Ideas for teaching Writing
Ideas for teaching Japanese writing including hiragana, katakana and kanji.
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Air aerobics K Hutchinson Tt stands at the front of the class and instructs Ss to write certain things in the air with their arms and legs. Eg. ‘Using your left hand write あ. Now use your right foot and draw え. etc.
Around the world A Suzuki Ss sit in a horseshoe shape. The first Ss on the left of the horseshoe shape stands behind the Ss to his/her left. These two Ss are asked a question related to the target language. Eg. “What does this word/kanji mean?” The first Ss to answer continues left around the horseshoe shape (imagine going around the world). This Ss continues moving around the world until another Ss is faster than him/her. The Ss who is the slowest sits down and the Ss who is faster takes his/her place. Once one of the Ss has reached the end of the horseshoe shape they then have a final 3 questions together with the last person in the horseshoe shape. The Ss who wins the final 3 questions competes against the person who moved the most around the horseshoe shape. The two Ss then compete with a final 3 questions. The winner is the Ss who answers the most questions correctly and the quickest. Extra: hiragana/katakana.
Eight page bookA Suzuki Fold a piece of paper into 4, then in half (creating 8 squares). Tear along the middle of the second and third square (creating a hole). Fold the paper into a star shape. Now fold up into a book form. (This book can be used for practicing writing: eg. days of the week, daily routine, family members, likes and dislikes, a short story etc.)
Fan tastic To review vocabulary (or hiragana or kanji) put the word you want Ss to learn onto a piece of A4 paper. Fold the paper in a fan shape. Slowly reveal the word fan section by fan section. Ss have to guess what the word is before the fan is completely opened.
Guess what A Suzuki Fold a piece of paper in four. Write a sentence about something on each section of paper. Eg. Fold one – I am tall and skinny. Eg. Fold two – I like hamburgers. Eg. Fold three – I like wearing red and yellow. Eg. Fold four – I work in a restaurant. Eg. (The answer is Ronald McDonald). Ss read each section while the other Ss listen and try to guess what the object is. The final fold should reviel what was being described. (This could be used to describe animals, places, famous people, careers etc.)
Hiragana Massage L Brandis Divide the Ss into pairs. One Ss writes Hiragana letters on the back of the other who tries to guess which letter it is.
Hiragana NinjaL Brandis Tt faces his/her back towards the Ss and draws above his/her head a hiragana letter in the air. The Ss guess the letter. Ss replace the Tt.
Hiragana Stomp L Brandis Put a few sets of hiragana (ie ha family and ma family) scattered on the floor at the front of the classroom. Select two Ss. Say a hiragana. The first Ss to stomp on it with their foot and shouts the hiragana is the winner. This person may now select the next Ss to come and play. (Or the Ss continue a few times. The Ss with the most flashcards at the end is the winner). Can also be done for vocabulary revision.
Hiragana Taisou L Brandis Ss choose a body part and then use it to write a letter in Japanese.
Kanji RebuildA Suzuki Tt shows a kanji on a A3 piece of paper which has been broken up into each stroke (they can be out of stroke order). The Ss have to put the strokes back together and guess what the kanji is. (This can be done in pairs). Extra: can use this with hiragana, katakana or spelling of words
Memory One set of cards with the word or kanji, another with a picture or hiragana. All cards face down and the Ss have to find the matching pairs.
Michikusa A Suzuki Use a grid (about 8 by 10). Write 3 stroke Kanji from one side of the grid to the other (randomly but still making sure that students can make a line of 3 stroke Kanji from the start to the goal). Label where the first 3 stroke kanji is with ‘Start’ and on the other where the last 3 stroke kanji is with the ‘Goal’. Complete the grid with other Kanji such as 2 or 4 stroke Kanji. Ss draw a line from the start to the goal finding all the 3 stroke Kanji. Extra: hiragana vs katakana, numbers vs kanji, travel vocabulary vs other vocabulary etc.
Mystery object L Brandis Fold a piece of paper into ½ vertically then fold into 4. Unfold the paper keeping the paper folded in ½ vertically. At the third crease cut a circle shape. Unfold the paper completely. Then fold it in half horizontally. One side of the paper will have a hole in the middle of it. The other side will not. Ss open the folded paper and draw an object underneath where the hole is. Then fold the paper up again and write four sentences around the hole. The Ss exchange their papers. By reading the description and seeing only the small portion of the object under the hole the Ss has to guess what the object is.
OHT memory A Suzuki Put up an OHT with words, phrases, Kanji or other script. Ss have one minute to remember the words. Tt removes the OHT and Ss write down all the words that were on the OHT. The Ss who remembers the most words wins.
Run and write Divide the class into two teams. Allocate a runner for each team. Tt shows a flashcard in English the Ss then run to the board and write the word in the target language. The person to first do this gets a point. The team with the most points at the end is the winner.