This sub-organizer contains the following sections:
Prescribed Learning Outcomes
Suggested Instructional Strategies
Suggested Assessment Strategies
Recommended Learning Resources

PRESCRIBED LEARNING OUTCOMES

• exchange information orally and in romaji  with brief and simple messages
• ask and respond to simple questions
• make and respond to simple requests
• demonstrate awareness of the various Japanese writing systems
• respond to and participate in classroom routines

To view the prescribed learning outcomes for Communicating in other grades click on an icon below.

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

• Arrange students in a circle and have them take turns using appropriate words and gestures to introduce themselves to the students beside them.
• On an ongoing basis, ask students to prepare and display charts showing routine classroom instructions and other useful phrases. The charts serve as reminders to students to use the vocabulary daily.
• Have students practise vocabulary related to numbers and weather by maintaining calendars. For each day of the month, students fill in the appropriate day, date, and weather symbols, then create simple sentences describing the weather and their activities.
• Invite students, working in small groups, to plan role plays of shopping trips and present them to the class. Ask students observing the role plays to take turns recording the hand gestures and key vocabulary that assisted in communication. At the end of each role play, have students identify the gestures they found most effective and discuss whether there are other means that might also help communication in that situation.
• Provide students with a variety of Japanese resources written in hiragana, katakana,  and kanji.  Challenge students in pairs to determine the identifying characteristics of each script. Students might enjoy reproducing some of the simpler characters.

SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

• As students participate in simple interactions, ask questions, and respond, use a checklist to note the extent to which they:
  • listen and respond to instructions
  • repeat modelled phrases independently
  • reproduce or approximate the pronunciation of familiar words
  • self-correct
  • recognize and demonstrate appropriate non-verbal gestures
  • show increasing comfort and confidence
• When students create charts of instructions and common phrases for the classroom, check the extent to which they:
  • use learned patterns in their writing
  • focus on key words or phrases to communicate main ideas
  • use romaji  to communicate intended meaning
  • use the charts displayed to increase their interactions
• When students construct individual calendars and create simple sentences to describe activities and weather for each day, note the extent to which they are able to:
  • write and match the numbers
  • write and label the days of the week
  • write and label the months of the year
  • use learned patterns to write simple sentences
  • include learned vocabulary to describe the weather and their activities
• Throughout the year, have students reflect on their calendars and the sentences they can write. Encourage them to assess and discuss their increasing abilities in order to promote confidence and focus their efforts.

RECOMMENDED LEARNING RESOURCES

• 501 Japanese Verbs
• "Body" Language
• Daily Expressions in Japanese
• A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
• Everyday Japanese
• Fun with Hiragana - Workbook
• Ikimashoo
• In Japan
• Kanji and Kana

• The Children of Japan

• Niko Niko

• Lyric Language: Japanese
• Rapanese 1, 2, 3

Previous Page Next Page

  BC Ministry of Education Home Page