Shougakkou Typhoon Game
Geoffrey Kiefer
| GRADE LEVEL: | Elementary School 1-6 |
| SKILLS: | Speaking, Vocabulary |
| TIME: | 10 to 20 Minutes |
| MATERIALS: | Blackboard, Chalk, Flashcards |
| OBJECTIVES: | To review previously-studied vocabulary words using a fun quiz game |
PROCEDURE:
1. Divide the class into teams. Two teams are preferable, but more can be used for larger classes.
2. Draw this grid on the board, but leave the boxes empty. You should have with you a copy of the grid with the T’s and numbers filled in to use as a reference during the game (and, as the original author of this game pointed out, having the points written out beforehand prevents accusations of favoritism and cheating).
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| A | T | 1 | 5 | T | 10 |
| B | 6 | 14 | 2 | 6 | T |
| C | 4 | T | T | 12 | 10 |
| D | 9 | 11 | 1 | 7 | 4 |
| E | T | 4 | 3 | T | 15 |
3. Explain to the students how to play the game (HRT assistance may be needed for this). The students will need to identify flashcards of words that they’ve previously studied.
4. To play the game, have one student from each team come to the front of the class. Show the students a flashcard. The first student to raise his or her hand and answer correctly gets to choose a box from the grid on the board. If the student chooses a box with a number, their team gets to build that many houses. If the student chooses a box with a T in it, all of their team’s houses (if any) are destroyed (i.e. erased) by a typhoon and the team is back to zero. Be sure the use appropriate sound effects when the typhoon hits – the younger students love it.
5. Play until you’ve gone through all the flashcards you want to review or about 15-20 minutes (you can actually extend the length, if you like). The team with the most houses at the end of the game is the winner.
NOTES:
This is a rather blatant variation on an activity that appeared in the Junior High School Ideas book from a previous year (unfortunately the author’s name escapes me). I was looking for a fun and interesting way to review vocabulary (other than karuta) and modified the JHS version of the game. I’ve used it for all levels of elementary school students with resounding success.
The students may not quite understand the game after you explain it, but don’t let that worry you. They will catch on very quickly after a few turns, and one team will always start chanting, “Typhoon, typhoon!” while the other team is trying to choose a box.
The students don’t really mind when they lose their houses to the typhoon, but be prepared to fudge the numbers in the grid to prevent lopsided victories. I’ve had to do this a couple times.
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