富沢小学校 Tomilishブログ

Classes 4-1 and 4-2 have been working on adding gestures to their `Days of the week` song. Usually when students sing songs it looks like this:

The teachers wanted to make singing more fun and make the songs easier to remember. So they decided that each class would think of gestures that go with each day of the week. The first time the students hear the song it's difficult for them to sing right away but if they can do gestures they can feel like they have achieved something.
Singing songs with gestures looks like this:
So much fun!

First the students brainstormed ideas for each day of the week. Many students gave different ideas. The teachers asked "If you see that gesture will you think of Monday(Tuesday/etc.)?". The students used gestures linked to the kanji.
These are the gestures that class 4-2 decided.

At first the students were a little shy and uneasy to do the gestures.
The teachers did their best to dance and sing enthusiastically so the students felt comfortable, too.

Soon everyone was smiling and dancing, too.
Can you guess what this gesture is? The students in the background of the photo are doing it very well. It's a moon. It's Monday!

Class 4-1 also made their own original gestures. When students create their own gestures as a class it gives them more motivation to use them. Do you know what day this is?
They are making a circle with their arms. It's a sun for Sunday!

The teachers can also use these gestures as hints to the students if they can't remember a word. It's a fun way to help the students to remember.

Everyone enjoyed dancing and the teachers will keep trying to think of new ways to make the English class fun and memorable.

This month the Display Committee (掲示委員会) have made posters about the meaning of gestures in different countries. This time everyone made a quiz.
These quiz posters are in the entrance hall for the school. Can you guess the answers?

Question 1:


Answer 1:


Question 2:


Answer 2:


Question 3:


Answer 3:


Question 4:


Answer 4:


Question 5:


Answer 5:


Question 6:


Answer 6:


Question 7:


Answer 7:


Did you learn something new? Thanks to the Display Committee, we can learn a lot of new things!

6th grade students just finished their third class talking about their summer vacations. Today we focused on the phrase "I enjoyed..."

First, we did a greeting game. This time instead of telling the students what to say after asking "How are you?", they were free to ask anything that they had studied previously.
The teachers did a demonstration.
"I like LEGO. Do you like LEGO?"
"Yes, I do. Do you have LEGO?"
"No, I don't."

It was a challenge because everyone asked different questions.
"Can you swim?"
"Do you like soccer?"

"What do you want?"
"What's this?"

"When is your birthday?"
"How many?"

Everyone tried their best to talk to many people. The teachers picked some students to give a good example.
Great gestures! Nice reactions!

After the greeting game we practiced the original chant.
Let's do gestures, too! It helps us to remember.

Ms. Emily and Ms. Keiko demonstrated the new vocabulary.
"I went to Shibuya. I enjoyed shopping."
"I went to Matsushima. I enjoyed fishing."

We practiced some new vocabulary, too.
"I enjoyed swimming!"

First, we practiced the conversation in pairs.
Practicing in pairs gives everyone confidence. It's also a good time to check with the teachers if anyone has any questions.

Nice eye contact!

After speaking in pairs it was time to walk around the room and talk to many people. What did they enjoy doing in summer vacation?
Nice reaction!

Great smile!

Good gesture!

After the activity the teachers picked some students to give a good demonstration. Sometimes the students volunteered, too: "Our conversation was very good!".
Great gestures!

Brilliant smiles!

We have one more English class this week. Everyone is looking forward to it!

This week 5th grade students had their third class on Hi,friends!1 Lesson 7 `What's this?`. We started the class with a greeting game using "What's this?" and then practiced the chants before we played the pointing game using pages 28 and 29 of the textbook.

Next, we played the snakes and ladders boardgame. Everyone played together in small groups.


When someone moves, everyone asks them "What's this?".
"What's this?"

They answer with the picture that they landed on.
"It's a notebook!"

After that we got to the main task for today. Next week we will have an original quiz competition so the students had to make their own quizzes.
All the students have to draw a picture. Then they will either cut it up, like a puzzle, or they will cover it with another paper with holes in it.

I wonder what they are drawing! Let's find out next week!

