Home: Spring
2021 Edutainment Lesson Plans
Spring 2021 Edutainment Lesson Plans
(Let's have fun learning English!)
Lessons on this page are optional and not part of your grade, but if
you take the time to do them, they will not only improve your overall
English communication skills, but will also broaden your cultural
horizons to help you become a more successful international citizen in
today's global society!  Bonus
points will be offered on some assignments.
Week 10,
beginning June 17,
2021:
CNN10 Weekly Newsquiz- To watch an
interesting story about spacewalks, cue over to the 4:06 min. mark in
the video at the top of this page. For bonus points, write down how many
spacewalks have been completed so far. [click on
the "CC" button for English subtitles]
Let's Learn English, Lesson 10 -
Watch
the short video, try out a few of the other exercises on the page, and
then take the short listening quiz at the bottom to check your
comprehension.
English in a Minute
- If you can imagine living in an English-speaking
country, think
of a situation where you could use this week's popular American idiom: Puppy love
We are the World! -
Several
years ago I was introduced to this amazing TV commercial. Even today
it's still one of my favorite TV commercials... ever. Watch this
exciting video and for bonus points, write down the name of
the product being advertised.
Classic
American cartoons - Felix the Cat (フィリックス・ザ・キャット)
is probably most popularly known in Japan for Felix Gum (フィリックスガム),
made by Marukawa Confectionery (丸川製菓) and often sold at dagashi sweet
shops (駄菓子屋).
Felix gum in Japan
(photo credit:
toy-chida.com)
As a youngster, I don't remember ever seeing Felix gum, but I used to
LOVE watching Felix the Cat as a funny cartoon
character originally created during the silent film era. As a cute
black cat with white eyes, a black body, and a giant grin, Felix is one
of the most recognized cartoon characters in film history. Here
is a short video clip showing the intro to one of his old shows. And I
sometimes still sing the very memorable Felix the Cat theme
song. [click on
the "CC" button for English subtitles]
Felix the Cat
(photo
credit: tvtropes.org)
Teacher humor - Download the entire
internet onto your hard disk here.
[Warning: Be
sure to check your local Drive C to make sure you have enough storage
space!]
Week 9,
beginning June 10,
2021:
CNN10 Weekly Newsquiz-
The total lunar eclipse that occurred Wed. 5/26, also called a "super
flower blood moon," is the only one which will happen in 2021. For
bonus points, cue over to the 2:38 min. mark in this video to find out how many minutes it lasted. [click on
the "CC" button for English subtitles]
Let's Learn English, Lesson 9 -
Watch
the short video, try out a few of the other exercises on the page, and
then take the short listening quiz at the bottom to check your
comprehension.
English in a Minute
- If you can imagine living in an English-speaking
country, think
of a situation where you could use this week's popular American idiom: To take a stab at something
We are the World! -
Several
years ago a famous American actor living in Tokyo was in an Orix credit
card TV commercial (オリックス・クレジット・カード TVCM) with the beautiful Japanese
actress Ryoko Shinohara (篠原涼子). Watch this video and for bonus points, write down the name of
this famous American actor.
Classic American cartoons
- Growing up as a kid, I always used to love watching Road Runner
(ロード・ランナー) cartoons. He's named after a real, very fast-running bird
that lives in the desert... which we can often see along highways in
west Texas. In each cartoon episode, the cunning, devious, and
constantly hungry Wile E. Coyote (ワイリー・コヨーテ) repeatedly attempts to
catch the Road Runner, but is successful only on extremely rare
occasions. Check out this funny video
where the coyote "thinks" he caught the Road Runner!
Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote
(photo
credit: apple.com)
Teacher humor - Last week I
mentioned a very funny Japanese friend of mine, almost like a comedian.
Well, one night he introduced me to his favorite Chinese restaurant. As
we were looking over the menu, our conversation went like this:
Gary: I think I’ll order the Peking Duck.
Friend: Good choice, but I recommend the Mābō-dōfu.
Gary: Thanks, but I’m in the mood for duck tonight.
After our dishes arrived, I thought my friend said: "Itadakimasu!"
But what he actually said was "Eat a duck if you must."
[Get
it? If not,
please say "Itadakimasu," then "Eat a duck if you must," over and over
again. It’s another old man’s gag joke (おやじギャグ), ha ha!]
Week 8,
beginning June 3,
2021:
CNN10 Weekly Newsquiz
- New Zealand adventurer Rob McCallum recently traveled to the deepest
point of the deepest trench in the Pacific Ocean. For bonus points, at
the very beginning of this video, find out the 2-word title for this
location. What is the average length and width of this trench in miles? [click on
the "CC" button for English subtitles]
Let's Learn English, Lesson 8 -
Watch
the short video, try out a few of the other exercises on the page, and
then take the short quiz to check your comprehension.
