Description
Students repeat the target English until the timer goes off. The teacher then counts to 3 and everyone looks either up, left, right, or down at once. If a student looks in the same direction that the teacher picked, they lose that round.
Groups: Class
Quick X and O
Description
Draw a 3×3 noughts and crosses/tic-tac-toe board. Label each square from A-I. Set the timer for ~30 seconds, and repeat the target English until the time is up. The teacher then picks one of the spaces (referencing the letter in that square) and marks it with an ‘O’. A random student then picks a space, which the teacher marks with an ‘X’. For the second round onwards, toss a coin or roll a dice to see who goes first out of the teacher or students. If either the teacher or the students can get three of their ‘O’ or ‘X’ marks in a row, they win. If there are no spaces left at the end, it’s a draw.
Notes
- This game will last between 3 and 5 rounds, depending on when one team wins.
- It’s best for the teacher to not pick the centre space first, as better to give the students a chance to pick it to have an advantage.
Teacher Battle
Description
The students repeat the target English with the teacher until the timer goes off. A dice is then rolled two times, once for the class and once for the teacher. This continues each round and each score is added to that ‘team’s’ total. The ‘team’ with the highest score at the end is the winner.
Notes
Alternatively, you could roll the dice once each round, the first round going to the class’s score and the second round to the teachers, and so on. However this way you would need to do an even number of rounds for the game to be ‘fair’.
Similar Games
Quick Lucky Roller
Description
The teacher draws 3 groups on the board – 1/2, 3/4 and 5/6. The students repeat the teacher until the timer goes off, at which point the teacher rolls the dice. If they roll a 1 or a 2, they put a check mark under the 1/2 group, and so on. This continues each round. If the dice roll results in a group that has already been checked in a previous round, it doesn’t count. If all 3 groups can be checked off before the game finishes, the class wins!
Notes
It’s useful to draw boxes on the board to show how many rounds are going to be played, and check them off as you finish each round.
Quick Janken
Description
The teacher picks one flashcard as the ‘keyword’. The teacher then points at random cards and models the target English, and the students repeat until the keyword is picked. The class then plays janken with the teacher. If they beat the teacher, a students gets one point. If they lose, they lose one point. If they have the same result, there’s no change.
Notes
The whole class picks rock, scissors or paper when the teacher counts to 3. Make sure to keep the timing consistent!
Boss Game
Description
A flashcard or drawing of a monster is put on the board, with a ‘health bar’. The ‘health bar’ shows the monster’s ‘HP’. The students repeat the teacher until the timer goes off, at which point the teacher rolls the dice. Whatever number is rolled is subtracted from the monster’s ‘HP’. If the monster’s HP goes to 0 before the end of the game, the class wins.
Notes
It’s useful to draw boxes on the board to show how many rounds are going to be played, and check them off as you finish each round.
If you play this game for 5 rounds, then you probably want the monster’s HP to be around 17-20 points. If the class gets very lucky and beats the monster before the game is finished, then you can always draw a new monster on the board!
Mt Fuji Climbing Game
Description
Draw Mt Fuji on the board, add lots of markers along the way. The goal is for the students to advance up the mountain and one marker is one space. Use a timer and have the students repeat after the HRT/ALT. When timer goes off, spin the wheel (wheel 6) and allow the hiker to advance up the mountain based on how many spaces the spinner assigns them. For example, if the spinner lands on three, the hiker goes up three spaces.
Notes
You can make two hikers, if you want: one is for teachers and one is for students. The first one to reach the top wins. It adds a level of competition! Round 1, the teacher moves, round 2 the students move. It could also be adapted to a horse race, a car race, tug of war…there are many options. It doesn’t have to be Mt Fuji. Or you could change it each class.
You could also change the colors of the wheel to just two colors. One for the teachers team, one for students. The PowerPoint game is highly adaptable to suit your needs!
Lucky Wheel
Description
You can use the wheel however you want for different activities. Here are some examples:
“Me too!”
- Everyone starts with 5 points.
- Call out a phrase that the class has been practicing e.g. I like green/I like PE/I can play tennis. Something that they can form their own opinion about. Everyone then repeats the phrase.
- Then, all students who agree with the sentence i.e. They like green/PE etc. Stand up.
- Spin the wheel and all students standing receive the result. You can choose what the treasure chest and skull mean (e.g. +10 points/lose all points)
- Students sit down and repeat with the next sentence.
“Me too! – Writing Edition” (this version is similar and can be geared towards JHS as a main activity.)
Hand out the sentence sheet to each student. Give them 5 minutes to complete the sentence with their own unique answer. You can change the topic of the sentence to whatever you’re studying as long as it can be a unique answer.
- All students start with 5 points.
- Randomly select a student to stand up and share their sentence. E.g. During winter vacation, I tried omikuji.
- All students who also did the same thing during winter vacation stand up. It does not have to be the same as what they’ve written, they just have to have also done that activity.
- Spin the wheel and all students standing receive the points from the wheel.
- Students sit down and a new student is chosen to share.
Present/Past Connect 4
Description
This is the classic game of connect four. There are two team colors, red and blue. It’s up to you how you want to divide the class. You can split the class in 1/2 and within each half make groups or do something different. On the connect four board are present tense verbs such as write, read, sit, teach etc. you choose a team to “answer” and they choose a verb. They then announce the past tense of that verb. If it’s correct, you click on the verb to reveal the answer – you then choose which team claims that spot and choose the color. The goal is for teams to get as many rows of four as they can!
Notes
Don’t use this as is. The vocabulary needs to be chosen for the class and their level/what they’ve studied. It’s easy to edit. You can add other things, too. For example, you can write a Japanese word and the students need to translate it correctly.
Pointing Game
Description
Split the class in half. Assign group A and B (or whatever is appropriate) and set the timer. When you begin pointing and saying the flashcard, the JTE/HRT will point at the A side. The students will repeat. When you move on to the second flashcard, the JTE/HRT will point at the B side. The students will repeat. This will go on until the timer beeps. Whichever team the JTE/HRT is pointing at when the timer goes off gets one point. Repeat the process.
Notes
You know your students. If they’re going to complain about the winning/losing team, don’t play it. I’ve had a class where the students really went after the teacher for their choices in selecting groups and points. If you think this might cause your teaching partner grief, avoid it. It’s not worth killing the atmosphere for your teaching partner and students!