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さいたま市教育家会ジャーナル

TheJournal of Saitama City Educators (JSCE)A さいたま市教育家会 (SCE) Publication

ISSN: 2185-7822

Volume 3, Issue 4July 2013

Editor: John Finucane

Issue Editor: Robert Rowland

Translators: Brad Semans and Robert Rowland

Proofreading: Todd Berozsky

Cover Redesign by: kriszion

Find out more at: SaitamaCityEducators.org

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About the Issue Editor

Rob Rowland is an EFL Professional.  He is the Facilities Chair of JALT Omiya Chapter. His interests are writing, student assessment techniques, teacher training, translation and hiking.

Rob holds a Bachelors Degrees in Japanese and English Literature from Pennsylvania State University (PSU).

Rob is currently employed by Saitama City’s Board of Education as a Head Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) Instructor. He also runs English training seminars for business professionals for CTS Nichibei.

Rob has previously been employed by the Saitama City Board of Education as a Directly Hired ALT and an ALT Instructor. He has also worked for NOVA Corporation as an English conversation teacher.

Published articles by Rob include:

• Using Japanese in the Teachers Room: An Easy Way to Improve Your Workplace Relationships. The Journal of Saitama City Educators (2011), Volume 1 Issue 2.

Presentations made by Rob include:

• Icon Based Assessment for Young Learners, My Share, Gunma JALT, April 2013.

• Getting Your School Ready: Ending the Year, ALT Training Seminar, Saitama City Institute of Education, March 2013.

• JAT:NET: Saitama City’s Framework For Effective 2T Team Teaching, Saitama City Institute of Education, March 2013.

Rob is interested in helping foreign educators become more effective communicators in the Japanese workplace. He is also interested in creating intuitive communication assessment systems and organizing collaborative events. Rob can be contacted at panikbuton@gmail.com.

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Foreword

On August 23rd, 27th and 28th, Municipal Urawa Junior High School hosted a 3 day immersion English program called the Summer English Seminar (SES). This program challenged 10 Saitama City ALTs to plan and conduct a separate 5-hour English program to supplement Saitama City’s English Communication Abilities Development Program for 7th, 8th and 9th graders. In their most basic form, the materials required are paper, pencils, glue and scissors, a board game and a hand full of Lego blocks.

This issue of the JSCE collects the lesson plans and materials used by ALTs as well as papers written by them on their experiences.

One grade participated in SES each day and each of the ALTs were assigned a group of eight students to instruct. Two sessions, morning and afternoon, were held each day, each with its own theme and goal. All ALTs were given the same lesson plans, materials and instructions on final products but each lead the students to the goals in their own unique way. Submissions to this journal include: Brad Semans – Summer English Seminar Over a Time: an informal case study of the mid-range development of a yearly event; Rob Rowland – Revising and Implementing the Urawa Summer English Seminar 2012 and Mahdi Katsumata Shah – You are Game Designers.

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Contents

Brad Semans: Summer English Seminar Over Time: an informal case study of the mid-range development of a yearly event ブラッド・シーマンズ：SES：５年間の成長：事例研究報告Page 2

Robert Rowland: Revising and Implementing the Urawa Summer English Seminar 2012ロブ・ローランド: 浦和サマーイングリッシュセミナーの改訂と実行Page 7

Mahdi Katsumata Shah: You Are Game Designersマーディ・カツマタシャー：あなたはゲームデザイナーPage 13

Appendices

I: Summer English Seminar OverviewPage 19

II: List of Required MaterialsPage 21

III: Lesson PlansPage 25

IV: Guidelines for NPO Fair PresentationPage 39

V: Printable ResourcesPage 41

From the EditorPage 47

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The first article in this journal was written by an ALT with a 5 year history of planning and teaching SES. His years of experience give him unique insight into the unique benefits granted by the program not only to students, but also to teachers and further, to administrations. [Issue Editor]

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Summer English Seminar Over Time: an informal case study of the mid-range development of a yearly event

SES：５年間の成長：事例研究報告

Brad Semans ブラッド・シーマンズ

About the Author

About: Brad Semans has been teaching English here in Japan for the last 10 years in a wide variety of venues. For the last 6 years he has worked for the Saitama City Board of Education at nearly every level. Brad has participated in this yearly event several times and has been involved in the planning and preparation as well.

Abstract

During the last 5 academic years, the author has participated in this English Seminar in various capacities. In this short article the author will discuss how he has seen the event change and how it has provided growing opportunities for schools and teachers as well as the students who participate.

The points raised in this article can make a strong case for implementing such events and should be included in any proposal teachers may make to their institutions.

要約: ここ５年間筆者はSESに様々な役割を持って参加してきました。ここで、５年間をかけてSESはどのように変わってきたか、また参加した学校の先生や生徒へどのような成長の機会を与えてきたかを紹介します。

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Curriculum Terrarium

A lot of ideas that teachers get during the school year start out as small observations about how to improve what they do from day to day. Then there are those times when you probably say to yourself, “If only I had done that at the start of term, I could have my students doing this now. One of the biggest benefits I have seen over the last 5 years of the seminar has been the ability to experiment holistically with curriculum design.

The seminar is very short and it’s teachers do not see the students beyond the short time they have in this course. In a sense it is like being hired as a camp counsellor for a week every summer. The difference with this event is that the teachers who staff the event work with each other throughout the year. To add to that, for the most part the teachers work as a small (in comparison to the overall number of teachers) team to develop curriculum and training for the city’s English conversation program.

The seminar functions as a curriculum terrarium. The perfect environment in which to grow a small world, or in this case a curriculum:

• Planning to the conclusion of the seminar could be as short as 2 weeks

• The students are all advanced• The school has almost zero behavioural problems• The facilities are advanced• There is a body of work built over 5 years• The teachers regularly work together

There are several areas in particular that are instructive:

1. Curriculum2. Training3. Development

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Curriculum

The curriculum for the camp has changed a lot over the last 5 years, but when looking at the changes between years, you see that the change has been gradual rather than abrupt. You also see that the changes have been made for several different reasons. Some of them were made to address a perceived problem with the previous curriculum. Other changes made were reflections of the teaching style of the teachers involved in planning. Still other changes reflected the involvement of the school or city’s administration.

