富沢小学校 Tomilishブログ

This week 3rd and 4th grade students had their first English classes for this school year. Both grades had orientation where they learned about what they will study for this year, prepared their English files as well as learned more about their teacher Ms. Keiko and each other. In this blog post we'll share pictures of the 4th grade orientation classes.

During our usual greetings we use the question "What day is it today?". In order that the students can answer this question in the future, Ms. Keiko taught the days of the week song.
"Sunday, Monday, Tuesday..."

Next, Ms. Keiko gave a quiz about herself. Everyone guessed the answers to her questions.
"What's my favorite color? Purple?"

"What's my favorite character?"
"Hint, please!"
"Ok! Gesture hint!"
Can you guess?

Next, Ms. Keiko wanted to learn more about the students so everyone did a greeting game.
"What's your name?"

Nice smiles and eye contact!

Lastly, the students created their English files.
Ms. Keiko put an example file on the blackboard.

Everyone practiced writing their names nicely.


Let's write carefully!

Good job everyone! Both 4th and 3rd grade students are looking forward to English class this year. Let's enjoy English!

5th grade students have continued studying We Can!1 Unit 1 `Hello, everyone`. In the last class they studied the phrase "What ~ do you like?" and this class they will focus on the phrase "What do you want?". The students studied this phrase when they were in 3rd grade so they are already a little familiar with it.

We started class with a greeting game. This time the homeroom teacher and one student gave a demonstration. They used all the questions we learned in the last class.
"What colors do you like?"
"I like navy and black."

Everyone tried to use the English they have learned so far.
Nice gestures!

After that, we did the alphabet song. The teachers picked some students to come to the front.
Clear voices! Good job!

Next, Ms. Emily and Ms. Mayumi talked together. The students listened carefully and tried to pick out the words they understood.
"My birthday is soon. It's May 2nd."
"Oh! I will give you a present. What do you want?"
"I want yellow flowers."

After, confirming with the students what they understood, we talked about the goal for today's class.
"Let's read together!"

The students practiced the phrases with Ms. Emily before getting into pairs to ask each other what they want for their birthdays.
"I want an mp3 player."

We took some time to check how to say some words in English before the students walked freely around the room to find out what their friends want for their birthdays.
"What do you want?"

All three classes of students worked hard on actively aproaching their classmates to talk as well as talking to many different people.
Everyone did their best!

Everyone tried hard to 'catch' their chances to talk to people.


The students all felt happy when their classmates called to them.
"See you!"
Great job 6th grade students! The teachers could see a good change in you even during this class. Nice!

6th grade students recently had their second English class of the week. They continued studying Hi, friends!2 Lesson 1 'Do you have `a`?'. In this class they continued become familiar with lower case letters of the alphabet as well as becoming familiar with the numbers 1-100.

This year, as a step-up from the previous year, the class leaders for that day have been starting class.
"Stand up, please!"
"Let's make eye contact and smile!"

Next, we did our greeting game. For the past few classes the students have been sitting in pairs and trying to continue long conversations. This time the students could freely walk around the classroom but they had to try and continue speaking for as long as they could.
"What's your favorite color?"
"I like blue."

Nice gestures!

Great smile!

After the greeting game we practiced the numbers. We especially practiced the difference between similar sounding numbers such as 16 and 60.
"Numbers like 60 are short. Don't make the sound long."

Then, we played the same number game that we played in the previous class except we used the numbers 61-100.
First the teachers did a demonstration.

Then everyone played the game. We had to be careful to say all the numbers in English. The students could ask the teachers for help if they couldn't remember how to pronounce a number.
Some of the games became intense. The students were very focused!

Some of the students wanted to battle their teachers, too.
Everyone tried hard to win. You can do it!

After playing the game a few times, it was time for the alphabet song.
The students have become very used to this song so we only did the karaoke version.

Next, we did the alphabet quiz. Ms. Emily showed some folded lower case letters and everyone had to guess what they were.
"What's this?"
"y? v? x? w?"

Ms. Emily compared the folded letters to letters on the blackboard as the students suggested some answers.
"h?"
"h...yes, it could be an `h`."

The students thought very hard about the shapes of the different letters.
"Oh! I know! I know! It's `n`!!"

Lastly, we played the secret message game.
The teachers told everyone some numbers that we used to find the secret word.

The students had to listen to the numbers very carefully.
"What number was it? 87?"

We checked the answers together.
Can you tell what the secret word was? The missing letters are o, c, k. It's the name of a watch brand. It was the most difficult quiz!

At the end of the class the teachers asked the students to talk about what similarities and differences they had noticed between the letters.
"b and d look very similar."
"Yes, that's right! It's easy to make a mistake with these letters."

Good job 6th grade!