On Wednesday mornings we have Tomilish Time with the whole school. Today Tomilish Time was broadcast to TVs in the classrooms. Wait...what's this?
Ms. Emily and Ms. Mayumi are talking about the date as usual but they look a little different!!
They are wearing hachimaki. Let's practice cheering in English!

First, we repeated after Ms. Emily.
She spoke slowly and clearly so everyone could hear well. Ms. Mayumi pointed out some of the intonation.
"Do your best! We should say the word `best` strongly! Let's try again!"

Next, the 5th grade cheering leaders came to help us practice.
Thank you for coming! Let's cheer together!

We all practiced repeated after the 5th grade students.
"You can do it! せいの　You can do it!"

After practicing with the 5th grade students everyone practiced again in their classrooms.
Tomorrow we will have a school assembly in the gym hall to cheer for the 6th grade students.

Thanks to practicing in Tomilish Time everyone was very enthusiastic.
DO YOUR BEST!!

Thanks to 5th grade cheering leaders, Tomilish Time was a great success!
Thank you so much!

Ms. Emily and Ms. Mayumi also had fun, too!
What do you do when there is a problem with the sound during the broadcast? Dance party!
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade! (It's an English saying, do you know it?)　
困ったこと（lemons）がおきても、それをたのしいこと（lemonade！）にしてしまいましょう。
Good work today everyone! Let's all cheer for 6th grade students tomorrow! We can do it!!

5th and 6th graders enjoyed Tomilish Time today. The 5th graders are studying "What's this?" while the 6th graders are continuing to study numbers and time.

As we don't use the textbook very much in English class, Tomilish Time is a great opportunity to do some textbook activities. Today 5th grade students did the quiz activity in Hi, friends!1.
"Open your textbooks to pages 30 and 31."

"Look at these kanji. What's this?"
"If you know the answer, raise your hand."

"I know, I know!"
Good job 5th grade students!

6th grade students reviewed the numbers 1-31 and then practiced telling the time. First they reviewed the numbers 1-31 as the teachers wrote them on the blackboard. The teachers wrote the numbers randomly so it was more interesting.
After that we reviewed some numbers that are difficult to pronounce. 12 is difficult for everyone to remember!

Then we played the Not31 game. It's the same as the Not21 game we played last week but we added more numbers. The students really enjoyed it!
Nice smile!

Good eye contact!

"Let's play again!!"

After the game, we practiced telling the time a little (without saying the minutes). "What time is it?" "It's one."
We also did a few questions using the number 30. "What time is it?" "It's six thirty."
Good job 6th grade students!

Every Monday morning at Tomizawa Elementary School we have reading time and sometimes the teachers use this time to read English picture books to the students. This week English reading time restarted after the summer holidays. Last year we only had English reading time for 1st-4th graders however the 5th and 6th grade students also asked to have English reading time so this year the English teachers will visit every grade.

Today 6th grade students had English reading time for the first time ever. Everyone was looking forward to it very much.
Ms. Emily visited class 6-1 and Ms. Goto visited class 6-2.

Ms. Emily read the book "No, David!" by David Shannon. It's about a boy who does many naughty things.
His mother is always angry with him and says "No, David!" a lot.

David does many funny things in the book.
Ms. Emily laughed while she was reading it.

All the students laughed, too. We recommend this book!

Ms. Goto read the book "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" by Eileen Christelow.
The book has a chant that everyone can say together.
Five little monkeys jumping on the bed.
One fell off and bumped his head.
Momma called the doctor and the doctor said "No more monkeys jumping on the bed!

The students acted out the story while Ms. Goto said the chant.
"1 little monkey jumping on the bed!"

Jump!!

English reading time was so much fun!

6th grade students had their second class on the topic of summer vacations. In the last class the students talked about what they ate "I ate ice cream." and in this class they studied how to talk about where they went.

We started the class with a greeting game. After asking "How are you?" the students had to say something they liked and then praise the other person.
"I like grey. Nice grey sweater!"
"Thank you!"

The teachers picked some students to give a good example.
Nice eye contact! Well done!

