Saturday Japanese Class News
February 2014
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: Sestubun, the day before the start of spring
Beginner Class 1 - Ms. Ozeki
Specific Lesson Goals:
- Learn about the origins of Setsubun; enjoy mame-maki ( bean-throwing ceremony )
- Review hiragana
Class Activities:
- Create a goblin mask; the students use these goblin masks for the mame-maki
- Learn about the origins of Setsubun
- Word games; review hiragana learned since September
Grammar & Vocabulary:
- Collect words that include na, ni, nu, ne, no and learn how to write them in the correct order
Beginner Class 2 - Ms. Takakura
Specific Lesson Goals:
- Participate in Setsubun activities
- Learn when to use hiragana or katakana
- Create simple senetnces
Class Activities:
- Craft; make a goblin mask out of newspaper, make an origami sanpou (sanpou is a wooden tray used for Shinto rituals)
- Learn about the origins of Setsubun
- Participate in mame-maki
Grammar & Vocabulary:
- Setsubun (the day before the start of spring), mamemaki ( bean-throwing ceremony), oni (goblin), kiba (fang), stun (horn)
- 〜wa, …desu. ( 〜 is …)
-〜wa, …wo shimashita. (〜 did …)
- 山 (mountain), 川 (river), 上 (up), 下 (down), 右 (right), 左 (left)
Intermediate Level Class - Ms. Sakamoto
Specific Lesson Goals:
- Accurately pronounce short and long sounds for phonetic reading of kanji characters.
- Understand a kanji part which originated from the shape of sanpou
Class Activities:
- Read the study materials silently or with low voice.
Group reading practice
“Rock, Paper, Scissors Train”
Dictation
Grammar & Vocabulary:
- Pass/attend – Tooru/Kayo-u (example: 通る/通う)
Light/Glitter (Hikari/Hikaru)
Practice writing words in the correct combination of kanji and hiragana as shown above including phonetic reading of the applicable kanji characters.
Advanced Level Class - Ms. Oota
Specific Lesson Goals:
- Understand Setsubun activities
- Read scientific descriptions and understand their logical progression.
- Learn the construction of kanji characters: combination of various parts (normally, each part indicates meaning).
Class Activities:
- Learn Japanese mathematical vocabulary such as diagonal lines, sides and the apex through Origami craft of sanpou
- Based on the scientific reading, make a flip book as the form of animation.
- Experience human’s equilibrium (based on the scientific reading)
Grammar & Vocabulary:
- Phrases that follow logical patterns such as “from these findings,” “With this understanding,” and “What can be expected happen?”
“Ogres Out, Fortune In”
AP Preparation Class - Ms. Yamada
Specific Lesson Goals:
- In January, we learned about Japanese New Year; we read about New Year's activities, special food and games.
- This month, we focus on preparing for the upcoming Japanese class presentation day; each student chooses one Japanese prefecture to present, and through the preparation, accomplish the following;
1, recognize the locations of Japanese prefectures
2, memorize the 47 Japanese prefectures's name
3, learn about the features of each prefecture