Elementary Year 6s 35 lessons per year

#
Target:

What's your name? I'm __

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

AEIOU Song

AEIOU

ALT demonstrates sounds. Sings song with HRT taking turns to say I'm

Intro into phonics. Explain that English letters have onyomis.

__ I'm __.

Demonstrate the sounds the letters make twice, then sing the song once.

Sing song with students.

When you get to the first I'm __ point to yourself and insert your name,

(5-10 mins)

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.

What's this?

Fruit, animals,

HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what

It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the

(5 mins)

anything

it is. HRT should ask what's this? before starting to pull out the card.

students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and

ALT should encourage the students to use it's a/an __ when guessing.

discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They

Students can repeat after the ALT (it's a/an __) when they guess what the

become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember

1 / 59

card is.

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.

5 corners

AEIOU

(5-10 mins)

ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks

Before explaining the game, ask the students what kind of game they think

and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.

it is, and what they should be doing. Usually they can figure it out, but if

Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and

they really can't get it, just explain it.

one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids

Encourage safe moving!

should run to the right area.

Students will naturally start to realise they should watch your mouth
carefully too to help the figure out which sound is which.

Ball toss

I'm __

(5-10 mins)

Toss a small, soft ball around the classroom, students say their name I'm

Some classes need to be told not to throw the ball hard, but most won't.

__ then pass ball on. They sit down after they throw the ball to another
student.

Dictation
(5 mins)

AEIOU

ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's

Use the words memo paper as they have similar meanings in Japanese

sound, and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the

and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand

idea of what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no

what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.

particular order, watching the students to see that they are writing the

You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this, though the first time you

correct letters. ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if

do it, it'll take a bit longer. Try to run through at least 15 letters each time

some got it wrong.

(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.

2 / 59

Ball toss

Fruit, animals,

ALT and HRT toss ball between each other a few times saying I like __s.

Before tossing the ball to students, you can get them to guess what I like

(5-10 mins)

anything

Encourage students to guess the meaning. Then throw the ball to the

__ means. Try to lead them in the right direction without just giving them

students who say I like __s with their suki-na whatever before passing

the answer, for example, a heart gesture with your hands to hint at "like". I

the ball on and sitting down. Draw the children into the game by making

would be very surprised, however, if not one of your students already

sure it looks fun.

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.

Target:

What's this? It's a/an __

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

AEIOU Song

BDCTG

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 you

__ I'm __.

won't need to spend any time correcting mistakes. It should only take

Sing song with students.

about 2-3 mins this time.

(5 mins)

What's this?

Sport, drinks,

HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what

It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the

(5 mins)

food, anything

it is. HRT should ask what's this? before starting to pull out the card.

students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and

ALT should encourage the students to use it's a/an __ when guessing.

discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They

Students can repeat after the ALT (it's a/an __) when they guess what the

become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember

card is.

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.

3 / 59

You can say yoku kangaeta after any guesses to help students not worry
about making mistakes.

5 corners

BDTCG,

ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks

Encourage safe moving!

(5 mins)

AEIOU

and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.

Students will naturally start to realise they should watch your mouth

Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and

carefully too to help the figure out which sound is which.

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.

Car race
(10 mins)

Anything

ALT and HRT demonstrate the game. Lay the cards out in a circle on the

The point of this game is to create a real situation where the students will

desks, place 1 eraser per player on opposite sides of the race track.

need to use the question "what's this?" Therefore it's important to include

Janken to decide who moves. If win with rock, move 3 spaces, if scissors,

vocab cards that they don't know how to say in English. They'll want to

move 2, and if paper, move 1 space. The non-mover asks the mover

keep playing the game, but can't do so unless they come and ask either

what's this? and the mover replies it's a/an __.

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
have the kids keep moving round if the class is not a competitive one.

4 / 59

Dictation

BDTCG,

ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's

Use the words memo paper as they have similar meanings in Japanese

(5 mins)

AEIOU

sound, and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the

and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand

idea of what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no

what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.

particular order, watching the students to see that they are writing the

You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at

correct letters. ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if

least 15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the

some got it wrong.

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.

Nonsense

Combination

ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,

Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order

words

families eg A,

ab etc and challenges the students to say them.

to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different

(5 mins)

AT, DAT,

combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without

EDAT, KEDAT

such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in

etc

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.

Target:

I have a __

XX

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

AEIOU Song

PMNS+1

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 you

__ I'm __.

won't need to spend any time correcting mistakes. It should only take

(5 mins)

5 / 59

Sing song with students.

about 2-3 mins this time.

What's this?

Pets, brother,

HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what

It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the

(5 mins)

sister, etc

it is. HRT should ask what's this? before starting to pull out the card.

students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and

ALT should encourage the students to use it's a/an __ when guessing.

discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They

Students can repeat after the ALT (it's a/an __) when they guess what the

become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember

card is.

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.

5 corners

PMNS+1,

ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks

Students should remember this game from last time and will know what to

(5 mins)

AEIOU

and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.

do.

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.

Snap!

Pets, brother,

ALT and HRT demonstrate the game. When they put a card down on the

Try for 1 card set between 3 or 4 students, and 3-4 cards of each type

(10 mins)

sister, etc

pile, they should say "I have a __"

within the card set each group has, for example, 4 pineapple cards.

If the students don't know the name of the card, or forgot or whatever, they
should be encouraged to ask members of their group or the ALT or HRT. If
the card is the same as the one put down directly before it, the players
instead race to slap their hand down on top of it. They then add all the
cards on the pile on their desks to the bottom of the set of cards in their
hands.

6 / 59

Dictation

PMNS,

ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's

Use the words memo paper as they have similar meanings in Japanese

(5 mins)

BDTCG,

sound, and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the

and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand

AEIOU

idea of what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no

what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.

particular order, watching the students to see that they are writing the

It's a good idea to keep coming back to those letters the students are

correct letters. ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if

having particular trouble with.

some got it wrong.

Nonsense

Combination

ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,

Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order

words

families eg A,

ab etc and challenges the students to say them.

to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different

(5 mins)

AT, DAT,

combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without

EDAT, KEDAT

such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in

etc

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.

Target:

People who have a __

XX

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

AEIOU Song

KHQJ+1

ALT demonstrates sounds. Sings song with HRT taking turns to say I'm

Get the students to suggest 1 previously covered letter to add to the set to

__ I'm __.

make it 5.

Sing song with students.

Students should remember the song from last time and you'll find it should

(5 mins)

only take about 2-3 mins this time.

7 / 59

What's this?

Anything that

HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what

It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the

(5 mins)

can be used

it is. HRT should ask what's this? before starting to pull out the card.

students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and

with "have"

ALT should encourage the students to use it's a/an __ when guessing.

discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They

Students can repeat after the ALT (it's a/an __) when they guess what the

become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember

card is.

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.

5 corners

KHQJ+1,

ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks

Students should remember this game from last time and will know what to

(5 mins)

AEIOU

and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.

do.

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.

Fruit basket

Anything that

ALT uses English and gestures to get students to put their desks to the

You can introduce the sentence by saying tatoeba, people who have a

(10 mins)

can be used

back (or sides) of the room and make a circle for their chairs. Use the

cat to yuttara nani ga okoru? and the students should be able to tell you

with "have"

sentence People who have a __ for the game.

that kids who have a cat will change seats (90%+ of classes will get it

This game should take about 10-15 mins. Stop it before the students want

straight off, in my experience).

to.

