Hiragana Songs · When we learn a song in class, ... I write it out once ... kanji compounds, or...

H i r a g a n a S o n g s

When we learn a song in class, I always make a large colourful chart with the song written out in bold hiragana, and ask the students to decorate it. Once laminated, this becomes a bright creative resource that I can use many times, and it is a great way to encourage students to read hiragana.

Once my students know a song well and enjoy singing it, I write it out once again in bold hiragana, and then cut it into separate words. Making more than one set is a good idea, as students will choose to do this activity if it is left in the classroom between lessons.

M a t e r i a l s

• ColouredA2cardboardsheets.

A c t i v i t i e s

• Asastartingactivity,thewholegroupsingsthesongtogether,readingthe song chart written in hiragana. • Thengiveasmallergroupof studentsthepileof cardswiththewords writtenseparately.Astherestof theclasssingsthesong,thesmaller group sets about placing the word cards in correct order, on the floor in the middle of the circle. • Theotherstudentscontinuetosingthesongseveraltimesuntilthecards

are laid out in correct order. • Anextrachallengeformore advanced students is to separate the words into individualhiragana.Asthe larger group sings, the smaller group constructs words and then sentences.

• Twosetsof wordsor individual hiragana can be made and the class divides into two cooperative groups and works quickly, while singing to complete the task first.

HavingFun withHiragana

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B u i l d i n g W o r d s W i t h H i r a g a n a

These words are written out on individual cards, and students reconstruct the song as the other members of class sing.

Hiragana Flip Flop Game

Thisisaneasygametomakeandplay,thatgivesthestudentsanopportunityto construct simple words using hiragana.

M a t e r i a l s

• Plasticdiscswithhiraganawrittenonbothsides.Hiraganashouldbe clearly written in permanent marker, with a line or mark underneath to indicatetherightwayup.Abeginninggroupmayonlyhavediscswiththe first10or20hiragana;anoldergroupmayhavediscsusingallhiragana.

A c t i v i t i e s

• Thisresourcecanbeusedinseveralways,individuallyorwithgroups. Students are given a group of discs which they “flip flop” by cupping themintheirhandsandtossingthemrandomlyonthefloor.Theythen try to make words and write them down in their workbooks. • With younger classes, we start the activity with a whole group brainstorming of words that we know and I write them all over the whiteboard, with the meaningbesidethem.Thisthengivesthestudentsareferencepointwhen flipping their discs. • Studentslovetoexploreallthewordmakingpossibilitieswiththisgame, so it is a great idea to have some children’s Japanese dictionaries on hand for them to use.

• Anothereasyactivityisto find hiragana that go together and record them in a workbook or on achart.Categoriesmight include hiragana with the samebeginningsound; hiragana with the same vowelsound;orhiragana with the same number of strokes.

I encourage students to frequently swap their five discs with new ones. Thisenablesthemtomakelotsof words, and encourages recognition of many more hiragana.

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B u i l d i n g W o r d s W i t h H i r a g a n aHaving

Fun withHiragana

The discs are “flip flopped” in the air. Students then try to create familiar words.

H i r a g a n a M a k e A W o r d

Thisisaneasycardgamethatencouragesstudentstobuildwordsand recognise hiragana. It consists of a group of picture cards, colourfully illustrated and with the word written in hiragana on each card as well as individual cards with all the hiragana used in the game on them.

Theobjectiveistobuildwordsbypickinguphiraganacardsandputtingtheminthecorrectpositionnexttothepicture.Theplayerwhocompletesawordby placing the last hiragana beside the picture card keeps that picture and word.Thewinnerattheendof thegameistheplayerwiththemostpictures.Thisgameisbestplayedbyasmallgrouporinteams.

M a t e r i a l s • Asetof picturecards,withthewordwritteninhiraganaoneachcard. • Asetof hiraganacards,madefromthelistof vocabularyfrom the picture cards. • Afew“blank”cardsif youwishtomakethegamealittleeasier.

A c t i v i t i e s

Thegamebeginswith10picturecardsrandomlyselectedandplacedinaver-ticalrowinthemiddleof theplayingcircle.Thesearethepicturecardsthatwillhaveawordbuiltbesidethem.Theteachermightchoosetoreadthesecards with the group as a starting activity. It is important to use familiar vocabulary, although as this game has picture cards with the word written on them it is ideal for beginning learners.

