January 15th 2008

Writing Lesson Plan Week 15
Tuesday January 15th, 2008

1) First, edit your blog from last week (if you have not done that yet).
2) Visit Masa's blog and leave a message for him.
3) Today is the last writing class of this year 2007-8. Please write a short report about ALL the classes you had with me and Mr Steckler this 2nd semester:
a) T.A.J. (1st period),
b) Writing I
c) Listening I (Popstars with Mr Steckler).

This is your last writing assignment. It is your last chance to impress me and get a good grade!
今日の授業は最後です。後は成績の計算しかありません！がんばってください。

I'm looking forward to Thursday's performances. It's going to be fun.

Writing I Lesson Plan January 8th, 2008

(Photo uploaded to Flickr on April 2, 2007 by jpellgen)







Writing I Week 14

Happy New Year, everyone. Did you enjoy the winter break?

Today, we will find out about January in Britain. WRITE ALL YOUR ANSWERS IN MS WORD and SPELLCHECK FIRST, then upload to your blog.

1. Tell us about your New Year. Add a picture.
   My family all stayed at home in Ikoma. My daughter came back from Tokyo for a week. On New Year's Day we wrote New Year's cards, and I telephoned my parents. We also ate traditional Japanese New Year's food such as "ozouni" and osechi.
   
   My son went to Kasuga Shrine in Nara with friends.
   
   On January 2nd, we sent our cards then went... to Kasuga Shrine! We went in the late afternoon to avoid the crowds. We bought some fortune cookies ("o-mikuji") and tied them to a string
   
   On the 3rd, we went to a favourite temple called Joururi-ji
   You can see some photos I took here



2. Now go to the Project Britain website and answer these questions about New Year in Britain:
   
   1. Hogmanay is the name for New Year in which country?
   
   
   2. In which city is the New Year's Day parade held? Can you find a photo of this year's parade?
   
   
   3. Whose birthday is on January 3rd, and what famous book did he write?
   
   
   4. Whose birthday is on January 5th? Why is this person's birthday in a British calendar?
   
   
   5. Whose birthday is today (January 8th)? What is he famous for?
   
   
   6. What is Al Hijra and why is it on a British calendar?
   
   
   7. Who reached the South Pole in 1912 on January 17th?
   
   
   8. Whose birthday is on January 18th? What famous book did he write?
   
   
   9. Who died on January 24th, 1965? What is he famous for (write ONE thing).
   
   
   10. What do you think about this calendar?
   
   
   
   

Writing I Lesson Plan December 11th, 2007

1) As today is the last class this year, and it is nearly Christmas, today's theme is Christmas. Go to the Woodlands Junior School website and find out about Christmas in the UK.

2) What is a nativity play?
3) What is a Christmas carol?
4) Write on your blog about 5 things you learned about Christmas in the UK. (Write in MS Word first, then copy to your blog.)

Writing 1 Lesson Plan Week 11 December 4th, 2007

Writing 1
Lesson Plan Week 11 December 4th, 2007

1. Write a short paragraph about these two movies:
a) Beowulf
b) The Golden Compass

Write in MS Word, spell check, then upload to your blog. On your blog, add links to people or places. You can also add photos, but ALWAYS give credit (say where you got the photo from, who took the photo, and add a link back to the original).

2. Visit Masa's blog for his latest news.


3. Visit my blog and choose a movie you would like to watch during lunchtime.

Writing 1 Lesson Plan Week 8 November 13th, 2007

1. 15-20 minutes vocabulary or language work.
Choose an article from this week's (Nov 9th) Catch A Wave magazine.
Then go to the website

Listen to the audio and read at the same time.
Listen and read several times, until you can listen ONLY and understand 90% of the content.


2. Visit masa's Blog for the latest news:

3. Free writing. Surf the Internet. Find something you are interested in. Write about it in MS Word then copy and paste to your blog.

4. Visit your classmates' blogs and leave a comment if you want.

Lesson Plan Week 8 November 13th, 2007

Writing 1
Lesson Plan Week 8 November 13th, 2007

1. 15-20 minutes vocabulary or language work. Choose something from this list
   or Catch A Wave at
   http://catchawave.jp/
   http://catchawave.jp/sounds


2. Visit Sheffner's Office Blog for the latest news.


3. Last Thursday, the background music was "Jupiter". Write
   your answers in COMPLETE SENTENCES. Write the
   answers to these questions in MS Word, then paste into your blog.
   
   1. Which Japanese singer sang this song?
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayaka_Hirahara
   
   
   2. How old is she?
   
   
   3. What and where is she studying now?
   
   
   4. Her song "Jupiter" is based on which piece of classical music?
   
   
   5. When was this piece of music first performed and who was the conductor?
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Planets_Suite
   
   
   6. "Jupiter" is one part of this music. How many parts are there all together,
      and what are the names of the other parts?
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Planets#Structure
   
   
   7. Who wrote the original classical music piece?
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Holst
   
   
   8. When and where was he born?
   
   
   9. Where did he study music?
   
   
   10. When did he die?
   
   
   11. Write your comment about these pieces of music.
   
   


4. Last Tuesday and Thursday, we read and listened to the beginning of
   "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". Answer the questions below, using complete
   sentences. Write in MS Word then paste to your blog.
   
   1. When was this story published in Britain?
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_and_the_Chocolate_Factory
   
   
   2. Who wrote the story?
   
   
   3. When and where was he born, and when did he die?
   
   
   4. Which country were his parents from?
   
   
   5. What are his most famous books?
   
   
   6. Have you read any of them, or seen the movie? Which ones?
   
   
   7. Who was the author's first wife, and what did she do?
   
   
   8. Dahl's first wife acted in a black-and-white movie. We watched
      the beginning of this movie in class. What is the title?
      Answer here
      and
      here.
      Do you think she is beautiful?
      (Here is a photo of her taken in 2007
   
   
   9. Write a comment about reading and listening to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in class.
   
   
   
5. What is November 11th called in Britain? Go to the Woodlands Junior School homepage to find the answer.
   
   1. Who lays a wreath?
   
   
   2. Where?
   
   
   3. Why?
   
   
   4. How many years is it since the end of World War One?
   
   
   5. What is the red flower called? (Answer here).
   
   
   6. (Bonus question) Why is this red flower used on November 11th? (Answer here).
   
   
   7. (Watch a video of this year's event here).
   
   
   
   
6. What happened on November 6th in London? (See pictures here and here).


7. What happened on November 10th in London? (See pictures here).


8. What is the Mayor's name?

Lesson Plan Week 7 November 6th, 2007

(Photo credit: Lewes Fireworks by Mike on Flickr.)









Writing 1
Lesson Plan Week 7 November 6th, 2007

1. 15-20 minutes vocabulary or language work. Choose something from this list

2. Go to the Woodlands Junior School's homepage to find the answers to these questions:

1. What is November 5th called in Britain?
2. What do people do on this day?
3. Why? (What is the historical reason?)
4. Go to Flickr, type the answer to 5.1 in the search box, and find an interesting photo to put on your blog.
5. Write 5 sentences on your blog about some differences and similarities between fireworks customs in
Britain and in Japan.

3. Visit Sheffner's Office Blog for the latest news.

4. Visit your classmates' blogs (see the list at http://writing120007.blogspot.com/ )

5. Write on your blog about what you did today. (Use MSWord first for grammar and spell-checking).