You can write the sentence on the board and prompt students so they can
say it. In my experience, you really only need to prompt the first 3-4
students, and after that they're pretty good at getting it. Weaker students
might still need some help though.
ALT/HRT don't need to be a part of the game. It's good if they can just be

8 / 59

in the background and the students take ownership of the game

themselves.

Dictation

PMNS, KHQJ,

ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's

Use the words memo paper as they have similar meanings in Japanese

(5 mins)

BDCTG,

sound, and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the

and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand

AEIOU

idea of what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no

what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.

particular order, watching the students to see that they are writing the

It's a good idea to keep coming back to those letters the students are

correct letters. ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if

having particular trouble with.

some got it wrong.

Nonsense

Combination

ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,

Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order

words

families eg A,

ab etc and challenges the students to say them.

to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different

(5 mins)

AT, DAT,

combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without

EDAT, KEDAT

such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in

etc

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.

Target:

Do you have a __? Yes I do/ No I don't

XX XX

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

AEIOU Song

LWVF+1

ALT demonstrates sounds. Sings song with HRT taking turns to say I'm

Get the students to suggest 1 previously covered letter to add to the set to

__ I'm __.

make it 5.

(5 mins)

9 / 59

Sing song with students.

Students should remember the song from last time and you'll find it should
only take about 2-3 mins this time.

What's this?

Anything that

HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what

It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the

(5 mins)

can be used

it is. HRT should ask what's this? before starting to pull out the card.

students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and

with "have"

ALT should encourage the students to use it's a/an __ when guessing.

discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They

Students can repeat after the ALT (it's a/an __) when they guess what the

become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember

card is.

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.

5 corners

LWVF+1,

ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks

Students should remember this game from last time and will know what to

(5 mins)

AEIOU

and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.

do.

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.

Go fish

Anything that

ALT and HRT should demonstrate the game for the students beforehand.

You'll need enough cards for about 3 cards of each type per set given to

(1-20 mins)

can be used

Get the students into groups of about 4-6 people. Deal out about 5 cards

the students.

with "have"

per person and put the rest face down in the middle of the desks. Decide
who goes first, and after that go clockwise around the group. The person
who starts chooses someone in the group, for example Yuusuke, and asks
"Do you have a/an [whatever card they want to make a set of 3]?" If
Yuusuke has the card, he hands it over, saying "here you are." If he

10 / 59

doesn't he says "go fish" and the person asking the question picks up one
card from the pile face down in the middle of the group of desks. When
someone collects a set of 3 of the same cards, they put them face up on
the desks in front of them. If a player gets rid of all the cards in their
hands, but there are still cards face down on the table, they pick up 2
cards, and continue playing. The game ends when the last person gets rid
of all the cards in their hands and there are no more cards face down in
the middle of the desks. The winner is the person who collected the most
sets of cards.
Dictation

LWVF, KHQJ,

(5 mins)

PMNS, AEIOU

Use the words memo paper as they have similar meanings in Japanese
ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's

and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand

sound, and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the

what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.

idea of what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no

It's a good idea to keep coming back to those letters the students are

particular order, watching the students to see that they are writing the

having particular trouble with.

correct letters. ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if
some got it wrong.
Nonsense

Combination

Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order

words

families eg A,

ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,

to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different

(5 mins)

AT, DAT,

ab etc and challenges the students to say them.

combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without

EDAT, KEDAT

such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in

etc

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 / 59

Target:

People who don't have a __/ I don't have

a __

XX XX
XX

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

AEIOU Song

YXZR+1

ALT demonstrates sounds. Sings song with HRT taking turns to say I'm

Get the students to suggest 1 previously covered letter to add to the set to

__ I'm __.

make it 5.

Sing song with students.

Students should remember the song from last time and you'll find it should

(5 mins)

only take about 2-3 mins this time.

What's this?

Anything that

HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what

It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the

(5 mins)

can be used

it is. HRT should ask what's this? before starting to pull out the card.

students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and

with "have"

ALT should encourage the students to use it's a/an __ when guessing.

discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They

Students can repeat after the ALT (it's a/an __) when they guess what the

become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember

card is.

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.

5 corners

YXzR+1,

ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks

Students should remember this game from last time and will know what to

(5 mins)

AEIOU

and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.

do.

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.

12 / 59

Fruit basket

Anything that

ALT uses English and gestures to get students to put their desks to the

You can introduce the sentence by saying tatoeba, people who don't have

(10 mins)

can be used

back (or sides) of the room and make a circle for their chairs. Use the

a cat to yuttara nani ga okoru? and the students should be able to tell you

with "have"

sentence People who don' t have a __ for the game.

that kids who don't have a cat will change seats (90%+ of classes will get it

This game should take about 10-15 mins. Stop it before the students want

straight off, in my experience).

to.

You can write the sentence on the board and prompt students so they can
say it. In my experience, you really only need to prompt the first 3-4
students, and after that they're pretty good at getting it. Weaker students
might still need some help though.
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.

Dictation

A-Z

(5 mins)

ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's

Use the words memo paper as they have similar meanings in Japanese

sound, and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the

and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand

idea of what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no

what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.

particular order, watching the students to see that they are writing the

It's a good idea to keep coming back to those letters the students are

correct letters. ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if

having particular trouble with.

some got it wrong.

Basketball

7
Activity

Anything that

Divide the class in half and each half makes a circle around a smallish box

If students don't know the name of what they want to say in English,

can be used

on the floor. Students take turns to say I don't have a/an __ and then

encourage them to ask what's __?

with "don't

throw a large dice into the box. If they get it in, they get 10 points for their

have"

team. If not, they get the number of points on the dice.

Target:

What's this? (months)

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

13 / 59

Nonsense

Combination

ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,

Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order

words

families eg A,

ab etc and challenges the students to say them.

to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different

(5 mins)

AT, DAT,

combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without

EDAT, KEDAT

such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in

etc

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.

What's this?

Months

(5 mins)

HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what

It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the

it is. HRT should ask what's this? before starting to pull out the card.

students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and

ALT should encourage the students to use it's a/an __ when guessing.

discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They

Students can repeat after the ALT (it's a/an __) when they guess what the

become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember

card is.

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.

Chopstick

Anything

ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks

Students should remember this game from last time and will know what to

spelling

phonically

and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.

do.

(10-15 mins)

regular

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

14 / 59

the corners to AEIOU.

Car race

Months, etc

(10 mins)

ALT and HRT demonstrate the game. Lay the cards out in a circle on the

About 30-40% of cards should be new vocabulary so that the students will

desks, place 1 eraser per player on opposite sides of the race track.

come to you or the HRT to ask what they are, and they should have

Janken to decide who moves. If win with rock, move 3 spaces, if scissors,

English printed on them so they can also try to sound them out for

move 2, and if paper, move 1 space. The non-mover asks the mover

themselves.

what's this? and the mover replies it's a/an __.

You'll need enough card sets for 1 set between 2 students, depending on

When the students encounter a fruit whose name they don't know, they

the class.

should be encouraged to ask either the ALT or HRT what's this? and the

HRT and ALT should move around the class to help students use the

teacher can answer it's a/an __.

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.
Don't let the game go on too long.

