kodomo No Ie

Saturday Japanese Class News

February 2010

1: Class I & II
2: Class III
3: Lower Grade
4: Middle Grade
5: Upper Grade
6: Middle School

February Theme: Setsubun (the day before the calendric beginning of spring)

Class I & II

Study Objectives:

- Learn the origin of Setsubun and be able to participate in Mamemaki (the bean scattering event)
- Be able to read hiragana syllables that have been introduced

Learning Activities:

- Make an ogre mask; and wear one's own mask to become an ogre and enjoy bean scattering event
- Listen to the story about the origin of Setsubun intently
- Acquire reading skills by playing vocabulary card games written in hiragana that have been introduced since September

Vocabulary and Grammar:

Find and list words containing "ya, yu, yo, ra, ri, ru, re, or, wa, wo, n" hiragana syllables, and then go over the stroke order and neat writing of these words listed and so on.

Class III

Study Objectives:

- Continue learning Katakana that have been introduced since the late January
- Develop one's interest in Setsubun event through Setsubun related activities

Learning Activities:

- Introduce Hiragana syllables in "na" and "ra" rows, and "n"
- Find words that should be written in katakana
- Listen to the story of the origin of Setsubun
- Make an ogre mask
- Make an origami sanpo (offering case)

Vocabulary and Grammar:

- Find and list Katakana words
- Mamemaki (Bean scattering), oni (ogre), kiba (fang), tsuno (horn)
- "Oni wa soto! fuku wa uchi!" (Evils out! Luck in!)
- yamaori (mountain fold), taniori (valley fold) -origami folding terms

Lower Grade

Study Objectives:

- Be able to read simple sentences containing the subject and predicate
- Be able to read and write the sentences containing hajime in (first), tsugi in (secondly), and sago ni (finally).
- Be able to write a paragraph by connecting sentences logically

Learning Activities:

- Make sentences by matching a subject card and a predicate card
- Use kanji and words the one has learned to date
- Make one's own story and tell the story to the class

Vocabulary and Grammar:

- "watashi wa ~suru." (I do such and such), "boku wa ~desu." (I [for a boy] am such and such."
- "Kino watashi wa ~shita." (I did such and such yesterday.)
- "Ashita bokuwa ~de ~suru." (I [for a boy] will do such and such at so and so place.)
- Words starting with hiragana "a," "i," "u," "e," "o" syllables.

Middle Grade

Study Objectives:

- The students will observe the growth of Daikon and learn to keep logs.
- The students will learn to read aloud the story “Three Wishes”.
- The students will learn to properly write down how to make origami step by step.

Learning Activities:

- The students will make Sanpo (a small stand with three sides) on which soybeans are placed for Setsubun.
- They will write sentences using connecting words.
- They will take parts in reading stories by distinguishing dialogues from other text.

Vocabulary and Grammar:

- Vocabulary -
beginning, next, then, in the end, Setsubun, seasons, etc.
- Grammar -
Masaka…, Honno…, Hyouito…, …to iu kini natta, etc.

Upper Grade

Study Objectives:

- The students continue the January activities until the second week.
- They will learn that a story has an introduction, development, and conclusion, and they will learn to rewrite the stories that they know in their own words (as much as they can).
- They will observe and compare visual materials, and will learn to write about the similarities and the differences.

Learning Activities:

- The students will read some stories concerning Setsubun and rewrite the stories in their own words. Or, they will rewrite the stories about Kanshi (twelve signs of the zodiac) or Osechi (dishes for the New Year) that they read last month in their own words.
- They will read and compare the graphs of precipitation and temperature in Japan and the US, and discuss the differences and similarities.

Vocabulary and Grammar:

- Vocabulary -
rainfall, temperature, season, four seasons,
typhoon, rainy reason, monsoon, etc.
- Grammar -
…dasoudesu. …to iwarete imasu, futatsu wo hikaku suruto …, Niteru tenha…, Kotonaru tenha…, A ha … ga, B ha …. desu.

Middle School

Study Objectives:

- The students will compare climate and temperature variation in California and in Japan, and also compare different seasons in Japan. Then they will discuss how the climates and seasons produce certain geographical features and may also shape the cultures of the lands.
- They will learn to collect data from the graphs of annual precipitation and temperature, understand them, and explain them to other students.
- They will study the climate of various regions of Japan and of different countries in the world outside the US, and they will make brief (a paragraph long) oral or written presentations of their findings.
- They will learn to read and write the main vocabularies of our subject using Kanji.

Learning Activities:

- The students will read and compare the graphs of annual temperature and precipitation in Japan and California.
- They will compare temperature and precipitation of Japan in the past with those of the present ,and discuss possible causes for the change.
- They will see special maps of cherry blossom front, typhoon, and rainy season in Japan, and discuss why such maps exist.

Vocabulary and Grammar:

- Vocabulary -
rainfall, typhoon, season, atmospheric pressure, weather forecast, downpour, rainy season, cherry blossom front, humidity, climate, season, warming, etc.
- Grammar -
…ni narimasu/… ku narimasu, …houga iidesu/…bekidesu, …kamo shiremasen/…deshou, etc.


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