Category Archives: Teacher resources Level 2

Grammar, Teacher resources Level 2

Magnetics, another teacher resource idea

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If you have a magnetic whiteboard, some resources are really worthwhile making. Of course you do not have to make them of plastic, but plastic does give it more crispness and durability. 


If you make separate kanji for Japan, you can move them about: one beside the other, or one below the other. You could also write 本日 ほんじつ.


A tip: non-transparent plastic is better. As you can see, the magnets at the back are distracting. If you wonder how we linked the different strokes, have a close look: the links are red plastic, but we use correction fluid to make the links white. 

Another tip: some teachers asked us about magnetic sheets for kanji. Yes, that is possible and we tried that technique, but we found it irritating to have to peel the kanji off. The plastic with a little magnet “lifts” the kanji and makes it much easier to move. Easier still would be to have a square plastic kanji with no finicky bits. Yes, we got carried away…


It takes a bit of time, but your most common kanji you could make in plastic. Of course, in a PowerPoint or on a SmartBoard you would not need the plastic, but all this plastic stuff makes a very tactile lesson and students like to touch and be involved. Younger students in particular like the tactile Japanese.



We have a small bin with location words and as you can see on the whiteboard they work very well when you are constructing patterns. They allow students to get off their seats and be involved, rather than passively watching.


These magnetics are very useful when teaching adverbs of location.


Pictures are interchangeable. We also have quite a collection of fridge magnets. Picture examples will follow. Disadvantage of fridge magnets is that they could “walk”.



You could add cultural items into your teaching too. Laminate your favourite pictures and use them in your whiteboard patterns.



Because Japanese is so different from any western language because of the script, realia play an important role. You may be the only person who has this stuff and they may never see it anywhere else. A fair bit you could leave “accidentally” permanently on the side of your whiteboard. Students come to accept it as normal.



The sheet with counters we have on the whiteboard, so it is semi-permanently available, if students want to check.



Of course, once you have the sheet on computer, it is not difficult to print individual sheets off for students.



I even have a strong wooden abacus with magnets on the board. This is just a picture though.


Hanko: 

This picture could be used with the “をみます”-pattern.



This is a traffic map whiteboard; every student gets a little car and they can describe where they are going. With pictures we can add buildings and parks. We can also add traffic signs. Good for Level 5 traffic directions. Of course you can draw one with whiteboard marker. Probably better to use a “temporary” permanent marker, which you erase after you have finished your unit. 
Here is the grammar train (see earlier page).





Keep your pictures in a transparent box – saves time.


600 Creative Writing, Teacher resources Level 2, Teacher resources Level 6

Genkōyōshi げんこうようし

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Here is some free genkōyōshi, げんこうようし, for you to practise writing on. If you do any assignments, this sheet will allow either you or a marker to write corrections or alterations as well. It also forces you to break-up all your writing into legible squares. 





You can print the following page and this will help you with your writing of hiragana, katakana and kanji as each set of four squares will show you balance and proportion.