Find My Family
Students are given a card telling them who they are in a family. They move around the classroom trying to find the other members of their family by asking questions in Japanese. The aim is to be in the family that finds all its members first.
Preparation
Cut up Picture Sheets A, B and C to make a class set of cards, one card per student. If there are more than 24 students in your class, you will need to make up cards for an additional family or families. Make sure complete families are given out.
Procedure
The object of the activity is to find the other members of your family. Students are each given a family member card and allowed a little time to familiarize themselves with the details of their family and to think of questions. Make sure students can distinguish between male and female names. Students then move around the room asking questions to identify the other members of their family. Emphasise that students should not show each other their cards, and should try to find out ALL the information about a possible family member, as there may be only one or two details distinguishing one family from another. If it becomes apparent that that person is not a family member, students can say すみません and move on to another person. When a group thinks they have found their family, they go to the teacher who checks their family on the Family Checklist. The first group to find their family is the winner.
Variations
- The class activity continues until ALL families have been found.
- Each new-found family group does a follow-up task such as writing up a short description of their family and/or giving an oral presentation.
Family Checklist
(1) Mother:みちこ, Father:つよし, Daughter:けいこ,12yrs, Son: ひろし,15yrs, Pet:dog
(2) Mother:みちこ, Father:つよし, Daughter:けいこ,12yrs, Son: ひろし,15yrs, Pet:cat
(3) Mother:みちこ, Father:あきら, Son: ひろし,11yrs, Daughter:けいこ,15yrs, Pet:cat
(4) Mother:みちこ, Father:あきら, Son: ようへい,11yrs, Daughter:けいこ,15yrs, Pet:cat
(5) Mother:のりこ, Father:つよし, Son: ようへい,11yrs, Daughter:ひろし,15yrs, Pet:dog
(6) Mother:のりこ, Father:つよし, Daughter:けいこ,12yrs, Son: ひろし,15yrs, Pet:dog
Resource created by Eiko Nakamura, Cathy Jonak and Yohei Arakawa (February 1995).