Saturday Japanese Class News
February 2016
1:
Class 1 (Kindergarten) - Ms. Ozeki
2:
Class 2 (Elementary Lower Grades) - Ms. Umehata
3:
Class 3 (Elementary middle grades) - Ms. Yamada
4:
Class 4 (Elementary Upper Grades) - Ms. Oota
5:
Class 5 (SAT AP Preparation) - Ms. Sakamoto
February 2016 – Setsubun and Valentine’s day
Class 1 (Kindergarten) - Ms. Ozeki
Lesson Goals:
- Learn the story about "Setsubun" Festival.
- Be able to write hiragana with appropriate pencil pressure.
- Be familiar with katakana.
Class Activities:
- Create Valentine’s day card using origami.
- Strengthen reading skills through a word card game that includes Hiragana that students learned since September.
Grammar and Vocabulary:
- Find words that start with "na,ni,nu,ne,no".
- Write those words in a proper stroke and nice handwriting.
Class 2 (Elementary Lower Grades) - Ms. Umehata
Lesson Goals:
- Enjoy Setsubun Festival through the activities and play associated with the festival
- Be able to read short stories.
- Using the magic box to expand their imaginations.
Class Activities:
- Make "Oni (demon)" mask and "Sanpou (a wooden tray used for Shinto rituals)" out of origami
- Listen to the history of Setsubun Festival
- Continue the observation of Daikon.
Grammar and Vocabulary:
- "Setsubun no mamemaki(Bean throwing)", "Oni (demon)", "Kiba (fang), "Tsuno (horn)", "Mayu (eyebrow)", "Me (eye)", "Kuchi(mouth)", "Oni wa soto, Fuku wa uchi (demon out! Fortune In!)"
- Origami related words; "Yamaori (mountain fold)", "Taniori (valley fold)"
- Daikon relatedwords: “nagasa (length)”, “futosa (thickness)”, ‘hanokazu (number of leaves)”, “Ookisa (size)”.
Class 3 (Elementary middle grades) - Ms. Yamada
Lesson Goals:
- Understand the origin of setsubun.
- Understand the Japanese sentence structures.
Class Activities:
- Read and listen to stories about Setsubun.
- experience setsubun by participating in mamemaki (soy beans throwing ritual) and make sanpou (box) using origami.
- Using subject cards and verb cards to make sentences, and present your sentences
Grammar and Vocabulary:
- Make sentences using setsubun related words.
Class 4 (Elementary Upper Grades) - Ms. Oota
Lesson Goals:
- Understand the origin of Setsubun and Sekku (literally, the point that separates one season from another).
- Read illustrated Origami instructions to make Sanpou, paying attention to transitional words.
- Write a short essay about the bean-throwing tradition the students have participated in class.
Class Activities:
- Fold Sanpou with Origami
- Write a short essay that explains what Setsubun is as well as describing the bean throwing activities.
Grammar and Vocabulary:
- First, next, finally
- It is said that ~
- Square, triangle, diagonal line, center, etc.
Class 5 (SAT AP Preparation) - Ms. Sakamoto
Lesson Goals:
- Write an essay to acquaintances in the US., introducing the festivities (such as Setsubun) the students participated in.
- Score the writing according to a rubric.
Class Activities:
- Introductory paragraph
- Body paragraphs with examples in three sentences or more
- Conclusion
- Rubric
- Peer review and self-evaluation
Grammar and Vocabulary:
- In addition to the 440 Kanji characters the students assumingly have learned in the KNI elementary years, they have been studying 3 characters per week from the following word pool: 53 characters from Japanese grade 4 level, 13 each from grade 5 and 6 levels and 9 from grade 7 level.