An investigation into the relationships between the source of the change and the outcomes would be very telling. But the most interesting aspect for me has been seeing the orchestration of teachers become more complex. The event’s implementation has evolved into a kind of quasi-team teaching in which students are taught skills by different teachers and then asked to use those skills as a whole. This results in students having had slightly different instruction; similar enough so that the students have learned the same function or skill, but different enough that there are many opportunities for students to have to work out meaning and express themselves.

Training

As changes are made to the curriculum and as some teachers change from year to year, there is a need to prepare teachers who are both experienced and who are first timers. This often mimics the realities of teacher training and poses the same challenges. Some teachers require very little guidance in order to perform the day’s activities while for others the teaching style listed above can be overwhelming.

This has created a need for the leaders of the seminar to develop the ability to prepare teachers with a variety of training needs in a very short time. Methods for getting this done have ranged from email correspondence to meeting time before during and after the seminar.

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What has emerged is a reliance on veteran teachers, under the guidance of a leader teacher, to be prepared and ready to support the preparation of newer teachers. The compromise is that the materials are simple and allow for each teacher to retain his or her own teaching style, provided that they work toward the same goals. The result of this compromise has been great growth in teachers’ abilities to support each other and even more importantly be receptive of that support. That sounds like the goal of training to me.

Development

Which leads to development. Having other teachers watch your lessons and watching other teachers’ lessons is a far too rare event for most teachers. That the teachers at this event continue to work with each other throughout the years has provided each of us with long term development chances. Teachers see ideas regarding materials and activities. Teachers can observe a variety of techniques for motivating, leading and teaching. This year, the opportunity to publish about the event has been made available, a brick in the wall of professional development and resume building. In short, the seminar provides teachers with concentrated and varied chances for development.

Conclusion

The benefits of holding a yearly event extends far beyond those that students receive. The school and the teachers who participate are given rare opportunities to learn while they provide students with rich experience. If you’ve read this issue and are thinking about suggesting implementing a similar event in your own institution, these benefits can be powerful reasons for administrators to agree to proposals.

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The next article was written by the planner of SES in 2012. This ALT not only planned, but participated in and recorded the results of the program for future use. During the planning phase, many problems and complaints from students, teachers and other faculty were addressed in order to improve the overall quality and success of SES. The following article deals with how these problems were identified, defined and solved. [Issue Editor]

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Revising and Implementing the Urawa Summer English Seminar 2012浦和サマーイングリッシュセミナーの改訂と実行

Robert Rowlandロブ・ローランド

About

Rob Rowland has taught in Saitama City for 5 years and has been an ALT instructor for 4 of them. He also taught 1 of these years at Urawa JHS and knows the school and its unique system and curriculum well. This is the second time that he has participated in the Urawa Summer English Seminar and the first year he has been included in the planning stage.

Abstract

After participating in a reasonably successful production of the Urawa Summer English Seminar a year before, the author was put in charge of planning and improving the program 1 month before it was to be implemented. The school staff had suggested a few areas of improvement in the meeting following the summer camp the year before and those suggestions were the basis for changes made. These changes led to a more interactive, inclusive and successful experience for the Urawa JHS students.

要約: 筆者は昨年度の浦和SESに参加した経験を生かして、本年度イベントが開催される一ヶ月前に計画・改善の担当に当たりました。その際、昨年度のSES反省会であげられた課題を参考にしました。その結果、浦和中学校の生徒により対話的、そして総括的な体験をさせることができました。

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The Urawa Junior High School Summer English Seminar (SES) is a 3-day English camp meant to replace untaught lessons in Saitama City’s ECAD program (ECAD). It has been held in August for 5 consecutive years, has gone through many revisions and has been led by four different people. Each time leadership of the seminar has changed, the curriculum has changed with it. As a result, Urawa JHS students have seen very little consistency in the content and quality of the program. This year, the author of this article was tasked with two things:

1. Rewrite and make improvements to the camp curriculum.2. Create a program that could be repeated by any one if they had

the curriculum and necessary materials.

To complete this task, a meeting was held with the teachers in charge of the camp from the previous year. The product of this meeting was a concrete list of problems that needed to be overcome in order to fulfil the goals above. These problems were as follows:

The Program

1. There were no concrete goals set for the program so content changed drastically from year to year.

2. Teacher participation from the school was minimal.

The Curriculum

1. The quality of the 1.5 hours of self-introductions given by the ALTs to students at the beginning of each day was inconsistent.

2. The 1st grade curriculum required preparation on the part of the students that, if not completed, limited participation.

3. Activities in the 2nd and 3rd grade curriculum were either uncommunicative or inappropriate for the students level.

4. Below is a description of how these problems were assessed and overcome by the project leader in the preparation phase.

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The Program

Problem 1: No concrete goals

The first and biggest problem to tackle in planning the SES revision was writing goals that coincided with ECAD. For each grade, two separate goals were set, one for OUTPUT and one for INPUT based on the activities and learning objectives laid out in the ECAD curriculum. These goals were:

Output Input

1st Communicating ideas clearly using verbal and nonverbal elements

Actively deducing the meaning of what someone is trying to communicate

2nd Giving clear, logical explanations using verbal and nonverbal elements.

Understanding an explanation and following instructions

3rd Making convincing arguments using verbal and nonverbal elements

Making educated choices based on presentations and giving feedback

Summer English Seminar Input and Output Goals

Problem 2: Minimal Teacher Participation

In previous years, SES has seen very little direct input from the Japanese teachers of English (JTE) at Urawa JHS. This is natural, considering that it is supposed to be an immersion experience lead by native English speakers. However, with no participation or oversight from the school directly, there was no way to assess the effectiveness of the program, participation of the students or performance of the ALTs.

So, the format of each day of the seminar was changed to include 1-hour presentations at the end of both the morning and the afternoon sessions. This

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way, JTEs were aware of (1) the opportunity to observe and participate, (2) the timing and (3) the maximum amount of time it could take. As a result, more JTEs came to participate in the program this year compared to previous years.

The Curriculum

Problem 1: Unguided Self-Introductions

In previous years, the introduction sessions held at the beginning of each day lacked guidelines. ALTs were told to take those sessions and “Introduce yourself, but keep it interesting!” Results varied and not all were positive. So, rather than cutting the introduction session, a compromise was struck. Keep the self-introductions, but create criteria. The session must include elements of the ALTs culture and 3 phases:

1. Icebreaker – A one way introduction.2. Crowd Participation – An interactive activity led by the ALT.3. Game / Activity – Students engage each other in a group activity.

