden" animal or whatever the pic might be 5) I Spy. Can be used for colors and shapes, maybe size if you use your hands to convey big and smalll. let the kids go over and touch what they think their answer might be (I often use their clothes or things on their desks as answers). 6) how different animals sound in Japanese vs English 7) if they know any numbers, you can have a connect-the-dot worksheet where they listen and draw a line to the next number. Probably easiest to just do in order 1-10 or something. Then let them color the picture after they've connected all the dots Hello! I wanted to thank you again and wrote down your ideas for activities to use when the nursery schools open again after summer break. I had one quick question for you, what is the name of that 4th game you mentioned and could you possibly provide an example of what it looks like? I tried googling the activity but the words I am using don't mention a similar game. : ( I'm glad they're helpful. and sure, sorry about the confusing wording! On google if you type in these kinds of words they'll come right up (and I'll see if I can add an example to this post, let me screenshot one off google) color by number preschool free printable edit for pic:  |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2022 9:43:15 GMT 9
Hello! I wanted to thank you again and wrote down your ideas for activities to use when the nursery schools open again after summer break. I had one quick question for you, what is the name of that 4th game you mentioned and could you possibly provide an example of what it looks like? I tried googling the activity but the words I am using don't mention a similar game. : ( I'm glad they're helpful. and sure, sorry about the confusing wording! On google if you type in these kinds of words they'll come right up (and I'll see if I can add an example to this post, let me screenshot one off google) color by number preschool free printable edit for pic: View AttachmentThese are excellent and got approved by my town's BOE! Yay hue I did have one more question (sorry to be that one person, but my brain is not coming up with anything). Have you or other CIRs come up with good ideas for simple games that are best for reviewing words the kids should already know? A lot of these games are great for first-timers, but I wonder what kinds of games CIRs have found useful for helping kids review vocabulary that they previously covered. I would appreciate any ideas as I liked the ●✕ game and the color game. |
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Post by Springjay on Aug 2, 2022 10:23:00 GMT 9
Yes! Again, sorry if they're not preschool aged appropriate, but some kinds of review games that my ES kiddos enjoyed were:
1. 3 hint quizzes. I would show a PowerPoint (or you could print out pics) with my hints and the kids would guess the answer. Ex: category = animals; It's cute. It's small. It's soft. (show a blurry photo or like a hidden animal). What's this? Answer, it's a cat. (show a clear picture of the cat).
2. Criss Cross. Students stand up in rows. One teacher shows a flashcard and one teacher watches the kids to see who raises their hand the fastest. Choose that kid and they say whatever the flashcard is. If it's right, that kid can choose up down left or right, and that row of kids get to sit down. Usually the last guy standing is the "loser" but you can also let the last kid answer one to sit down so everyone wins
3. Missing game. Review the flashcards and put them on the board. Kids close their eyes for a set amount of time (I usually start with 20 seconds, the next round 15, then 10, so on) and the teacher removes 1 or 2 cards at a time. Then the kids open their eyes and see if they can remember which card disappeared. If the kids are really good you can shuffle the cards on the board while their eyes are closed.
4. Treasure game. Similar to the missing game. Show the kids some treasure (or batsu) cards, which for me were cut out gems/Nintendo Switch/big fake yen bills, and a green pepper and a skull for the batsu cards. Kids close their eyes and you hide the treasure/batsu cards randomly under flashcards on the board. The kids open their eyes and raise their hand, you pick a kid who can then choose a flaschard randomly. Pull back the card dramatically to reveal either nothing, a treasure card, or a batsu card
5. Moneky race game. Draw (or I did laminated/cut out ones so I could reuse them all the time) a tree with a couple rings on it, one for each team, with some fruit on the top. Have a monkey for each team. 1 challenger from each team gets to stand up. The teacher will ask a question or hold up a flashcard. You can opt to either 1: only choose the kid who raises their hand the fastest to answer or 2: let all the kids answer in unison (cat, etc.). Then they do rock-paper-scissors until only 1 person remains. That person's monkey gets to climb one ring up the tree. If they get to the top, they get to choose a fruit, and they get 1 point for every fruit they take. Winner is the team with the most fruit at the end
6. Hangman (but reverse b/c regular Hangman is considered morbid in Japan I guess). You draw a stick figure person for each team (I always did funny faces on them) and play similarly to the monkey race game, but instead, the winner's team is safe. The losing teams watch in elated horror as the teacher erases one of the body parts off their stick figure (bonus points if you're erasing different body parts from different teams. Like, instead of doing the left leg, right leg, left arm, right arm, etc. in order, be randomly erasing an eye from one team, the head of another, the leg of another, etc.). The winning team is whoever's stick figure remains the most intact by the end
do any of these make sense? Again, I'm not sure if they'll be super suited for the little ones, but maybe you can tweak them a bit
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2022 11:13:39 GMT 9
Yes! Again, sorry if they're not preschool aged appropriate, but some kinds of review games that my ES kiddos enjoyed were: 1. 3 hint quizzes. I would show a PowerPoint (or you could print out pics) with my hints and the kids would guess the answer. Ex: category = animals; It's cute. It's small. It's soft. (show a blurry photo or like a hidden animal). What's this? Answer, it's a cat. (show a clear picture of the cat). 2. Criss Cross. Students stand up in rows. One teacher shows a flashcard and one teacher watches the kids to see who raises their hand the fastest. Choose that kid and they say whatever the flashcard is. If it's right, that kid can choose up down left or right, and that row of kids get to sit down. Usually the last guy standing is the "loser" but you can also let the last kid answer one to sit down so everyone wins 3. Missing game. Review the flashcards and put them on the board. Kids close their eyes for a set amount of time (I usually start with 20 seconds, the next round 15, then 10, so on) and the teacher removes 1 or 2 cards at a time. Then the kids open their eyes and see if they can remember which card disappeared. If the kids are really good you can shuffle the cards on the board while their eyes are closed. 