Japanese Kids make English Comic Strips

[Danoz]

New project for some of my Junior High School kids was pretty successful! We made comics strips, and I wanted to highlight some of my favorites .

Mouse and Cheese.

I have a beard and wear glasses, so the kids anthropomorphized them in this very creative comic.

The death of Anpanman (literally "bread-face-man," very famous in Japan).

Are you kidding?!?! (They were very excited to use this phrase).

A couple (very large) posters I designed for the project... now you all know what I do for a living . All in all, very fun -- I enjoyed helping them with the English and they had no shortage of ideas! I had nothing to do with these groups choosing "character-eats-character" themes haha-- and they worked independently in their groups!

 

[backstept]

these are awesome!

 

[RoJoHen]

I had nothing to do with these groups choosing "character-eats-character" themes haha--

This was going to be my first question. Was this a theme?!

 

[Yeoman Randi]

As i mentioned to you privately via FB, this is beyond awesome.

When i was in the 4th grade, we had this book review assignment on a regular basis. We would have to read a book and then give an oral report on it.

I was a voracious reader, reading everything from biographies to Encyclopedia Brown to Agatha Christie and more. But for this particular assignment, i wanted to do something different. I guess it was a stupid choice, being that these reports were to be given on parent visiting day, but i chose a comic book (it was a book length comic book btw.)

When it was my turn i proudly went to the front of the class, showed them the book and started to give my report. I was immediately smacked down by the teacher (verbally, not physically) and told to sit down!

My mother was embarrassed, i was embarrassed and the teacher was too. "This is NOT the type of book i meant when i gave this assignment" she scolded. I was crestfallen.

These days i know the attitude has changed somewhat. Teachers these days encourage reading of any kind. But after all these many years, that memory still hurts like a bastard.

So.......in conclusion, i think you're an awesome teacher. And that was one pretty awesome assignment. Dude, you rock.

 

[RoJoHen]

As i mentioned to you privately via FB, this is beyond awesome.

It's not private anymore!

 

[Vulcan Princess]

These are great. I'm really impressed with the kids' drawing skills.

 

[Kelso]

Marvelous!

Way to go, Teach.

 

[C.E. Evans]

All of them better than what I did--actually not that long ago really.

That's some really good work.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Those are funny!

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I had nothing to do with these groups choosing "character-eats-character" themes haha--

This was going to be my first question. Was this a theme?!

Or, are they not feeding these kids enough at lunchtime?

 

[Danoz]

these are awesome!

These days i know the attitude has changed somewhat. Teachers these days encourage reading of any kind. But after all these many years, that memory still hurts like a bastard.

So.......in conclusion, i think you're an awesome teacher. And that was one pretty awesome assignment. Dude, you rock.

Thanks! . They're great kids, and here in Japan (and even in a rural setting like this) I'm thankful for a school system that places such value on language, cultural immersion and individual attention. They give me a lot of freedom to experiment with different ideas and class projects. I actually teach at 5 different schools and have kids from 1st grade to 9th grade-- this project was with my oldest kids.

These are great. I'm really impressed with the kids' drawing skills.

Yeah I'm consistently impressed with the drawing skills here. ALL of the kids read manga and anime all the time, so there's a culture here that really appreciates cartoons and animation.

I had nothing to do with these groups choosing "character-eats-character" themes haha--

This was going to be my first question. Was this a theme?!

Or, are they not feeding these kids enough at lunchtime?

Haha, oh these kids eat plenty. I eat school lunch almost every work day. It's very structured, meat, veggies, soup, bowl of rice and it amounts to about 1000 calories of healthy food on average and they are required to finish every morsel. These kids are so active their metabolism just destroys it. The bowl of rice? I don't see a lot of chewing going on... haha

 

[Yeoman Randi]

As i mentioned to you privately via FB, this is beyond awesome.

It's not private anymore!

Thank you Captain Obvious!

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I think I'm most impressed by their penmanship. Romaji isn't necessarily a breeze to right if you're used to an entirely different alphabet.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I think I'm most impressed by their penmanship. Romaji isn't necessarily a breeze to right if you're used to an entirely different alphabet.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Cut me some slack, I'm trying to write* a 45 page paper right now. My brain is shot.

* There, are you happy

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Yeah I'm consistently impressed with the drawing skills here. ALL of the kids read manga and anime all the time, so there's a culture here that really appreciates cartoons and animation.

I was thinking that, but then again I also did not want to generalize.

Haha, oh these kids eat plenty. I eat school lunch almost every work day. It's very structured, meat, veggies, soup, bowl of rice and it amounts to about 1000 calories of healthy food on average and they are required to finish every morsel. These kids are so active their metabolism just destroys it. The bowl of rice? I don't see a lot of chewing going on... haha

What? You mean the lunch lady complains at them if they don't eat their food? As in, they could make he kids stay back if they didn't or couldn't finish?

"WRO-ONG! DO IT AGAIN! IF YOU DON'T EAT YOUR MEAT, YOU CAN'T HAVE ANY PUDDING! HOW CAN YOU HAVE ANY PUDDING IF YOU DON'T EAT YOUR MEAT?"

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Cut me some slack, I'm trying to write* a 45 page paper right now. My brain is shot.

* There, are you happy

I don't know about happy, but I can't let everyone else be a grammar or spelling nazi.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

Danoz, that is a great assignment! And your kids seem to be developing their English skills well!
Alidar, are you writing a dissertation?

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Student law review article which is required for full membership for the journal but has maybe a 10% chance of ever getting published. It's also not really going to come all that close to hitting the minimum requirements for pages (my guess is I'll reach 35 pages).

But enough about me. Let's go back to looking at cute Japanese drawings.

 

[Danoz]

What? You mean the lunch lady complains at them if they don't eat their food? As in, they could make he kids stay back if they didn't or couldn't finish?

There isn't even a trashcan in the lunchroom. As for the lunch lady complaining, I have NEVER seen a student not finish his or her food (I am told the only excuse is being sick enough to go to the doctors!); case in point, one time we had to eat this pickled root covered in vinegar and fish embryos. I hated it... worst thing ever. The kids hated it. They forced down every bite with the facial expressions to match their hatred.

To be fair, for the most part, Japanese school lunch is freaking delicious (and healthy to bat).

I think I'm most impressed by their penmanship. Romaji isn't necessarily a breeze to right if you're used to an entirely different alphabet.

You're correct for most early grades, but these kids (8th and 9th grade) have had a lot of practice at it (even though it's fairly new). Also, you have to consider that Japanese students spend a great deal of time with calligraphy and penmanship in general. With their kanji (chinese characters) posted all over the school, I can't imagine the Roman alphabet poses a very big challenge.