This game was inspired by user bstokes22's Mario B and V phonics game.
This is a short Mario themed phonics game to practice the difference between M and N. Generally, phonics is taught in Japan at around the JHS level. However, my JET and I decided it would be okay to try and teach phonics to the Elementary school 3rd graders to give them a head start. Maybe they won't remember all of the letter sounds, but in the future when they do review the material, they'll have a good foundation to build on, especially for those tricky sounds like M and N.
This game has 3 levels. The 1st Level has 3 rounds to practice the M and N letter sounds and names. The other 2 levels only have 2 rounds each. To start the game, students will stand in the middle of the room, they will listen carefully to what the ALT will say. The ALT will either say one of the letter names, sounds, or words in the power point. The ALT can give the students about 10-15 seconds to walk to either side of the room that they think the answer is on. If needed, the ALT can say the letter name, sound, or word 2-3 times. As the rounds increase, you can also increase the difficulty by covering your mouth or only saying the word/sound/name only 1-2 times. Once you reveal the answer, you can have students repeat the letter name/sound/word.
Game mechanics: There are a few sounds and animations added to the game so students can enjoy the feeling of actually playing a Mario game. To start the main Mario Music, click anywhere on the beginning screen with your mouse. For Mario to move on the map screen, click on any of the blue circles labeled 1,2, or 3. To go to the level slide, click on the little green button next to the blue number button. From there, you will be taken to the level slide. For Mario to come out of the pipe, simply click anywhere on your screen and Mario will do an animation to jump out of the pipe. To move on, click on the NEXT button at the bottom of your screen to go to the round slide. During the round, click anywhere on your screen so Mario can run back and forth (I usually do this to encourage the students to run to either side of the classroom too). You then need to say the letter name/sound/word and count down from 10. Once you are ready to reveal the answer, simply click on either mystery box for N or M to reveal the animation (I usually click both as the students enjoy the sounds and animation). To move onto the next slide, simply click the NEXT button. When you are finished with the level, it will take you to an ending slide with a gif of Mario jumping on the flag. To exit this final slide, or any of the other slides, simply click the red X button at the top left of the screen to go back to the level map.
To get familiar with the mechanics, I recommend playing around with the power point yourself before class!
It's not much, but I hope your students are able to enjoy this game! If you'd like to create more rounds per level, simply duplicate the slide and add your own pictures/words. This will be a lot easier than trying to create/add more animations. Unless you're good at that and would like to add onto the game!
If you have any feedback, please let me know! Have fun!
Answer Key:
Level 1:
-M
-M
-N
Level 2:
-Mother (M)
-Nest (N)
Level 3:
-Nap (N)
-Nail (N)