4. Treasure game. Similar to the missing game. Show the kids some treasure (or batsu) cards, which for me were cut out gems/Nintendo Switch/big fake yen bills, and a green pepper and a skull for the batsu cards. Kids close their eyes and you hide the treasure/batsu cards randomly under flashcards on the board. The kids open their eyes and raise their hand, you pick a kid who can then choose a flaschard randomly. Pull back the card dramatically to reveal either nothing, a treasure card, or a batsu card 5. Moneky race game. Draw (or I did laminated/cut out ones so I could reuse them all the time) a tree with a couple rings on it, one for each team, with some fruit on the top. Have a monkey for each team. 1 challenger from each team gets to stand up. The teacher will ask a question or hold up a flashcard. You can opt to either 1: only choose the kid who raises their hand the fastest to answer or 2: let all the kids answer in unison (cat, etc.). Then they do rock-paper-scissors until only 1 person remains. That person's monkey gets to climb one ring up the tree. If they get to the top, they get to choose a fruit, and they get 1 point for every fruit they take. Winner is the team with the most fruit at the end 6. Hangman (but reverse b/c regular Hangman is considered morbid in Japan I guess). You draw a stick figure person for each team (I always did funny faces on them) and play similarly to the monkey race game, but instead, the winner's team is safe. The losing teams watch in elated horror as the teacher erases one of the body parts off their stick figure (bonus points if you're erasing different body parts from different teams. Like, instead of doing the left leg, right leg, left arm, right arm, etc. in order, be randomly erasing an eye from one team, the head of another, the leg of another, etc.). The winning team is whoever's stick figure remains the most intact by the end do any of these make sense? Again, I'm not sure if they'll be super suited for the little ones, but maybe you can tweak them a bit I am so grateful for this forum. Y'all are life-savers. Thank you, seriously. 🙌🙌 |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2022 13:05:11 GMT 9
Aight y'all, I'mma be a pain in the you know what.
I suggested these games you all have kindly posted and they did get approved! Hooray!!
However, some teachers are still telling me to come up with more activities that encourage basic English conversation points like "I am four," "I like oranges", etc. While I understand it is super important for these kids to learn how to use the English they know, I am not sure what other games could work besides Mr. Wolf games. Has anyone here found some English conversation games that may work for nursery/elementary school kids? My brain is noping on me with these activities flgjdowndr
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Post by Springjay on Aug 2, 2022 13:44:01 GMT 9
Some of the games I suggested to you could def be used with easy questions! For example, you ask "What~do you like?" and choose the kid who raises their hand to either answer freely (I like hedgehogs hue) or if you're still pulling from a set number of target language, they can answer one of the flashcard options (I like cats).
Card exchange games work too if your school isn't worried about COVID right now. Like the kid is holding a card and fins a hulemdo to rock-paper-scissors, winner asks a question and the loser answers with whatever their card is. Then they ask the winner, and the winner answers based on their card. The two kids exchange cards and go off to find new pairs to repeat with
Sugoroku games are really easy to make too; design the board and laminate it, with different questions on each square. Kids roll dice and move their erasers as players across the board, answering whatever question is on the square they land on. The first person to make it to the finish line wins
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Post by Dee on Aug 2, 2022 13:57:30 GMT 9
Here are some elementary school games that one of my previous ALTs used often.
What's Your Name Game
Have the kids sit in a circle. Have the teacher start by saying "My name is___. What's your name?" to the student next to them. The student answers "My name is___" and asks the next student "What's your name?" until everyone has said their name. You can even split the kids into small groups to do this.
How Are You 大会
Played similarly to jankan. Everyone stands. The teacher asks "How are you?" and everyone answers with "I am___ (happy, sad, hungry, tired, etc)" at the same time. Anyone who said the same word as the teacher stays standing, and everyone else sits. Repeat until you only have 1 student standing, they are the winner.
Keyword Game
Have the students form pairs, push their desks together, and place 1 erasure (or something soft) in between each pair. Introduce a set of vocab/phrases and pick 1 as the "keyword". Begin reviewing the words/phrases, and have the students repeat after you. If the "keyword" comes up, instead of repeating after you the students grab the erasure.
Color Game
Give every student a card with 4 colors on it, these are now their favorite colors.
Have the students wander the classroom to ask other students if they like the colors on their card. If the student they ask doesn't like any of the colors, then they need to find a new person to ask.
Example:
Student 1: Do you like pink?
Student 2: Yes, I like pink.
Student 1: Do you like green?
Student 2: No, I don't like green
If they find another student with the same colors on their card, they can pair up and go to the teacher and say "I like pink, green, red, gray." etc.
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Post by Dee on Sept 27, 2022 15:00:30 GMT 9
Bean bag toss: flashcards are laid out and the kids line up to thrown a bean bag. They have to say the word the bean bag lands on. Variation – can blindfold kids so they can no longer aim, or make them throw facing backwards I did a variation of the bean bag toss with my 5 year-old class today. I split the class into 2 teams, had them line up, and laid out 9 flashcards in front of them. Each team tossed a bean bag onto one of the flash cards, and if they could say the word in English their team got a point. If the bean bag just rolled over a flash card, I let it count and gave them a chance to say the English. If the bean bag hit one then rolled onto another flash card, I gave them a chance to say both words for 2 points. If they didn't hit any of the flashcard they had to go to the back of the line. Once everyone had a turn I would tally the points and declare a winning team. Definitely using this game again ^^ |
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It doesn't help that students get bored with craft projects and prefer physical movement games like 4 corners or Simon Says. hue 