Dictation

A-Z, VC

ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's

(5 mins)

patterns

sound, and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the

Use the words memo paper as they have similar meanings in Japanese

idea of what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no

and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand

particular order, watching the students to see that they are writing the

what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.

correct letters. ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if

It's a good idea to keep coming back to those letters the students are

some got it wrong.

having particular trouble with.

Chains

Months

(10 mins)

Students stand up and toss the ball among themselves. The first student
will say "January", throw the ball, and then sit down. The second student,
"February" and so on.

8
Activity

Target:

Numbers 1-31

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

15 / 59

Nonsense

Combination

ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,

Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order

words

families eg A,

ab etc and challenges the students to say them.

to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different

(5 mins)

AT, DAT,

combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without

EDAT, KEDAT

such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in

etc

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
What's this?

Numbers 1-31

(5 mins)

HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what

students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and

it is. HRT should ask what's this? before starting to pull out the card.

discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They

ALT should encourage the students to use it's a/an __ when guessing.

become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember

Students can repeat after the ALT (it's a/an __) when they guess what the

things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in

card is.

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.

Chopstick

Anything

Dictate letters or letter combinations and have all of the children write the

Make sure if the flashcard has English on the front that it is well covered.

spelling

phonically

letters on pieces of paper. Either all of the letters of the alphabet or just

To save time, you can give each team a set of laminated letters to use.

(10 mins)

regular

those needed for the game. Divide all of the children into teams, and give

The first time will take about 15 mins, but thereafter you should spend no

one child from each team a pair of chopsticks. The children then tear up

more than 10 mins on it.

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.

16 / 59

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.

Number

Numbers 1-31

ALT/ HRT gets all the students to stand up and shows them the beat. The

Be careful that the students don't get too fast and out of time.

chants

beat is slap your thighs once, then clap twice. On the thigh slap, the

You can add extra challenge to this by making it "one" "ni" "three" "yon".

(10 mins)

students should say the number. The first student should say "one" then
sit down, the second student should say "two" then sit down, and so on
down the line. If any student makes a mistake, start again from the
beginning. You can vary the start point if you want.

Noughts and

Anything

Also called "tic tac toe." Divide the class into 2 teams. Draw a 5x5 grid on

The students are allowed to consult with team members before choosing a

crosses

the board and write numbers in the corners of each of the squares. Place

card and trying to complete the task.

(10-15 mins)

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.

Activity

Target:

People who have birthdays in __/ People

who don't have birthdays in __

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

17 / 59

AEIOU Song

EE, OW(cow),

ALT demonstrates sounds. Sings song with HRT taking turns to say I'm

Get the students to suggest 1 previously covered letter to add to the set to

(combos 1)

OO(foot), IR,

__ I'm __.

make it 5.

(5 mins)

OY

Sing song with students.

Students should remember the song from last time and you'll find it should
only take about 2-3 mins this time.

What's this?

Months

(5 mins)

HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what

It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the

it is. HRT should ask what's this? before starting to pull out the card.

students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and

ALT should encourage the students to use it's a/an __ when guessing.

discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They

Students can repeat after the ALT (it's a/an __) when they guess what the

become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember

card is.

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.

5 corners

EE, OW(cow),

ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks

Students should remember this game from last time and will know what to

(5 mins)

OO(foot), IR,

and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.

do.

OY

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.

Fruit basket
(10 mins)

Months

ALT uses English and gestures to get students to put their desks to the

You can introduce the sentence by saying tatoeba, people who have

back (or sides) of the room and make a circle for their chairs. Use the

birthdays in March to yuttara nani ga okoru? and the students should be

sentence People who have birthdays in __ for the game.

able to tell you that kids who have a birthday in March will change seats

Halfway through, switch the sentence to "people who don't have birthdays

(90%+ of classes will get it straight off, in my experience).

in __"

You can write the sentence on the board and prompt students so they can

18 / 59

say it. In my experience, you really only need to prompt the first 3-4
students, and after that they're pretty good at getting it. Weaker students
might still need some help though.
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.

Number

Number 1st-

ALT/ HRT gets all the students to stand up and shows them the beat. The

Be careful that the students don't get too fast and out of time.

chants

31st

beat is slap your thighs once, then clap twice. On the thigh slap, the

You can add extra challenge to this by making it "first" "futsuka" "third"

(ordinals)

students should say the number. The first student should say "first" then

"yokka".

(10-15 mins)

sit down, the second student should say "second" then sit down, and so on
down the line. If any student makes a mistake, start again from the
beginning. You can vary the start point if you want.

Target:

When's your birthday? It's __ __

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

AEIOU Song

OO(moon),

ALT demonstrates sounds. Sings song with HRT taking turns to say I'm

Get the students to suggest 1 previously covered letter to add to the set to

(combos 2)

EA(sea), AY,

__ I'm __.

make it 5.

(5 mins)

OR(horse), CH

Sing song with students.

Students should remember the song from last time and you'll find it should

10

only take about 2-3 mins this time.

What's this?
(5 mins)

Months

HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what

It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the

it is. HRT should ask what's this? before starting to pull out the card.

students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and

ALT should encourage the students to use it's a/an __ when guessing.

discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They

Students can repeat after the ALT (it's a/an __) when they guess what the

become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember

card is.

things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in

19 / 59

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.

5 corners

OO(moon),

ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks

Students should remember this game from last time and will know what to

(5 mins)

EA(sea), AY,

and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.

do.

OR(horse), CH

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.

Ball toss

Months,

Students toss a ball between each other. The first student says "first" then

(10 mins)

ordinal

passes the ball on and sits down. The second student says "second" then

numbers

passes the ball on and sits down, and so on.

Dictation

A-Z, new

ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks

Use the words memo paper as they have similar meanings in Japanese

(5 mins)

combos

and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.

and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand

Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and

what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.

one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids

It's a good idea to keep coming back to those letters the students are

should run to the right area. Halfway through the game, or as soon as

having particular trouble with.

you're sure that the students have got the new consonants down, change
the corners to AEIOU.
Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order
Nonsense

Combination

ALT uses English and gestures to get students to put their desks to the

to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different

words

families eg A,

back (or sides) of the room and make a circle for their chairs. Use the

combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without

(5 mins)

AT, DAT,

sentence People who don' t have a __ for the game.

such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in

20 / 59

EDAT, KEDAT

This game should take about 10-15 mins. Stop it before the students want

order to do so. This activity is simple, fun, and enjoyable for the students,

etc

to.

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.

Target:

People who can __

XX

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

AEIOU Song

OW(window),

ALT demonstrates the sounds of the letters a couple of times each. Sing

Students should remember the song from last time and you'll find you

(combos 3)

AI, OA, SH,

song and take turns with the HRT to say I'm __ I'm __

won't need to spend any time correcting mistakes. It should only take

(5 mins)

TH(this)

Sing song with students.

about 2-3 mins this time.

What's this?

Run, jump,

HRT to gesture the vocab and encourage the students to guess what they

Feel free to add any verbs you want to the list.

(5 mins)

swim, hop,

are doing. If the students don't know the action in English the ALT can

skip, etc

supply the correct word.

11

ALT/HRT then calls out a verb, and the students do the action.

5 corners

OW(window),

ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks

Encourage safe moving!

(5 mins)

AI, OA, SH,

and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.

Students will naturally start to realise they should watch your mouth

TH(this)

Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and

carefully too to help the figure out which sound is which.

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.

