WALT: Understanding and contrasting Life in a Japanese School

Getting to school Many children walk to school with a walking bus. This means that they meet at the same place everyday and all walk to school together. The children often wave and say hello to people they know on their way to school. They wear helmets and carry their things in small rucksacks on their backs. Many children cycle to school as bikes are very popular in Japan. How do you get to school? Do you see anyone you know on the way?

Many Children in Japan work very hard and trying hard at school is considered to be very important. In Japanese people say ‘Gambarimasu’ which is like saying ‘I will do my best’. How do we value school at St Wilfrids?

These children are at a kindergarten. Kindergarten is like Reception class in the UK. What similarities can you notice between a class in the UK and these classes?

Primary School At the start of every lesson a child makes a special announcement. They announce the beginning of the lesson, and then everybody bows to the teacher. The teacher bows back, then the class is ready to start. Bowing is a very polite thing to do in Japan. It is a way of showing respect for other people. Why not try it for Mr Conway... Just saying

High School These young people are posing for a photo at high school. That is like secondary school in the UK.

Reading and Writing Japanese children have a lot to learn when it comes to reading and writing – they use three alphabets! Kanji is a beautiful but very complicated form of writing. There are over 2000 symbols! Hiragana is a more simple alphabet and Katakana is used only for foreign words. Would you like to learn to read or write Japanese? Could you write your name?

Playtime Many Japanese children love to play games during playtime! Games like dodge ball are very popular in many schools. What do you do at play time? What games do you like to play?

School Dinners anyone? School children in Japan serve lunch to each other. Children take it in turns to serve their friends at school. Would you like to do this for your friends? The children in the photos that are wearing facemasks are doing so because they have a cold. These facemasks are used to stop spreading illnesses like colds and flu.

Cleaning! These children are cleaning the school after lunch. The children work together in groups to keep their school clean. Do you think this looks like hard work, or does it look fun? Would you like to clean your school? Do you think that if you did clean the school building, that would change the way you treat it?

These children are on a school trip to Kyoto- a famous historic city. Where has your favourite school trip been?

Learning English at Eikaiwa After school, many children go to extra classes. These children are studying at an English school known as an Eikawa school. They learn the English alphabet and how to speak in English.

Would you like to visit a school in Japan? Give your reasons and discus with a partner...