Japanese Level 3, Activity #5: “Severe Weather and Storytelling” / “悪天候とストーリーテリング” (Face-to-Face)
Description:
Students will be exposed to various severe weather warnings from Japan. They will then practice telling stories using vocabulary for events and days off. They will finally share their own experiences with severe weather.
Semantic Topics:
Weather, emergency, culture, Japanese, earthquake, typhoon, 天気,緊急,文化,日本,地震,台風
- Standard 1.1: Students engage in conversation, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions.
- Standard 1.2: Students understand and interpret written and spoken Japanese on a variety of topics.
- Standard 2.1: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of Japanese culture.
- Standard 4.2: Students demonstrate understanding of the concept of culture through comparisons of Japanese culture and their own.
Idaho Content Standards for World Languages:
- COMM 1.1 – Interact and negotiate meaning (spoken, signed, written conversation) to share information, reactions, feelings, and opinions.
- COMM 2.1 – Understand, interpret, and analyze what is heard, read, or viewed on a variety of topics.
- CLTR 1.3 – Function appropriately in diverse contexts within the target culture.
NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements:
- I can listen to and understand urgent warnings about serious weather events.
- I can understand how to prepare for severe weather in Japan, in comparison to the U.S.
Materials Needed:
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Warm-Up
Show the videos of the earthquake and typhoon warning.
Show the slide with the various actions a person should take if they’re caught in a tsunami, typhoon, or earthquake, or volcanic eruption.地震：Get under a table!
津波：Get to high ground (lift your feet on the chair)!
台風：Get away from windows (get to a corner)!
火山（噴火）：Cover your head with something!
Students will play Simon Says with these actions隊長の命令をしましょう！英語で「Simon Says」と言います。
Model each action the students should take. Simon Says 地震！ Crouch underneath a table.
Simon Says 津波！ Get your feet off of the ground.
Simon Says 台風！ Run and stand in a corner.
Simon Says 火山「噴火」！ Cover your head with your hands.
Have a student play the role of Simon. 誰か Simon になりたいですか？
After a few commands, have a new student read the commands
Main Activity
Give each student a vocab card
Each card will have a set of vocab words related to holidays and other events
Have the students create a story incorporating that vocabカードに書いてある単語を使ってお話を作りましょう！
Wrap-Up
Ask students the following questions to finish the lab:
What do you do in the U.S. and Japan during a typhoon (hurricane)?
- 台風（ハリケーン）の時、日本とアメリカではどうしてますか？
What do you do in the U.S. and Japan during an earthquake?
- 地震の時、日本とアメリカではどうしてますか？
Have you ever experienced a natural disaster?
- 自然災害を経験したことがありますか？
What would you do if there is a big earthquake?
- 大きな地震があったらどうしますか？
End of activity
- Read Can-Do statements once more and have students evaluate
their confidence.
(Use thumbs up/thumbs down or download our student cards.) - Encourage students to be honest in their self-evaluation.
- Pay attention, and try to use feedback for future activities!
NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements:
- I can listen to and understand urgent warnings about serious weather events.
- I can understand how to prepare for severe weather in Japan, in comparison to the U.S.
