an archive of lesson plans

Author: Ayaka Matsuo (Page 1 of 2)

JP S19 ADV Japanese New Year Traditions

Language Resident Name: Ayaka Matsuo

Day and Date: Tuesday, February 5th

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Advanced Japanese 

Class theme/topics discussed: New Year Traditions 

Goal of the class: To be able to explain their new year traditions and to learn Japanese new year traditions to details. 

How did you structure the class?

Activity1 (5 min): Warm-up

We talk about the game we’ll be having during the Open House next week and discuss what words are interesting sounds for Americans. We decide 5 words that visitors to our lounge has to guess what that it. 

Activity2 (10 min): New Year Tradition

I group students by cultures they’re familiar with. In the group, students talk about what they do as new year’s tradition in their culture. How do they celebrate? What do they eat? Where do they go? What do they see? Etc… After a several minutes, we share what they talked about with the whole class.

Activity3 (10 min): Japanese New Year Tradition

I tell students what we do in Japan, showing some pictures.

Activity4 (10 min): Osechi

I introduce Osechi, Japanese new year’s food, with a picture and ask students what they know about it.

Activity5 (15 min): Meaning of Each Dish in Osechi

We check each name of dishes. Then, students make pairs and guess what its meaning of each dish. Then, I’ll read out true meanings of each dish. Students guess what that is. 

Activity6 (5 min): Wrap-up

We have casual conversations about Osechi. What would you like to try eating? Cooking? Have you ever eaten Japanese Osechi? Is there anything similar to your culture? 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

It worked well. I also learned many things about Japanese new year tradition of food. Time management was good today. 

How could this class be improved/ modified?

The topic with this plan could include more active speaking activities somehow. 

 If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.

JP S19 ADV Working Environment in Japan

Language Resident Name: Ayaka Matsuo

Day and Date: Thursday, May 2nd

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Advanced Japanese 

Class theme/topics discussed: Working Environment in Japan

Goal of the class: To learn the current movement regarding working environment improvement in Japan and to be able to say opinions on it using appropriate words.

How did you structure the class?

Activity1 (10 min): Warm-up

Students talk about their good or bad working experience. 

Activity2 (10 min): Vocabularies

Students make a pair and write at least 5 Japanese words that are used to talk about working or one’s company life. I also add some new vocabs that are useful to know.

Activity3 (10 min): Japan’s recent movement to improve working environment

I introduce a movement initiated by the government to improve the working environment in Japan. 

Activity4 (20 min): Discussion

We discuss why is a job so important? What do we work for? What makes the environment harder and harder in Japan? Old generation (workaholic) vs New generation, which do you agree with?

Activity5 (10 min): Wrap-up

I ask the whole class some wrap-up questions. 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

It worked pretty well. There were many new words that students didn’t know, so I tried to check on them if they know the words and tried to make the class environment comfortable so they can always ask questions. It was interesting enough for them, hopefully. 

How could this class be improved/ modified?

This class could be more interesting and a peer-learning style with tasks in which students look for any problem the movement initiated by the government, think about them and present them to the class. 

 If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.

JP S19 INT Past and Future

Language Resident Name: Ayaka Matsuo

Day and Date: Thursday, February 6th

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Intermediate Japanese 

Class theme/topics discussed: Past and Future 

Goal of the class: To be able to explain their past using past tense and to be able to talk about their future plan using future tense. 

How did you structure the class?

Activity1 (10 min): Now 

Students tell a partner about how their usual days go on. What time do they get up? Where do they eat breakfast? What do you do in the morning? What are your favorite things to do? Who are your close friends?

Activity2 (10 min): 10 Years Ago

Students talk about what they were doing, what they liked, who were their best friends, etc. with their partners.

Activity3 (20 min): In 10 Years

Students draw a picture that represent himself / herself in 10 years. Then, we share with the whole class.

Activity4 (15 min): The world in 100 years

The whole class draws a big picture, predicting how the world would be like in 100 years from now. They draw a big picture together on the white board.

Activity5 (5 min): Wrap-up

I ask them wrap-up questions. I also announce the upcoming cultural activity. 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

This plan worked very well. This topic interested students very much and they were really engaged in the activities. 

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I would keep it as it is. 

 If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.