These criteria were based on the Show, Include, Involve 3-step process for demonstrations in the ECAD curriculum. By making a clear format for ALTs to follow, the overall quality of introductions increased enough to satisfy the school (see Appendix III)

Problem 2: Student preparation at home

Last year, the 1st graders were given a pre-task for the SES that not all students were able to complete. Moreover, not all students who came prepared had created something appropriate for the activity. Worse still, students who came inadequately prepared were disheartened by their

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apparent failure and a contingency activity was not offered in the original plan. To solve this problem, students created materials on the day of the seminar during an activity (see AppendixV: Printable Resources). Their creations were abstract and, because they didn’t present themselves obviously, well suited for the target language, “What’s that?” By eliminating homework, all students were guaranteed a chance to participate in the activity on a level playing field with their peers.

Problem 3: Inappropriate 2nd and 3rd grade activities

According to feedback from the previous year, the 3rd grade curriculum contained an activity that was more appropriate for 2nd graders, which had an activity described by teachers as “uncommunicative.” Consequently, improving the 2nd grade curriculum consisted of simply including the previous 3rd grade material. Conveniently, the “Game Warehouse” activity (see Appendix III) already fit the established goal for the 2nd grade curriculum. The 3rd grade was more of a challenge because it had to be built from scratch. With goals of making convincing arguments and educated choices based on them, and a request from teachers to keep the 3rd graders busy with “output on something topical,” making sales presentations seemed the obvious choice. In light of the recent natural disasters in Japan, and after confirming that the topic was appropriate with the school, fund-raising presentations on volunteer efforts and inventions to improve the quality of life were chosen (see Appendix III).

Improving a long-running, relatively successful curriculum was a challenge. However, by setting clear goals and expectations for the program, learning from the mistakes and pitfalls from previous years and by working closely with coordinators during the planning phase, this year’s SES was the best to date. The school plans to run the same program again next year.

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The final article in the journal delves into one specific activity during the 3 day session. It highlights the high level of flexibility and creativity exhibited by both students and teachers within the framework provided by the SES curriculum. [Issue Editor]

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You Are Game Designersあなたはゲームデザイナー

Mahdi Katsumata Shahマーディ・カツマタシャー

About the Author

Mahdi Katsumata Shah is in his third year as a teacher for the Saitama City Board of Education, and is currently serving as an ALT Instructor. He has a BA in Drama/Dance from Bard College and has performed in and directed several productions in New York and Tokyo. He is especially interested in incorporating creativity into the Japanese educational system and is honored to be part of the ECAD program in Saitama City.

Abstract

The essay will describe how a group of Japanese JHS 2nd graders were instructed to create an original game and its rules, and how at the end of the process students had to explain the rules of the game to peers (with no prior knowledge of the said game) in English. 

要約: ここで日本の中学生数人のグループが、オリジナルなゲームとそのルールを作るためにどのような指示を与えたか、また、 ゲームのことを全く知らない同級生に遊び方を英語で伝えようとした時の様子について説明します。

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Context

There were 80 students that were divided among 10 teachers and the overall goal was "to improve problem solving and process facilitation skills." The lesson plan called for students to break off into groups, play a game, deduce the contents and practice explaining the rules. At the end of the day, all the students were to get together for a mingling activity in which they would enjoy playing each others' games. There were a number of games available for use which included some popular board games. Within this context, this instructor made the decision to ask students to make an original game from a pack of playing cards even though it was not a requirement.

Reasons

The reasons were the following:

1. Creating a game from scratch requires that the participants use their imagination, brainstorm for ideas, create a sequence of steps, and formulate a set of rules. It can be deemed as a creative endeavour.

2. Students were asked to work with a deck of cards. They were expected to apply their creative ideas onto a well-established medium, in this case being a deck of playing cards. If innovation is defined as "applied creativity" (Robinson 2011, p.142) then this activity required that students innovate.

3. The instructor had an understanding of whether or not students would be able to complete such an activity from observations during the ALT introduction session that had taken place in the morning.

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Warmup

Students were asked to play "Pig" which is played with a dice. No Japanese was used to explain the game since the input goal was “Understanding an explanation and following instructions.”

Main Activity: Making of "Black Joker"

Students were given a pack of cards and were told that they were "game designers". Students started discussing what to do with the pack of cards. They decided to adapt some of the ideas from "Pig" into their situation. Then the process of debate and critical thinking began. A student would put forth an idea, which would be challenged by another student. This would lead to adjustments to the original proposal. This potentially combative yet productive process helped shape the quality of the original idea. Students were able to formulate a self-sustaining game system within about forty minutes. Some of the rules included the following:

1. Players can draw as many cards from a deck of cards as they want and earn points that way.

2. If they draw a black alphabet (i.e. an ace of spades, a king of clubs etc.) they would have to return their earned cards.

3. A player has the right to decline a round.4. If a player draws a black Joker, she has to give all her earned

cards to the person on the left. If she draws a red Joker, she can take all the earned cards from the person on the right.

The name "Black Joker" was chosen as the name of the game. Students were encouraged to take notes in English and all were asked to practice giving instructions in English. During the mingling activity, students effectively gave instructions in English to visiting players and fulfilled the output goal of “giving clear, logical explanations using verbal and non-verbal elements.”

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Negative aspect

The demerit of this process was that students conversed in Japanese during the planning stage. The school administrators referred to the event as an "English Camp" and the implicit understanding was that students had to speak in English throughout the day. The goal of 100% English immersion was not met.

Outcome

1. The assessment criteria for output was, as mentioned above, "to give clear, logical explanations using verbal and non-verbal elements. That goal was successfully met. It should also be mentioned that the students were visibly happy and satisfied when they were able to get their instructions across in English.

2. More importantly, since they made the game, they had a personal stake at getting their point across. Motivation during the instructional stage was high.

3. During the planning stage, students were able to have a debate without generating any negative emotions. Students whose ideas were opposed did not take it personally. Additionally, there was equal participation between boys and girls. There was no one group or clique dominating the agenda.

