In 2011, educators under the Saitama City BOE and JETs under the Prefectural board were tasked with making a list of activities to introduce young learners to non-Japanese culture. These lessons had to be low on instruction and preparation, and be accessible to students without prior knowledge of the activity. Of the 14 lessons submitted, all take something familiar - a game of chance, a rhyme, or the sound a duck makes - and used that as their stepping stone into a quick, smart, and enjoyable lesson.
What is Double Dutch, anyhow?
Double Dutch is a muti-person jump rope game originating in the Unite States. It is a popular schoolyard game accompanied by a song or chant. The jumping activity may be modified to increase difficulty or cooperation, to include jumping in pairs, reacting to cues in the song, and synthesizing their own songs as they jump or swing.
This article contains several song prompts and suggested variations for your students.
World Telephone Greetings
This article combines two common elements, "Telephone" or "deng-dong game", and the "Flyswatter" word-recognition game into an activity about how we greet each other on the phone.
Published in Volume 1 Issue 4 of the Journal of the Saitama City Educators.
Click here to read.
What is Double Dutch, anyhow?
Double Dutch is a muti-person jump rope game originating in the Unite States. It is a popular schoolyard game accompanied by a song or chant. The jumping activity may be modified to increase difficulty or cooperation, to include jumping in pairs, reacting to cues in the song, and synthesizing their own songs as they jump or swing.
This article contains several song prompts and suggested variations for your students.
World Telephone Greetings
This article combines two common elements, "Telephone" or "deng-dong game", and the "Flyswatter" word-recognition game into an activity about how we greet each other on the phone.
Published in Volume 1 Issue 4 of the Journal of the Saitama City Educators.
Click here to read.