College Preparatory School    Japanese 1  Syllabus

 

Instructor:    Atsuko Hamano-Morse

 

 

Course:  Japanese  1    Time:   M,W, F   1st period   T & Th   2nd period        Place:   P 3

 

Material required:        Shin Bunkashoku Nihongo 1  by Bunka Institute of Language

                                    Merriam Webster's Japanese-English Dictionary

                                    Kodansha's English-Japanese Dictionary

                                    Nihongo I Workbook by Atsuko Morse

 

Course Description:    In the first year of Japanese, students will learn basic structures which are essential for communication.  The students will master Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji.  Students will read and write extensively.

 

Course Objectives:      To build students' oral-aural ability through the eclectic method of natural, audio-lingual, situational-functional methods, etc.

 

                                    To master verb and adjective conjugations in different tenses.

 

                                    To master composing sentences.

 

                                    To master the syllabaries called HIRAGANA and KATAKANA.

 

                                    To acquire 100 KANJI, emphasis on reading.

 

                                    To develop socio-cultural competence by studying

                                    basic Japanese culture.

 

Homework:                 Students will be assigned homework for reinforcing class materials.

                                    Homework must be submitted at the beginning of the class for full credit.

                                    Make-up assignments due to special circumstances (field trips, varsity sports, etc.) will be given if the teacher is notified in advance.

                                    Make-up assignments due to illness will be given a grace period of the same length as the absence from class.

 

 

Friday Bonus:             The class will earn 20 minutes fun time on Fridays if all the students fulfill the following three conditions every day of that week:

                                    1.  On time

                                    2.  Bell Work

                                                Align desks

                                                Japanese Greeting

                                                Turn assignment in

                                                Start first activities

                                    3.  Material

                                                Textbooks

                                                Pencils Sharpened

                                                3-ring binder

 

                                    Note:   Bonus time can be accumulated to be used at a future date.

 

 

Grading:                      Grades will be computed every quarter.  When the semester comes to a close, the period grades and the final exam will be averaged to record the semester grade.  Each grading period will have grades averaged into three categories and weighted accordingly:

 

                                                   A.     Unit tests and quizzes  50%

                                                   B.     Class participation       30%

                                                   C.     Homework                  20%

 

Extra Credit:                Students can ask for extra credit work only after completing all the homework.  Extra credit work can bring up the grade up a maximum of 5 percentage points per quarter.

 

 

At the close of the semester for Fall/Spring, the value given each quarter grade will be as follows:

 

FALL                                                  SPRING

1st period grade             40%                           1st period grade             40%

2nd period grade           40%                           2nd period grade           40%

Semester Exam              20%                           Semester Exam              20%

Semester Grade           100%                           Semester Grade           100%

                                                                       

 

The following numerical evaluation will be used for grading all materials turned in by the students:

 

100-93    A               86-83      B                  76-73      C                  59-0        F

92-90      A-              82-80      B-                 72-70      C-                

89-87      B+             79-77      C+                69-60      D                 

 

 

Classroom policy:

 

¥  Course Conduct:  Honesty and integrity are required for any passing grade.  In the event of dishonesty, the test or quiz will be terminated immediately with a score of zero.  Parents, the advisor and the Dean of Students will be notified. Please read the policy regarding Cheating and Plagiarism posted on the Japanese web site. 

        

¥  Students are expected to respect classmates and prepare themselves for class.  Students who fail to meet these expectations will receive detention and may receive a lower participation score.  The Student Handbook covers this. Also, please, no gum, no food or drink including bottled water during class time.

 

¥  Office hours:  By appointment. Please feel free to send an e-mail to Ms. Morse at atsuko_morse@college-prep.org.