富沢小学校 Tomilishブログ

On the last day of term before summer vacation 5th grade students studied their last class on Hi, friends!1 Lesson 3 `How many?`. We decided to only do two classes on this topic (plus Tomilish Time) because the students really seemed like they understood everything well after one class.

The class started with a greeting game. In the first class they asked questions about their friends clothes "How many pockets?" or "How many stars?". However, in this class they asked questions about things in their house.
"How many beyblades?"

"How many pets?"

Next, we did the Hi, friends! chants. In the last class we did version 1 (numbers 1-10) and version 2 (numbers 6-15). This week we did version 3 (numbers 11-20) and version 4 (numbers 1-20).

After the chants we did the counting activity in the textbook `How many? Quiz`. Ms. Emily asked everyone questions and everyone raced to answer.
"How many dogs?"
"3 dogs!" "Me, too! 3 dogs!"
The students have started to say "Me, too!" when they agree with the first person's answer.

Next, we did the apple activity. Some of the students had the idea to use two colors. Red apples are normal apples and blue apples are `poisoned` apples. The students remembered this English from the Snow White skit that last year's 5th grade students did.
By using two colors it raises the chances that students will meet someone with the same number as them. The students could chose which question to ask: "How many apple?" or "How many poisoned apples?". It made the activity a little more interesting for them.

The students walked around and talked to many people to try and find someone with the same number of apples as them.
"How many apples?"
"7 apples."
"Me, too! Sign, please."

Everyone was using their textbook but they tried hard to make eye contact when asking and answering questions.
Great eye contact!

Well done everyone! Enjoy your summer vacation!

Last week class 6-2 had a demonstration class on the last day of term. The students were studying Hi, friends!2 Lesson 3 `I can swim.` and this was lesson 4/4.

The class started with `Teacher's Talk`. Ms. Emiko is a great piano player. She plays the piano all day on Sundays.
"Ms. Keiko, can you play the piano?"
"No, I can't but I can play the kendama."

"Oh great! Try it!" (The students have been using the phrase `Try it!` in Upper Grades Tomilish Time)
Wow! Ms. Keiko is so good at kendama!

After the `Teacher's Talk` we review some of the English phrases by asking questions as a class.
"Can you play the piano?"
"No, I can't but I can play soccer."

Next, we did the Hi, friends! chant. Two of the energetic students came to the front of the class to demonstrate doing gestures. Do you know what gesture this is?
They are thinking. "Hmmm..."

The other students do their best to do the gestures, too.
Doing the chant gets everyone in the mood to speak English!

After the chant, the teachers gave a demonstration of the main activity.
"Who am I? Mr. Shigeo, Mr. Kakinuma or Mr. Takeyuki?"
I can cook. I can play soccer."
"Hint, please."
"I can catch beetles."
"Can you touch a spider?"
"Yes, I can."
"Are you Mr. Shigeo?"
"Yes, I am!"

In the quiz, they first gave 3 choices. During other classes it was very difficult for the students to guess out of all their classmates so the 6th grade teachers decided to make it easier to guess.

Next, two students gave a demonstration to check that everyone understood what to do.
"Who am I?"

Now, it was time for everyone to try the activity. First they did the quizzes with the person sitting next to them.
Nice smile!

Next, it was time to walk around and talk to many different people.
Good eye contact!

Nice smile!

The students even talked to the teachers who came to watch. Well done!

Giving and answering quizzes was really fun!

Towards the end of the class everyone sat down and Ms. Keiko praised some of the good students that she had seen.
"It's important to stand in front of someone to greet them. If you stand behind them no one will know!"

The teachers also picked a good pair to demonstrate to the class.
Great eye contact! It's very difficult not to look at the papers when you are talking. Well done!

Lastly, some of the students gave their quiz to the whole class.
"Who am I?"

It was a very fun activity!

6th grade students and teachers worked hard to make a good class. Good job everyone!

Class 4-1 had a demonstration class on the last day of term. The class was a continuation of their previous class on the phrase "Let's~!". This was lesson 5/5 on this topic.