English in a Minute
- If you can imagine living in an English-speaking
country, think
of a situation where you could use this week's popular American idiom: Sharp Cookie
We are the World! -
Lars
Andersen from Denmark is the world's fastest and most famous archer. He
has set many speed shooting records, including even being able to shoot
3 arrows in only 1.5 seconds. This amazing video
has been viewed
over 58 million times! [click on
the "CC" button for English subtitles] Mr. Andersen is also a Danish
painter and writer.
Classic American cartoons
- One of my favorite cartoons growing up was Woody Woodpecker. He's
most famous for his very unique laugh (click here
to hear it). And this short video
shows a funny episode of Woody giving his girlfriend Winnie a scary
airplane ride for her birthday. Exciting! [click on
the "CC" button for English subtitles]
Woody Woodpecker
(photo
credit: youtube.com)
Teacher humor - I once had a funny
Japanese friend who wore a mustache (口ひげ). Several years ago he gave me
a nice birthday present.
I told him, "Arigatou!"
(Because he's Japanese, I expected him to say "Dou itashimashite."
But being the funny guy he is, instead he replied, "Don’t touch my
mustache."
[Get
it? If not, please say "Dou itashimashite," then "Don’t touch my mustache," over and over again. It’s an
old man’s gag joke (おやじギャグ), ha
ha!]
Week 7,
beginning May 27,
2021:
CNN10 Weekly Newsquiz - For this
week's bonus points, in this video
cue over to the 8:45 min. mark to find out the name of the famous
Italian carmaker that is making the switch over to only plug-in hybrids. [click on
the "CC" button for English subtitles]
Let's Learn English, Lesson 7 -
Watch
the short video, try out a few of the other exercises on the page, and
then take the short quiz to check your comprehension.
English in a Minute
- If you can imagine living in an English-speaking
country, think
of a situation where you could use this week's popular American idiom: Burn the Candle at Both Ends
We are the World! -
One of the most impressive performances of percussion instruments I've
ever seen is shown in this video.
It's called "Animusic HD - Pipe Dreams." I hope you enjoy it as much as
I have thru the years.
Classic American cartoons
-
The Jetsons was an American animated
TV series where the Jetsons family lived in a comical version of a
futuristic society, featuring flying cars, elaborate robotic
contraptions, aliens, holograms, and whimsical inventions. Watch this
short 2-min. video clip to see the opening and closing credits
and theme song from Season 1 of The Jetsons.
The Jetsons animated TV show
(photo
credit: alphacoders.com)
Teacher humor - A recent
conversation between Gary and one of his gaijin friends:
Gary: Say, do you like kimchi (キムチ)? You know, that spicy Korean dish
made from fermented, pickled cabbage with red chili paste?
His friend: Oh, yeah, definitely! I LOVE that stuff! Kimchi not only
tastes good, but it also gives you a nice warm feeling inside.
Gary: Yeah, I know. Kimuchi ga ii!
Week 6,
beginning May 20,
2021:
CNN10 Weekly Newsquiz - Watch the short news
story starting
at the 8:17 min. mark in this video to learn more about the world's longest
pedestrian suspension bridge which just opened recently. [click on
the "CC" button for English subtitles] Write down the length of the bridge and
which country it's in at the bottom
of your homework form for bonus points.
Let's Learn English, Lesson 6 -
Watch
the short video, try out a few of the other exercises on the page, and
then take the short quiz to check your comprehension.
English in a Minute
- If you can imagine living in an English-speaking
country, think
of a situation where you could use this week's popular American idiom: Knock on Wood
We are the World! -
Watch this 2.5-min. video
to see a VERY
interesting method of bass fishing in the U.S. southern state of
Alabama. WOW! [click on
the "CC" button for English subtitles]
Classic American cartoons-
One
of my favorite TV shows as a kid was "The Flintstones," an animated
series that took place in a comical version of the Stone Age, featuring
the title family, the Flintstones, their next-door neighbors, the
Rubbles, dinosaurs, and other cavemen. The show was set in the Stone
Age town of Bedrock (pop. 2,500), and The Flintstones was so popular
that it was the most financially successful and longest-running network
animated television series for 3 decades. Wow! Here are a couple of
short videos showing the theme song and the opening/closing credits: Video
1 Video 2
The Flintstones animated TV show
(photo
credit: neatorama.com)
Teacher humor -
People from Australia are also known as Aussies. Many of them pronounce
words spelled with an ‘A’ with an ‘I’ sound, e.g. in words like day
(sounds like dye), pay (sounds like pie), mate (sounds like might), may
(sounds like my), fate (sounds like fight), raise (sounds like rise),
etc. And one of their most common everyday expressions is G’ Day,
meaning Good day (sounds like Good dye). Thru the years in Japan, I've
been lucky to have a number of wonderful Aussie friends. One day I had
this conversation with one of them:
Gary: What’s new?
