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.