Shogakko Writing Activities: Kakitoriing

In Japan, students learn reading and writing skills during their first year of Jr. High.  However, the amount of time spent teaching the basics of writing (hand writing) amounts to two weeks at most.  In two weeks time, not only are the students expected to master printing all the letters but are also expected to learn the pronunciations of certain letter combinations, i.e. the phonics of a foreign language.  Needless to say this is not enough time to acclimate the students to the basics of the writing system as well as the phonetic characteristics of the language.  This is why I believe it is necessary to begin teaching such basic skills at the elementary schools. 

Recently, I have begun teaching reading and writing more at the elementary school.  I have found the 5th and 6th graders more than ready for it, and the majority of the students really enjoy learning how to read and write.  I also have a few games and activities at my disposal, but I will only present one in this post.

I recently used an activity that we use at the Jr. High called Kakitoriing (書取-ing.)  Kakitoriing is a writing activity that assigns the player a mental age when they finish.  It is based on how long it takes for the students to copy text.  For example, you have a set of text ( it can be any text from simple words to full paragraphs) and they have to copy it as fast as they can.  However, the text is on one side of the sheet of paper and they have to write on the opposite side.  They are not allowed to fold the paper, but they are allowed to flip back an forth to look at the words to write them.  You also will write on the board several ages ranging from 20 - 64, as the timer ticks you erase the youngest age off the board at certain intervals.  When the student is finished writing they look up and write the number they see on the board.  This number is their mental age.  The younger the mental age the better the score. 

The objective is to get them to remember  words and sentences without having to constantly look.  Also this speeds up their overall writing ability.   The faster they can physically write the more time they will  have on tests.  Also it helps with remembering what they read and hopefully it helps with reading comprehension.  

Give this activity a try and leave a comment letting me know how it went.  Or if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me. 

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