Self-defense in the Shougakkou

Self-defense in the Shougakkou
When I first started teaching English in elementary schools, I didn't know what to do -- so I taught colors, numbers, animals... basically vocabulary lists.

Then I realized, these kids were eventually going to go to junior high.

What more, they would there learn that English is not lists of barnyard sounds, but thing like making sentences. In short, I feel that if an AET visits an elementary on a fairly regular basis, those kids should be better for it come junior high.

These lesson plans are designed with the objective of teaching grammar patterns, not simply vocabulary. Gambatte!
Lesson Grade level Class size Comments
"Do you like...?" 3-6 < 30 A fun lesson that requires only a worksheet and a bed sheet
"Are you from...?" 1-6 > 3 and < 17 Q: "Are you from America?"
A: "No, I'm from Mars."
Shopping 3-6 > 1 Have kids sell their teacher
Face I 1-4 10 students per sensei Nose-mizu, nose-ge... you never knew it could be so much fun
Face II (& Adjectives) 1-4 Any Popular sequel to Face I


Lesson Plan - "Do you like -?" "Do you like -?"
Grades: 1-4 nensei
A lesson kids like a lot but requires minimal preparation.
Worksheet - "Do you like -?" Interview Interview worksheet for "Do you like...?"
"Do you like...?" BINGO "Do you like...?" BINGO worksheet (to use for review in later classes). Kids mingle and ask each other if they like the specified objects


"Are you from...?" Lesson Plan "Are you from...?"
Grades: 1-6 nensei
Have kids asking each other if they're from Mars... and with minimal preparation!
"From" Cards, Page 1 "From" Cards, Page 2 "Place" cards for karuta game (I color them in since they don't look so good coming off a B&W printer)
"Are you from...?" Interview Worksheet Interview worksheet and famous people's name tags Nametags, Page 1 Nametags, Page 2 Nametags, Page 3 Nametags, Page 4


Lesson Plan - Shopping, Page 1
Lesson Plan - Shopping, Page 2
The Lesson in ActionShopping
Grades:
3-6 nensei and above
Half the class becomes shopkeepers and half shoppers. Shopkeepers receive stuff to sell, and shoppers money. Simple. (And please see below.)
Shopping Dialogue, Page 1 Shopping Dialogue, Page 2 Shopping dialogues
It's important to provide interesting things for the kids to "sell". Here are some of the items I have for them:
  • An orange wig
  • A very large book
  • "Pets" (puppets)
  • A straw hat from Thailand
  • Masks
  • A "Clown" necktie
  • Their teacher
Adding things like these to the ordinary toys also for sale makes the whole exercise quite enjoyable; they especially like the merchandise they can interact with such as the wig or puppets. And of course, by the end of the lesson, their teacher is being swapped for a pencil or old eraser.


Lesson Plan - Face I The Lesson in ActionFace I
Grades: 1-4 nensei
Teach those munchkins proper facial anatomy. Please note that despite my introductory polemic above, this lesson teaches no grammar. It does introduce Face II however, the contents of which more resemble grammar!
Karuta Face (Katakana Pronunciations) Karuta face (with katakana pronunciation guide)
Karuta Face (Hiragana Pronunciations) Karuta face (with hiragana pronunciation guide for first graders who haven't learned katakana yet)
Hair and Ears Eyes and Eyebrows Noses and Mouths Eyes, ears, and all the stuff you need to make a funny face and play face-karuta.


Lesson Plan - Face II Face II (with Adjectives!) Grades: 1-4 nensei
This is the continuation of Face I in which kids learn to attach adjectives to those noses and ears and such. Example: "Blue nose" or "big, square eye".
Handout - Face II Handout for Face II. Note that in the lower left corner, I quickly scribble with markers the colors we'll use in class. (I'd put them in the worksheet, but most of us don't have color printers.)
Worksheet - Face II Worksheet for Face II. Yes, it's almost insulting to have a pre-drawn oval for kids to depict a face, but you would never believe how much they use that eraser to get the correct oval or how small some kids' faces will be.