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November 2004
Welcome to November and some great new game ideas before the Christmas
lessons start!
New printable "mini cards"
Small "kid size" versions of the A4 picture cards have been very
much requested, so here they are! Each theme has its own A4 sheet that
contains 8 different cards. They are great for playing games ( see below)
and you can download them today. http://www.genkienglish.net/minicards.htm
( This page isn't mentioned on the main site yet, only the newsletter and
discussion board people know about it!)
Mini Card Games
Once you have your mini cards, there are loads of great games you can play,
for example...
Mini Karuta: Just like big karuta ( http://www.genkienglish.net/Karuta.htm ) , but put the kids in groups and each group spreads the cards on a desk.
Everyone says the question in unison and one person chooses an answer.
The quickest person to slap their hand on this answer card is the winner!
If the person who chooses the answer sometimes says "Sorry?"
( i.e. asking the kids to repeat the question) it can really increase the
tension!
Or try Chopstick Karuta. The same as Mini-Karuta above, but the kids have to pick the cards up
with chopsticks. Good for older kids, or to introduce chopstick etiquette!
A great idea from John Larson
Matching Pairs. Print out two sets of each theme for each group. Stick them onto card
( so you can't see what they are from the back ) and play the "Matching
Pairs Game". Place the two sets of cards face down. One person chooses
two cards, turns them over and if they match and they can say the word
in English, they can keep the cards! If not they put them back face down.
Great memory practice! ( These are similar to the phonics games on the
site http://www.genkienglish.net/phonics.htm )
Try Mini Island Hopping. The same as big island hopping ( http://www.genkienglish.net/islandhopping.htm ), Two kids each have one set of 8 cards. They both start together. They
place one card on the desk and say the word out loud. Then they place the
next card and say the word. See who is the quickest to say all the words!
Just make sure they say speak nice and clearly. Very hectic fun!
"Do you have game? http://www.genkienglish.net/DoUHave.htm". With these cards you can now do it with any theme! Preparation
1. Review the vocab (e.g. "a plane, a rocket" or "a dog,
a cat")
2. Introduce "Do you have a ............?" (e.g. Do you have
a train?) (Admittedly, this isn't a very common question, but we are trying
to practise the vocab and sentence structure so strange sentences work
best!)
3. Introduce the answers "Yes, here you are"
and "No, I'm sorry".
The Game !!
1. Split the class into about 6 or 8 groups (using each row of desks as
one group is good).
2. Assign each group a different word (e.g. train, mountain bike etc..
), this is the thing that that group wants to collect.
3. Give each child a copy of the mini-picture cards, if you hand them out
as one sheet, the kids should cut them into individual cards.
4. The students then go round asking as many people as possible "Do
you have a......." (for example the "car" team asks "Do
you have a car?"
5. If the student still has the object he/she says "Yes, here you
are!" and gives it to the person who asked.
6. If they have already given it away then they say
"No, I'm sorry" and walk off.
7. The group that is the first to collect as many of
their item as there are students in the class (e.g. 30
items for a class of 30 kids), sits down and they are the
winner!!
New Picture Book Sets
There are a whole load of new picture books sets on the site this month.
Especially useful for teachers in Elementary Schools is the English version
of the "Gigantic Turnip". Not that popular in the West, but it's
very popular amongst Japanese teachers who want to do it as a play in English!
( Japanese kids often do this story as a play in Japanese ) Having a copy
of this book will certainly help them out. It's available in the new set
along with Elephee's Walk, Where is Little Toko? and Big Beanie's Bed,
all very famous Japanese picture books, now translated into English! http://www.genkienglish.net/ricpicturebooks.htm
Nagoya on Sunday
I'm going to be in Nagoya on Sunday, 31st October, so please feel free
to pop along! I'll be having a very genki workshop, it'll be in Japanese
but very "hands on" and I'll also be in the hotel all day taking
your questions and offering advice. The day is free ( and Genki English
materials will have a 10% discount) Details are on the website: http://genkienglish.net/oxford.htm
Kanayama Plaza Hotel, Seminar Plaza, 3-7-15 Masaki,
Naka-ku,
Nagoya-shi, Aichi
Registration from 9:30. Genki English presentation at 11AM
And Finally,
If you are an ALT in Shikoku or Kyushu and want to order the CD Superpack,
we've just set up agreements with all the "gyousha" school suppliers
there. So ask your teachers to order through their regular "gyousha"
and all the paperwork will be really easy and the school will probably
pay! Let me know if you need more details.
There are still plenty of Halloween materials on the site, including the
new Halloween Song! Have a look at the "New for October" section
on the main menu! http://www.genkienglish.net/gamemenu.htm
And if you do feel the need for some Christmas activities before the next
newsletter then have a look at these pages!
Richard J. Graham
Primary School English Games, Songs and Activities
Email: newsletter@genkienglish.net
http://www.GenkiEnglish.com
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"Be patient and tough; some day this pain will be useful to you."
- Ovid
Oh, and if you like the ideas in this newsletter, please feel free to pass
it along to your friends!
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