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In Japan, especially, giving/receiving directions using the railway/subway systems can be quite useful. This lesson practices just that. It uses quite a few worksheets (which can be cut down to suit your purposes.)
Intro: JTE/ALT have a "conversation" giving/receiving directions. "How can I get to the bank?" "Take the ~line to ~station. The bank is near the station."

Ss form pairs. Pass out the listening exercise.
Ss listen to the JTE/ALT asking directions to the places listed on the worksheet (bank, Tsutaya, etc.)(JTE/ALT decide the location of each place) and then mark the places on their WS.

Pass out the dialogue WS.
Ss practice the dialogue and the suggestions in the box below.

Pass out WS A and B.
Go over the directions. Ss will ask each other how to get to certain places on the map. (To make this activity a bit more challenging, I had my Ss ask for directions from different stations each time, rather than always starting at Badtz Maru station.)

When pairs finish, give them the writing exercise. Ss help Kitty find go to the Mini Stop by writing out the dialogue and the directions (using the map of course.)

Similar to the game "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?" This activity has a distinctly Christmas theme. Can be done in groups or individually, depending upon level and student preference.
Students are given a MISSING poster and a "police report" as well as their own "clue" paper in order to keep track of the countries visited and clues given.
The first clue is given on the "police report," leading them to find the first country by looking for key words in the short paragraphs about Christmas traditions for that country. Once Ss find the first country, they can read the clue pasted on the back of the country description. Ss read the next clue and go from there. When Ss think that they know the answer, they tell the JTE or ALT where Santa's sleigh is.

Warm up: your choice

Intro: introduce vocab needed for activity (if any)
form groups
pass out posters, etc.
　　　　
Go over instructions and read the first clue together. Then, set Ss loose to solve the mystery. Hints may be necessary and some monitoring is necessary as well to keeps some Ss on task.

I gave out Christmas stickers when the Ss found the sleigh, but tis not necessary.

This isn't really so much a plan, but something that seems to be working well, and is enjoyable for students and teachers alike. Essentially students pick new names for themselves and make name cards, from that point on they'll be referred to as that in class. Teachers may also pick names (I currently teach with Scarlett-sensei and Xavior-sensei). It might also be fun to pick out a new Japanese name for yourself (I'm 'Akira').

I grabbed a list of the top 100 baby names from last year in the US and 'translated' them into katakana. I had a couple Japanese teachers go over it, but they may have missed a few... so some of the names might not be 100% accurate. In any case I suggest reading the list out loud so the students can hear the names.

I also made tried to make it clear that this was optional, and I knew lots of people with Japanese names in the US. If they didn't want a new name that was okay. In addition they were free to pick names not on the list. I was expecting to get a few kids to want to be named "Spiderman" or "Jack Bauer", but only one student picked an odd name: "Pork" (he was clear he wanted it to mean 'pig-meat').

As a fun side-activity I've begun researching the meanings of the names they've chosen. Xavior-sensei (for the record, he chose that spelling) was disappointed to find out that his name actually means "New House". I think he was expecting something more sinister.

This is was to get a feel for the personalities in my class. My JTE and I are in agreement that the Japanese way of teaching isn't totally healthy for a student's personality. It helps to have an open-minded teacher.

I started with my own 'crazy introduction' by making statements about myself. Students decided among themselves if the statements were true or false. Some were clearly untrue, while others they had to figure out based on only what little they knew about me. "Does she like swimming? She never said so!"

I wrote up 5 sheets with different heroes: Batman, Superman, Spiderman, and Goku (from Dragon Ball) The students make a crazy introudction for them using either the phrases provided, or they can create their own. Each student has a sheet, but they can work together in groups. The best ones will be read out loud so everyone can have a laugh.

We did have students that simply didn't write anything. In those cases, I just pointed out that choosing from the provided phrases was okay. There is no wrong answer.

For the most part, the results were entertaining.

This is a lesson on asking for things politely. The time needed for the lesson depends on how long you give the kids for each section. You will need 15 minutes at the bare minimum, but I recommend 20 minutes or more. If you allow the students to continue their games until the end, this worksheet, including explanations, can take an entire 50 min class period.

Give each of the kids the attached handout. Break the students into pairs. Explain to them that for Round 1 they need a pen, but they are not allowed to use their own pen. If they want to write something, they must borrow their partner's pen. Demonstrate with your teaching partner. Play rock-paper-scissors. The winner then must ask to use the looser's pen using the polite dialogue in the handout. The winner then writes one character of the phrase 'I am the winner.' on their sheet and returns the borrowed pen. Play again and again until someone has 'I am the winner.' written on their sheet. That person is the winner.

This process will take a long time. There are 13 characters (including the period) in 'I am the winner.' At minimum, the students will have to play janken and do the dialogue 13 times to have a winner. If they are taking too long, cut them off after a determined number of minutes of play and tell them the person with the most characters written down is the winner for Round 1.

Next explain the rules for Round 2. Round 2 is just a little different from Round 1. The students must now use their own pen, but they are not allowed to write on their own paper. So, instead of asking to use the pen, this time they ask their partner to write on their sheet for them. The person who gets 'I am the winner.' written on their sheet first wins.

At the end there are some translating questions for the students to work through.

This is a supplemental activity to the Jr. High 3rd year "How to ~" point. The activity is an interview/writing activity to be used after the students have been given instruction on the grammar point.

What to do:
Give the students the attached worksheet. (Printed with the second page on the back.)
Go over the phrases in the boxes and check the meaning and pronunciation for any difficult ones.
Go over how to play the game.
Go over the conversation one or two times to make sure they have it down.
Let the students loose.

How to play:
This is interview bingo. The students must ask various people if they know how to do something. If the person knows how to do the thing they are asked about then they sign the asker's paper in that square. Rules are 1)there is no Japanese allowed, 2)no asking the same person twice in a row, 3)multiple signatures from the same person are not allowed, 4)if a student gets a bingo they must show the ALT their paper to check it. (The students tend to like if you tell them in which place they've finished within the class.) When a student gets bingo they can sit down and work on the writing portion on the back.

Alternative:
If you need this activity to take longer, have the students aim for two bingos before they can sit down.