First, the class started with a greeting game. As well as asking "How are you?" the students also complimented each other.
"Nice t-shirt!"
Bit by bit we are trying to extend the conversations the students can have by increasing their vocabularies.

Next, the students reviewed the English for sports and games. The students could also use some extra new vocabulary (hiking, shopping, go to a festival, etc.).
"What's this?"

After that they practiced using the phrase "Let's~!". The students could answer if they wanted to play together or not.
"Let's play table tennis!"
"Yes, let's!"

"Let's play soccer!"
"Sorry! No, thank you."

In the last class the students invited each other to play different games at lunch time. In this class the focus was on summer vacation. Let's invite our friends to do something together during summer vacation. The new vocabulary they studied at the start of the class was focused on summer activities (festival etc.).
First, the two teachers game a demonstration. Can you tell what activity Mr. Ota is inviting Ms. Mayumi to do?
It's fishing! "Let's go fishing!"

After the two teachers demonstration the next step was one teacher-one student demonstration.
"Hello!"

The last demonstration was done by two students.
Both teachers were there to help if the students needed it.

After the demonstrations it was time to start the activity! "Let's start!"
The students tried their best to invite their friends to do fun things in the summer vacation.

Half-way through the activity the teachers chose two students to give a demonstration and everyone had to think about the good points.
"They have good gestures!"

Then, everyone restarted the activity, keeping in mind the good points about the demonstration.
Great gestures!

Nice smiles!

Good eye contact!

After the activity the students wrote their feedback card. Recently students have only been writing their feedback cards on the last lesson of the topic. It means there is more time for activities in other lessons.
Students have to think about the whole topic.

The teachers picked some students to announce to the class what they wrote.
Everyone did their best!
Well done 4th grade students and teachers!

On the last day of term before summer vacation class 2-3 had a demonstration class. Many teachers came to watch their class and give advice to the teachers. It was the 2nd grade students second English class this year.

First, the class started with `silent greeting` and then `greeting game`.
This was a good warm-up to get students ready to study English.

Ms. Ayaka picked some students to give a demonstration and the other students had to say what was good about it.
"Eye contact!" "Smile!" "Clear voice!"
Then Ms. Ayaka asked "If you do this how will the person talking to you feel?"
"If you do all three things, they will feel very happy!"
It's important for the students to think about why we do things.

Next, Ms. Ayaka put some pictures on the blackboard. "What's this?"
"It's my cucumber!"
"It's the tomato I grew!!"
Ms. Emily was very surprised to hear that the students have been growing vegetables. Ms. Ayaka and the other students decided to tell Ms. Emily about the vegetables.
The students said a vegetable that they gew in Japanese. Then, Ms. Ayaka took it out of the box and Ms. Emily taught everyone the English word.

"Cherry tomato! What color is this?"
"It's red!"
Ms. Emily couldn't see the color cards from behind the desk so she asked the students, "Here? Is this red?"

After each new vegetable everyone repeated the names for all the vegetables.
It meant everyone got a lot of practice saying the new words.

Sometimes Ms. Emily made a mistake.
"Corn! What color is this?"
"Yellow!"
"Oh, yellow! Here?"
"No!! That's orange!!"

After learning the words for vegetables the teachers also asked the students some questions. "Do you like tomatoes?" "Do you like eggplants?"
The students could answer using gestures or saying "Yes" or "No!".

Next we had a vegetable quiz. Ms. Ayaka would ask Ms. Emily to pass her a vegetable, "Corn please!".
Ms. Emily often made mistakes."Here you are!"
The students would correct her.
"No!!"
"No? What's this?"
"Eggplant!"
"Oh! Thank you!"

Next, the students had to guess if the vegetables would sink or float in a want tank.
"Will corn float?"

Students had five seconds to move. The students who thought `float` had to sit by the window. The students who thought `sink` had to sit by the door.
"Sink or float? 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, sit down!"

When the students got the right answer they celebrated.
"Yeay!!!"

