Drop-In+Lesson+Plan

Drop-In Lesson Plan Date: TBA

Level: Upper Elementary (Note: I will be using this with my 7th graders, most of whom have never distinguished any particular writing as Japanese, and who are very unfamiliar with cultures different from their own. Many of these students also have great difficulty memorizing simple sight words in English.)

Resources: Japanese Character Chart (Hiragana) Japanese Dictionary (must have Romanized spelling) Online Resource: kanachart.com, [], [] (these will help if you don't have your own hiragana poster) (Native Japanese speaker would be helpful, but not absolutely necessary)

Objectives: The students will compare Japanese characters with the Roman alphabet. The students will reproduce Japanese characters in their own handwriting. The students will explain the meaning of the character-phrase they have chosen. (More advanced students will create a story with the characters/vocabulary.)

Bell Ringer: Imagine that you must create a new alphabet that does not look like our Roman alphabet. What would it look like? What would it sound like? Draw some of the "letters" of your alphabet.

Procedure: 1. Begin by explaining that Japan uses a completely different "alphabet" than what we use in the U.S. Each symbol has a particular sound, and there are 46 basic characters that can be modified to make more than 46 sounds. These symbols are joined together like the letters of our alphabet to make up the syllables of a word. 2. Show the character chart. Explain the order in which the characters appear (top to bottom, right to left). Explain the Roman vowels that begin in the right column and the consonants that are added in a leftward progression. (Pronounce: a,ee,u,eh,o... a, ka, sa, ta, na, ha, ma, ya, ra, wa, n) Practice this together as a class, and check for understanding. You may even point to some random characters to quiz the students. Ask the students what similarities they notice between the characters or their sounds and the Roman alphabet we use every day. 3. Ask each student to think of something they like, such as a pet or a toy. (The seventh graders should think of one noun and one action verb.) With a partner, find the word in English in the dictionary. The students must write the Japanese word that corresponds with the English word they chose. Practice pronouncing the words with the students. 4. Next, have the students break the Japanese word into syllables. These syllables should be one or two letters together. (Example: cat = neko, ne/ko) Check the students' work to make sure they have the words correctly broken down; if this part isn't write, frustration level will run high! 5. Have students work with their partners to find the correct symbol on the chart for each syllable of the japanese word. The students should write the symbols big and bold VERTICALLY on their blank sheet of paper, then illustrate the symbol to portray the word they chose as an image. 6. After all have completed their illustrations, have the students pronounce the Japanese word and share with the class the image they have completed. A great review would be to have the other students practice pronouncing and drawing the symbols for their classmates' Japanese words.

Wrap-Up: Review the Hiragana chart. Pronounce the sounds together. Ask students how this "alphabet" is like our own.

Assessment: Check to make sure students can find the words they've chosen in the dictionary. Review alphabetical order. Check to make sure students are correctly breaking the Japanese words into syllables. Check to make sure the characters coordinate with the sounds produced by each syllable.