JP S19 INT Traveling

Language Resident Name: Ayaka Matsuo

Day and Date: Monday, February 25th

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Intermediate Japanese 

Class theme/topics discussed: Traveling 

Goal of the class: To be able to arrange a travel discussing in Japanese and to be able to present their plans. 

How did you structure the class?

Activity1 (10 min): Warm-up

We casually talk about weekends.

Activity2 (10 min): Small Discussion

Students talk about the place they want to travel most right now. 

Activity3 (10 min): Reviewing Expressions

We review expressions related to travelling. Students shout words out and I write them down on the whiteboard.

Activity4 (15 min): Arrange Your Travel

Students make a pair and arrange their travel. Suppose they’re a university student in Tokyo and arrange Japan domestic travel. Each person is given $500 budget to travel. 

Activity5 (10 min): Presentation

Each pair presents their travel plan. 

Activity6 (5 min): Wrap-up

I briefly announce the upcoming cultural activity. 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

This plan went really well. When students were making their own plan, everyone was really engaged into the activity and conversation. Time management could have been done better since we had to a little hurry to share their plans today. I showed pictures on the Internet as each group was presenting their plan, which took time than I had planned.

How could this class be improved/ modified?
I would keep it as it is with this class size.

10 – 15 minutes could be used to share their plan, showing pictures.  If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.

JP F18 ADV Japanese Old Tales

Language Resident Name: Ayaka Matsuo

Day and Date: Thursday, October 17th

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Advanced Japanese 

Class theme/topics discussed: Japanese old Tales / Feedback Session 

Goal of the class: To be familiar with Japanese old tales and to be able to describe / visualize a scene of the old tales. 

How did you structure the class?

Activity1 (25 min): Feedback Session / Werewolf Game

I continue the feedback session and the other students play the werewolf game. 

Acitivity2 (5 min): Brainstorming

Each student says one Japanese old tales or Japanese stories (ex. Ghibli stories) they know. All the stories they came up with are written in the while board.

Activity3 (10 min): Creating a Manga

Students make a pair. At least one student of the pair should know a plot of a story. I give each pair a blank sheet with 5 manga boxes. One student tells the plot briefly and the other student draws.

Acitivty4 (15 min): Presentation

Each pair presents their story, showing a manga they draw. 

Activity5 (5 min): Wrap-up

I ask them open questions such as what is their favorite story? Did you learn new stories? Was it hard to draw pictures? Etc…

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

It worked well. This was a really good way to introduce Japanese stories, making them keep talking. 

How could this class be improved/ modified?I could do this in FLRC so I can show their manga on the bigger screen. 

JP F18 INT/ADV Thanksgiving

Language Resident Name: Ayaka Matsuo

Day and Date: Tuesday, November 27th

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Advanced Japanese 

Class theme/topics discussed: Thanksgiving

Goal of the class: To be able to talk about / listen to Thanksgiving Holiday. 

How did you structure the class?

Activity1 (10 min): Warm-up

I talk about my Thanksgiving holiday. This is going to be a game, two truths and a lie. I write three key words that are related to my Thanksgiving holiday on the whiteboard and talk a bit about each word. Then students ask one question each. After everyone asks one question, they guess what key word is a lie. 

Activity2 (45 min): Two Truths and A Lie

I give students a few minutes to think about their key words. Then, one student presents his/her Thanksgiving as I showed. Every student gets a chance to talk about theirs. 

Activity3 (5 min): Wrap-up

We choose who was the best liar and who was the most honest one. 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

It worked really well. Students were really engaged into the game, paying attention to everyone very carefully. I tried to manage the time but it didn’t go well as I calculated. So not everyone had a chance to talk about. However, I believe it would have been better this way than dividing the class into two groups because students are very close each other and they wanted to know each one’s Thanksgiving story.  

How could this class be improved/ modified?As for time management, the class could be divided into two groups or warm-up could be shorter. 

JP F18 INT Favorite Food

Language Resident Name: Ayaka Matsuo

Day and Date: Monday, October 1st

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Intermediate Japanese 

Class theme/topics discussed: Food 

Goal of the class: To be able to use vocabularies related food and to be able to explain their favorite food.

How did you structure the class?

Activity1 (10 min): Warm-up

We dice-talk about the weekends. Students are divided into 2 groups and each dimension of the dice has words related to food.