5th grade students had their first class studying We Can!1 Unit 1 `Hello, everyone`. It was also the first time for the students to have class in the English room this year. Everyone was a little nervous and excited to see what we would be studying.

We started class with our usual greetings. Our first greeting game was the silent greeting game. Students had to greet each other and ask each other "How are you?" without actually saying anything.
Nice 'Hello' gesture!

Good 'How are you?' gesture!

Through this activity the students realised the importance of eye contact and gestures in communicating with others. Everyone had to use this knowledge in our normal greeting game. Everyone was happy to be able to talk again!
"Hello! How are you?"
Nice smile!

"What's your favorite kyushoku?"
"It's natto."
"I see."

"See you!"
Good eye contact!

After the greeting games we sang and danced the alphabet song. This time the students took turns in pairs to either sing or dance.
Everyone is getting good at the dance. Now we want to improve our singing too.

Now that everyone had warmed up their bodies and minds it was time for a listening activity. We did Listen 1 on p.4 of We Can!1.
The students had to listen to the characters talk about what they like and dislike and draw a line to the correct picture.

We focused on picking out key words in order to complete the activity rather than trying to understand everything.
Everyone listened very carefully.

Next, we checked the goal for the class.
The students had to ask their teacher or their friends about what they like. The students studied the question "Do you like~?" last year so this was a little familar to them.

Next, we did the Let's Play 1 activity on p.4. The students had to guess their teachers likes and then ask them as a group.
Everyone repeated the question after Ms. Emily.

After some more practice we did the Let's Play 2 activity on the same page. The students had to ask their friends the same questions.
"What sports do you like?"
"I like baseball."

The students worked together in pairs.
It was hard to make eye contact and not look at the textbook but the students did their best.

After asking the questions in pairs, we decided to research the most popular color in the class. Everyone walked around the room and tried to ask as many people as possible the question "What colors do you like?".
Great eye contact and smiles!

All three classes either had blue or black as the most popular colors.
Yellow was very close too!

Lastly the students gave their reflections on the class.
"It was really interesting to learn about what my classmates like. It was also fun to think about what I like. I think I learned more about myself!"

Great job everyone! We have another English class this week on Friday. Let's do our best then, too!

This week we had our second Tomilish Time broadcast for the year. We focused on practicing asking and answering the question "How are you?". Also, three 6th grade students interviews some of the new teachers in English.

We started the broadcast with our usual greetings.
"How is the weather today?"
"It's rainy!"

Next we practiced asking and answering "How are you?".
It was the first time for the first grade students to practice this English and it was a good review for everyone else.

Everyone watched the broadcast and practiced hard in their classrooms.
"How are you?"

The students did their best to do gestures, too.
"I'm good!"

The students will use these greetings next week to talk to many other people in their grade.

After practicing greetings it was time for the 6th grade students to interview some of the new teachers.
"Who is your favorite actress?"
"Guess who?"
"Hint, please."
"She is cute and she is a good dancer."
"Ah! It's Aragaki Yui!"
"Yes!"

"See you!"
"Thank you! See you!"

"What's your favorite anime character?"
"Guess what?"
"Hint, please."
"Big, god and Ghibli."
"Totoro?"
"Yes, I like Tonari no Totoro!"
"Wow!"

"What's your favorite book?"
"Guess what?"
"Hint, please."
"Blue, black and three boys."
"すてきな３人組?"
"Yes! That's right!"
"Nice!"

We could learn many new things about the new teachers. Thanks to the 6th grade students for your great interviews! Your English was very clear and easy to understand! It was a great example to the younger students.
"Have a nice day! See you!"

The next Tomilish Time will not be a broadcast day. Instead, the students will get together in their grades to talk with each other in English. Everyone is looking forward to it!

After finishing orientation last week, 6th grade students have started studying Hi, friends!2 Lesson 1 'Do you have `a`?'. In this class they tried to become familiar with lower case letters of the alphabet as well as the numbers 31-60.

We started class with a greeting game. The students had to try and speak in pairs for as long as they could using English. They could ask each other many questions.
"How do you spell your name?"

The teachers got some of the students to give a good example.
Clear voices! Good job!

After the greeting game we did the alphabet chant. We did different versions of the chant such as the teacher pointing to letters and the students saying those letters in a loud voice or skipping those letters. We also danced to the chant.
The students have become very good at doing the dance. It's very fun.

Next, we did the number game. First, we practiced saying the numbers 1-60.
Everyone said the numbers together.

Next, the students got into pairs and each person could say between 1 and 3 numbers. The person who said the number 30 was the winner.
The students used a number sheet to check as they said the numbers.

After playing once using the numbers 1-30, they changed partners and did the game again with the numbers 31-60.
It was a fun way to practice numbers.

Last, we looking at some pictures taken around the school and tried to see what alphabet we could find.
We see this sign every day.

Some of the posters also have English on them.
So cute!

