Class Report: Nantoka Basket

There is a truly amazing game in Japan called fruit basket.  In it, kids choose some fruit names, usually about four but it depends on the group size.  Each student is assigned one fruit and sits in a circle, with one student standing in the middle.  The student in the middle calls out a fruit or two and everyone in the circle assigned that fruit runs around trying to get to an empty spot before someone else does.  It’s kind of like musical chairs in a way.  Naturally, there is always one kid left standing and they take the place of the person in the middle.  The person in the middle can also call out “fruit basket” to make everyone change places.  Why is this an awesome game?  Because it’s perfect for teaching English, of course, as yesterday’s fifth grade elementary class proved.

Now this is not the first time I’ve used this game to reinforce new vocabulary.  However, it may be the first time the entire period was spent playing it.  Children in Japan love this game, and even those who don’t normally enjoy English class will laugh and scream as they run around, trying to beat their classmate to that last remaining spot.  For yesterday’s class, we played “color basket” and “animal basket” but there were a few twists to our games.  The first was that we had learned so many colors and animals and have such a small class (only 7 kids) that only assigning them one of each wouldn’t work.  Instead, my kids were given slips of paper with two colors for the first game and a whopping four animals for the second.  The next rule change was the punishment game.  When a student was stuck in the middle for a second time, they had to give an introduction to the class including their name, age, favorite color, and favorite animal.  Lastly, before saying the color or animal, all the kids in the circle had to ask “What color/animal do you like?” and the response had to be “I like ______.”

Both games went really well.  I joined in naturally and spent a few rounds in the center, though I wasn’t asked to give an introduction.  The only other person who avoided the punishment game was Mei, who did so by pure speed and reflexes.  She only wound up in the middle once, and then only because she forgot okami was wolf.  Her delayed reaction was priceless.  I think the kids are pretty comfortable now, not only with the vocab, but also with the target sentences for asking and telling what things they like.  These are really important because they are the student’s first steps in being able to have a conversation in English.

As I said, fruit basket is a really versatile game.  I’ve used it for months, sports, days of the week, and many other lessons.  Sometimes the questions and responses don’t quite match up, like when the kids answered multiple months for the question “when is your birthday?” but the important thing is that they’re practicing English in a fun and engaging way.