http://www.reggie.net/teaching/letsgo1.htm
Target: What's your name? My name is Andy/ Kate/ John/ Jenny/ Lisa/ Scott. Extra: Hello. I'm Andy. Scissors, paper, stone (SPS)
Hello. (Stage 1) Greet students with "Hello." When most can say "hello," greet five students (they reply with just "hello"), counting on your hand to show five. Then all the students greet five other students in the same way, and sit down when finished. (Stage 2) This time the students shake hands and say "hello" to five different partners. (Stage 3) Put your right hand under your right leg and shake hands. This is fun! Problem: 12 year old children seem to find this too childish.
Scissors, Paper, Stone (SPS). (Stage 1 - presentation) Show the action and say the words. Students should do the actions as you say, and gradually say the words, too. (Stage 2 - listening) All the students stand up and everyone does SPS together, including the teacher. Anyone who is beaten by the teacher has to sit down. Those with the same as the teacher, or who win, stay standing. Eventually there is just one winner in the room. If desired, the winner can start the next round so that the teacher can prompt all students to be saying the words. (Stage 3 - practice) Students practice SPS with one partner. (Stage 4) SPS Three wins to finish. Students choose a partner and do SPS. The winner gets one "point." Students change partners and continue. When a student has three wins, they can sit down. Stop the activity when there are three or four students left. (Also teach "winner," "loser" and "change" to the "listen and do" level.) Problem: some students are good at SPS. Many weak students go for paper first. Good students do scissors, and so win. Excellent SPS students determine if their opponent is weak or good, and play accordingly.
SPS three wins to finish. Students form pairs and do SPS. The winner asks the question: "Hello. What's your name?" and the loser replies: "Hello, I'm Hiromi." Students then change to new partners. A student is finished and may sit down if they have won SPS three times. Also, do this with the Let's Go student names. NB stop the activity when there are two or three remaining students to avoid embarrassing them. (Often such students are weak at SPS.)
Timed conversation chain. Students are in a line. On the command, "Are you ready? Go!" the teacher starts the stopwatch and the first student asks the second, "What's your name?" The second responds then turns to the third, and so on. For the second round, try varying the order of the students. Raced conversation chain. With teams of equal numbers, students can race to see who can say the conversation first.
Let's Go student names. (Stage 1 - presentation). Make large teacher's cards of the six students (Kate, Andy, Jenny, Lisa, Scott, John). Ask a student, "What's your name?" The student replies: "My name's Miho," and then asks you: "What's your name?" Put a card in front of your face and reply in a funny voice: "My name's John." Place the card on the blackboard and continue. Review previous names after introducing new ones ("What's his/her name?"). (Stage 2 - drill). Challenge the students to see who can say all the names first. Choose students by picking out their name-cards at random. Give passport points to the student who is first. (Stage 3 - speaking) Say all six with dice. Copy page 7 of the student's book, cut out the song and number the students 1 (Kate) to 6 (John). Put a box beside each number. Also (for stage 5) draw six lines where the song was and number them 1 to 6. Put students in groups of up to 6, and give each group a die. Students throw the dice one each, in turn. They read the number, say the name and tick the box ("Four. Lisa" or "Four. She's Lisa.") If the number is already ticked, the student simply passes the die to the next person. When one student has said all six names, the whole class stops. That student gets 6 game points, and all the others get points according to the number of ticked boxes. (Stage 4 - conversation) SPS Three wins to finish. Give the students a Let's Go student name-card (photocopied picture or just the written name or download from here (pdf format)). (Stage 5 - writing) SPS Talk to all. Students in pairs do SPS. The winner asks the loser, "Hello. What's your name?" The loser replies, "My name's Jenny." The winner can write the name "Jenny" on line 3. When one student has spoken to all six LG students, everyone stops. That student gets 6 game points, and all the others get points according to the number of LG students they have spoken to. Alternatively, continue until most students have finished.
SPS Find your partner. Students each have one of the Let's Go student's pictures. They have to find another person with the same name.
Find the person. Give each student a Let's Go name-card. One student then comes to the front returns their card, and chooses another name-card (for example, Kate) from the six. This student has to find Kate by asking the other students, "What's your name?" They start with six points, and for each student they ask, they lose a point. Find the person race. For larger classes, students from two teams can race to see who finds their name-card first. The winning team gets a point.
Let's learn
Unit One
Let's Learn
Pages 8 & 9
Target: What's this? It's a cat/ book/ desk/ chair/ ruler/ pencil/ bag/ pen/ eraser. Extra: What's this in English? What's this in Japanese?
Three card shuffle. Students in pairs have three cards. Student A puts the cards face up on the table. Student B tries to remember the order. Then the cards are turned face down, and student A can make three changes to their positions by changing two cards at a time, slowly. Student A then asks, "What's this?" pointing to one card. Student B tries to remember: "It's a pen."
SPS Three cards. Each student starts with three cards. Students pair up and do SPS. The loser has to select one of their cards. Then they show it to the winner and ask, "What's this?" If the winner can supply the correct answer, they take the card from the loser. Then they change to work with other partners. The aim is to get the most cards and not lose any. When several students have lost all their cards, stop the game.