4. Students were able to translate their imagination into a creative concept which in turn was applied in a real-life context. In other words they were able to create innovation.

Conclusion

Students were encouraged to use their creative capabilities to achieve an innovative outcome. They had to have a debate to achieve an outcome, which for them was to create an enjoyable game. They had to use English to

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communicate how to play the game. This approach can be applied not just to create games but also to create new products and/or services as well as in creating solutions to social problems and this can be achieved in the context of communicative teaching of ESL.

Reference

Robinson, Sir Ken., (2011). Out of our minds. Learning to be creative. West Sussex, UK: Capstone Publishing Ltd.

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The appendices are the lesson plans developed and implemented for SES in 2012. Detailed descriptions of time and materials needed as well as a step by step list of instructions for each activity is included. In addition, all printable materials required are included in the final pages of the issue. [Issue Editor]

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Appendix I: Summer English Seminar Overview

-The Event-The Urawa Junior High School Summer English Seminar (SES) is a 3-day

annual event held in the summer to augment Saitama City’s English Communication Ability Development (ECAD) Program. Each day, 1 grade level experiences a 5-hour, intensive, emersion learning experience in activities centered on building and strengthening communication skills through the medium of English. All material is taught by 10 Native English Teachers (NET) employed by the Saitama City Board of education.

-The Venue-Urawa Junior High School (UJHS) is a municipal junior high school in

Saitama City. Each grade level has 80 students, 40 boys and 40 girls, who must pass a comprehensive academic exam to gain admission. The building, opened in 2007, is directly connected to Urawa Municipal High School and is filled with state-of-the-art equipment and facilities. Students receive a top-notch education and are guaranteed admission to the adjacent high school, which has one of the prefecture’s toughest admissions standards, upon graduation

-The Support-At least 1 teacher, usually 2, oversees the event and serves as the liaison

between the NETs and UJHS. These teachers help with planning and evaluation of the program as well as material preparation on each day.

-The Learning Environment-The 80 students in each grade are broken into 10 groups of 8 students each

and assigned a classroom. Classrooms are usually spread 3 or 4 on each floor from second to fourth. Most classrooms are equipped with various forms of ICT including TVs and large, widescreen touch panels. For both the morning and the afternoon sessions, activities are held in small groups in preparation for a larger group activity held in the latter half of each session. The group activity is held in a large meeting hall on the first floor.

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-The Schedule-

1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade

9:00 ~ 9:10 Morning Meeting Morning Meeting Morning Meeting

9:15 ~ 9:40 ALT Self Intro 1 ALT Self Intro 1 ALT Self Intro 1

9:40 ~ 10:05 ALT Self Intro 2 ALT Self Intro 2 ALT Self Intro 2

10:05 ~ 10:30 ALT Self Intro 3 ALT Self Intro 3 ALT Self Intro 3

1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade

10:30 ~ 11:15 English Pizza Prep. LEGO Penguins NPO Prep.

11:20 ~ 12:00 English Pizza Party LEGO Party NPO Fair

Lunch 12:00 ~ 12:30

1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade

12:30 ~ 1:30 Paper Game Learning Games Inventing Prep.

1:35 ~ 2:30 Schedule Gestures Game Warehouse Inventing for Change

• Working hours 8:00am – 3:00pm.• Meeting & Lesson preparation 8:00am – 9:00am.• Morning Meeting 9:00am – 9:10am.• Morning classes 9:15am – 12:00pm.• Lunch 12:00pm – 12:30pm.• Afternoon classes 12:30pm – 2:30pm.• Collection of lesson materials from teachers & Meeting 2:30pm –

3:00pm.

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Appendix II: List of Required Materials

Each day requires a unique set of materials. These materials are mostly printed and blank paper and stationary, but there are a few activities that require more extensive preparation. Below is a list of materials needed each day. For more specific details about their use, please refer to lesson plans from that day.

First Grade AM‘English Pizza Party Prep’

• Chalk / Markers and black / whiteboard for teacher brainstorming.

• Brainstorming sheets and writing utensils for students.• English Pizza Shapes Sheets – 1 per pair + teachers ([80 / 2] + 10

= 50) If possible, several different colors.• Colored construction paper for pizzas – 1 per student + teachers

(80+10= 90) If possible, several different colors.• Scissors – at least 2 pairs per room (2 x 10 = 20).• Glue – at least 2 sticks per room (2 x 10 = 20).• ‘English Pizza Party’.• Student’s pizzas prepared in ‘English Pizza Prep’.• Timer.

First Grade PM

`Paper Game and Schedule Gesture Prep`

• Chalk / whiteboard markers for the chalk relay.• Blank paper for brainstorming during the chalk relay – 2 per

classroom (2x10 = 20).• Paper for the paper game – 1 for each student and teacher (80 +

10 = 90).• ‘Daily Schedule Gestures’.

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Second Grade AM‘Lego Penguins and Lego Party Prep’

• Lego Penguin Worksheets.• Lego penguin sets (8 blocks in one set. 2 sets per room (10 x 2 =

20) See lego penguin worksheet for color details. NOTE: Color is not as important as shape. If you do not have enough white, black and yellow blocks to make 16 lego penguins, any color will do. Be creative with penguin names if the colors don’t match e.g. Zombie Penguin, (green, purple, blue) Santa Penguin (red, white) , American Penguin (red, white, blue) etc.

• Lego Party sets (5 to 10 pieces per set. 2 sets per room. ( [5 x 2] x 10 = 100 < ) The fewer pieces students have to work with, the simpler their instructions will be. NOTE: You may want to pick and choose which colors you put in each set to help students with their designs. If you include a set number of different colors in each set, the students can assign meaning to the colors and make more interesting designs.

• Paper to write down instructions. 1 per group, 2 per room. (10 x 2 = 20).

‘Lego Party’.• Instructions and Legos prepared in ‘Lego Penguins and Lego

Party Prep’.• Timer (if needed).

Second Grade PM‘Learning Games’

• Chalk / Markers and black / whiteboard for writing on the board• What ever each ALT needs to play their cultural game.• Dice for Pig. 1 or 2 per room. (1 x 10 = 10) (ideally 2 per room so

students can play in smaller groups).