Lastly, we read the book やさいのなか. It's a Japanese book but Ms. Emily used it to give a quiz in English. It has silouhette pictures of vegetables. "What's this?"
"Hmmm....sweet potato?"
"Yes! That's right!"
"Do you like sweet potatoes?"
"Yes!!"

Good job 2nd grade students and teachers! What a fun class!

We just had our last Tomilish Time before summer vacation. In this blog post we will show you the roles the homeroom teachers take during Tomilish Time when different classes and grades are mixed together.

Depending on which classes are mixed together there can be 2 or 3 teachers who work together to make Tomilish Time. Beforehand they talk together to work out how they will adapt the activities to their classes. Teachers all have their own ideas and fun changes to make Tomilish Time exciting and interesting for everyone.
"Hello everyone!"
Tomilish Time always starts with Teacher's greetings.

Next, the teachers usually give a demonstration.
Mr. Kakinuma and Mr. Suda are demonstrating how to make good eye contact.

The teachers often ask the students what was good about their demonstration.
"Who can tell me the good points?"

After the teacher's demonstration the teachers pick some students to give a demonstration. This helps to check that everyone understands what to do. Often the upper grade students will give a demonstration to the lower grades.
Here some 5th grade students are showing the 1st graders a good example of greeting each other. Nice smile!

During the activity the teachers also get involved.
By taking part in the activities they provide a good example to the students.

As well as teachers, older students also help to provide a good example.
As well as taking part in the activities the teachers watch the students in order to praise students after the activity has finished. What do you think the teachers would praise about this pair?
Great eye contact!

It's very important for the students to see their homeroom teachers trying their best to speak English.
Mr. Ota tries very hard to speak English so let's all try hard, too!

After the activity the teachers praise students and pick students to show another good demonstration.
They also ask students questions.
"Do you remember the names of people you talked to?"
"Who talked to both boys and girls?"
Tomilish Time is a success because the homeroom teachers always work so hard to make it interesting and fun for the students. Thank you for all your hard work!

4th grade students have been studying the English for sports and games as well as the question "Do you like ~?". In this class we focused on using the English they have learned so far, as well as the phrase "Let's ~!", in order to invite friends to play together.

First we warmed-up with a greeting game. We like to add extra phrases to the normal greeting to help improve the students' English. This time we added
"Nice ~!". The students had to say something nice about the other person.
"Nice t-shirt!"
"Thank you!!"

The students had just been swimming so many people had their towels with them.
"Nice towel!"
"Thank you!"
This was the most popular phrase!
Students could also ask the teachers how to say something in English. "What's メガネ in English?"　
"Glasses!"
"Thank you! Nice glasses!"

Next the teachers used flashcards to review the English words for sports and games.
"What's this?"
"It's soccer!"
"That's right!"

After that, the teachers introduced the phrase "Let's ~!" to invite someone to play together. The students practiced by asking the teachers. The teachers could answer "Yes, let's!" if they wanted to play. If they didn't feel like playing they could say, "Sorry!".
After practicing with the teachers the students then practiced with individual students. "Let's ask together!"
"Let's play Japanese chess!"
"Yes, let's!"

The class thought about what game or sport the student would want to play.
"Let's play soccer!"
"Yes, let's! You know me so well!!"
The students felt happy when they were invited to play something they like.

Next, it was time for the main interview activity. First the teachers demonstrated the conversation.
"Do you like soccer?"
"Yes, I do!"
"Let's play soccer!"
"Yes, let's!"
The students could also answer "Sorry!" if they didn't want to play.
After the teacher's demonstration some students gave a demonstration.
During the demonstration the teachers stayed next to the students to help if they didn't know what to say. This helps the students to feel more confident when giving a demonstration.

Some more students gave a second demonstration.
This time the teachers stood further back and checked that all the students in the class understood how to do the activity.

After the demonstrations it was time to start!
"Let's jump rope!"
"Yes, let's!"

The students also remembered the important points of smiling, making eye contact and speaking with clear voices.
Great eye contact! Well done!
We hope the students can use English to invite their friends to play in the future!

