特別ポスト: Four great saxophonists

Hello! 

How are you? This is for Anna Asai in the 3rd period Writing English 1A class on Wednesday - but any students who play the saxophone can join in here! 

Here are video files of four great jazz saxophonists. What do you think of them? Watch and listen to these and tell me - or free write - about them. 

You don't have to know anything about any of these artists - but if you play the saxophone you may know of some of them. 

Here's the first - the great John Coltrane: 

Now check this one out - Rahsaan Roland Kirk:

What do you think of someone who could play three saxophones at once? Now here's this one - Wayne Shorter: 

Now here's the last one - Ornette Coleman:

Hope you enjoy these! See you next week!

Image: By William P. Gottlieb - http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/4843755786/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20705291

Video files courtesy of YouTube. Uploaded for educational purposes only. I do not own the rights to the musical compositions or video files. 

Writing English 2A: Writing assignment 1・作文1

Hello!

How are you? Today I will show you our first writing assignment (作文1) - writing about people or places (面白い人達、場所、位置).

I have given you the handout about this assignment, but I will post this here to help remind you on what you can write about. 

I am gathering writing on this topic into two books – one called The Small Book of Big People, about your most interesting or respected people – and another called Places & Traces, about special places and other things that people remember. The best of your writing on these topics could go into these books, so write to the best you can! 

How much to write

I would like you to write as much as you can, because your work may be published (出版した) on both this blog and in the The Small Book of Big People and Places & Traces books. I would like to see maybe 2-3 paragraphs' worth of writing. 

Deadline (締め切り)

It will be May 25th (5/25), so I want you to bring in a first draft (下書き) next week (来週) in your notebooks in pencil. I will then review your work, and you can change things about the draft as you need to. Then you can write to the finish and turn it in on 5/25. 

Task (choose one)

About people

Who do you think are some interesting or special people in Japan or the world today?  What are they famous for? You can write about people you know, but what is special about them? When you write about a person, include this information:

•           What they look like
•          How they dress (if they have a unique fashion sense or style)
•         What they are known to you for (or what they are famous for)
•         What is is unique or interesting about them

About places

What are some interesting or special places you know of? You can write about a place you have been to, or a place you haven’t been to but want to go to. It can be a place in Japan, or a place in another country. It can be a local place, a historical (歴史的) place, a famous place – or a place that has all of these points. When you write about a place, include this information:

•          Where it is
•         What is special about it (to you)
•         What special things there are there (mountains, famous buildings, and so on)
•          How to get there

You can look at the pictures again in the blogposts about describing and characterizing people, and the one about describing places. They can help you with your writing.

Good luck! I look forward to reading your great writing about people or places!

Images: Personal photographs. All rights reserved.

Writing English 1A: Writing assignment 1・作文1

Hello!

How are you? Today I will introduce our first writing assignment (作文1) - writing about your memories (思い出こと).

While I have given all of you the handout about this assignment, I am posting it here to help remind you about what you can write about. 

I am gathering writing on this topic into two books - one book called Places & Traces - about student writing on special places and other things that people remember. If your writing is about special places in your past (過去), then your writing could go into this book. 

The other book is called The Small Book of Big People. It’s about student writing about the special people of their lives. If your writing is about special people in your past (過去), then your writing could go into this book. 

The best of your writing on this topic could be published (出版した), so write to the best you can! 

How much to write

I would like you to write as much as you can, because your work may go into both this blog and in the Places & Traces and Small Book of Big People books. 

I would like to see maybe 2-3 paragraphs' worth of writing. 

Deadline (締め切り)

It will be May 24th (5/24), so I want you to bring in a first draft (下書き) next week (来週) in your notebooks in pencil. I will then review your work, and you can change things about the draft as you need to. Then you can write to the finish and turn in your work at the end of class on 5/26. 

Task

What are your special memories? What things do you remember about your places, families, or friends that were special to you? 

You can use these pictures to help you write. As you look at them, what memories do you have of the same places and situations? 

Good luck! See you next time!

Images: Top - Unattributed photograph from the internet/Carp streamers - By 663highland, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39795378/School entrance ceremony - unattributed photograph from the internet/Classroom - unattributed photograph from the internet/Shichi-Go-San ceremony - By Bergmann at Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23308176/ Chitose ame - By katorisi - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3070089
Unattributed photographs uploaded for educational purposes only. I do not own the rights to these images. All rights reserved to the copyright holders.

Writing English 2A: Identities・正体

Hello! 

How are you? Today, let's look at some pictures of famous people. Do you know who they are? 

The picture at the top is Malala Yousafzai. I'm sure all of you know who she is - a Nobel Prize-winning peace activist from Pakistan. What other things do you know about her? 

Activity/homework
Now how about these people? Do you know who they are? If you do - what do you know about them? Talk about these with your classmates and make some notes about them!

Talk with your classmates about these people. Who are they? What do they do? What do you - or your classmates - know about them? 

See you next time!

Images: Top - screenshot courtesy of Pinterest/Justin Bieber- screenshot courtesy of Pop Sugar/Yukio Mishima - screenshot courtesy of Goodreads/Park Geun-hye - screenshot courtesy of DNA India/Bob Dylan - screenshot courtesy of AllMusic/Haruko Obokata - screenshot courtesy of Alchetron/Theresa May - screenshot courtesy of the Spectator UK's blog

All rights reserved to the copyright holders. Images uploaded for educational purposes only.

Writing English 1A: A trip to Hokkaido・北海道の旅行

Hello!

How are you? I will tell you about a great memory (思い出こと) - a summer trip to Hokkaido I made in the summer of 2012 with my wife and her family. 

First, we went to Sapporo. 

We walked around Sapporo. This was me in front of the old Sapporo City Hall (元札幌市役所).

We went to Hokkaido University. This was me. This is the famous statue that says "Boys be ambitious" (ボイズ・ビ・アンビシャス). 

We took the train to Otaru. The man with the hat and backpack is my father-in-law (義理のお父さん). We walked around many places in Otaru!  

We ate a lot of great food in Otaru. We drank some great beer in Otaru. This was a big glass!

Then we went back to Sapporo and walked around more. We got very hot and we sat down. We were tired, but happy!

Activity/homework
Can you think of a memory (思い出こと) that is special to you? For example, a high school trip, or a family vacation? Who were you with on your trip? What did your mother or a sister (or brother) do on the family vacation? Think about things like these - then let's free write about a memory! 

Have fun!

Images: Personal photographs. All rights reserved.