Sengoku

GRAMMAR: General Game     SUBMITTED BY: Anonymous     DATE ADDED: June 04, 2010     EDITED BY: まだ

Ó    ë   30-45 min.   2 votes: 5-star If you're going to give this activity a low-rating, please post a useful comment to help make it better. SearchJHSActivity

Materials Needed:

• Large map of Japan: You can also use just a list of the different prefectures

Detailed Explanation:

1. After dividing the class into teams, explain they are each a different army.
2. The first team will choose a prefecture, and then one person from that team will come up to the board and have 1-2 mins to write a different word for each of that prefecture's letter.
• Simple
• Apple
• Ice cream
• Truck
• Ant
• Mother
• Animal
3. If the student can write a word for each letter, their team has 'conquered' that prefecture.
4. Teams may also challenge other teams for their prefectures. In which case one member from each team must create words for the prefecture, and the team that has the longest words wins.
5. Whichever team has the most prefectures at the end of the game is the winner!

Variations:

• Teams can also recieve time exentions if the prefecture they want to conquer is touching one or more that they already own. Possibly ten seconds per prefecture.

Teaching Suggestions:

• Students may try to use the same words over and over, so it's a good idea to create a 'Ban List' from the start of the game. Once a word has been used three times it goes on the list and can't be used for the rest of the game.

Comments:

• (June 16, 2011) Nick Nagoya said: I did this game in my class, it worked really well! Thanks
•  
  (May 11, 2011) englipatrick (mod) said: @Submitter,
  1. I'm taking 'palindrome' off the title to stop the squibbling. Hope you're cool with that?
  2. If you submit to me your first/last name and country, I will put it on the page if you would like.
• (May 11, 2011) englipatrick (mod) said: @everyone,
  Like many here have already voiced, the naming of the game takes a backseat to how it is excuted. A simple "I think you might have made a mistake..." would have been enough. Going on and on...and on...and on, about your super intellect of being able to define complicated polysyllabic jargon that the common English speaker wouldn't even know the defintion for is contrary to what this site is trying to accomplish. That being said, anyone who wants to rag on the submitter for making a small mistake should actually be embarrassed themselves. YOU most likely came to this site looking for ideas for YOUR classes. YOU CAME LOOKING FOR HELP! The only thing you left the site with was your aweful smelling pile of verbal dribble.
  Constructive over destructive, please. Otherwise, save the reader and yourself time and don't post anything.
  Onegaishimasu!
• (May 11, 2011) SingtheDoomSong said: So I was the one taht posted this in the first place, and I'm really sorry about mislabeling it. It was not suppose to be palindrome, at the time I was typing this up I was also working on a handout for an adult ESL class which involed palindromes, and I guess I typed it without realizing it. Sorry about any confusion that might have caused.
• (Apr 13, 2011) neemu said: Correction! For 2 and 5, I was thinking about a game I had looked at right after this one, and so I got mixed up. Sorry for the mistake, 100 lashes please.
• (Apr 12, 2011) neemu said: Good:  1. Simplicity - Never overlook the value of a simple design. Because of this simple design, it can be simply explained, which is a great benefit to students.
  
  2. Easy execution - There are very few steps to remember, so this activity is easy to understand and easy to perform. Students can concentrate primarily on communication. Also, teacher preparation is reduced to bringing enough paper for each student.
  
  3. Versatility - Games that can be applied to a diverse range of language points are a blessing to lazy bums like me or anyone who's short on time and needs an activity on short notice.
  
  4. Emphasis on communication - Students will benefit from a high frequency of speaking and listening.
  
  5. Break from monotony - Balled up paper, mystery, and roaming conversations: These are all things students can enjoy. Getting students to enjoy a class is important because most of them likely have no intrinsic motivation to study English, and so need a strong extrinsic one to persuade them to do so each class.
  
  Bad:
  1. 'Palindrome' is incorrectly used.
  
  Etc:
  1. Mistaking the meaning of a word does not reduce one to being incapable of adequate use or understanding of a language. (Even the HAL 9000 made a mistake.) Neither does making a single mistake deserve a dressing-down on a community website where one was contributing to the community. Such treatment might actually reduce community contributions. Constructive criticism is preferable to demeaning criticism.
  
  2. Getting things right is important. How a student feels is extremely important to whether or not the student gets things right. A student who is terrified of making mistakes will never take on the trial and error inherent in learning a language, and therefore make no progress with the language. It is a great teacher who is cognizant of a student's feelings. They have the potential to foster a feeling of safety, and thus a willingness to experiment, err, and eventually, understand.
  
  3. I was struggling with ideas for an upcoming class, but not anymore. Thanks.
• (Nov 3, 2010) Barben Flans said: Whether or not this is a palindrome or an acronym is inconsequential:
  True, just like whether or not something is a verb or an adjective is inconsequential. We aren't need be gud speekers to teach in Japan.
  An English Teacher sounds like one of those teachers who cares more about how the students feel rather than if they get anything right.
• (Sept 24, 2010) An English Teacher said: This is a nice warm-up to encourage spelling and better yet it can be used to get everyone involved rather than just strong students. by making it a team work exercise where students write one word and pass the paper along or issued individually.
  
  Whether or not this is a palindrome or an acronym is inconsequential: it's just the name for the game, which can be changed or simply not said to the class at all. I came to this website to get ideas for teaching, not to criticise others' understanding of linguistic structures no matter how inconceivable it may be that some teachers - heaven forbid! - make mistakesTrue, just like whether or not something is a verb or an adjective is inconsequential. We aren't need be gud speekers to teach in Japan.
  
  An English Teacher sounds like one of those teachers who cares more about how the students feel rather than if they get anything right.
• (Sept 24, 2010) An English Teacher said:
  This is a nice warm-up to encourage spelling and better yet it can be used to get everyone involved rather than just strong students. by making it a team work exercise where students write one word and pass the paper along or issued individually.
  Whether or not this is a palindrome or an acronym is inconsequential: it's just the name for the game, which can be changed or simply not said to the class at all. I came to this website to get ideas for teaching, not to criticise others' understanding of linguistic structures no matter how inconceivable it may be that some teachers - heaven forbid! - make mistakes