This week's Tomilish Time we mixed the different grades together. The older students led the younger students in the activities and helped to teach them. Last year when the grades mixed together it was always in the same combination: 4th and 6th, 5th and 2nd, 1st and 3rd. This year we are going to change the combinations so the students can meet other grades too.

5th grade and 1st grade students were mixed together for the first time. The 5th graders were great examples for the younger students. They also taught the 1st graders how to answer the question "What's your name?".
The 5th graders were very kind and helpful.

They tried very hard to help the 1st graders.
Nice eye contact!

The 1st graders could feel comfortable to speak English.
Good gestures!
Thank you 5th grade students and well done 1st grade students!

2nd and 3rd grade students were also mixed together. The students got together in a donut shape. They could talk to many people.


"Me, too!" Nice reaction!

"Nice to meet you!"
Good job 2nd and 3rd grade students!

6th and 4th graders were also mixed together.
Great eye contact!
Great job everyone!

6th grade students have been studying Hi,friends!2 Lesson 3 `I can swim.` and continuing to make quizes about their classmates.

Class 6-1 students were ready to start giving the quizzes to their friends. We started the class with `Teacher Talk`. Ms. Keiko and Mr. Kei talked about what they did on Saturday. Ms. Keiko played tennis all day.
"Mr. Kei, can you play tennis?"
They tried to play tennis but it was a little dangerous because Mr. Kei can't play tennis. The ball went into the corridor!

Mr. Kei was sad because he can't play tennis.
Don't worry! Ms. Keiko will tell him other things that he can do. "You can't play tennis but you can play basketball!"

Next, we did the Hi, friends! chant.
The students chanted and did gestures in pairs.

After that it was time for a demonstration of the greeting game.
"Let's watch!"

"Can you play kendama?"
"No, I can't!"
Oh no, he is sad!

Quick! Let's think of something he can do.
"But, you can play soccer!"
"Oh! Yes, I can! I can play soccer! Thank you!"
It was also the last chance for the students to collect information before giving their quizzes.

After the students had done the greeting game it was time for the main activity: giving quizzes!
The teachers gave a demonstration.
"Hint please!
"I can play the flute! Who am I?"

After watching the demonstration the students first gave quizzes in their pairs.
Praticing in pairs gives the students confidence before allowing them to talk to anyone in the class.

Nice eye contact! It's hard not to look at your papers when giving a quiz. Well done!

After practicing giving quizzes in pairs the students were able to walk around the room and give quizzes to many people.
Nice smiles!

Well done class 6-1! The 6th grade teachers could watch this lesson and think about how to improve it. Class 6-2 will give their quizzes in a demonstration class (研究授業）next week. I wonder what will be different. It will be interesting to see what the teachers change.

All 2nd grade classes had English classes for the first time this year. In the first class we focused on reviewing what the students studied last year (animals and numbers).

We started the class with silent greeting and normal greeting games.
We focused on eye contact, smiling and, during the normal greeting game, speaking in clear voices.


After the greeting game the teachers picked some good students to give a demonstration.
The students had to watch and think about the good points of the demonstration.

The teachers asked the students why something was good. "Why is it good to make eye contact? How does it make you feel?"
"It makes me feel happy." "I feel like they are listening to me." It's important for the students to think about why they should do certain things instead of only doing it because the teachers tell them that they should.

After warming-up with the greeting games the teachers did `Teacher Talk`. They have a conversation in English and the students have to listen and think about what they are talking about. This week the students will go on a trip to the aquarium. "Last year the students went to the zoo. Have you ever been to the zoo, Ms. Emily?"
"Yes, I have. I went with the first year students!"
"Nice!"
"What animal do you like?"
"I like monkeys!" "Nice!"

The homeroom teachers didn't go to the zoo last year so the students and Ms. Emily decided to teach them about the animals at the zoo. The teachers had prepared some numbered envelopes with animals from the zoo.
"What number do you like?" "7!"

Hmmm...what's inside the envelope? "What's this?"
There's a small window in the envelope! Ms. Emily gave some hints, too. "Black and white!"
"Oh, penguins?"
"Yes!"