After the greeting game, the teachers talked to each other about their vacations. "What did you do in summer vacation?"
"I went to Tokushima. It was hot."

We practiced our original chant. We did the chants in steps. First the students only had to say "I ate ice cream." and the teachers said the rest of the chant.
As the students improved they had to say more and more sentences.

After doing the chants we practiced the phrases "I went to..." and "It was..."
"It was great!"
It was a little difficult for the students but they tried their best.

After that, they practiced asking each other in pairs. "What did you do?"
"I went to Osaka. I ate takoyaki. It was hot."

The teachers helped the students if they had any questions.


After working in pairs the students could ask anyone in the classroom.
Nice smile!

Good eye contact!

Great gesture!

At the end of the class the teachers asked the students if they had talked to anyone who had been somewhere interesting. The interesting student came to the front of the class and everyone asked them the question together.
"What did you do?"

Some of the students had funny answers.
"I went to Lawson. I ate papico. It was cold and delicious!"

Great job everyone! In the next class we will learn the phrase "I enjoyed..." Let's do our best!

Last week class 4-1 started studying a new topic in English class. In the next few classes they will be learning the days of the week and how to ask and answer questions about what day they like and why.

First, after greetings the students reviewed the numbers 1-21 by playing the `Not21`game. The students were in pairs or groups of three and they could say between 1 and 3 numbers. The person who said 21 lost the game.
The students each had a sheet with the numbers written on them so they could check off what had been said. It also helped to remind them what number came next.

Great eye contact! The hardest thing was not looking at the sheet when speaking. The students tried had to look up when they spoke.

Next, Ms. Emily and Mr. Ota did `Teacher Talk`. They modeled the conversation that the students will be able to do at the end of the unit.
"Do you like Fridays?"
"Yes, I do."
"Why?"
"I like P.E."

Then, we checked the goal of the lesson.
Let's listen hard to the new sentences!

Then Ms. Emily told us about what children in Scotland do after school and at the weekends.
Look at that sunset! Ms. Emily is from Shetland. In summer they have the simmer dim, night-long twilight (白夜), so they can play outside until 10pm or 11pm.

Ms. Emily also lives near the beach.
When she was an elementary school student she made a secret hideout(秘密基地). It looked cool!

Ms. Emily taught us how to say the days of the week in English.
Some of the words were a little difficult to pronounce. Thursday was the most difficult.

Everyone tried very hard.

Next, we sang the days of the week song.
It's a fun way to remember the pronunciations.

Good job everyone!

Next time we want to make gestures for the days of the week so the song will be even more fun. We're all looking forward to it!

This week 5th grade had English classes for the second time. We are studying Hi,friends! Lesson 7 `What's this?`.
First, started the class with a greeting game. After asking the question "How are you?" everyone asked "What's this?". The students could answer in Japanese if they didn't know the English. Afterwards the students had a chance tell everyone the English they had wanted to say. It's a good chance for everyone to expand their vocabulary.

"Hello!"
Nice smile. Greeting everyone with a smile is important!

"What's this?"
The students picked something to ask about.

"What's this?"
"Hmm....it's my t-shirt logo."

"What's this?"
"It's my....メガネ."
"Oh! Glasses!"

"What's this?"
"It's my nametag."

Reactions are very important, too.
"Oh, great!"

"Nice!"

After the greeting game we continued the quiz from the last class. We answered 30 questions in the first class and 30 questions in the second class. It's a lot of new vocabulary but the students could hear the question "What's this?" many times!
"Oh, I know!"

Lastly, we played the Pacman game. It's a variation of Criss-cross. All students stand up. Ms. Emily showed a picture and asked "What's this?". People who know the answer raise their hands. The homeroom teacher picks one person to answer. If the answer is right the student can pick a number on the blackboard.
Behind each number is a pacman card. Each card has a different meaning : people to the left of the student sit down, people behind the student sit down, etc.)

It's a very fun game. Everyone really enjoyed playing it. Even the teachers enjoyed it so much that they forgot to take any pictures. Sorry!

It was a great class. Everyone wants to play the pacman game again soon.