Page in Japanese

Nemo Game

Target_English:  What can you sea? I can see a ...
Target Grade: Lowe Elementary

Here's a very fun game for younger kids to teach with CD vol. 6's "Under the Sea" theme.



1. The kids mime swimming around in a circle in the middle of the class.
2. If you have lots of kids ( say 30 in a class) then have two or three concentric circles, one inside the other. Each circle swims in opposite directions.

3. The kids shout out "Nemo, Nemo, what can you see?"

4. The teacher, who is Nemo, looks outside the window and shouts out "I can see a ...." plus one of the sea animals from the song.

5. Whilst still swimming the kids repeat the answer and do the mime.

6. Continue from 3.


7. But... if the teacher says "I can see a shark!". Two kids, who were hidden outside, rush into the classroom from different directions.


8. The other kids all rush to touch the wall of the class, where they are safe.

9. If any of them are tagged by the sharks on their way to the wall, they are eaten and become sharks for the next round.

10. Continue from 3.

This is a great variation of the What time is it, Mr Wolf? game, and thank you to the teachers in Nara for the inspiration. Just using the name "Nemo" makes it really exciting for the kids.

For the first two sharks, it's good to get the "kids who've had too much sugar for breakfast and are disturbing the class" to help out as it keeps them under control.

The main point of the game is to get the kids over the "just words" and into the "able to give answers to questions" style of lesson.

You can either play the game after singing the song, or try teaching the "I can see a .." plus the shark and first three animals, then play the game and introduce the new words as you continue the game. This way you can end the lesson with the song which makes for a very big finish.

Picture cards are on the site at http://genkienglish.net/underthesea.htm

The Game in Video




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