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• Paper for Pig to keep score 1 A4 sheet per room ( 1 x 10 = 10).• Board / Card games for Game Preparation and Game

Warehouse. Either the school provides these are ALTs are asked to bring in at least 1 game from home. 1 per room (1 x 10 = 10).

• Paper for writing rules in Game Preparation. 1 per room (1 x 10 = 10).

• ‘Game Warehouse’.• Games and instructions used and prepared in Learning Games.• Timer.

Third Grade AM‘NPO Fair Preparation’

• Chalk / whiteboard markers for writing on the board.• TVs or projectors hooked up to TVs. IDEALLY 1 in each room (1 x

10 = 10) BUT 1 per floor where all classes on that floor can assemble is ok too. (1 x 3 = 3).

• “NPO Fair” .ppt presentation for each of the computers.• NPO Fair Worksheets. 2 per room, one per 4 person group (2 x 10

= 20).• Paper for visual aides 6 sheets per room (A4 or larger) (6 x 10 =

60).• Saitama ECAD Dollars (or equivalent) 1 per student and teacher

for demo ([1 x 80] + 10 = 90) 8 per sheet so 12 sheets.

‘NPO Fair’

• Materials prepared in NPO Fair Preparation including scripts and visual aides.

• Dollars (or equivalent) distributed in NPO Fair Preparation.• Timer.

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Third Grade PM‘Inventing for Change Preparation’

• Chalk / whiteboard markers for writing on the board.• Shape Sheets 3 sets per room. 1 set for each small group and 1 for

the pantomime game (3 x 10 = 30).• Colored construction sheets. 2 for each room, different colors (2 x

10 = 20).• Scissors at least 2 pairs for each room (2 x 10 = 20).• Glue at least 2 for each room (2 x 10 = 20).• Paper for writing scripts 2 per room (2 x 10 = 20).• Saitama ECAD Dollars 1 per student and teacher for demo ([1 x

80] + 10 = 90) 8 per sheet so 12 sheets.• ‘Inventing for Change’.• Materials prepared in Inventing for Change Preparation

including scripts and visual aides.• Dollars distributed in Inventing for Change Preparation.• Timer.

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Appendix III: Lesson Plans

Grades 1 2 3 - First Session

‘Self Introductions’

Time: 25 minutes

PART 1: 5- 10 min. THE ICE BREAKER• A one way introduction of you to the students during which you must elicit reactions

from them.

PART 2: 5-10 min. CROWD PARTICIPATION• An interactive activity: include some element of your self introduction while interacting

with the students.

PART 3: 10-15 min. GAME / ACTIVITY• Something fun: Students engage each other / the ALTI actively in an activity based on

something introduced in parts 1 and / or 2.

Example Self Introduction [AMERICAN]

PART 1: 5 mins• Self intro: Talk about my self, my history and my life in Japan (likes, dislikes, free time

activities etc.) using pictures, realia etc.

PART 2: 7 mins• Introducing America through an interactive quiz: Put a bunch of city names and pictures

of landmarks and famous things on the board. Draw 2 maps of America on the board. Students work together to guess where those cities and landmarks / famous things are located and place them on the map (Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Mt. Rushmore, Disney Land, Disney World, Niagara Falls etc.) After about 5 mins or so, put up the answer on the remaining map and have students compare their maps to the teacher’s map.

PART 3: 13 mins• American Rainy Day Classroom Games: Paper football: Introduce my favorite

professional sport: American Football (using pictures, videos etc.) Give a rough explanation of the rules (get the ball, take it to the end zone, kick a field goal) Then, show the students how to fold a paper football and play the game. Have students break into pairs and play the game.

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Grade 1 – AM – 10:30 – 12:00

‘English Pizza’

Time: 50 minutes

Warm Up – 15 minutes• As a model, the teacher brainstorms a list of things that is important to them on the

board.• Students brainstorm a list of things which are important to them on a blank sheet.

Preparation – 15 minutes• Students work in pairs but prepare their own pizzas.• Pairs receive an envelope full of abstract shapes that they stick to a card to make their

pizza.• Students should choose shapes to represent things they brainstormed in the warm up.• They may only use shapes and scraps of paper, and may not write or draw on their pizza• For each item on their pizza students should compose an answer to the question “What’s

that?”• The answer should use the form “That’s _____. I like _____ because _____”.

Practice – 15 minutes• ALT explains that students will be working with their friends from other groups.• ALT explains that first we need to practice.• Students work in pairs.• Students practice asking and answering questions about their pizzas.• By the end of this activity students should be able to ask answer questions about their

pizza smoothly.

5 minute break

Activity: ‘Pizza Party’

• Groups combine by floor.• ALTs demonstrate mingling with their own pizzas.• Students use their pizzas to talk to as many people as possible.• Two rounds of the Pizza part will be run.• Round 1: 10 - 15 minutes odd number groups mingle with odd number groups, evens

with evens.• Between rounds, stop and praise students on good communicative behavior.• Round 2: 10 - 15 minutes everyone mingles together.• Close with a feedback session: ALT feedback, Teacher feedback, student feedback

(Japanese OK).

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Grade 1 – AM – Materials

‘English Pizza’

• Chalk / Markers and black / whiteboard for teacher brainstorming.• Brainstorming sheets and writing utensils for students.• English Pizza Shapes Sheets – 1 per pair + teachers ([80 / 2] + 10 = 50) If possible, several

different colors.• Colored construction paper for pizzas – 1 per student + teachers (80+10=90) If possible,

several different colors.• Scissors – at least 2 pairs per room (2 x 10 = 20).• Glue – at least 2 sticks per room (2 x 10 = 20).

‘Pizza Party’

• Student’s pizzas prepared in ‘English Pizza Prep’• Timer

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Grade 1 – PM – 12:30 – 14:30

‘Paper Game and Daily Schedule Preparation’

Time: 60 minutes

Warm Up – 15 minutes• Students break into 4 groups and each group brainstorm daily schedule English for 5

min.• Students do a chalk relay in teams for 2 min.• Students think again, this time of crazier things.• Once again they do a chalk relay.

Paper Game – 15 minutes• Students combine into 1 big group, but each student has their own piece of paper.• Each student chooses one thing brainstormed on the board, draws a picture of it and

passes it to the right.• The next student looks at the picture, writes what they think it is in English below the

picture, folds the paper so the picture is not visible and passes to the right.• The next student draws a picture of what is written, folds the paper again and passes to

the right.• Continue until the papers have made a full circle.• Open the paper and see the result.

