Grade 8 - Communicating

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

PRESCRIBED LEARNING OUTCOMES

It is expected that students will:

ask and respond to a variety of questions
exchange information orally
express simple information related to daily life using a limited number of words in hiragana and katakana
participate in familiar activities

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

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Students begin to engage in more complex interactions that build on familiar topics and frequently used expressions. The topics can be about the students themselves, their friends, or their favourite activities. Students are encouraged to continue writing simple sentences in hiragana.

Ask students in pairs to draw floor plans of their houses. While one partner is blindfolded, the other places a label representing a family member in one room of a floor plan. The blindfolded partner asks questions to determine where the family member is located. Partners switch roles and continue the game.
Have students draw and label pictures of the members of their real or imagined families, providing names, ages, occupations, hobbies, and interests. Then suggest that students write short passages, using basic hiragana and katakana , about their own or someone else's family.
Challenge students to practise recognizing and writing hiragana by:
- writing stories in romaji , substituting as many words as possible with the hiragana equivalents, then exchanging stories with classmates to practise reading
- assembling jigsaw puzzles of hiragana words for days of the week, months, weather, and so forth
Organize a letter exchange between pen pals. Provide students with a model letter format. Ask them to personalize their letters, providing information about themselves and asking about the recipients. Have students exchange their letters with members of another Japanese class or with pen pals in Japan. Encourage students to send their letters by e-mail.
Invite students in pairs to role-play two friends making plans for the weekend. Have partners discuss activities they both like doing, referring to places, times, and people. Encourage students to use new expressions learned in class.

SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

Grade 8 students develop increasing skill with the language and are able to apply a growing bank of memorized vocabulary and sentence patterns. Assessment focusses on meaningthe extent to which students are able to share ideas and information. Although oral interactions continue to be most important, students begin to write hiragana and katakana to communicate simple information.

As students engage in classroom activities, observe and note the extent to which they:
- volunteer answers and information in Japanese
- join in and use structures they have learned
- experiment with new vocabulary and structures
- try to connect structures or phrases
- support and encourage one another to complete messages
- use hiragana and katakana to write simple messages
Work with students to develop criteria for a dialogue. Assign partners and provide each with a card describing a mystery person to role-play (e.g., Japanese businessperson, teacher, university student, elementary student, shopkeeper). One partner asks questions, while the other provides information; then partners switch roles. Each partner introduces the other to the class. An observer or another group could provide feedback according to the criteria established. Criteria might include:
- appropriate vocabulary and structures
- accurate pronunciation and intonation
- smooth delivery (fluency)
- complete information
- appropriate use of non-verbal gestures
- strategies used to make the interaction more interesting