kodomo No Ie

Saturday Japanese Class News

November 2010

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

Topic for November: Thanksgiving

Class I

Study Objectives:

- Be able to appreciate the autumn harvest and show interest in vegetables and fruits
- Be able to read their own name in Hiragana or Katakana

Learning Activities:

- Hiragana card game - looking for words starting with letters they learn
- Create Thanksgiving turkey using autumn leaves
- Sing and dance to autumn songs

Vocabulary and Expressions:

Find the words starting with “ka, ki, ku, ke, ko, sa, shi, su, se, and so”, and learn how to write each letter correctly and legibly

Class II

Study Objectives:

- Know and be able to use action verbs
- Improve vocabulary through “shiritori” (a word game) by being exposed to more vocabulary

Learning Activities:

- Use cards to learn action verbs
- “Shiritori” (word game) to improve vocabulary

Vocabulary and Expressions:

Ueru, kazoeru, akeru, kiru, taberu,
kaba, baiku, kujira, daikon, etc

Class III

Study Objectives:

- Recognize common fruits and vegetables and be able to express their name, size, color, taste etc. in writing
- Enjoy craft using natural objects that express autumn

Learning Activities:

- Keep a list of fruits and vegetable eaten every day.
- Take inventory of fruits and vegetables in the fridge
- Letter of leaves
- Create “Yajirobei” with acorns

Vocabulary and Expressions:

- Names of vegetables and fruits
- Colors (green, red, white, orange, yellowish green)
- Taste (sweet, sour, etc.)
- Size (large, small, round, long, medium) etc.

A - l

Study Objectives:

- Learn to read in a clear voice Japanese written by themselves
- Learn to observe the daikon radishes planted in the field
- Learn to read and recite poetry

Learning Activities:

- Write briefly about the experience at the sweet shop and read aloud in class
- Daikon radish planting and observation
- Sing songs of the Fall
- Read poems relating to dates and days

Vocabulary and Expressions:

- Vocabulary -
Tamanegi (Onion), jyouro (watering can), mizuyari (plant watering),
tsuitachi-tooka (1-10 dates), Nichiyoubi-Doyoubi (Sunday-Saturday)
- Grammar and Expressions -
Hajimeni, tsugini, saigo ni (Firstly, next, lastly)

A - ll

Study Objectives:

- Learn to write a thank you letter
- Learn the difference between character spacing used in children’s books and regular text; learn to pay attention to punctuation marks as we read texts aloud
- Learn to visualize the world on a plane (map) and learn the concept of relative positioning in map-reading (notice among other things that the way a map is read depends on where we position ourselves)

Learning Activities:

- Reflection and summary of the “Sweet Shop” experience
- Look at the kanji characters encountered at the sweet shop and in the texts as ideographs; memorize the method of character stroke counting
- Compare the foods of fall from around the world

Vocabulary and Expressions:

- Vocabulary -
Touzainanboku (North / South / East / West), Kyuutai (Globe), rittai (Three-dimensional), heimen (plane)
- Grammar and Expressions -
--ha…yori… (X is … from …)
Aru, ichi suru, donnada (is, placed, how is it?)

A-lll

Study Objectives:

- Read, comprehend, and then verbally explain the origins and background of Thanksgiving
- Understand its connections to nature, animals, and human society
- Observe nearby natural surroundings; think about what they can do to help protect nature

Learning Activities:

- Read text about Thanksgiving
- Ask parents and teachers about the scenery and animals of years past, and compare to what they see today
- Talk with their classmates and brainstorm about what they can do to protect and preserve nature

Vocabulary and Expressions:

- Vocabulary -
Chikyuu (Earth), shokubutsurensa (food chain), yasei (wild), kusahana (flowering plants), kankyou (environment), chiiki (region), seitaikei (ecosystem), shize (nature), ningenshakai (human society), shokubutsu (plants), minamoto (origin), shinrin (forest), yutaka (plentiful), saigai (disaster)
- Grammar and Expressions -
“-to natteiru” Has become
“-tari…-tari” does X and Y

MIddle school

Study Objectives (Same as October newsletter):

- Understand words of Chinese origin; learn how to use important expressions related to the topic
- Write, read, and comprehend (complex paragraphs) about the relationship between nature and living creatures
- Discuss in class, using complex sentences, the information
independently researched
- Gather a certain amount of information about the surrounding natural environment, and write paragraphs with detailed explanations and statements

Learning Activities:

- Read paragraphs about familiar animals and their connection to earth and human life
- Examine charts illustrating ecosystems and food chains and practice explaining them
- Including all the class activities up until now, research animals that are going extinct and think about the relationship between
extinctions and human activities
- Including the learning activities listed above, think about the importance of biodiversity and write their thoughts in complex
paragraphs

Vocabulary and Expressions:

- Vocabulary -
(Including words not able to be covered in October)
chikyu (Earth), eikyou (influence), mijika (surrounding), seitai-kei (ecosystem), sanso (oxygen), chikyu ondanka (global warming), kyusyu (absorption), saigai (disaster), fusegu (protect), suijouki(water vapor), nettai urin (tropical rainforest), ningen shakai (human society), tenteki (natural enemy), hakai (destruction), gairaisyu (alien species), tayousei (diversity), yutaka (plenty, abundance), idenshi (gene), kougousei (photosynthesis)
- Grammar and Expressions -
“-tari…-tari” “does X and Y”
“-to…” “and…” (conditional sentences)




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