Daily Schedule Preparation – 15 minutes• Explains the rest of the afternoon. (Prep, try in the classroom, gather in the meeting

room, do with everyone).• Students form two large groups (A and B) and will stay in these groups for the rest of the

afternoon.• Each group decides on 7 actions they want to include in their daily schedule and how to

gesture them.• The first action MUST BE I get up. The last action MUST be I go to bed.• All students must be included in each gesture as part of the scene. (ex. Different

characters, furniture etc.)• Once they have decided, they must remember their schedule as they will not be writing

it down.

Daily Schedule Practice – 10 minutes• Each group takes turns gesturing their daily schedule to the other.• They have 2 min. to complete their gestures.• The watching group watches carefully and discuss what they are seeing with each other.• After each group finishes, the watching group checks to see if what they saw was correct.• The GESTURING group is awarded 1 point for each gesture the WATCHING group

understood.

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5 minute break

‘Daily Schedule Gestures’

Time: 60 minutes

Daily Schedule Gestures– 60 minutes• Groups gather in the meeting room and are briefed by the ALTs.• Explanation 5 minutes.• ALTs explain and demonstrate the activity for the students.• In this activity, groups A and B will be doing different things.• First, B group students will gesture while A group students rotate from group to group

watching• For each gesture the watching group (A) identifies correctly, the gesturing group (B) gets

a point.• ALTs keep score for their group.

• After A groups have made a full rotation (9 rounds), B teams scores are totaled and the winner is announced.

• A groups and B groups switch roles and the game is repeated.

Round 1 25 minutes• Divide the 20 groups in half and proceed as above.• At the end of round 1, stop, announce the winners and ask the top 3 groups why they

were able to score highly .

Round 2 25 minutes• Groups A and B switch roles and repeat procedure from round 1.• Best Gestures Presentation / Feedback & Comments 5 mins.• One or more high scoring groups give their gesture presentation in front of everyone.• Several students and teachers give feedback & comments about the day.

Grade 1 – PM – Materials

‘Paper Game and Daily Schedule Preparation’’• Chalk / whiteboard markers for the chalk relay.• Blank paper for brainstorming during the chalk relay – 2 per classroom (2x10 = 20).• Paper for the paper game – 1 for each student and teacher (80 + 10 = 90).

‘Daily Schedule Gestures’• Timer (if necessary).

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Grade 2 – AM – 10:30 – 12:00

‘Lego Penguins and Lego Party Preparation’

Time: 　55 minutes

Introduction – 5 minutes• ALT splits the room into two groups.• ALT gives the groups 8 Lego blocks each (the lego penguin set).• ALT gives volunteer instructions on how to put the blocks together.• Group guesses what the design represents.

Explanation – 5 minutes• ALT explains that students will work in the same groups of 4.• Each group will try to write a set of instructions for how to make the design.• ALT explains that the pieces can be combined to form an object of their choice, abstract

or otherwise.• Students should decide upon a design, give it a description (a name), and then write

down step-by-step instructions for how another group could construct the same design from the same pieces.

• The actual name for the design (house, car, whatever) should be kept secret and not made part of the instructions.

Brainstorming – 15 minutes• Groups brainstorm ideas.• ALT monitors the activity and provides encouragement.• ALT should facilitate the students to problem solve rather than lead the activity.

Preparation – 30 minutes• Give student paper to write down their instructions. Encourage everyone to help

writing.• Students should have decided upon a design, given it a description (a name), now they

write down step-by-step instructions for how another group could construct the same design from the same pieces.

• The actual name for the design (house, car, whatever) should be kept secret and not made part of the instructions.

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5 minute break

Activity: ‘Lego Party’

Time: 30 minutes

• Groups combine by floor.• Groups take turns using their Lego blocks and instructions with another group.• Groups try to recreate each other’s designs using the instructions orally.• Groups complete the activity by guessing what the design represents.• When two groups have finished the activity they stand up and are paired off with

another finished group.• Groups repeat the activity as many times as possible.• Close with a feedback session: ALT feedback, Teacher feedback, student feedback

(Japanese OK but encourage simple English).

Grade 1 – PM – Materials

‘Lego Penguins and Lego Party Preparation’• Lego penguin sets (8 blocks in one set. 2 sets per room (10 x 2 = 20) See lego penguin

worksheet for color details. NOTE: Color is not as important as shape. If you do not have enough white, black and yellow blocks to make 16 lego penguins, any color will do. Be creative with penguin names if the colors don’t match e.g. Zombie Penguin, (green, purple, blue) Santa Penguin (red, white) , American Penguin (red, white, blue) etc.

• Lego Party sets (5 to 10 pieces per set. 2 sets per room. ( [5 x 2] x 10 = 100 < ) The fewer pieces students have to work with, the simpler their instructions will be. NOTE: You may want to pick and choose which colors you put in each set to help students with their designs. If you include a set number of different colors in each set, the students can assign meaning to the colors and make more interesting designs.

• Paper to write down instructions. 1 per group, 2 per room. (10 x 2 = 20).

‘Lego Party’• Instructions and Legos prepared in ‘Lego Penguins and Lego Party Prep’.• Timer (if needed).

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Grade 2 PM – 12:30 – 2:30

‘Learning Games’

Time: 55 minutes

Cultural Games – 15 minutes• ALT introduces a simple game played in schools in their country to the students.• Any game is ok, but the simpler the better (ex. Card games are ok, but a game like

“duck, duck, goose!”, which requires no materials, may work better).• Students play the game for the time remaining after explanation.

Pig – 15 minutes• ALT plays the game with the class without giving the rules. Each rule should be

introduced when it is relevant while playing the game.• After playing the game for 10 minutes or so, stop the game and ask the students what

the rules are.• Write the rules the students give on the board.• Game Rules: Played in groups of 4 or more. Each group gets one die. One person rolls

the die. If the number comes up 1, the player loses all points (collected through rounds until this point) and their turn is finished. If the number comes up 2 ~ 6, the player gets that number of points and makes a choice: continue rolling or pass the dice to the next player. If the player chooses to continue rolling, they may continue to roll until they decide to stop or roll a 1. The player with the highest points at the end of the game is the winner. (Setting a winning score, like 50 or 100 makes the game a bit more interesting for competitive students).

