[

Home

|

Japanese

|

English

]

[

San Gabriel FUMC

|

Sage Granada Park UMC

]

• What's New
• Preschool
• JPN Group Study
• Newsletters
• Blog
• Calendar
• Contact
• Parents assoc.

Newsletters

• To parents
• From parents
• To children
• JPN school
• Papas & Mamas

Saturday Japanese Class News

February 2011

1: Class I
2: Class II
3: Class III
4: A - l
5: A - ll
6: A - lll
7: Middle school

February Theme : Setsubun (Feb. 3, the day before the start of spring)

Class I

Study Objectives:

- Learn about the origin of Setsubun and participating actively in bean-scattering ceremony.
- Be able to read hiragana characters learned in class

Learning Activities:

- Craft making of Setubun no oni (ogres/devils in Setsubun event) masks. Using the masks, becoming an ogre and enjoying bean scattering.
- Listen to & be interested in stories explaining the origin of Setsubun
- Work on reading skill improvement, using flash card game with all hiragana characters learned since September

Vocabulary and Expressions:

Collect words with following hiragana characters: な、に、ぬ、ね、の、は、ひ、ふ、へ、ほ
Learn and practice on correct stroke order and neat writing of the words that were collected

Class II

Study Objectives:

- Be able to enjoy Setsubun bean scattering ceremony with friends
- Be able to write Dakuon (a voiced consonant, such as が(GA)orだ (DA) ) and Han-Dakuon (voiceless bilabial plosive/consonant, such as ぱ(PA) or ぷ (PU correctly.
- Be able to read Katakana characters that are taught in class

Learning Activities:

- Be familiar with Setsubun event through making Setubun no oni (ogres in Setsubun day) masks and Sampo (container/stand for Setsubun beans). Participate in bean scattering cheerfully
- Learn how to use Katakana using katakana flash cards

Vocabulary and Expressions:

せつぶん(Setsubun) the day before the beginning of spring
まめまき(Mame-maki) bean scattering ceremony for Setsubun
おにはそと(Oni-wa-soto) Out with the devil!
ふくはうち(Fuku-wa-uchi) In with good fortune!
がぎぐげご(ga, gi, gu, ge, go)、カキクケコ(ka, ki, ku, ke, ko, in Katakana character), etc.

Class III

Study Objectives:

- Be familiar with Setsubun event through various activities related to Setubun
- Keep learning Katakana characters

Learning Activities:

- Make Setubun no oni (ogres in Setsubun day) masks and Sampo (container/stand for Setsubun beans), using Origami paper.
- Listen to & be interested in stories explaining the origin of Setsubun
- Search for words that should be written in Katakana characters

Vocabulary and Expressions:

せつぶん(Setsubun) the day before the beginning of spring, まめまき(Mame-maki) bean scattering ceremony for Setsubun, おに(oni) ogre/devil, きば(kiba) fang, つの(tsuno) horn, まゆ(mayu) eyebrow, 目(me) eye, くち(kuchi) mouth
Origami related vocabulary: 山折り(Yama-Ori) mountain fold谷折り(Tani-Ori) valley fold
Search for Katakana words found at parks, streets, and restaurants

A - l

Study Objectives:

- Be able to read simple sentences
- Be able to write simple sentences
- Be able to compose sentences

Learning Activities:

- Make sentences by matching cards with subjects and predicates
- In the sentences, use Kanji characters and words that were learned in previous classes
- Make a sentence, and share it with the class

Vocabulary and Expressions:

・わたしは～です。Watashi wa xxx desu. (I am xxx.)
ぼくは～します。 Boku wa xxx shimasu. (I do xxx.)

・わたしは～でした。Watashi wa xxx deshita. (I was xxx.)
ぼくは～しました。 Boku wa xxx shimashita. (I did xxx.)

A - ll

Study Objectives:

- Learn about the four seasons of Japan (northern hemisphere) through setsubun.
- Gain deeper understanding of sequence words.
- As preparation for the next class, learn how simple maps are presented and how to read them.

Learning Activities:

- Looking at the instructions, make a sanpo container and participate in mamemaki (bean-throwing festival)
- On the Styrofoam globe we made in the class, identify the location of Kodomo no Ie (neighborhood - California - the United States - world map)
- Supposing that Kodomo no Ie is situated elsewhere, discuss food, shelter and clothing in that location (to be continued in March)

Vocabulary and Expressions:

- Vocabulary -
mazu (first), tsugini (next), sorekara (then), sarani (further) etc.
kado wo kasanete oru (bring two corners together and fold)
sekai chizu (world map), chikyu (Earth), hoko (direction) etc.
- Grammar and Expressions -
Moshi..tara ~desho (if…, (it) would~)

A - lll

Study Objectives:

- Deepen understanding of setsubun and enjoy the event.
- Understand global warming and develop skills to think about energy consumed in everyday life.

Learning Activities:

- Make a sanpo container and participate in mamemaki at school.
- Read about and understand the origin and meaning of setsubun.
- Think of a no-energy lifestyle and consider what one can do.

Vocabulary and Expressions:

- Vocabulary -
Kion (temperature), henka (change), chikyu ondanka (global warming), nisanka tanso (carbon dioxide), doryoku (effort), sekai kakuchi (places around the world), taiki (air, atmosphere)
- Grammar and Expressions -
… suruyoni shiteiru (try to do…/make a point of doing…)

Middle school

Study Objectives (December through February):

- Compare the lifestyles in the past and the present and develop skills to analyze how differences in energy consumption affect the contemporary society and environment
- Think about what one can do to conserve energy and apply it to everyday life
- Understand the essence of multiple-paragraph reading materials about energy and environment, and develop skills to understand abstract concepts
- Survey household energy use and develop skills to report the findings almost accurately in a multiple-paragraph format of an essay, report, and oral presentation
- Read and write the new key words covered in the theme in kanji

Learning Activities:

- Think about one's own and family's lifestyle and recognize when and where energy is used or conserved
- Think about one's daily routine and find out when and how much energy is used
- Interview adults about the lifestyles during their childhood and find out differences from today
- Make a chart of average temperatures to date and study the temperature changes over time
- Read a chart showing the relationship between the rise in temperature and CO2 emissions
- Read multiple-paragraph reading materials about the above chart

Vocabulary and Expressions:

- Vocabulary -
igai (except), sekiyu (oil), yu (warm/hot water), kankei (relationship), yosoku (prediction), nenryo (fuel), hyoga (glacier), nodo (concentration), heikin ondo (average temperature), heikin (average), zoka (increase), haishutsu (emissions), ihen (change), hokkyoku (North Pole), shuchu gou (torrential rain)
- Grammar and Expressions -
…yoo ni suru (try to do…), ...nakutewa naranai (have to ../must..), … to kangaerarete iru (is considered to…)

Note: The lessons on this topic are proceeding at a slower pace than expected. The energy topic was originally scheduled to be finished in February, but may continue into March.

© 2008-2024 Kodomo No Ie, All rights reserved.