Gifts for your characters
If you were to give a gift to the main characters in the book you are reading, what would it be? Describe what you would give and why.
long-term projects: Write bilingual graded readers
Have students work in Japanese-English speaking pairs and come up with a topic for writing a bilingual graded reader. It could be something they have mutual interest in, such as a hobby or favorite genre. It could be a fictional story, or it could also be an informational book (e.g. a tour guide, a biography, an advice book, a manga). This will probably be a long-term project, but the end goal would be to get the book published.
Write a song
In pairs or groups, have members write a song (in their second language) using a popular children's melody or pop song. Ideally, have members work in Japanese-English speaking pairs so that they can edit each other's work and give advice. During the next meeting, have all groups perform their song:)
If you were Marooned on a Desert Island . . .
This game emphasizes building of literacy skills in a fun way. It may need to be adapted according to how many members participate.
1.) Materials: Everyone is given a pen and paper.
2.) Writing: Ask each person answer the question, "If you were marooned on a desert island, what 3 people would you bring with you and why?" by writing it down on paper. They should write their answer in their second language.
3.) Peer Review: Everyone should pick a partner, share their answers with their partners, and then give suggestions to each other about how to make their writing easier to understand or more interesting. (Try not to let other groups hear your answers)
4.) Game: Once everyone has finished editing their writing, fold up the paper and put it in a pile in the center. Then members take turns choosing one paper from the pile randomly and reading it out loud. Once they finish reading it, all members try to guess who wrote those answers.
This game can be played again by changing the question to "what 3 items would you bring with you?" or "what 3 foods would you bring with you?" etc.
Game adapted by Aurora
1.) Materials: Everyone is given a pen and paper.
2.) Writing: Ask each person answer the question, "If you were marooned on a desert island, what 3 people would you bring with you and why?" by writing it down on paper. They should write their answer in their second language.
3.) Peer Review: Everyone should pick a partner, share their answers with their partners, and then give suggestions to each other about how to make their writing easier to understand or more interesting. (Try not to let other groups hear your answers)
4.) Game: Once everyone has finished editing their writing, fold up the paper and put it in a pile in the center. Then members take turns choosing one paper from the pile randomly and reading it out loud. Once they finish reading it, all members try to guess who wrote those answers.
This game can be played again by changing the question to "what 3 items would you bring with you?" or "what 3 foods would you bring with you?" etc.
Game adapted by Aurora
Salad Bowl
1.) Materials: Everyone is given 5 small (1") sheets of paper and a pen
2.) Vocabulary: Come up with a word theme or category. For example, "Onomatopoeia," "Colors," "Feelings," "Weather," etc. Everyone should write one word related to the category on each sheet of paper they have. Then they should fold or crumple the paper up. Everyone should put their papers into a "salad bowl" (or regular bowl).
3.) Game: Divide people into 2-3 teams. Decide which team goes first and start a timer that beeps after 2 minutes. During one turn, a team takes one piece of paper from the cup at random, opens it, and tries to get the rest of their team to guess what the word is. Members must use Japanese to explain the word without saying the word itself. Once it is guessed correctly, the person can pick another sheet of paper and do the same thing until 2 minutes is up. The aim is to collect as many sheets of paper as possible (of course while learning some new words!). Each team takes a turn until all the papers from the salad bowl run out. The winning team has collected the highest number of papers.
2.) Vocabulary: Come up with a word theme or category. For example, "Onomatopoeia," "Colors," "Feelings," "Weather," etc. Everyone should write one word related to the category on each sheet of paper they have. Then they should fold or crumple the paper up. Everyone should put their papers into a "salad bowl" (or regular bowl).
3.) Game: Divide people into 2-3 teams. Decide which team goes first and start a timer that beeps after 2 minutes. During one turn, a team takes one piece of paper from the cup at random, opens it, and tries to get the rest of their team to guess what the word is. Members must use Japanese to explain the word without saying the word itself. Once it is guessed correctly, the person can pick another sheet of paper and do the same thing until 2 minutes is up. The aim is to collect as many sheets of paper as possible (of course while learning some new words!). Each team takes a turn until all the papers from the salad bowl run out. The winning team has collected the highest number of papers.