MY GAME – 25 minutes• ALT gives one game to the class.• Play and learn – 10 minutes.• Groups work together to learn the rules of the game while asking questions to the ALT.• Write the rules – 15 minutes.• Groups prepare to teach others to play their games.• The ALT provides advice and encouragement.• IF POSSIBLE tell students to memorize the rules (one or more each) so they don’t need to

rely on what they’ve written. In the Game Warehouse they will be allowed to use their instruction sheets to help them teach for only the first 5 minute teaching session.

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5 minute break

‘Game Warehouse’

Time: 60 minutes

• Groups come together.• ALTs explain and model the Game Warehouse:

- Each group is divided into 2 smaller groups, A and B.- In round 1, group A stays to teach the group’s game while group B goes out and plays. In round 2, A and B switch roles and repeat.- Students may look at the instructions for their game for the first 5 minute session they teach. After that ALTs will collect all papers and students must teach from memory.

Round 1 – 25 minutes• Group A remains seated while group B students go out and find a game they want to

play (at any open A group station).• After all groups are seated, let them play the game for 5 minutes.• After 5 minutes are up, A group members say thank you and move on to a new game.• Repeat 5 times.

Round 2 – 25 minutes• A and B switch roles and repeat the procedure from Round 1.• Close with a feedback session: ALT feedback, Teacher feedback, student feedback

(Japanese OK but encourage students to use English) .

Grade 2 – PM – Materials

‘Learning Games’• Chalk / Markers and black / whiteboard for writing on the board.• What ever each ALT needs to play their cultural game.• Dice for Pig. 1 or 2 per room. (1 x 10 = 10) (ideally 2 per room so students can play in

smaller groups).• Paper for Pig to keep score 1 A4 sheet per room ( 1 x 10 = 10).• Board / Card games for Game Preparation and Game Warehouse. Either the school

provides these are ALTs are asked to bring in at least 1 game from home. 1 per room (1 x 10 = 10).

• Paper for writing rules in Game Preparation. 1 per room (1 x 10 = 10).

‘Game Warehouse’• Games and instructions used and prepared in Learning Games.• Timer.

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Grade 3 AM – 10:30 – 12:00

‘NPO Fair Preparation’

Time: 45 minutes

Introduction and Brainstorming - 10 Minutes• ALT shows the NPO Fair presentation to students.• Students form 2 groups per room, A and B, and choose which cause they want to

support.• ALT chooses one of the topics not chosen by the students and brainstorms about it with

the student’s help on the board (What problems do they have? How can we help?).• Students brainstorm about their topic in groups.• Leave the last slide of the presentation visible to give students hints of structures they

can use.

Group Meeting and Preparation – 20 minutes• ALT introduces the idea of the NPO fair:• Groups set up a station to rally for their cause.• All students get 1 dollar to spend as they choose.• Group A students man stations while B groups cycle around listening to presentations

and asking questions. 1min 30 sec per presentation.• Presentations should be memorized.• Groups A and B switch roles and do this again.• After all presentations have finished, Groups A and B will take turns giving money to the

group of their choice, stating a reason for why they chose that group.• Students prepare their presentation using the worksheet and what they’ve brainstormed.

Groups may make visual aides.

Presentation Practice (part 1) – 5 minutes• Students decide on their roles and practice their presentation.

Presentation Practice (part 2) – 10 minutes• Groups A and B present to each other as preparation for the main event to follow.

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5 minute break

Activity: ‘NPO Fair’

Time: 45 minutes

• Groups come together.• Teachers model groups A and B giving a receiving presentations.• Students are allowed to read their scripts for the first presentation but must do all after

from memory.

Round 1 – 20 minutes• Students break into A and B groups, A give their presentations while B listens.• 1 min 30 seconds per presentation, then groups rotate to listen to the next presentation.• ALTs encourage students to expand their presentation with each try they have.• With 10 stations, each group will listen to 9 different presentations.• After a full rotation, A students give their dollar to the NPO of their choice along with a

reason: “I liked your presentation because…”

Round 2 – 20 minutes• Groups A and B switch roles and repeat.

Closing Comments 5 min• Close with a feedback session: ALT feedback, Teacher feedback, student feedback

(Encourage English, but Japanese words to help is ok).

Grade 3 – AM – Materials

‘NPO Fair Preparation’• Chalk / whiteboard markers for writing on the board.• TVs or projectors hooked up to TVs. IDEALLY 1 in each room (1 x 10 = 10) BUT 1 per

floor where all classes on that floor can assemble is ok too. (1 x 3 = 3).• “NPO Fair” .ppt presentation for each of the computers.• Paper for brainstorming. 2 per room, one per 4 person group (2 x 10 = 20).• Paper for visual aides 6 sheets per room (A4 or larger) (6 x 10 = 60).• Saitama ECAD Dollars (or equivalent) 1 per student and teacher for demo ([1 x 80] + 10

= 90) 8 per sheet so 12 sheets.

‘NPO Fair’• Materials prepared in NPO Fair Preparation including scripts and visual aides.• Dollars (or equivalent) distributed in NPO Fair Preparation.• Timer.

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Grade 3 – PM – 12.:30 – 14:30

‘Inventing for Change Preparation’

Time: 60 minutes

• Warm Up – Shape Pantomime 10 minutes (whose line is it anyway?)• Students break into 2 groups, A and B.• Groups are given a packet of shapes (same shapes as used in the English Pizza activity,

1st grade but larger).• Groups have 5 minutes to think of as many things they can gesture using those shapes as

props as they can. (example: Circle: “Hat [gesture], Make a Pizza [gesture] UFO [gesture]).

• Students may use more than one shape in their gesture (example: square & triangle: House etc.).

• Each group will have 3 minutes to gesture as many things as they can using their shapes as props.

• The group with the most ideas is the winner.