Activity2 (10 min): Brainstorming

I show some pictures and ask the whole class to describe the food. For example, I show a picture of sushi and ask students some questions such as what is it made of? How do you eat it? What taste is specific to the food? Where do you find it? Where does it originally come from? Do many people like it? Is it expensive? etc. They’re not supposed to say just “that’s sushi”. Words brainstormed during this activity are written on the white board. 

Activity3 (10 min): Favorite Food

Students come up with their top 3 favorite foods and write them down on a piece of paper, keeping them secret to other students for now.

Activity4 (25 min): What is it?

Students are divided into 2 groups. In each group, one student starts “This is my best/second/third favorite food” and then, the other members of the group start asking question to reveal what it is. For the last 5 minutes, we play this game with the whole class picking one student’s favorite food whose hasn’t done yet. 

Activity5 (5 min): Wrap-up

A brief announcement about the upcoming cultural activity is made. 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

It worked well. Students talked a lot, which was really good. One thing I should have added is that for the Activity4, one more rule should have been clarified that they cannot ask WH questions. Also, I could have prepared more expressions related to today’s topic, which could have been introduced while Activity2 and could have been a more efficient exercise for students with more words or expressions.  

How could this class be improved/ modified?I would add a rule that students cannot ask WH questions during Activity4. Also, I would prepare more words in advance, which students must know but forget for the moment. 

JP F18 INT Family Tree

Language Resident Name: Ayaka Matsuo

Day and Date: Monday, September 24th

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Intermediate Japanese 

Class theme/topics discussed: Family 

Goal of the class: To be able to use vocabs and expression related to family. 

How did you structure the class?

Activity1 (10 min): Warm-up

Students are divided into 2 groups and each group dice-talk about their weekend. Each dimension of the dices has an adjective that could relate to family or family life. 

Activity2 (5 min): Review 

We review all together Japanese words of family members. Students freely shout it out and I type it, showing on the screen.

Activity3 (10 min): Brainstorming 

Students are divided into 4 groups and each group has to come up with one of the names of Japanese girl, Japanese boys, American girls or American boys. While they’re brainstorming in a few minutes, I divided the white board into 4 sections. Then, after a few minutes, each group come and write what they came up with on the white board in Japanese. This is a competition. The group with the largest number of names they came up with and wrote them on in correct spelling won. 

Acitivty4 (20 min): Family Tree

Students stay in the group and I give each group a piece of paper. They create an imaginary family tree as they want, making it complicated. After they’re done with that, I combine 2 groups into a bigger group so the whole class is now 2 bigger groups. One group presents their family tree, not showing the tree to the other group, and the other group tries to draw a tree as exactly as they can on a paper. Then, they switch over drawing. 

Activity5 (10 min): Class Family Tree 

We pretend that we’re all one family and create a class family tree. 

Activity6 (5 min): Wrap-up

I briefly announce the upcoming cultural activity. 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

It worked well. I’m glad students liked the activities. 

How could this class be improved/ modified?It could be fun to make them a skit on family, suppose the whole class is a family. This way would let students to practice to whom to use formal and informal forms.

JP S18 INT/ADV “Omikuji” or A Fortune Slip

Language Resident Name: Ayaka Matsuo

Day and Date: 1/24/2018

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Intermediate Japanese

Class theme/topics discussed: Omikuji or A Fortune Slip    

Goal of the class: To get to be familiar with Japanese culture of New Year Day and to actually make their original Omikuji.

How did you structure the class?

Activity1 (10 min): Japanese New Year Tradition  

I tell students a Japanese new year tradition, which is hatsumode, showing pictures.

Activity2 (5 min): Omikuji or fortune slip

I explain what is Omikuji.

Activity3 (5 min): Brainstorming  

In order to make their original Omikuji, we brainstorm together about some categories that tell fortunes this year.

Activity4 (10 min): Making Omikuji

I give a piece of Omikuji paper to students and they make their original one. They choose 4 categories from the brainstorming and write fortunes on each category.

Activity5 (10 min): Telling Fortune

I mix up every Omikuji they made and they pick one up, starting with the youngest person. Then, they open the Omikuji all together. They can freely share what it tells with their neighbors. After that, we share each student’s funniest, happiest or most interesting one with the whole class.

Activity6 (5 min): Wrap-up

I make a brief announcement of the coming cultural activity.

