Sunday 17 May 2020

Love letter - Henry VIII to Jane Seymour

Dearest Jane,

I received your letter this morning but you sounded very ill.
The doctors have reported me that you shall get better soon, so please be strong and get well for me and our precious son, Edward.

Thank-you for giving me a son, my dear Jane.  Now I am the happiest person in the world.  I will cherish him and make him a great King after me.
OUP Bookworm - Henry VIII

You are the only person to listen to me well.  You are very kind to my daughters, Princess Mary and Princess Elizabeth.  I always have a lot of enemies around me and I was almost implicated in the plot of Anne Boleyn.  But you are so different from the wild dangerous witch.  My life with you have been peaceful and contented which is the first time ever since I became the King of England.

Please live a long life with me.
I will come and see you tomorrow.

Your loving husband and the King of England

Henry Ⅷ  xoxo

Posted for Sayuri

Saturday 16 May 2020

High school student's PPT advice for COVID-19

A high school student's advice for COVID-19 prevention
A poor reproduction of Yuto's excellent PowerPoint poster, with advice about COVID-19 (can't upload PPT to Blogger I'm afraid). As you can see, he put a lot of thought & care into his design & message.

An after reading task to OUP's Read & Discover level 6 graded reader title "Cells & Microbes", somewhat relevant especially as he aspires to become a doctor (still!).

Posted for Yuto

Friday 15 May 2020

An ex-journalist's (imaginary) newspaper report - Chemical Secret


DEAD SEALS DISCOVERED AROUND RIVER MOUTH  

Two days ago, some dead seals were discovered on some small islands and sandbanks around the mouth of the river. The cause seems to be an unknown disease. What can be assumed is the possibility that the damage was done by the water supply from the paint factory. It is said their drain carry waste products into the river. We must find out the bottom of the case.

When John Duncan got to the hospital, his daughter Christine and Simon were there with their baby. The baby was beautiful and looked healthy. John felt relieved and suddenly cried loudly. Nobody could stop him crying for a while. When he stopped crying and looked at Christine, she smiled at her father forgivingly. John talked to Christine and Simon how much he had worried about their baby and how much he had been stricken with guilt. Christine showed her understanding about her father. Finally, she recognized that her father had brought up two children desperately by himself and he had always loved them deeply. Now her father had lost many things, so they decided to live together.

John Duncan is basically a hard-working, serious man. He looked after his children very well. Since he needed job to provide for them, he had to do as his boss said. He found out a big secret about the company, but he could not bring the issue out into the open. He tried to keep the secret to protect their lives and the employees, but his daughter did not understand him at all. He lost his house and his daughter’s trust and love.
Are jobs for people are more important than seals dying?

It looks like a difficult decision. If lots of people lose their jobs, some people might not be able to live. However, also we should not ignore about environmental preservation. This is a fundamental issue. We should not compare human life with animal lives because each life has same weight.

An after reading task, for OUP Graded Reader "Chemical Secret", by Teruki

Thursday 14 May 2020

Biography of Taka - Japanese pop idol

Takahiro Moriuchi - One OK Rock vocalist
Takahiro Moriuchi is the vocalist of Japanese rock band "ONE OK ROCK". He is an excellent musical talent. Now he is one of the best singers, and "ONE OK ROCK" is getting popular not only in Japan but also around the world.

Taka was born in Tokyo on April 17, 1988. His father is a famous Japanese singer, Shinichi Mori, and his mother Masako Mori is also a great singer.

When he was 13 years old, he joined "Johnny & Associates". He joined the idol group "NEWS". However, he was bashed because he was the son of celebrities and had become famous without having to struggle, so he quit.

When he as 17 years old, he joined "ONE OK ROCK". After that he wrote many wonderful songs, and they succeeded playing a lot of concert tours in Japan and also around the world every year. Their concerts in Tokyo Dome and Nagisaen (Shizuoka) drew audiences totaling 100,000 people in two days.

Now he tries to provide a new style of music with "ONE OK ROCK" band members. I hope and cheer for their success.

Posted for Masato - a big fan!

Tuesday 5 May 2020

Roar into another I-Spy challenge!

The reason why slippers were invented? Lego, the domestic landmines!


How long will take you to find ALL the objects on the list?

Thank you Liz!

Friday 1 May 2020

Let the kids play! Quizlet Live "individual" for remote learning

Collaborating competitively!
With half our students of this class Zooming in from home, we tried out Quizlet Live to review vocabulary competitively. This worked out very nicely, in "Individual" mode.

Teacher set up the game from PC on the Quizlet site, then shared the QR code on screen; quick tap & added their names with no explanation needed (think they've been improving digital skills with being at home - isn't that an indictment against schooling in Japan?)...all members of the the game need to be playing synchronously.

Press play & realised the set was far too easy! Our learners quickly demonstrated their grasp of technology as well as the target language.

Only problem with the F2F students = using my devices we could only play as "one" person, so some collaboration required, having disinfected hands & device first (and after).

We are lucky that our students have access to smart devices I know, and that they have good connectivity. Downside is more screen time, but to be honest the variety for book-based classes is more important.

Verdict? Strongly recommend Quizlet Live Individual






What's in your drawers?

Another lovely I-Spy challenge from "Aunty Liz"...

Can you find all the things in the list on the left?

How many of these things can you find in your drawers at home?

Why not share a picture?

Have fun searchng!