General Elementary School Resources

Starting in 2011, all elementary schools must teach English Communication around 32 times a year to 5th and 6th graders. Many schools have started transitioning already. The main textbook is the Eigo Notebook (英語ノート). As before, schools can teach English for 1st-4th grade, as part of the Period for Integrated Study.

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, 5th/6th grades or some similar grouping and plan accordingly. Lessons for 1st/2nd grade should generally be fun and simple, those for 3rd/4th should be slightly challenging but fun, and those for 5th/6th should be challenging and interesting (for example, plan activities that focus more on problem solving than dancing and screaming).

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

They don't learn romaji until fourth grade, so don't overdo it before that. Even the kids that know it seem to know capitals a lot better than lowercase. Visual recognition is usually alright, but writing can be tough.

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)"...

Sample Curriculum

• Sample Lessons from Meiwa