The English posters in the school have both upper and lower case letters.
The students are going to search for lower case letters in their daily lives. It will be interesting to see how many they can find.

Good job everyone!

This week 5th grade students continued doing listening activities in their morning activities. 6th grade students had Upper Grades Tomilish Time for the first time and used the time to make their name cards for English class.

5th grade students are studying We Can!1 Unit 1 `Hello, everyone` in English class. First, we did greetings as usual. Last year the students studied about telling the time so we always ask the question "What time is it?".
"It's 8.25am."

We did the activity `Let's Watch and Think 1`. The people in the video spoke very fast so the students didn't have to try and understand everything. They just had to try and pick out some words that they understood.
"What words could you hear?"
"Table tennis" "Yes, that's right!"
"Olympics" "Good job!"
"Medal" "Nice!"

The students listen very carefully to try and pick out the English words that they knew.
If we do this same activiy at the end of 5th grade they will understand what the people are saying much more. We're looking forward to that day!

6th grade students made their name cards that they will use in English class.
The teachers wrote a demonstration of how to place the letters. Lower case alphabet letters are a little difficult!

The students tried hard to write each letter carefully.
We will use these name cards all year so we want them to look nice.

The students also checked their friends writing and helped each other.
"That's great! It looks nice!"

Both 5th grade and 6th grade students had a productive start to the day! Good job everyone!

6th grade students had their first English class of the year. We used the first class as an orientation and used the same plan as with the 5th grade students. The students learned about what they will study this year as well as why we study English. They also prepared materials for class as well as doing some fun English activities, too.

We started class by collecting the tickets the students received in their last class as 5th grade students.
They could exchange their ticket for a sticker. It was a reward for remembering to bring it. We hope they will remember to bring all their English materials to class this year.

We started class with a greeting game. First, one of the students and Ms. Emily gave a demonstration.
They tried to continue their conversation for as long as possible.

After watching the demonstration, everyone spoke in pairs.
"Do you like green?"

"What's your favorite character?"

"Guess what?!"

The teachers asked some students to give a good demonstration.
Good gestures!

Next, Ms. Mayumi talked about why we study English and what everyone will study this year.
Even if the students never leave Japan, they will probably find speaking English useful in the future as the country becomes more and more global.

After, listening to the serious talk it was time to relax a little!
We did the alphabet chant and danced. Everyone did their best and had fun!

Lastly, we listened to the teachers talking about the alphabet. Last year the students only used upper case letters.
Ms. Emily taught everyone about lower case letters.
"You can use small letters. It's more compact!"

Then, everyone prepared their English files while writing their names using upper and lower case letters.
Let's enjoy English class this year, too!

This month the Display Committee (掲示委員会) have made posters on the theme of entrance ceremonies (入学式).
The students were very surprised to learn that in some countries they don't have entrance ceremonies.

Other countries also have very different traditions for their entrance ceremonies.
Korean schools have their entrance ceremonies in March. They have lots of balloons for decorations! Taiwan schools don't have entrance ceremonies but they have a ceremony for the start of the school year.

Some of the traditions were surprising!
In Russia the students all carry flowers and take a picture together. In Germany the students bring big paper cones filled with snacks and stationary that they exchange with their friends.

It was interesting to learn about other countries.
In the U.K. the first day at school is very relaxed. Students get to know their new classmates and teachers. In China, parents don't usually take part in the entrance ceremony but recently more and more parents have been taking part.

The posters are in the school entrance hall so please take a look if you visit the school.

5th grade students had their first English class of the year. We used the first class as an orientation. The students learned about what they will study this year as well as why we study English. They also prepared materials for class as well as doing some fun English activities, too.

We started class by doing a greeting game in pairs. The students tried to see how long they could hold a conversation using only English.
"How are you?"

"Do you like blue?"

"What's your favorite animal?"

The teachers picked some students to give a good demonstration.
Great eye contact! Nice smiles!

Next, Ms. Mayumi talked about why we study English and what everyone will study this year.
Even if the students never leave Japan, they will probably find speaking English useful in the future as the country becomes more and more global.

After, listening to the serious talk it was time to relax a little!
We did the alphabet chant and danced. It was the first time for the 5th grade students to do this chant.

After watching the chant, everyone did the dance and chanted together.
Some students came to the front of the class to dance and get everyone excited for the activity.

Everyone did their best to chant and dance!
It was a fun activity!

Lastly, we prepared our English files. First the teachers talked about the difference between romaji and English.
Mr. Ouchi's name is written Oouti in romanji but if you read the romaji in English it sounds very funny! Everyone laughed!

The two letters `oo` make a different sound in English so we have to use only one `o`.
Everyone was interested to see if their name was written differently or not.

The students made namecards too that they will use in English class.
Orientation was a relaxing way to start English class for the year. Let's do our best in English class this year, too!