Inventing for Change Prep – 50 minutes

Explanation 5 – 10 min• The ALT will explain what the students are to do:• Use one or more of the shapes they have to invent a product that can help people.• Make a short presentation to convince people to invest money into the project.• Students get 1 dollar to invest in the project of their choice.• Be prepared to take questions / comments from the listeners using simple active

listening techniques.• Introduce simple active listening techniques by giving a short presentation to give

students practice reacting.• Simple active listening techniques are: “You said _____. Tell me more.” And “ You said

____ [comment]”.

Inventing Time 5 - 10 min• Students will stay in their groups from the warm up, A and B.• In 10 minutes, each group must use the shapes they have to come up with a product to

help people.• They may NOT draw on the shapes, just cut and paste shapes onto a large sheet of

colored construction paper.• Making the short presentation 10 – 15 min.• Groups have 10 min to make a short sales presentation to pitch their product using the

worksheet.• Remind the students that their invention must help people in someway and their

presentation must reflect this.

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• Each student must say at least 1 thing.• Each presentation must include at least one demonstration (gesture) of how to use the

product.

Presentation Practice 5 – 10 min• Groups take turns giving their presentation to each other AND responding using active

listening techniques.• Polish Presentations. Any Time Remaining: GIVE STUDENTS DOLLARS.• Groups rethink and polish their presentation in preparation for the group session.

5 minute break

‘Inventing for Change’

Time: 55 minutes

• Groups come together.

Explanation - 10 min• The ALTs will explain how the group session will work.• Each student has 1 saitama dollar to spend in any way they choose.• There will be 2 rounds.• When A groups are presenting, B groups will rotate and engage presenters and vice

versa.• After each round, the students who watched presentations will give their dollar to the

group of their choice and give a reason for their choice.• Reasons may be simple. (example “I chose yours because ____” ).

Advertising – Round 1 - 20 min• Each presentation / question session is 1 minute 30 seconds long.• A groups present and B groups watch / respond.• Students are allowed to read their scripts for the first presentation but must do all after

from memory.• Encourage groups to expand and refine their presentations based on feedback they

receive.• With 10 stations, each group will listen to 9 different presentations.• After a full rotation, A students give their dollar to the inventors of their choice along

with a reason: “I liked your invention best because…”

Advertising – Round 2 – 20 min• A and B groups switch roles and repeat.• Closing Comments 5 min.• Close with a feedback session: ALT feedback, Teacher feedback, student feedback

(Encourage English, but Japanese words to help is ok).37

Grade 3 – PM – Materials

‘Inventing for Change Preparation’• Chalk / whiteboard markers for writing on the board.• Shape Sheets 3 sets per room. 1 set for each small group and 1 for the pantomime game

(3 x 10 = 30).• Colored construction sheets. 2 for each room, different colors (2 x 10 = 20).• Scissors at least 2 pairs for each room (2 x 10 = 20).• Glue at least 2 for each room (2 x 10 = 20).• Paper for writing scripts 2 per room (2 x 10 = 20).• Saitama ECAD Dollars (or equivalent) 1 per student and teacher for demo ([1 x 80] + 10

= 90) 8 per sheet so 12 sheets.

‘Inventing for Change’• Materials prepared in Inventing for Change Preparation including scripts and visual

aides.• Dollars (or equivalent) distributed in Inventing for Change Preparation.• Timer.

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Appendix IV: Guidelines for NPO Fair Presentation

The purpose of this presentation and the activity in which it is used is to get students thinking about a real problem, using their English and critical thinking skills to come up with a solution, and presenting their solution to others in a convincing way. The stages of the NPO Fair are:

1. Introduction: Students are introduced to the theme and topics.2. Planning: Students form groups, choose topics and plan their

approach.3. Presentation: Each group presents their approach to solving the

problem.4. Assessment: Each student chooses and rewards the group whose

presentation they thought was most convincing.5. With these 4 stages in mind, creating a presentation to fit this

activity is simple if you follow a few simple criteria.

-Themes -• Something real. A problem or issue that will engage the students’

interest.• Other possible themes include: School Improvement, Town /

Community / City Improvement, Event Planning (charity) etc.• Something divisible into several different topics.

Giving students the opportunity to choose between several topics motivates them intrinsically by having them invest themselves in the activity.

• Something appropriate.The NPO theme was appropriate for junior high school 3rd graders. They had recently studied something like this in their social studies class. Choosing a topic appropriate to the age and ability of the students will help catch and focus their attention.

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- Slides -• Keep it simple: One introduction slide, one slide for each topic,

one conclusion slide. For lower level students, including a final slide with useful expressions or phrases helps facilitate discussion in the planning stage.

• Keep it visual: Include ONLY a title on each slide with plenty of pictures. Ideally you should have at least 3 pictures:

1. A picture of a wide view of the problem to be solved.2. A picture of a more specific angle of the problem to be

solved.3. A picture of a suggested solution to the problem.

• Here is an example of slides that could be used to present aide after an earthquake:

1. A picture of a city in ruins.2. A picture of a people collecting their clothing and belongings

from the rubble.3. A picture of backhoes shoveling rubble and a tanker truck

full of water.

• Keep in mind Murphy’s Law: If you plan and prepare everything perfectly, this presentation can be a great aide. If your technology fails on you, the presentation becomes nothing more than a ghost in a paperweight. That is, however, unless you have followed the two previous criteria. If you have simple, visual slides that are few in number, they can be printed on A3 paper and shown in analogue to the students.

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Appendix V: Printable Resources

1. English Pizza Shape Sheet / Inventing for Change Shape Sheet (blow up to 2x size).

2. Lego Penguin Worksheet.3. NPO Fair Worksheet.4. LEGO Penguin Money (various currencies).5. Inventing for Change Worksheet.

The following resources were created by John Finucane and are licensed under a under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. This means that you are free to copy, distribute and transmit these resources. You are free to remix or adapt these resources and you are free to make commercial use of these resources. The only condition is that you must attribute this work to this site (with link).

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From the Editor

A Chaidre,

Volume 3 of JSCE uses Issue Editors for the first time. Issue Editors are responsible for gathering submissions, proofreading and liaising between contributors and the JSCE Editor. Thanks to the hard work of Robert Rowland, Issue 4 provides a great model for an effective English language event.

Thanks to: Todd Berozsky, Mahdi Katsumata Shah, Robert Rowland and Brad Semans.

JSCE wants your contribution. To find out more, or to get involved, contact the Editor at: contact@saitamacityeducators.org

Le Meás John

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