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

It seemed a little challenging for some students to follow at first, especially for those who were new to my class if I compared it with the advanced class. However, as the class went on, they got to understand what was going on. They loved the activity and it was nice that one student didn’t know how to write Japanese and other students helped her do that.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I would keep most of it as it is. One thing I could add is to make a list what we’re going to do today and so everyone can follow, at least can follow which activity we’re on.

JP S18 ADV Hidden Sentence Game

Language Resident Name: Ayaka Matsuo

Day and Date: 2/20/2018

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Advanced Japanese

Class theme/topics discussed: Conversation Project / Hidden Sentence Game

Goal of the class: By the time this class ends, students will have decided what to do for their project.

How did you structure the class?

Activity1 (10 min): Warm – up

We talk about the weekend.

Activity2 (20 min): Brainstorming and Discussion   

We talk about conversation class projects. I ask some students to explain what it is to students who don’t know. Students come up with as many ideas as possible as brainstorming. Then, we discuss to make it one we will really work on.

Activity3 (25 min): Hidden Sentence Game

Students are divided into 2 groups. One student from each group comes to pick one “hidden” sentence. Then, I give a topic. The two students don’t show their sentence to the rest of the class and start to talk about the topic. They try to convey the conversation in which they can use the sentences. The other students guess what their “hidden” sentences are. They have to detect what the opponent player’s “hidden” sentence is. When they thing the sentence comes out, they shout “stop” and say the sentence. If it is correct, they gain 1 point. If it is incorrect, they lose 1 point.

Activity5 (5 min): Wrap-up

I introduce them the upcoming cultural activity.

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

Everything worked well. The game, which I tried for the first time, was really fun. I limited the time they could have conversation by 3 minutes and also made another rule that if they couldn’t use that sentence within 3 minutes they lost 1 point.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I would keep it as it is.

JP S18 INT/ADV School Rule

Language Resident Name: Ayaka Matsuo

Day and Date: 2/22/18

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Advanced Japanese

Class theme/topics discussed: School Rules

Goal of the class: By the time this class ends, students get to know typical Japanese school rules and will be able to discuss some rules, supporting their opinion.

How did you structure the class?

Activity1 (10 min): Warm – up

We talk about strangest / funniest / strictest school rules.

Activity2 (10 min): Brainstorming    

Students are divided into two groups; one group is teachers, the principle and the school and the other group is students and parents. They come up with opinions that support their position. I choose one topic from what they told in Activity 1.

Activity3 (15 min): Discussion 

Students discuss. I write the opinions they say on the white board so they remember what their points are.

Activity4 & 5 (25 min): Brainstorming and Discussion   

We repeat the process of Activity 2 and 3 with a different topic.

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

Everything worked well. I wish I could have somehow made more corrections on their utterances, which would improve their vocabularies or expressions.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I would make a list of vocabulary they might not know yet.

JP S18 INT/ADV Japanese Fairy Tales

Language Resident Name: Ayaka Matsuo

Day and Date: 4/11/2018

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Intermediate Japanese

Class theme/topics discussed: Japanese Fairy Tales

Goal of the class: By the time this class ends, they get to be familiar with some Japanese fairy tales. Also, they get to make stories in Japanese.

How did you structure the class?

Activity1 (5 min): Brainstorming of Japanese Fairy Tales

We share what students already know about Japanese fairy tales quickly.

Activity2 (10 min): Learning the Story

I divide the class into 3 groups and give them stories written in pieces of papers. First, students have to rearrange the pieces to make a story. Then, after they learn the story, they think about what the message the story tells in a group.

Activity3 (25 min): Sharing the Stories

Each group presents what story they learn, summarizing it briefly. Before they present it, they clarify what characters there are. They also share what they think about the story, what they find interesting, the onomatopoeias they learn from the story and what the message the story tells. Each group has 3 minutes to present. Every time after they present, I’ll show them short movies of the story found on YouTube so everyone could understand to some degree.

Activity4 (10 min): Creating Their Fairy Tales

Based on what they learn from the previous activities, they create their fairy tales. They need to clarify the message they want to convey through the story.

Activity5 (10 min): Presentation

Each group presents their fairy tales, without mentioning the message. After the rest of the class finishes listening to them, they guess what the message they put in it.