What's in this one? It's a big animal.
"It's an elephant!!" "Yes!"

The students who knew could raise their hands. They could answer in English or Japanese and Ms. Emily would say the correct English.
"I know! I know!"

The teachers pick the people who sit properly and don't shout.
They are waiting very well. Nice job!

Next, we counted the animals in the enevelope. "How many penguins?"
1, 2, 3, 4, 5...

The students counted together.
Clear voices! Well done!

Next, the students noticed that the numbers on the envelopes didn't match the number of animals that were inside. Let's fix it.
There are 6 monkeys but the envelope says `3`. Let's change it!

Next we watched the `Let's go to the zoo.` song from the Super Simple Songs DVD.
The homeroom teachers didn't go to the zoo last year but using this DVD we can all go to the zoo together!

The DVD had many different animals and animal gestures.
It was the first time for the students to see the DVD.


First, the students had to watch the DVD and listen to the English song.
They had to try and remember all the animals and gestures that appeared in the song.

What animals do you remember? What did they do?
"Polar Bears! Swimming!"

For the second time listening to the song the students could do the gestures, too.
"Let's go to the zoo and dance like the animals do!"

Can you guess what animal this is?
"Let's go to the zoo and stomp like the elephants do!"

How about this one? Is it a bird?
"Let's go to the zoo and waddle like the penguins do!"

They are jumping! Are they frogs?
"Let's go to the zoo and jump like the kangaroos do!"

Hmm...what about this gesture?
"Let's go to the zoo and slither like the snakes do!"
Dance like the animals was a lot of fun! Everyone laughed and smiled a lot.

Lastly we read the book `Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?` together.
"What animal is this?"

We talked about the colors too. "What color is this?"
"It's yellow!" "Yes. That's right!"

It was a very fun English class. We are looking forward to our next class!

5th grade students have just started to study Hi,friends!1 Lesson 3 `How many?`. First the teachers did a small `Teachers Talk`. "Wow! You have many pens! How many pens?"
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. 6 pens!"
Then they asked the students to guess what they talked about. After that the students did a warm-up greeting game.
They could ask each other "How many ~?" questions, for example: "How many shoes?".

Can you guess what he was asked?
"How many lines?". He is counting the lines on his hand!

If students didn't know the English they could ask in Japanese and then check the English with Ms. Emily afterwards. This makes everyone relaxed and they can learn some new English, too!
Nice eye contact!

Everyone tried to talk to many people and asked good questions. "How many pockets?"
"3 pockets!" Great smile!

The teachers picked some good students to give a demonstration.
Good job!

After warming up we did the Hi, friends! chants for Lesson 3 and also sang the `7 steps' song. We like replacing the numbers in the song with jumps and spins. We didn't take any pictures because all the teachers were jumping and dancing, too. It was so much fun!

After that we played the `Don't say 20.` game.
The students make groups and take turns to say 1, 2 or 3 numbers. The person who says 20 has lost the game.

Everyone enjoyed playing this game a lot.
By practicing pronuncing the English in groups the students don't feel bad if they make a mistake and other students can help them if they forget.

Some students were very good at avoiding saying `20`.
Ms. Keiko lost the game twice in a row! Never mind, Ms. Keiko!

Next, we played the `Number Gift` game. We were taught this game by 5th grade teachers from Nagamachi Elementary School. Thank you!
The students take turns to say the numbers from 1-20 in order. They `pass` the number to the next person. The person who receives `20` is lucky!
"1!" The next person has to say "2!" and point to someone else. They have to `pass` the numbers nicely.

"7!".
It's a nice game for practicing making eye contact.

"20!"
"Thank you!". The person to receive `20` says "Thank you!".

We also did some other activities using numbers. The students got into pairs and checking the contents of their pencil cases.
"How many pencils?" "5 pencils!"
It was a good chance to learn the English words for stationary, too!

Lastly, the students asked each other about the janken game that they played in Upper Grades Tomilish Time. "How many circles?"
"10 circles!"
"Wow! You are good at janken!"

Good job everyone!