• Eachstudentinthegrouppicksupfive(oranumbertheteacherchooses) hiraganacardsandplacesthemfaceupinfrontof them.Thefirstplayer has the chance to place one card down beside a picture card. It does not have to be the starting hiragana. If you are using a few blank cards, one of these could be placed in any position.


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• Theplayerwhohasjustplacedacardpicksupareplacementcardfrom thepileof lettercards(eachplayershouldalwayshavefivecards)andplay movestothenextstudent.

• If youhaveacardthatcanbeplayed,youmustdoso.Thegame continues in this way, and the picture card words are gradually built beside each picture.

• If aplayerisfortunateenoughtoplacethelastremaininghiraganacard nexttoapicturecardthatcompletestheword,thatplayergathersupthe picture and hiragana cards and keeps this word.

• Anewpicturefromthepicturepileisthenputinitsplaceonthefloor. Thegamecontinuesuntilallwordshavebeenmade,andthewinneristhe player with the most words.

Atimesavingideacouldbetohaveyourstudentscreatethepicturecards. I used clipart, and found some fun and engaging pictures that my students love.Ihavealsoaddedvocabularytothisgameovertime;itisanidealwaytoreintroduce words that have been covered in class, and to learn new ones. It is suitable for all primary classes.

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Fun withHiragana

These learners have to make strategic decisions about which cards to place on the floor.

A n i m a l G a m e

Theobjectof thisgameistomatchthecorrecthiraganawitheachpictureonthelargeanimalboards.Thisrequiresthestudenttoremembervocabularyandread hiragana.

M a t e r i a l s

• Animalgameboards(easilymadewithpicturesfrommagazines,andpasted onA2sheetsof cardboard).

• Smallindividualhiraganacardsthatmakeupallof theanimalwords.


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Fun withHiragana

A c t i v i t i e s

Theanimalvocabularyneedstobecoveredinclasssothatthestudentsarefamiliar with each animal’s name in Japanese.

• Thereisaspaceundereachphotographforthehiraganatobeplaced. Thereareseveralwaystousethisresource:asagamewithaplayerfor eachboard,andlettersdrawnoutof abox,orforanindividualto complete as an activity.

• Anotherfunideaisforthe teacher to place all of the hiragana around the room, in various partially visible places, and then give each group a board to complete.Thegroupmust then work together quickly to complete their words, and only take the hiragana they need.

Thesegameboardsareeasy to make and could be used to reinforce other vocabulary such as family words, colours, verbs etc.


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H i d e a n d S e e k H i r a g a n a

Thisgameinvolvesdividingthegroupintosmallteamsthathavetofind particular hiragana hidden around the room and create a word, one that is familiar and has been often used in class.

M a t e r i a l s

• Hiraganaflashcards,asmanysetsasyouneed.(You’llneedadifferent colourforeachgroup.)

A c t i v i t i e s

Thisgamecanbeplayedinavarietyof ways,of varyingcomplexity.

• Usingthecolouredhiraganacards,theteacherplacesthemaroundthe classroom, or outside if there is a suitable learning space, and assigns each group a colour.

• Atthesimplestlevel,theteacheralsotellsthegrouptheword(inJapanese) that they need to find, and encourages the group to say how many hiraganaithas.Forexample,thewordmightbe.Thesehiragana will be around the room, however so will others, and the group must look carefully to identify the correct hiragana needed to build this word.

• Asthegrouphuntsaroundthespaceandfindsthehiragana,theywork togethertocreatetheword.Aslightlymoreadvancedgroupmaynotbe given the word, but only the colour of the cards they must find, and will have to shuffle their cards around to make a word. Of course, the word must be a frequently used familiar word to the group.

• Thisgamecanbemademorecomplexbyhavingthegroupfinda sentence, but provide them with the particle cards first.

Forexample,if youwouldlikethegrouptofindprovidethe group with particle . It is a good idea to make particle cards in a different colourtoallof yourotherresources.ThishighlightstheirstatusinaJapanesesentence. Students will then be encouraged to take note of particles, and develop a deeper understanding of the way they modify the words surrounding them. Ioftentalktomystudentsaboutparticles,asmyownexperienceof learningJapanese taught me that they were often the key to comprehending the sentence.

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Q u i c k D r a w

Thisfungamehasbeenadaptedfromapopularboardgame,andisvery simpletoplayandrequiresfewmaterials.Theobjectiveof thegameisto readasimplewordinhiragana,thendrawitquicklyandsilently.Theothermembersof yourgrouphavetoguess(inJapanese)whatthewordisbeforetheopposinggroupdoes.Usingatimerisagoodidea,asitkeepsdisputestoa minimum!

