This was the last class I did for my ６年生 classes. Only 3 out of the 4 classes were far enough to do it, and I don't think it's particularly good for just any class. The students have to be into English, overall, have good study skills, and usually pay attention in class.
I designed this lesson as a small miniature version of a Junior High lesson. The text is the full script from the Hi Friends 2 lesson. I Introduce the text the students, have them listen to the audio, and then go through the vocabulary. I created the vocabulary list with one of the teachers with words we didn't think they already knew. We also cut a few parts out.
After we went through vocabulary, groups were formed and parts were assigned. We went through the text again, and made sure students understood the meaning of each part. Students got into groups and began practicing with each other, and helping each other with pronunciation.
For the last class, all the kids performed their skits. The students in the audience evaluated those who performed and gave their opinions at the end of class.
Overall, I think this class was really risky. I had 2 amazing ６年生 classes this year, and they performed their skits beautifully. The other class I had do this lesson did well, but some of the kids didn't practice, and just stood up there waiting for me to give them cues. They finished, but it wasn't very smooth. My 4th class definitely would not have been able to do this work effectively. That class has a bunch of shy kids, and some goof offs. We probably would've needed an extra class of practice for them to get conformable enough with it.
Also, each of my 3 classes ran long. Also, students decided their own parts, and assigned Momotaro to students who weren't all that great at English. My hope would had been that the enthusiastic kids would take Momotaro. But it turned out to be more of a punishment for some groups.
But, after everything was done, I think it worked out great. :) Some of the nerdier enthusiastic students were excited when I started passing out the vocabulary sheet. I think these were the types of kids who loved school, and couldn't wait to get to Junior High. They also really loved all the art I drew for the masks, and some kids really got into their roles, especially those who played the Oni.
For my 3 classes, the Momotaro performance ended up being our ultimate final class, so I created a bunch of Momotaro goodbye cards based on the art I drew for the masks.