21 / 59

Fruit basket

Run, jump,

ALT uses English and gestures to get students to put their desks to the

You can introduce the sentence by saying tatoeba, people who can swim

(10 mins)

swim, hop,

back (or sides) of the room and make a circle for their chairs. Use the

to yuttara nani ga okoru? and the students should be able to tell you that

skip, etc

sentence People who can __ for the game.

kids who can swim will change seats (90%+ of classes will get it straight

This game should take about 10-15 mins. Stop it before the students want

off, in my experience).

to.

You can write the sentence on the board and prompt students so they can
say it. In my experience, you really only need to prompt the first 3-4
students, and after that they're pretty good at getting it. Weaker students
might still need some help though.
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.

Dictation

A-Z, new

ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's

You usually shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through

(5 mins)

combos

sound, and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the

about 15 letters, with ones that the students have trouble with coming up

idea of what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no

more frequently.

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.

Nonsense

Combination

ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,

Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order

words

families eg A,

ab etc and challenges the students to say them.

to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different

(5 mins)

AT, DAT,

combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without

EDAT, KEDAT

such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in

etc

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

22 / 59

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.

Target:

Can you (play) __? Yes I can/ No I can't

XX

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

AEIOU Song

OU(cloud),

ALT demonstrates sounds. Sings song with HRT taking turns to say I'm

Students should remember the song from last time. It should only take

(combos 4)

TH(thin), CK,

__ I'm __.

about 2-3 mins this time.

(5 mins)

EA(bread)+1

Sing song with students.

Get the students to suggest 1 previously covered letter to add to the set to

12

make it 5.

What's this?

Sports

HRT gestures the sport, and students guess.

(5 mins)

If you use the Kaado de eigo set, there are 12 sports cards. Add or delete
as you like.

Counting

Sports, verbs

Divide the class into small groups. One child has a pile of cards and

Students should remember this game from last time, and will know what to

cards

from previous

another child calls out a number. The child with cards asks "how many

do.

(10 mins)

lesson

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 Can you (play) __? and the other
children should answer eg Yes I can/ No I can't

Dictation

A-Z, new

ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says sounds one-

Use the words memo paper as they have similar meanings in Japanese

(5 mins)

combos

by-one in no particular order, watching the students to see that they are

and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand

23 / 59

writing the correct letters. ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter

what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.

they said if some got it wrong.

You usually shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through
about 15 letters, with ones that the students have trouble with coming up
more frequently.

Ball toss

Sports, verbs

ALT and HRT demonstrate the game, tossing a ball between them and

After the first 3-4 students, you shouldn't really need to prompt students on

asking "Can you __?" and answering "Yes I can/ No I can't" Draw the

what to say, but sometimes the weaker ones will still need a bit of help.

students into the game by making it look fun.

Some classes need to be told not to throw the ball hard, but most won't.

Target:

I can __/ I can't

XX XX

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

Nonsense

Combination

ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,

Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order

words

families eg A,

ab etc and challenges the students to say them.

to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different

(5 mins)

AT, DAT,

combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without

EDAT, KEDAT

such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in

etc

order to do so. This activity is simple, fun, and enjoyable for the students,

(10 mins)

13

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.

What's this?
(5 mins)

Sports, verbs

HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what

It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the

it is. HRT should ask what's this? before starting to pull out the card.

students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and

ALT should encourage the students to use it's a/an __ when guessing.

discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They

24 / 59

Students can repeat after the ALT (it's a/an __) when they guess what the

become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember

card is.

things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in

Use only about half of the cards you have.

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.

Bomb game

Anything

(10-15 mins)

Divide the class into 2 teams. One student from the first team comes to

Students ca practise before coming up to the front of the class, but when at

the front and draws a card out of an opaque bag and tries to say what is

the front, make sure no one from their team tries to call out what they

on the card. If the card has a picture with cross on it, they use "I can't", but

should be saying.

if it doesn't, they use "I can". If they can say what is on the card, they get

It takes a while to get through the whole class if you have large classes, so

one point. They can continue taking and saying cards up to 3 cards, but if

do half this lesson, and half the next.

at any time they draw a card with a bomb on it out, their turn is over, and
they receive no points for their turn. After the student's turn is finished, put
the cards they drew out bag into the bag, and shuffle them.

Dictation

A-Z, new

ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says sounds one-

Use the words memo paper as they have similar meanings in Japanese

(5 mins)

combos

by-one in no particular order, watching the students to see that they are

and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand

writing the correct letters. ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter

what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.

they said if some got it wrong.

You usually shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through
about 15 letters, with ones that the students have trouble with coming up
more frequently.

Ball toss

Sport, verbs

(10 mins)

Students take turns to toss a ball between themselves, saying something

After the first 3-4 students, you shouldn't really need to prompt students on

they can do, or something they can't and then sitting down.

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:

I can __/I can't __

XX XX
25 / 59

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

Nonsense

Combination

ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,

Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order

words

families eg A,

ab etc and challenges the students to say them.

to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different

(5 mins)

AT, DAT,

combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without

EDAT, KEDAT

such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in

etc

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.

What's this?

Sports, verbs

(5 mins)

HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what

It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the

it is. HRT should ask what's this? before starting to pull out the card.

students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and

ALT should encourage the students to use it's a/an __ when guessing.

discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They

Students can repeat after the ALT (it's a/an __) when they guess what the

become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember

card is.

things much better. Mystery, guessing, and discovery drive learning in

Use only about half of the cards you have.

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.

Bomb game
(10-15 mins)

Sports, verbs

Divide the class into 2 teams. One student from the first team comes to

Students ca practise before coming up to the front of the class, but when at

the front and draws a card out of an opaque bag and tries to say what is

the front, make sure no one from their team tries to call out what they

on the card. If the card has a picture with cross on it, they use "I can't", but

should be saying.

if it doesn't, they use "I can". If they can say what is on the card, they get

It takes a while to get through the whole class if you have large classes, so

one point. They can continue taking and saying cards up to 3 cards, but if

do half this lesson, and half the next.

26 / 59

at any time they draw a card with a bomb on it out, their turn is over, and
they receive no points for their turn. After the student's turn is finished, put
the cards they drew out bag into the bag, and shuffle them.

Dictation

A-Z, new

ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says sounds one-

Use the words memo paper as they have similar meanings in Japanese

(5 mins)

combos

by-one in no particular order, watching the students to see that they are

and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand

writing the correct letters. ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter

what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.

they said if some got it wrong.

You usually shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through
about 15 letters, with ones that the students have trouble with coming up
more frequently.

Ball toss

Sports, verbs

(10 mins)

Students take turns to toss a ball between themselves, saying something

After the first 3-4 students, you shouldn't really need to prompt students on

they can do, or something they can't and then sitting down.

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.

Target:

Directions

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

5 corners

Any 5

ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks

Students will remember this game from last time and will know what to do.

(5 mins)

letters/combos

and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.

the students

Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and

choose

one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids

15

should run to the right area.

What's this?

Left, right, up,

(5 mins)

down, straight,

HRT should use gestures to introduce the vocab.

Never, ever jut translate something straight off for your students, always
get them to guess the meaning, or try to think through it first.

stop

27 / 59

Chopstick

Anything

Dictate letters or letter combinations and have all of the children write the

Make sure if the flashcard has English on the front that it is well covered.

spelling

letters on pieces of paper. Either all of the letters of the alphabet or just

To save time, you can give each team a set of laminated letters to use.

(10 mins)

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.