M a t e r i a l s

• Wordswrittenonsmallpiecesof paper,andthenfoldedinhalf andput intoahatorbox.Thewordsmustbewritteninhiraganaandthe vocabulary should be well known to the students.

• Acountdowntimer.

A c t i v i t i e s

• Whentheteacherhastheslipsof paperready,placetheminahat,and divide the class into two groups, then choose a student from each group to be the first drawer.

• Oneof thestudentsselectsaword,readsitandthenshowsittothe other group’s first player. It is very important that no other player sees theword.Thetimeristhensetforoneminute(ormore,orless, dependingonthegroup).

• When the timer begins, the two students selected to draw, quickly sketch a pictureof theword,whilsttheirgroupwatches.Thefirstgrouptoguess theword(inJapaneseof course)scoresapointfortheirteam.

• Thegamecontinuesuntileveryonehashadanopportunitytoreadand then draw a word. It is important to encourage every student to try to read his or her card independently, but always provide a hiragana chart just in case.

• Witholderstudentsthisgamecanbemademorecomplexbywriting kanjicompounds,orverbsinavarietyof tenses.Theteacherwould preparetheseandplacetheminahat.Thestudentthenmustidentify the kanji and draw a picture to represent it. If using verbs, the slip of papercouldhaveaknownverbinaparticulartense,forexample, .Thestudentselectedtodrawwouldhave to pictorially represent this.


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H i r a g a n a H a p p y F a c e s

ThisquickgameresemblesHangman,andrequiresnomaterials.Itcanbeplayed at the end of a lesson when you have a few spare minutes. I draw a big face on the whiteboard, and a number of lines that represent the number of hiragana in a word I am thinking of.

Chooseawordyourclassisfamiliarwith,andpossiblytellthemwhattypeof worditis(e.g.ananimal,afamilymember,agreetingetc).Writeallof thehiraganafromtoontheboardalso.Thesewillbecrossedoff duringthegame,astheyarecalledout.(Youcouldalsousealaminatedhiraganachartandawhiteboardmarker.)

Thestudentshavesevenchancestoguesscorrectly,andaseachhiraganaiscalled out, it is crossed off the list, and the following is drawn on the face if the hiragana is not correct. - 2eyes - a nose - a mouth - 2ears - hair on top

I have included a photocopiable sheet in the support material at the back of the book that students can use when playing in pairs (seepage117).

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• H i r a g a n a B o x e s

• C r a z y B o d i e s

• H i r a g a n a J o u r n e y T h r o u g h J a p a n

• A n i m a l F l a s h c a r d G a m e s

• H i r a g a n a M a p A c t i v i t y

E x p a n d i n gV o c a b u l a r y


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E x p a n d i n g V o c a b u l a r y

HiraganaBoxes

Thisisagreatresourcethatcanbeusedinavarietyof ways.Theboxes provide a colourful hands-on learning activity that will immediately engage primary learners.

M a t e r i a l s

Theresourcerequires46smallboxes,oneforeachhiragana,eachcontainingseveral objects that begin with that hiragana. Initially while resource gathering, picturescouldbeused,butideallytheboxesshouldcontaintangibleobjectsthatstudentscanhandleandmanipulate.Eachboxalsocontainssmall flashcards with vocabulary printed on them. I also include lengths of cord that make up the character.

A c t i v i t i e s

• Useasanintroductiontoanewcharacter.

• Givestudentsagroupof boxesandhavethememptythemin a pile and sort them into respective groups.

• Playamemorygamewhereitemsaredisplayedthenremoved,students write/say what is missing.

• Havearacewherefiveboxesaresetoutonthefloor,studentsselectan item/flashcardfromtheteacher’sboxandhavetoplaceitinthecorrect hiraganabox.

• Studentsmakeupacrazysentenceusingthreeitemsinthebox,and write/say it. e.g. . Theredduckloveslollies.(Underlinedwordsallbeginwith.)

• Studentsuseboxestorecordtheirownvocabularylistsintheirworkbooks.

Thepossibilitiesarewideforthistypeof resource,anditisparticularly valuableforvisual-spatialandkinaestheticlearners.Thehands-onappealof this resource really engages the students.

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E x p a n d i n g V o c a b u l a r yHaving

Fun withHiragana

This student is enjoying exploring the boxes and matching words and objects or pictures.

CrazyBodies

Thisisagamethatreinforcesvocabularywhileencouragingstudentstousetheir hiragana reading skills.

