General Elementary School Resources

Since 2011, all elementary schools have been required to teach English Communication around 32 times a year to 5th and 6th graders. The main textbook is Hi, friends! As part of the Period for Integrated Study, schools may still choose to schedule classes for 1st through 4th grade as they see fit.

What to Teach

The phrases below should be adjusted to the level of the kids. Break up your lessons into either 1st/2nd, 3rd/4th grades or some similar grouping and plan accordingly. Lessons for 1st/2nd grade should generally be fun and simple, and those for 3rd/4th should be slightly challenging but fun. 5th/6th grade lessons should be more difficult and should try to incorporate writing, speeches, and other activities in addition to more fun activities. It is helpful to prepare the students for 5th/6th grade by using the vocabulary found in Hi, friends! in the lessons for 1st through 4th grades.

Disclaimer: obviously, all classes are different, and the above advice is only meant in general.

Greetings

• "Hello"
• "Hi"
• "Good (morning, afternoon, evening, night)"
• "I'm/My name is ...", "Nice to meet you", "How are you?"

Alphabet

Students are able to do word searches from late 3rd grade, but they don't formally learn romaji until fourth grade, so don't overdo it before that. Even in fourth grade, the kids seem to recognize capital letters a lot better than lowercase ones. Visual recognition is usually alright, but writing can be tough even in fourth grade.

Vocabulary

• Numbers (including age and telling time)
• Colors
• Animals (mammals, fish, insects, etc...)
• Foods (fruits, vegetables, desserts, etc...)
• Days of the week
• Months
• Countries
• Places (ie, "school", "hospital", etc...)
• Sports
• Vehicles
• Professions
• School Subjects

Grammar Constructions

Simple Action Verbs

Such as play, study, eat, drink, sleep, live, go, swim, jump, fly, run, walk, etc...

Declaratives

• "I like ...",
• "My favorite ...",
• "I have (a dog, a Nintendo Wii, etc...)",
• "I'm from ..."

Interrogatives

• "Do you like/have...?"
• "What is your favorite...?"
• "Where are you from?"
• "Do you...?"
• "Can you...?"
• "How many...?"

Classroom English

Such as "stand up", "sit down", "raise your hand", "be quiet", "choose (a card, a partner)", "make groups (of 4)", "face the front", "write your name", "start/go", "stop", "come (here, to the front)"...

Online Resources

Activity Ideas

• Englipedia: Catalog of useful resources/activities for all levels, arranged by level and topic
• Akita JET Teaching Resources: Well organized site with general games as well as activities for specific topics and grammar points. Focused mostly on Junior High but has activities all levels.
• Miyagi JET Teaching Resources: Catalog of useful resources/activities for all levels, arranged by level and topic
• Dave's ESL Cafe: Older website, but useful for finding activities

Flashcards and Clipart

• Happy Lab: Japanese database of topic-based flashcards in various sizes
• Misaki Illustrations: Japanese clipart in black/white, grayscale, and color. Single pictures only.
• ESL Printables: A place where you can upload your own lesson plans and download others’ (you have to sign up and accrue points for this site, but it’s great!)

Sample Curriculum

• Sample Lessons from Meiwa
• Example 5th grade lessons