Blackboard

Left, right, up,

ALT asks students for two volunteers and then gets those students to draw

Use the students' hats for blindfolds. You can also spin the students

target game

down, straight,

their favourite fruit on the blackboard. The ALT then draws 4 circles

around to disorient them.

(10-15 mins)

stop

around the fruit, and writes 5, 10, 15 inside the circles. Divide the class

It shouldn't take long for the students for the students to work out what to

into 2 teams, on for the HRT and one for the ALT. The two volunteers are

do, but if they're particularly slow, try to give them hints, without being too

then taken to the back of the classroom, blindfolded, and given a piece of

obvious.

chalk. Then turn to the rest of the class and say "15 points, get!" The
students should then try to guide their teammate to the blackboard and
they try to make a mark in the target. They get the number of points in the
circle they marked.

Dictation

A-Z, new

ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's

You usually shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through

(5 mins)

combos, VC

sound, and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the

about 15 letters, with ones that the students have trouble with coming up

patterns

idea of what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no

more frequently.

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

28 / 59

some got it wrong.

Nonsense

Combination

ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,

Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order

words

families eg A,

ab etc and challenges the students to say them.

to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different

(5 mins)

AT, DAT,

combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without

EDAT, KEDAT

such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in

etc

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.

Target:

What's this? It's the __

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

Letter tiles

No vocab

Divide the students into pairs or 2 teams. They have letter tiles with

It doesn't matter how long the words get. The purpose of this exercise is to

vowels in one colour (eg blue) and consonants in another (eg red). There

make puzzling out English spelling a game and a fun challenge for the

should be plenty of each for each child to choose from. One child makes

students.

16

(10 mins)

either a vowel-consonant sequence or a vowel-consonant-vowelconsonant 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.

What's this?

Places

HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what

It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the

29 / 59

(5 mins)

it is. HRT should ask what's this? before starting to pull out the card.

students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and

ALT should encourage the students to use it's a/an __ when guessing.

discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They

Students can repeat after the ALT (it's a/an __) when they guess what the

become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember

card is.

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.

5 corners

Any 5

ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks

(5 mins)

letters/combos

and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.

the students

Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and

choose

one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids

Students will remember this game from last time and will know what to do.

should run to the right area.

Car race

Places

(10 mins)

ALT and HRT demonstrate the game. Lay the cards out in a circle on the

You'll need enough card sets for 1 set between 2 students, depending on

desks, place 1 eraser per player on opposite sides of the race track.

the class.

Janken to decide who moves. If win with rock, move 3 spaces, if scissors,

HRT and ALT should move around the class to help students use the

move 2, and if paper, move 1 space. The non-mover asks the mover

target language.

What's this? and the mover replies It's the __

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.

Dictation

A-Z, new

ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's

You usually shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through

(5 mins)

combos, CVC

sound, and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the

about 15 letters, with ones that the students have trouble with coming up

patterns

idea of what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no

more frequently.

particular order, watching the students to see that they are writing the

30 / 59

correct letters. ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if
some got it wrong.

Target:

Where is the __? Here it is

XX

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

Nonsense

Combination

ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,

Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order

words

families eg A,

ab etc and challenges the students to say them.

to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different

(5 mins)

AT, DAT,

combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without

EDAT, KEDAT

such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in

etc

order to do so. This activity is simple, fun, and enjoyable for the students,

17

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.

What's this?
(5 mins)

Places

HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what

It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the

it is. HRT should ask what's this? before starting to pull out the card.

students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and

ALT should encourage the students to use it's a/an __ when guessing.

discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They

Students can repeat after the ALT (it's a/an __) when they guess what the

become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember

card is.

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

31 / 59

about making mistakes.

5 corners

Any 5 letters/

ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks

(5 mins)

combos the

and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.

students

Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and

choose

one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids

Students will remember this game from last time and will know what to do.

should run to the right area.

Go fish

Places

(15 mins)

ALT and HRT should demonstrate the game for the students beforehand.

You'll need enough cards for about 3 cards of each type per set given to

Get the students into groups of about 4-6 people. Deal out about 5 cards

the students.

per person and put the rest face down in the middle of the desks. Decide
who goes first, and after that go clockwise around the group. The person
who starts chooses someone in the group, for example Yuusuke, and asks
"Where is the [whatever card they want to make a set of 3]?" If Yuusuke
has the card, he hands it over, saying "here it is." If he doesn't he says "go
fish" and the person asking the question picks up one card from the pile
face down in the middle of the group of desks. When someone collects a
set of 3 of the same cards, they put them face up on the desks in front of
them. If a player gets rid of all the cards in their hands, but there are still
cards face down on the table, they pick up 2 cards, and continue playing.
The game ends when the last person gets rid of all the cards in their hands
and there are no more cards face down in the middle of the desks. The
winner is the person who collected the most sets of cards.

Dictation

A-Z, new

ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's

You usually shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through

(5 mins)

combos, CVC

sound, and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the

about 15 letters, with ones that the students have trouble with coming up

patterns

idea of what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no

more frequently.

32 / 59

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.

Target:

Town places

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

Nonsense

Combination

ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,

Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order

words

families eg A,

ab etc and challenges the students to say them.

to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different

(5 mins)

AT, DAT,

combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without

EDAT, KEDAT

such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in

etc

order to do so. This activity is simple, fun, and enjoyable for the students,

18

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.

Noughts and

Anything

Also called "tic tac toe." Divide the class into 2 teams. Draw a 5x5 grid on

The students are allowed to consult with team members before choosing a

crosses

the board and write numbers in the corners of each of the squares. Place

card and trying to complete the task.

(10 mins)

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

33 / 59

diagonals of 3 as possible, with extra points being awarded if they can

make 2 or 3 lines at once.

Dictation

A-Z, new

ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's

You usually shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through

(5 mins)

combos,

sound, and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the

about 15 letters, with ones that the students have trouble with coming up

VCVC patterns

idea of what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no

more frequently.

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.

Memory

Places

(10-15 mins)

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 cant 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.

5 corners

Any 5 letters/

ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks

game

combos

and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.

(5 mins)

Students will remember this game from last time and will know what to do.

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.

19

Target:

What's this? It's __

34 / 59

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

Chopstick

Anything

Dictate letters or letter combinations and have all of the children write the

Make sure if the flashcard has English on the front that it is well covered.

spelling

letters on pieces of paper. Either all of the letters of the alphabet or just

To save time, you can give each team a set of laminated letters to use.

(10 mins)

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.

What's this?

Countries

(5 mins)

HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what

It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the

it is. HRT should ask what's this? before starting to pull out the card.

students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and

ALT should encourage the students to use it's a/an __ when guessing.

discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They

Students can repeat after the ALT (it's a/an __) when they guess what the

become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember

card is.

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.

5 corners

Any 5 letters/

ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks

(5 mins)

combos the

and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.

students

Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and

choose

one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids

Students will remember this game from last time and will know what to do.

35 / 59

should run to the right area.

Counting

Countries

Divide the class into small groups. One child has a pile of cards and

cards

another child calls out a number. The child with cards asks "how many

(10 mins)

cards?" and the number calling child calls out a number. The child with

Small groups of 2-3 would work best for this game.

cards counts out the appropriate number of cards. The card counter then
asks a question about the card eg What's this? and the other children
should answer eg It's __

Dictation

A-Z, new

ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's

You usually shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through

(5 mins)

combos,

sound, and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the

about 15 letters, with ones that the students have trouble with coming up

VCVC patterns

idea of what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no

more frequently.