M a t e r i a l s

• Life-sizelaminatedoutlinesof bodies(madebythestudents).

• Vocabularycardsof bodywords,onesetperbody.

A c t i v i t i e s

• Havethestudentsmakelargecolourful2Dbodiesonbigsheetsof paper, and ensure that they are provided with a comprehensive list of body parts toaddtotheirbody(seenextpage).Thebodiesshouldbebig,thelarger thebetter,life-sizeisgreat!

• Theclasscouldbedividedintosmallgroupsusingseveralbodiesandsets of words, or use one in a whole group situation, which is a good way to get the students started.

• Thepurposeof theactivityistoaccuratelylabelthebody,usingthe vocabularycards.Thevariationsonthisconceptaremany; studentscouldgetupandidentifytheirownbodyparts; teacher/facilitator could point to body part and then choose two students (onefromeachteam)tofindthecorrectlabel,withapointfortheteam that finds it first.

• Vocabularycardscanbedrawnrandomlyfromabox,andquicklyplaced into position.

• Usetwobodies,withtwosetsof vocabularyanddividethegroupinto teams.Havearacetolabelthebodiescorrectly.


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Fun withHiragana

SuggestedVocabulary for CrazyBodiesGame

hand eye ear nose mouth belly button neck finger arm fingernail shoulder knee eyebrow hair head stomach back


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Hiragana JourneyThrough Japan

Thereisasenseof accomplishmentthatcomeswithbeinginaforeign country and having the ability to know the right words at the right time. Thisgamewasbornoutof thedesiretogivemystudentsmoreexperiencewith everyday Japanese words and images, and focus on hiragana learning atthesametime.Themostimportantresourceneededtocreatethis game is a good supply of pictures and photographs of “things Japanese”. I collected these on my travels, and also asked friends if I could make copies of their Japanese photos.

M a t e r i a l s

• Gameboard:Thelargegameboardconsistsof apathwaymeandering throughimagesof Japanpastedontothreesheetsof A2colouredcard. Thereare32squares,numberedusingkanji,thatmakeupthispathway. Youcanmakethepathwayshorterorlonger,dependingonthelevel of students.

• Game cards:Atleast40photographsof Japanesethings/placespasted ontocolouredcard(10of eachcolour),andlaminatedwiththeword writtenbeloweachimageinhiraganaareneeded.Youcanaddtothese

over time, and select particular cards to suit the group you are working with. Thiswillalsoensurethateach time the game is played, it will be different. Yourstudentswillbe fascinated with these photographs, and when I first introduced this game we spent the entire lesson looking at and talking about the photographs!

•A die, and counters.

These are the game cards that need to be placed on the playing board before the game commences.

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Fun withHiragana

A c t i v i t y

• Playersformfourteams.Alternatively,theremaybeonlyfourplayersfor a small group activity.

• Beforecommencingthegame,eachsquareonthepathwaymustbe coveredbyagamecard.Theseshouldbeplacedinrandomorderon the gameboard.

• Thefirstteamrollsthedieandmovesalongthepathway.Thecard that they land on is picked up and placed in front of them, as this becomestheirfirstcard.Playrotatesuntilallgroupshaveafirstcard.

• Theobjectof thegameistocollectasmanycardsaspossibleasyou movealongthejourney.Therearetwowaystocollectcards:

- If the card you land on is the same colour as the card in front of you, you may pick it up and place it on top of your pile.

- If any of the hiragana on the card you land on matches any of the hiragana on the card in front of you, you may pick it up and place it on top of your pile.

• Playersareencouragedtoreadthehiraganawordsandlookformatching hiraganaontheirtopcard.Beginninglearnerscansimplylookatthe shapes of each character and recognise matching characters, the teacher can then say the word and ask players to repeat it.

• Thegameendswhenthefirstplayer/teamreachestheendof the gameboard, and then each team must count the number of cards they havecollected.Thewinneristheteamholdingthemostcards.

This is the gameboard being set up ready to play. It has been illustrated with photographs and words to encourage incidental learning whilst the game is being played.


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A n i m a l F l a s h c a r d G a m e s

Colourfulflashcardsalwaysgetthedesiredresponsewithmyclassesespeciallyif there is a fun game to go along with it. I have made every effort in my Japanese classes not to use rectangular white card for flashcards, as these can be unappealing to the young learner, and all become the same after a while, nomatterwhatthegameorword.Anothergreatreasontovaryyour flashcards is that it is very easy to locate them when you are in a rush to get to class with everything you require.

