I recently saw this video from Haichi Toaru (@haichi_toaru) referenced online as an example of 3rd grade math in Japan. At first glance, the whiteboard looks a little intimidating, with so much kanji and geometry packed on screen at once, but I think Toaru-sensei is pretty great and this is not only appropriate for a 3rd grader, but a fun lesson for an adult learner of Japanese to pick up on some new geometry-related vocabulary.
Maybe it’s because we emphasize math at our house so much and because our 3rd grader happens to be a natural, but this seems totally appropriate for that age.
Let’s break it down. First, some vocabulary
Kanji | Hiragana | English |
---|---|---|
算数 | さんすう | arithmetic |
円 | えん | circle (or Japanese Yen) |
形 | かたち | shape |
点 | てん | point |
半径 | はんけい | radius |
直径 | ちょっけい | diameter |
赤い | あかい | red |
青い | あおい | blue |
線 | せん | line |
まん中 | まんなか | middle |
中心 | ちゅうしん | center |
長さ | ながさ | length |
2倍 | 2ばい | double |
Now, let’s have a look at the white board in English:
After Toaru-sensei has gone through the lesson, the whiteboard looks something more like this:
After seeing this video online, I’ve been going through Toaru-sensei’s other videos and plan on going through some with my children in the future.