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.

Target:

People who want to go to __

XX

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

AEIOU Song

Any 5 letters/

ALT demonstrates sounds. Sings song with HRT taking turns to say I'm

Get the students to suggest 1 previously covered letter to add to the set to

(5 mins)

combos the

__ I'm __.

make it 5.

students

Sing song with students.

Students should remember the song from last time and you'll find it should

20

choose

What's this?
(5 mins)

Countries

only take about 2-3 mins this time.

HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what

It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the

it is. HRT should ask what's this? before starting to pull out the card.

students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and

ALT should encourage the students to use it's a/an __ when guessing.

discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They

36 / 59

Students can repeat after the ALT (it's a/an __) when they guess what the

become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember

card is.

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.

5 corners

The same 5

ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks

Students should remember this game from last time, and will know what to

(5 mins)

used in the

and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.

do.

song

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.

Fruit basket

Countries,

ALT uses English and gestures to get students to make a circle with their

You can introduce the sentence by saying tatoeba, people who want to

(10 mins)

places

chairs. Use the sentence People who want to go to __ for the game.

go to DisneySea to yuttara nani ga okoru? and the students should be

The game should go on for no longer than 10 mins. Always stop games

able to tell you that kids who want to go to DisneySea will change seats

before your students want to, so that next time they will want to play them

(90%+ of classes will get it straight off, in my experience).

even more.

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.

Dictation

A-Z, new

ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's

Use the words memo paper as they have similar meanings in Japanese

(5 mins)

combos

sound, and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the

and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand

idea of what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no

what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.

37 / 59

particular order, watching the students to see that they are writing the

You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at

correct letters. ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if

least 15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the

some got it wrong.

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.

Nonsense

Combination

ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,

Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order

words

families eg A,

ab etc and challenges the students to say them.

to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different

(5 mins)

AT, DAT,

combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without

EDAT, KEDAT

such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in

etc

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.

Target:

Do you want to go to __? Yes I do/ No I

don't

XX

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

Chopstick

Anything

Dictate letters or letter combinations and have all of the children write the

Make sure if the flashcard has English on the front that it is well covered.

spelling

letters on pieces of paper. Either all of the letters of the alphabet or just

To save time, you can give each team a set of laminated letters to use.

(10 mins)

those needed for the game. Divide all of the children into teams, and give

21

one child from each team a pair of chopsticks. The children then tear up

38 / 59

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.

What's this?

Places

(5 mins)

HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what

It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the

it is. HRT should ask what's this? before starting to pull out the card.

students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and

ALT should encourage the students to use it's a/an __ when guessing.

discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They

Students can repeat after the ALT (it's a/an __) when they guess what the

become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember

card is.

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.

Car race

Places,

ALT and HRT demonstrate the game. Lay the cards out in a circle on the

You'll need enough card sets for 1 set between 2 students, depending on

(10 mins)

countries

desks, place 1 eraser per player on opposite sides of the race track.

the class.

Janken to decide who moves. If win with rock, move 3 spaces, if scissors,

HRT and ALT should move around the class to help students use the

move 2, and if paper, move 1 space. The non-mover asks the mover "Do

target language.

you want to go to __? and the mover replies Yes I do/ No I don't

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.

Dictation

A-Z, new

ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's

Use the words memo paper as they have similar meanings in Japanese

(5 mins)

combos

sound, and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the

and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand

39 / 59

idea of what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no

what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.

particular order, watching the students to see that they are writing the

You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at

correct letters. ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if

least 15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the

some got it wrong.

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.

Ball toss

Places/

Students throw a ball to each other asking the question "Do you want to go

After the first 3-4 students, you shouldn't really need to prompt students on

(10 mins)

countries

to __?" and answering depending on whether they do or not. After hearing

what to say, but sometimes the weaker ones will still need a bit of help.

the answer to their question, they can sit down.

Some classes need to be told not to throw the ball hard, but most won't.

Target:

I want to go to __

XX

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

Letter tiles

No vocab

Divide the students into pairs or 2 teams. They have letter tiles with

It doesn't matter how long the words get. The purpose of this exercise is to

vowels in one colour (eg blue) and consonants in another (eg red). There

make puzzling out English spelling a game and a fun challenge for the

should be plenty of each for each child to choose from. One child makes

students.

22

(10 mins)

either a vowel-consonant sequence or a vowel-consonant-vowelconsonant 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.

What's this?

Places,

HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what

It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the

(5 mins)

countries etc

it is. HRT should ask what's this? before starting to pull out the card.

students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and

ALT should encourage the students to use it's a/an __ when guessing.

discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They

Students can repeat after the ALT (it's a/an __) when they guess what the

become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember

40 / 59

card is.

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.

5 corners

Any 5 letters/

ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks

Students should remember this game from last time, and will know what to

(5 mins)

combos the

and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.

do.

students

Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and

choose

one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids
should run to the right area.

Basketball

Places,

Divide the class in half and each half makes a circle around a smallish box

(10 mins)

countries

on the floor. Students take turns to say I want to go to __ 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.

Dictation

A-Z, new

ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's

Use the words memo paper as they have similar meanings in Japanese

(5 mins)

combos, CVC

sound, and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the

and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand

patterns

idea of what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no

what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.

particular order, watching the students to see that they are writing the

You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at

correct letters. ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if

least 15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the

some got it wrong.

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.

41 / 59

Ball toss

Places,

Students toss a ball between each other, taking turns to say "I want to go

After the first 3-4 students, you shouldn't really need to prompt students on

(10 mins)

countries etc

to __" and then sitting down.

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.

Target:

I don't want to go to __

XX

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

Chopstick

Anything

Dictate letters or letter combinations and have all of the children write the

Make sure if the flashcard has English on the front that it is well covered.

spelling

letters on pieces of paper. Either all of the letters of the alphabet or just

To save time, you can give each team a set of laminated letters to use.

(10 mins)

those needed for the game. Divide all of the children into teams, and give

23

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.

What's this?

Places,

HRT pulls a flashcard slowly out of an envelope and students guess what

It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the

(5 mins)

countries etc

it is. HRT should ask what's this? before starting to pull out the card.

students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and

ALT should encourage the students to use it's a/an __ when guessing.

discovery of items/vocabulary is very important for the students. They

Students can repeat after the ALT (it's a/an __) when they guess what the

become actively engaged in seeking out the English, and they remember

card is.

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

42 / 59

about making mistakes.

Dictation

A-Z, new

ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's

Use the words memo paper as they have similar meanings in Japanese

(5 mins)

combos

sound, and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the

and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand

idea of what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no

what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.

particular order, watching the students to see that they are writing the

You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at

correct letters. ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if

least 15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the

some got it wrong.

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.

Toss!

Places,

Divide the class into 2 groups (one for the HRT and one for the ALT), and

You'll need at least enough flashcards for one per student. Try for two per

(10 mins)

countries etc

clear enough space for the kids to stand in a circle around a set of

student though.

flashcards on the floor (one set per group). Students take turns to throw a
beanbag onto a card, and say I don't want to go to __ 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.

Nonsense

Combination

ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,

Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order

words

families eg A,

ab etc and challenges the students to say them.

to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different

(5 mins)

AT, DAT,

combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without

EDAT, KEDAT

such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in

etc

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

43 / 59

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.

