Saturday Japanese Class News
November 2013
1:
Beginner Class 1 - Ms. Ozeki
2:
Beginner Class 2 - Ms. Takakura
3:
Intermediate Level Class - Ms. Sakamoto
4:
Advanced Level Class - Ms. Oota
5:
AP Preparation Class - Ms. Yamada
Theme for the month: Thanksgiving
Beginner Class 1 - Ms. Ozeki
Specific Lesson Goals:
- Maintain good posture while writing; learn to apply proper pressure on a pencil when writing
- Learn about the origin of Thanksgiving; develop a sense of gratitude for Fall harvest
Class Activities:
- Create a picture book with hiragana
- Learn Japanese songs relating to the Fall; sing and dance to the songs
Grammar & Vocabulary:
Collect words that include sa, shi, su, se, so and learn how to write them in the correct order
Beginner Class 2 - Ms. Takakura
Specific Lesson Goals:
- Observe how the daikon in the vegetable garden grow
- Create thank you posters for the Candy House event
- Make fall crafts with items collected from the ground
Class Activities:
- Create thank you posters for the Candy House event
- Observe the growth of the daikon
- Make a Yajirobee (balancing toy) with acorns
Grammar & Vocabulary:
- Irasshaimase ( Welcome to the store), Arigatougozaimasu (Thank you for shopping)
- futaba (cotyledon), me (sprout), honba (true leaf)
- 日 (Sunday), 月 (Monday), 火 (Tuesday), 水 (Wednesday), 木 (Thursday), 金 (Friday), 土 (Saturday)
Intermediate Level Class - Ms. Sakamoto
Specific Lesson Goals:
- Transcribe four-digit numbers.
- Tell time on a clock and write down the indicated time as well as understanding other numerical expressions of time. (This will help them understand fractions by reading times on the dial).
- Times table.
Class Activities:
- Create a clock dial (how to divide a circle into 12 parts).
- Read out loud the study material, “Time and How to read it,” and practice new Kanji characters.
- Write thank-you notes to people who came to the Candy House.
- Do homework for the Thanksgiving weekend (no class).
Grammar & Vocabulary:
- Words for directions in both casual and formal ways:
Example: over there (kochira – formal; kocchi – informal)
- Long vs. Short; Half past xx (insert number), In the morning/afternoon; Hundred, thousand, etc.
Advanced Level Class - Ms. Oota
Specific Lesson Goals:
- Write in details
- Speak politely
- Explain Thanksgiving in Japanese
Class Activities:
- Understand correct word orders and positions by inserting appropriate words (modified nouns, subject, verbs) from study materials.
- Write thank-you letters.
- Translate into Japanese what is explained in English
Grammar & Vocabulary:
- Japanese grammatical terms:
I (boku-wa) – subject; Ookina (big) – adjective; kehki (cake)-wo – modified noun; Tabeta (ate) – verb
- Thank you for ~ing; Our sales reached $ (insert amount); We appreciate your support, and etc.
AP Preparation Class - Ms. Yamada
Specific Lesson Goals and Class Activities:
- Review last month's studies; six continents, the three major oceans, longitude and latitude
- Learn about the time and the place of the major cities in the world using longitude and latitude
- Learn how people in different cities live their lives
Grammar & Vocabulary:
- North latitude, south latitude, east longitude, west longitude, dateline, the prime meridian, time difference, equator
- Akashi-shi wa toukei 135do ni ichisimasu. (The city of Akashi is located at 135 degrees east longitude.)
- London no keido wa 0do desu. ( London is located at 0 longitude.)
- Akashi to London no jisa wa 9 jikan desu. (There is a 9-hour difference between Akashi and London.)