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

Everything worked well although we didn’t have time to go over the second part of my plans, which is to create their fairy tale. It was really interesting to discuss what those fairy tales imply.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I would keep it as it is.

JP F17 INT Fall Break

Language Resident Name: Ayaka Matsuo

Day and Date: 10/18/2017

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Intermediate Japanese

Class theme/topics discussed: Fall Break

Goal of the class: To get to know each other’s fall break and to be able to tell fall break of their own.

 

 

How did you structure the class?

Activity1 (15 min): Story telling

I show pictures of my fall break. Students create a short conversation for each picture in pair.

Activity2 (5 min): Preparation for Dice Game

I divide students into 3 groups and give each group a dice with numbers. I also give them a chart sheet. I explain about the game and students make sentences what to tell for each number on dice and write them down on the sheet. The sentences could be the place I went, people I was with, thigs I did etc…

Activity3 (20 min): Dice Games

Students play the game in each group. After several times go, I ask students to change the group.

Activity4 (15 min): Conversation Class Project Planning

We decide what kind of tradition or custom of the US to introduce in a video.

Activity5 (5 min): Wrap-up and Announcement

I wrap up the activities and do a quick announcement.

 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

 

 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

It worked well. Activity 1 went better than I planned, which lasted for 15 minutes more. Students were very creative and each pair came up with different idea from the others. I myself really enjoyed listening to each one. It looked a bit confusing for students when I explained how to play a dice game but it was nice of some students that they tried to make sure what exactly they had to do.

 

How could this class be improved/ modified?

Activity1 could be going longer than 15 minutes so Activity4 would be removed.

JP F17 INT Name

Language Resident Name: Ayaka Matsuo

Day and Date: 9/27/2017

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Intermediate Japanese

Class theme/topics discussed: Name

Goal of the class: To review words / vocabularies related to appearance and create Japanese names based on its appearance.

How did you structure the class?

Activity 1 (10 min): Warm-up

Students talk about English strange names with their neighbors.

Activity 2 (5 min): Changing Seats in Japanese Alphabetical Order

First, I ask students to re-order by their first names according to English alphabetical order. After that, we quickly review Japanese alphabetical order and ask students to re-order by their names according to Japanese alphabetical order.

Activity 3 (20 min): Naming a Character

I show students a mascot on a screen and ask them to name the mascot in Japanese. This is done in a group of 3. Before starting discussing, we briefly brainstorm the characteristics of this mascot all together. We do the same process for several times with different mascots.

Activity 4 (10 min): Giving themselves a Japanese Name

In the same group as Activity 3, I make students create their own Japanese nicknames. Students tell the group their personality or things they like and they come up with a suitable one.

Activity 5 (10 min): Japanese Social Issues on Names

I tell a Japanese social issue on names today by showing a YouTube video. After that, I ask students discussion questions such as what do you think about that? or why do parents want to name their children in that way?

Activity 6 (5 min): Announcement

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

All worked well today. We really enjoyed the warm-up, which we talked about strange English names they’ve ever met. Students like sharing their experience and I also enjoyed learning new things. Also, activity 3 worked well. Some of students were not that creative and they didn’t know how to do it but after I helped with some examples, they came up with their original ones. Generally, they were very creative and had fun sharing with their Japanese unique nicknames.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

Today I did Activity 5 just after Activity 1 (warm-up) and it worked well. Since we talk about strange English names in Activity 1, a recent social issue on names should come just after the warm up. It could be more make sense.

JP F17 ADV Hometown Promotion

Language Resident Name: Ayaka Matsuo

Day and Date: 11/30/2017

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Advanced Japanese

Class theme/topics discussed: Hometown Promotion

Goal of the class: To promote their hometown to classmates

How did you structure the class?

Activity1 (5 min): Warm-up

They talk about hobbies.

Activity2 (10 min): Brainstorming

We brainstorm what we should / want to know when we travel.

Activity3 (15 min): Making Presentation

Each student makes a presentation about their hometown. I also make a presentation about my hometown.

Activity4 (30 min): Presentation

Each student presents using the power point. I go first as an example. After one presentation, each one of the student asks a question.

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

It worked well but we didn’t have enough time to finish all the presentations. So, we kept some of them for next class.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I would do some pre-activities before making and doing presentations (I don’t come up with a good one though). I would get students to use the whole this class to make a presentation ready and get them to do a presentation in the following class.

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