Star Wars:
Lightsaber battle!

Game in Japanese

Target Grade:3-6
Target English: Left, right, forwards, backwards, up, down
Preparation: two Star Wars masks, cloaks and Lightsabers

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This is a cool game to play after you have done the Left & Right song and played the Mr Bump game at least twice. The English is quite tricky and the props used make the kids really genki (lively) so if they don't know the English perfectly it'll just turn into chaos!!! So, practice the English and then....

1. Split the class into 4 teams. Clear the desks to the back and put one team in each corner.

2. Tell them to Janken amongst the team members to find out who goes first. If any kids don't want to become the main players then that's OK!

3. Two teams play at once. One person from one team dresses up as Obi-Wan Kenobi and one member from the other team dresses up as Darth Maul. They each have an inflatable Lightsaber.

4. When you say "GO!" the teams have to shout out which direction they want their character to go - "go left, right, back, forward" etc.


5. When they are in reach of the opponent, they can shout out "Hit!" and their team member must hit the other teams character on the head!! If they do they win!


6. They winning team stays on, and one of the other teams takes the loser's costume and Lightsaber.

7. Repeat from 4



When making the costumes it's important that the kid who dresses up can't see! They have to rely on instructions from their team-mates!! I made two masks by printing out pictures from the internet (try using the Google Image Search) of the faces of Darth Maul and Obi Wan. I then stuck them onto card, cut them out and fastened (with tape) shoe laces to the back. As it's possible to see above and below these masks I put a cloth over the heads of the kids and fastened it at the front with a clip.


The costumes REALLY look realistic - and the kids think it's great!!!!!

The game can get very noisy, so sometimes I assign one person in the team as the designated shouter and the other members whisper the instructions to this person.

If any kid feels uncomfortable about wearing the costume (after all they can't see!) then that's OK - DON'T force them! They can practice their English just as much by shouting the instructions!!!

You can also use this to introduce the new words "Star" (try adding "Star Jump" to the Warm Up game) "Wars", "Light" and "Battle" - they know most of these words from video games!

One small point, check to make sure none of your schools have a "Hair Lice" warning out (putting cloths on their heads wouldn't be a good idea!!)

Teaching the kids tactics is a good idea, for example saying "back, back, back!" to escape out of the way!

Also, to make sure they know the English give them a test! Tell them to close their eyes and give them instructions (e.g. "turn left, go back, turn right etc.). If they all know the English then they'll all be facing the same way at the end!

This is a really cool game, a lot of preparation but really fun, with the masks it seems like you're really in the movie!!!!

May the Force be with you!!!!


Readers' Comments

Where can I buy lightsabres? - from lots of teachers

I got mine from a local festival, but Toys R Us and also Amazon often have them - Richard

@Readers' Comments

I found that the inflatable lightsabres are hard to come by at Daiso. Rolled up paper (6 sheets for strength) works just as well. You can find monster masks at some Daiso stores. Once the eyes on the mask have been taped up so the kids can`t see, the effect of the monster masks on the other kids is priceless! In cold and flu season, carrying tissues or wipes to clean the masks each time puts everyone at ease. - Christopher Glen

We once tried this, just make sure the newspaper is nice and soft otherwise it really hurts - Richard (speaking from experience!)



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