Activity

Pointing Game

The teacher says a word, the students repeat that word and then point to the word. Have the students do individually or in pairs as a race.

This game is in all of the New Horizons Elementary lesson plans. It's often used too much, so keep it short and sweet and the kids will enjoy it. I typically only play 1 round of 5 to 7 turns.

Have the kids open their picture dictionary to the vocabulary you want to practice. Say a word from the listed vocabulary. Instruct the students to point to and repeat that word. Repeat this process about 5 or 7 times and then move on to the next activity. This is the activity in its simpliest form. However, you can have students pair up, use one textbook, and race to see who can point to the vocabulary word faster. I typically start with easy words and then scaffold up to the more difficult ones.

You can also add challenges. For example, "put your hands on your head," "close your eyes (obviously okay to open them after you announce the word)," and "turn around and face the wall." Once they get used to the game, you can call on students to announce the next word.

Another thing I have started doing is playfully saying "デーデン" before every word I announce (like on a game show). I have the kids repeat it before I say the word and they seem to have more fun with this game.

If you have any other suggestions about fun ways to play the pointing game, please comment them here! I did my whole first year of ALTing without knowing how to make this game interesting. Hopefully this helps.

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Submitted by nickteacher October 3, 2022 Estimated time: 5 minutes

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