Makingmultiplecopiesof cardsisexpensiveandtimeconsuming,butyoumight consider it once in a while, as you can leave a set with a particular class untiltheirnextlesson.Asktheclassteachertoremindthestudentstousetheminbetweenlessons.Theycanalsobeusedif youhavetwogroups running at once and another facilitator in the room to assist students.

This student is working independently with animals and flashcards.

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Fun withHiragana

Limitinganswerstothesequestionstoayes/noformatisagoodidea, but it is great to see my older students using other vocabulary they have learned,suchasof course; always;never; and sometimes !

• Thesecardscanalsobeusedasanindividualorgroupactivitywithplastic animals, or pictures of animals. It makes an enjoyable sorting activity, or the animals can be divided between two and four players, cards placed face down, and selected and read out onebyone.Thefirstplayertomatchall their animals to a card wins.

Areyoubig?Areyoudangerous?

Areyousmall?Doyouliveinazoo?

Doyouliveinahouse?Areyoucute?Areyounoisy?Areyouquiet?

M a t e r i a l s

Thisresource,reinforcinganimalvocabulary(buttheprinciplecouldbeappliedtoanyothervocabularygroup)consistsof agroupof brightstarshaped flashcards, purchased at a major stationery supplier, with animal vocabulary written clearly on them.

A c t i v i t i e s

We all have a repertoire of flashcard games, but here are a few my students enjoy:

• Cardsareplacedinalineacrosstheroom,studentsareselectedtowalk along the line reading each one out loud.

• Cardsareplacedinaclothbagandputinthecentreof thecircle. Astudentisselectedtocomeoutandchooseone,thenmimetheactions of theanimalchosen.Otherstudentsguessbyasking: .Thestudentinthecirclerespondsor.

• Formoreadvancedlearners,askthestudenttoselectacardfrom the bag, and then the teacher or other members of the group ask questionsabouttheanimal,suchas:


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H i r a g a n a M a p A c t i v i t y

Many students know the names of various places in Japan, but are unsure aboutwheretheseplacesare.Thisactivityhelpsstudentstosortcitiesintogroups according to the four major islands in which they are located.

M a t e r i a l s

• Acutoutmapof Japan(fourseparatepieces)madebytheclass. FlashcardswithJapanesecitieswritteninhiragana.(Kanjicouldbeused withadvancedstudents.)

• Amapof Japan,libraryresources,oruseof Internet.

A c t i v i t i e s

• Thisresourcecanbeusedwithawholeclass,orasanindividualorsmall group activity. Students will need to research where each city in Japan is located, and can use the Internet, or visit the library for this information. Aconventionalmapof Japancouldalsobeusedtoassiststudents.

• If fourstudentsareworking together, each person could be responsible for an island, and endeavour to find the cities of that island, by selecting the cards one by one.

• Allof thecitiescouldbeplaced in a bag, and drawn out and put into the correct position.

• Usingtargetlanguage,students could use this resource to discuss where they would like to go in Japan.Theycouldalsoplana virtual tour of Japan, and indicate where they would go, and in what order.

• Extracardscouldbemadeto complement this resource. Photographsof famouslocations in Japan could be cut out and laminated, and also placed on the map.

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• H i r a g a n a F l a s h c a r d

M a s t e r C o p y

• H i r a g a n a T e m p l a t e s

• B i n g o ! M a s t e r S h e e t s

• H i r a g a n a H a p p y F a c e s S h e e t s

S u p p o r t M a t e r i a l F o r A c t i v i t i e s



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HiraganaFlashcardMaster Copy

S u p p o r t M a t e r i a l F o r A c t i v i t i e sHaving

Fun withHiragana

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Drawaroundfaceineachsquaretobeginthegame.Thinkof awordinJapanese that you know well, and know how to write.Makeaspaceforeachhiraganaintheword,forexampleif yourwordiskimono,threespacesarerequired:

– – –



H i r a g a n a H a p p y F a c e s

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Youmightliketoletyourpartnerknowthecategoryof yourword(e.g.ani-mal,colour,food,verbetc.Theywillhavesevenchances toguesscorrectly:2eyes,anose,amouth,2earsandhairontop.Crossoff hiraganaastheyareused.


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Hiragana Songs · When we learn a song in class, ... I write it out once ... kanji compounds, or...

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Transcript of Hiragana Songs · When we learn a song in class, ... I write it out once ... kanji compounds, or...