What's missing? Students in pairs have all eight cards. Student A takes one of the cards and gives the other seven to Student B. Then Student A asks: "What's this?"
Bring me game. Students are in teams. The teacher calls out: "Bring me a ruler." or just "A ruler, please." The first team to bring one to the teacher gets a point.
Blind questions. Student A closes their eyes and holds onto the corner of page 9 with one hand for reference. Student B takes the other hand and puts Student A's finger onto one of the pictures in the book. Then Student B asks: "What's this?" Student A guesses. Students can take turns and count the number of correct guesses.
Reveal slowly. Hide a card behind another, and show only a tiny corner of the object. The students have to think or guess what it is.
Eight cards in a row. Start with all the cards face up in a row. Teams of students say their eight cards. Then they turn over the first card and say all eight again. They proceed to turn over one card at a time until they can correctly say all eight cards face down in order.
Let's learn some more
Unit One
Let's Learn
Some More
Pages 10 & 11
Target: Is this a book? Yes, it is. No, it isn't. Extra: Is it a book? Is this your book?
SPS Three cards. Students have three cards each. They pair up and do SPS. The loser has to select one of their cards, but shows only the back of the card to the winner. The loser asks: "Is this a ruler?" The winner has to guess, "Yes, it is," or "No, it isn't." If the winner guesses correctly, they take the card. Students then change partners. The aim is to get the most cards and not lose any. When several students have lost all their cards, stop the game.
Brief view only. Show the card but only for a second or two, moving it around quickly. Then ask, "Is this a book?" Students can respond by writing "Yes" or "No" on a whiteboard, or by moving to one half of the room...
Blind quiz. Students are in pairs. They do SPS and the loser closes their eyes. The winner chooses something to give to the loser and asks, "Is this an eraser?" The loser feels it and answers, yes or no.
Numbered list (Problem: Assumes that students can recognise the numbers 1 to 8.) Use the pictures on page 11 of the textbook. Each picture is given a number. Initially, this is in a straightforward order - the top four are one to four and the bottom four are five to eight. Do not allow the students to write the numbers in their books, but instead write the numbers on the board. Then ask questions such as: "Is number one a pencil?" (Variation 1) You can also make this a speaking activity for practising the numbers: "What number is the eraser?" or the vocabulary: (Variation 2) "What is number three." Initially the items can be numbered in simply linear fashion, but later this can be varied. (Variation 3) Also, the items can be labelled with some of the letters of the alphabet. (Variation 4) This can become a writing exercise. Each team send one member to the blackboard. When they hear the item, they shout out the answer to their colleague, who writes the letter on the board. (Variation 5) Students listen and write the answers on their individual white boards.
Memory Quiz. (Problem: Assumes that students can recognise the numbers 1 to 8.) Number the items on page 11 (see also. Everyone looks at the page for a short while. Then they all close their books. The teacher asks, "Is number 3 a book?" Students respond - verbally, physically (moving to the "yes" or "no" parts of the room) or by writing.
Guess the card. Students are in groups, with two sets of the cards. The cards are shuffled and placed face down. The first student takes the top card and looks at it. The next student asks, "Is it a pencil?" If it is not, the third student asks, and so on until the card is correctly guessed. The student who correctly guesses the card takes it, and then takes the next card off the pack. The next student in the circle guesses first.
Telepathic student. Tell one student the telepathic secret before the class (or take the student outside briefly and explain it just before the activity.) The secret is that when you point to the top of the card, the student should reply "No, it isn't," but when you point to the bottom of the card the reply is "Yes, it is." Put all the cards on the board. The student goes out of the door and the class chooses one card. The telepathic student is brought back in. Points to one card (top for no, bottom for yes) and the whole class asks the question - "Is it the book?" The student says yes at the appropriate card (pointed to at the bottom) and then goes out for another card. (Problem: of course, this activity can be used only once in a course. However, you can vary the rule to use it a second time.)
Return to the owner. Give students some "This is my ..." cards and ask them to draw some personal items - their bag, text book, eraser, pencil case, ruler, etc., and write the word on the card. Also make your own set. (For the following week:) Photocopy each student's set, and give them their copy. Cut up the cards and give each child one card at random. Take a card yourself, and ask one student, "Is this your (bag)?" If they say no, continue until you find the owner. When you find the owner, give them their card. Students have to return the card to its owner. Then they come to you to get another card. For each card they return to its owner, they get 2 points. They must first ask you, "Is this your (book)?" Students must hide their own photocopied set. At the end, most students should have their own cards. You may need to put aside some cards if a student says they have asked everyone and no one said yes (and they don't get any points for that card.) Students get one point for each of their own cards they have collected.
Let's move
Unit One
Let's Move
Page 12
Target: Stand up. Sit down. Open/close your book. Point to the teacher. Touch the desk. Please be quiet. Listen carefully.
Eyes closed TPR. Do the commands with eyes closed (teach "Close/Open your eyes") Teacher tells those who are wrong to open their eyes and sit down.
Simon says. Or, modify for Please or Don't.