Target:

Time

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

Noughts and

Anything (add

Also called "tic tac toe." Divide the class into 2 teams. Draw a 5x5 grid on

The students are allowed to consult with team members before choosing a

crosses

in some times

the board and write numbers in the corners of each of the squares. Place

card and trying to complete the task.

(10 mins)

and see if your

flashcards in each of the squares. The flashcards can be of vocab items

students can

or phonics sounds, or a mix of both. The first student on one team picks a

guess how to

number and either tries to say the card, or make a sentence with it. The

say them)

card is then either covered with a particular colour magnet, or a mark is

24

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.

What's this?

Get up, go to

HRT can demonstrate things like "get up", "go to school" etc, and things

It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the

(5 mins)

school, etc,

like "6.30", "7.10" can be pulled out of an envelope.

students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and

6.30, 5.00, etc

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

44 / 59

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.

5 corners

Any 5 letters/

ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks

Students should remember this game from last time, and will know what to

(5 mins)

combos the

and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.

do.

students

Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and

choose

one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids
should run to the right area.

Memory

Times

(10 mins)

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 cant 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.

Dictation

A-Z, CVC(e)

ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's

Use the words memo paper as they have similar meanings in Japanese

(5 mins)

patterns

sound, and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the

and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand

idea of what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no

what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.

particular order, watching the students to see that they are writing the

You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at

correct letters. ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if

least 15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the

some got it wrong.

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.

45 / 59

Target:

I __ at __

XX YY

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

Chopstick

Anything

Dictate letters or letter combinations and have all of the children write the

Make sure if the flashcard has English on the front that it is well covered.

spelling

letters on pieces of paper. Either all of the letters of the alphabet or just

To save time, you can give each team a set of laminated letters to use.

(10 mins)

those needed for the game. Divide all of the children into teams, and give

25

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.

What's this?

Get up, go to

HRT can demonstrate things like "get up", "go to school" etc, and things

It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the

(5 mins)

school etc,

like "6.30", "7.10" can be pulled out of an envelope.

students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and

times

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.

Nonsense

Combination

ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,

Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order

46 / 59

words

families eg A,

ab etc and challenges the students to say them.

to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different

(5 mins)

AT, DAT,

combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without

EDAT, KEDAT

such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in

etc

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.

Ball toss

Daily life

ALT and HRT take turns to toss a ball between them, taking turns to

After the first 3-4 students, you shouldn't really need to prompt students on

(10 mins)

activities

choose one activity and saying what time they do it, eg, "I get up at 6.30"

what to say, but sometimes the weaker ones will still need a bit of help.

ALT then tosses the bal to a student who does the same, then passes it on

Some classes need to be told not to throw the ball hard, but most won't.

and sits down.

Dictation

A-Z, CVC(e)

ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's

Use the words memo paper as they have similar meanings in Japanese

(5 mins)

patterns

sound, and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the

and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand

idea of what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no

what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.

particular order, watching the students to see that they are writing the

You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at

correct letters. ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if

least 15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the

some got it wrong.

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.

Toss!

Daily life

Divide the class into 2 groups (one for the HRT and one for the ALT), and

You'll need at least enough flashcards for one per student. Try for two per

47 / 59

(10 mins)

activities

clear enough space for the kids to stand in a circle around a set of

student though.

flashcards on the floor (one set per group). Students take turns to throw a
beanbag onto a card, and say I __ at __ 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.

Target:

What time do you __? I __ at __

XX

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

AEIOU Song

Any 5 letters/

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

(5 mins)

combos the

__ I'm __.

only take about 2-3 mins this time.

students

Sing song with students.

26

choose

What's this?

Daily life

HRT can demonstrate things like "get up", "go to school" etc, and things

It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the

(5 mins)

activities,

like "6.30", "7.10" can be pulled out of an envelope.

students to think about what the card is. The mystery, guessing, and

times

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.

48 / 59

Nonsense

Combination

ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,

Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order

words

families eg A,

ab etc and challenges the students to say them.

to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different

(5 mins)

AT, DAT,

combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without

EDAT, KEDAT

such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in

etc

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.

Ball toss

Daily life

ALT and HRT first demonstrate by throwing a ball at each other. The ALT

After the first 3-4 students, you shouldn't really need to prompt students on

(10 mins)

activities

asks the HRT something like "what time do you go to bed?" and the HRT

what to say, but sometimes the weaker ones will still need a bit of help.

answers something like "I go to bed at 11.00". The ALT and HRT should

Some classes need to be told not to throw the ball hard, but most won't.

repeat with different questions a couple of times. The ALT then tosses the
ball to students who ask and answer before passing the ball on and sitting
down.

5 corners

The same 5

ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks

Students should remember this game from last time, and will know what to

(5 mins)

letters/

and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.

do.

combos used

Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and

in the song

one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids
should run to the right area.

49 / 59

Target:

What time do you __? I __ at __

XX

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

Letter tiles

No vocab

Divide the students into pairs or 2 teams. They have letter tiles with

It doesn't matter how long the words get. The purpose of this exercise is to

vowels in one colour (eg blue) and consonants in another (eg red). There

make puzzling out English spelling a game and a fun challenge for the

should be plenty of each for each child to choose from. One child makes

students.

27

(10 mins)

either a vowel-consonant sequence or a vowel-consonant-vowelconsonant 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.

What's this?

Daily life

HRT can demonstrate things like "get up", "go to school" etc, and things

It's important to pull the card out slowly to give a lot of chances for the

(5 mins)

activities

like "6.30", "7.10" can be pulled out of an envelope.

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.

5 corners

Any 5 letters/

ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks

Students should remember this game from last time, and will know what to

(5 mins)

combos the

and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.

do.

students

Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and

choose

one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids
should run to the right area.

50 / 59

Find

Daily life

Create an interview game where students ask 5-6 of their peers questions

Make sure the students know to come to you or the HRT if they forget how

somebody

activities

about what time they do things. Get them to interview both boys and girls.

to say things.

Dictation

A-Z, new

ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's

Use the words memo paper as they have similar meanings in Japanese

(5 mins)

combos,

sound, and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the

and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand

CVC(e)

idea of what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no

what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.

patterns

particular order, watching the students to see that they are writing the

You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at

correct letters. ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if

least 15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the

some got it wrong.

students seem to have a bit of trouble with coming up more often.

who ...
(10-15 mins)

You can say yokukangaeta before any corrections to help students not
worry about making mistakes.

Target:

Jobs

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

What's this?

Jobs

The HRT uses gestures to introduce the jobs, and the ALT encourages the

If the students don't know how to say the job in English, the ALT can tell

students to guess what the HRT's gesture is.

them, or if you have flashcards with the English written on them, they can

28

(5 mins)

try to read it themselves.

5 corners

Any 5 letters/

ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks

Students should remember this game from last time, and will know what to

(5 mins)

combos the

and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.

do.

students

Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and

choose

one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids
should run to the right area.

51 / 59

Car race

Jobs

(10 mins)

ALT and HRT demonstrate the game. Lay the cards out in a circle on the

You'll need enough card sets for 1 set between 2 students, depending on

desks, place 1 eraser per player on opposite sides of the race track.

the class.

Janken to decide who moves. If win with rock, move 3 spaces, if scissors,

HRT and ALT should move around the class to help students use the

move 2, and if paper, move 1 space. The non-mover asks the mover

target language.

