Activity

Can, Can't Mastermind

Classic Mastermind game used to practice can or can't.

My recentmost Mastermind file modified from the Englipedia classic. Can easily be adopted to just about any grammar point. I usually use it when the students really need to drill in a grammar point that they're having trouble with.
If you aren't familiar with the game here's how to play:

(1) Have the students make their own sentence using one word from A, one from B, and one from C. They should pick from each set them randomly. Just make sure it's clear that they use one from each in the correct order (so it actually makes sense). Emphasize that it's a secret and we'll be playing with the person beside them so they need to hide it from their partner.

(2) Play the game in pairs. Have the students guess their partner's sentence by making sentences (one word from A, B, C) and saying them out loud. Students should write notes down in this section to help them remember what they've already said and to figure out the correct answer.
If they get none of the words in their partner's sentence correct, then their partner says, "You get 0 points."
If one of the words they say in their guess matches their partner's sentence, then their partner says, "One point."
And so on up to three.
If students struggle, have them give hints like, "(A) 1 point."
The best way to explain this activity is by a demo with the JTE (on the blackboard, a big worksheet, or digitally).
Once they've guessed their partner's sentence, move on to part three.

(3) Students translate their own sentence or their partner's sentence into Japanese (up to them, they can do both if they so please).

If you have time left over, check how many tries it took for them to guess.
You can also do a final round where you create a sentence and the class tries to guess your sentence. My students love doing that for some reason.

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Submitted by altirasuto June 15, 2022 Estimated time:
  1. susoncelyn September 4, 2023

    I love this!! Thank you so much for sharing.. ;-)

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