Nakano Elem

Today, I had the opportunity to visit an ichinensei room (first grade) at Nakano Elementary school in Taneichi. The students were wonderful and their teacher (who spoke great English) was a blast! I did a lesson on "time"...telling and asking time in English, of course. Wasn't sure if they could understand this concept in their native language--but these kids are super smart! By the end of the hour they were able to tell, demonstrate and ask for the time. GREAT WORK!

We played various game that involved them being human hands of the clock. They picked the concept up right away and LOVED using English! They are so willing to try at this age---they aren't afraid of mistakes or what their peers think. Thus enabling them to learn many new concepts each day (including languages!)

Just adorable...
Here, the students are running to keep "time" with their classmates commands.

A pretty attentive bunch for first grade, but pretty comparable to that of a primary room in the States. Back home, we call them "rambunctious-little-ankle-biters" and in Japan, we say "GENKI!"

No running in the classroom! The No. 1 rule of all time, and I broke it. Oops! Gym space is a concern in these rural schools built eeons ago. Teachers know how to survive without sufficient space, time and materials--so doing the best we can with what we have, is the name of the game here in the inaka.