"What's this? and the mover replies It's a/an __

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.

Chopstick

Anything

Dictate letters or letter combinations and have all of the children write the

Make sure if the flashcard has English on the front that it is well covered.

spelling

letters on pieces of paper. Either all of the letters of the alphabet or just

To save time, you can give each team a set of laminated letters to use.

(10 mins)

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.

Dictation

A-Z, CVC(e)

ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's

Use the words memo paper as they have similar meanings in Japanese

(5 mins)

patterns

sound, and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the

and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand

idea of what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no

what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.

particular order, watching the students to see that they are writing the

You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at

correct letters. ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if

least 15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the

some got it wrong.

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.

52 / 59

Nonsense

Combo

ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,

Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order

words

families eg A,

ab etc and challenges the students to say them.

to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different

(5 mins)

AT, DAT,

combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without

EDAT, KEDAT

such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in

etc

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.

Target:

People who want to be a/ an __

People who don't want to be a/ an __

XX XX

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

Chopstick

Anything

Dictate letters or letter combinations and have all of the children write the

Make sure if the flashcard has English on the front that it is well covered.

spelling

letters on pieces of paper. Either all of the letters of the alphabet or just

To save time, you can give each team a set of laminated letters to use.

(10 mins)

those needed for the game. Divide all of the children into teams, and give

29

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.

53 / 59

What's this?

Jobs

(5 mins)

The HRT uses gestures to introduce the jobs, and the ALT encourages the

If the students don't know how to say the job in English, the ALT can tell

students to guess what the HRT's gesture is.

them, or if you have flashcards with the English written on them, they can
try to read it themselves.

Nonsense

Combination

ALT writes nonsense combinations of sounds on the board such as eb, ot,

Playing around with the sounds of English is vital for the students in order

words

families eg A,

ab etc and challenges the students to say them.

to internalise phonics. Native speakers will be exposed to a lot of different

(5 mins)

AT, DAT,

combinations so they will internalise the phonic rules of English without

EDAT, KEDAT

such explicit practise, but EFL learners rarely will be exposed to enough in

etc

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.

Fruit basket
(10 mins)

Jobs

ALT uses English and gestures to get students to make a circle with their

You can introduce the sentence by saying tatoeba, people who want to

chairs. Use the sentence People who want to be a __ for the game.

be a doctor to yuttara nani ga okoru? and the students should be able to

Halfway through, you can change it to "People who don't want to be a __"

tell you that kids who want to be a doctor 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.

54 / 59

Dictation

A-Z, CVC(e)

ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's

Use the words memo paper as they have similar meanings in Japanese

(5 mins)

patterns

sound, and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the

and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand

idea of what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no

what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.

particular order, watching the students to see that they are writing the

You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at

correct letters. ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if

least 15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the

some got it wrong.

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.

Target:

Do you want to be a __? Yes I do/ No I

don't

XX

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

Noughts and

Anything

Also called "tic tac toe." Divide the class into 2 teams. Draw a 5x5 grid on

The students are allowed to consult with team members before choosing a

crosses

the board and write numbers in the corners of each of the squares. Place

card and trying to complete the task.

(10 mins)

flashcards in each of the squares. The flashcards can be of vocab items

30

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.

What's this?
(5 mins)

Jobs

The HRT uses gestures to introduce the jobs, and the ALT encourages the

If the students don't know how to say the job in English, the ALT can tell

students to guess what the HRT's gesture is.

them, or if you have flashcards with the English written on them, they can

55 / 59

try to read it themselves.

5 corners

Any 5 letters/

ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks

Students should remember this game from last time, and will know what to

(5 mins)

combos the

and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.

do.

students

Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and

choose

one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids
should run to the right area.

Car race

Jobs

(10 mins)

ALT and HRT demonstrate the game. Lay the cards out in a circle on the

About 30-40% of cards should be new vocabulary so that the students will

desks, place 1 eraser per player on opposite sides of the race track.

come to you or the HRT to ask what they are, and they should have

Janken to decide who moves. If win with rock, move 3 spaces, if scissors,

English printed on them so they can also try to sound them out for

move 2, and if paper, move 1 space. The non-mover asks the mover "Do

themselves.

you want to be a/an __ and the mover replies Yes I do/ No I don't

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.

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

It doesn't matter how long the words get. The purpose of this exercise is to

should be plenty of each for each child to choose from. One child makes

make puzzling out English spelling a game and a fun challenge for the

either a vowel-consonant sequence or a vowel-consonant-vowel-

students.

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.

56 / 59

Target:

I want to be a __/ I don't want to be a __

XX

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

Chopstick

Anything

Dictate letters or letter combinations and have all of the children write the

Make sure if the flashcard has English on the front that it is well covered.

spelling

letters on pieces of paper. Either all of the letters of the alphabet or just

To save time, you can give each team a set of laminated letters to use.

(10 mins)

those needed for the game. Divide all of the children into teams, and give

31

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.

Toss!

Jobs

(10 mins)

Divide the class into 2 groups (one for the HRT and one for the ALT), and

You'll need at least enough flashcards for one per student. Try for two per

clear enough space for the kids to stand in a circle around a set of

student though.

flashcards on the floor (one set per group). Students take turns to throw a

If any of the students gets upset that none of the cards is what they want to

beanbag onto a card, and say I want to be a __ and take the card. Try to

be, don't worry, simply let them use "I don't want to be a __"

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.

5 corners

Any 5 letters/

ALT should use English and gestures to get the students to put their desks

(5 mins)

combos the

and chairs to the back of the room so there is enough space for the game.

Students should remember this game from last time, and will know what to

students

Draw a map on the board, with one letter in each corner of the room, and

do.

choose

one in the centre of the room. When you say the sound of a letter the kids

57 / 59

should run to the right area.

Basketball

Jobs

(10 mins)

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 want to be a __ and then

If students don't know the name of what they want to say in English,

throw a large dice into the box. If they get it in, they get 10 points for their

encourage them to ask what's __?

team. If not, they get the number of points on the dice.

Dictation

A-Z, CVC(e)

ALT gets students to take out a pencil and paper. ALT says a letter's

Use the words memo paper as they have similar meanings in Japanese

(5 mins)

patterns

sound, and HRT writes letter on board for all students to see and get the

and English and mime writing with a pencil to get students to understand

idea of what they should be doing. ALT says sounds one-by-one in no

what pencil means if they've never heard the word before.

particular order, watching the students to see that they are writing the

You shouldn't spend more than 2-3 mins on this. Try to run through at

correct letters. ALT can tell the students afterwards what letter they said if

least 15 letters each time (not 15 different ones), with the ones that the

some got it wrong.

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.

Target:

Review

Activity

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

Chopstick

Anything

Dictate letters or letter combinations and have all of the children write the

Make sure if the flashcard has English on the front that it is well covered.

spelling

letters on pieces of paper. Either all of the letters of the alphabet or just

To save time, you can give each team a set of laminated letters to use.

(10 mins)

those needed for the game. Divide all of the children into teams, and give

32

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.

58 / 59

Typhoon

Anything

Divide the students into 6 groups and lay out a whole lot of karuta size

style review

cards on a table with 1 to 5 points or a typhoon written on the back of

(30 mins)

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.

33
Activity

34
Activity

35
Activity

Target:

Hallowe'en

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

Target:

Christmas

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

Target:

Free

Vocab

ALT/HRT

Why/Notes/Theory

59 / 59