Aussie friend: Recently I haven’t been feeling well, so I’m going to
the hospital today.
Gary: WHAT?! You’re gonna DIE?! OMG!
[Get it? To me, it sounded like he said, "I'm going to the hospital to die."]
Week 5,
beginning May 13,
2021:
CNN10 Weekly Newsquiz - Recently a certain animal
caused an internet outage in part of Canada. Watch the news
story starting
at the 7:49 min. mark in this video to learn more. [click on
the "CC" button for English subtitles] Write down the name of the animal and
the city in Canada
at the bottom
of your homework form for bonus points.
Let's Learn English, Lesson 5 -
Watch
the short video, try out a few of the other exercises on the page, and
then take the short quiz to check your comprehension.
English in a Minute
- If you can imagine living in an English-speaking
country, think
of a situation where you could use this week's popular American idiom: Loose Cannon
We are the World! -
Many
students were very curious about my Japan mountain climbing adventures.
A few years ago I was invited to give a presentation to an English
speaking club about the highest mountains in Japan. So I prepared this
video as part of my talk: Fond Memories of My Favorite Japanese Peaks
[click on small square in lower right corner to view video full screen]
For bonus points, write down the name of your favorite Japanese peak in
this video (in romaji, of course!). For even more bonus points, answer
the question asked at the very end of the video.
Classic American cartoons
- This week I’d like to introduce Smokey Bear, who for the past 77
years has been the official mascot of the forest fire prevention
campaign by the United States Forest Service, the longest-running
public service announcement (PSA) campaign in United States history.
Smokey has many tips on what you can do to keep forest fires from
starting. Click here to see one of those 30-second TV ads. [click on
the "CC" button for English subtitles] And remember, "Only YOU can prevent forest
fires!"
Smokey Bear
"Only YOU can prevent forest
fires!"
[A few years ago I
had the pleasure of actually visiting Smokey's historical park museum
in Capitan, New Mexico. You
can view the inside of Smokey's museum at the very beginning of my 2016
road trip vacation video.]
Teacher humor -
When I first moved to Japan, I lived in an apartment building near
Nogata Station on the Seibu Shinjuku Line that was owned by the English
conversation school (英会話) I worked for. All the other residents were
English teachers like myself working for the same school. Our school
was in Shibuya, and since most of our classes were there at the school,
we passed through Takadanobaba Station nearly every day. Well, one
evening a few of us teachers were hanging around, enjoying some adult
beverages, and one of the young teachers from Rhode Island, fresh out
of college, said “You know, every time we approach Takadanobaba
Station, I hear the train conductor say 'まもなく、 たかだのばば えき です.' (We will
soon arrive at Takadanobaba Station.) Now, I KNOW what he is actually
saying, but to me it sounds like he's saying 'Talking about my baby'."
Ha ha ha!
[Get it? If not, please say "Takadanobaba," then "Talking about my
baby," over and over again. It’s an old man’s gag joke (おやじギャグ), ha
ha!]
Week 4,
beginning May 6,
2021:
CNN10 Weekly Newsquiz - Researchers have developed
wearable technology that can be fastened to the skin. Watch the news
story starting
at the 1:58 min. mark in this video to learn more. [click on
the "CC" button for English subtitles] Write down the name of the professor and
his university at
the bottom
of your homework form for bonus points.
Let's Learn English, Lesson 4 -
Watch
the short video, try out a few of the other exercises on the page, and
then take the short quiz to check your comprehension.
English in a Minute
- If you can imagine living in an English-speaking
country, think
of a situation where you could use this week's popular American idiom: Throw cold water on something
We are the World!-
Several
years ago a good friend in Scotland introduced me to Danny MacAskill, a
professional cyclist who gets paid BIG money to do tricks and stunts on
his mountain bike. You won't believe this amazing video
where Danny takes a dangerous, death-defying ride HIGH up in the
gorgeous, breathtaking mountains on the Isle of Skye in his native
Scotland. This video has been viewed over 75,000,000 times. WOW!
Classic American cartoons
- As a child, I had the good fortune of growing up in the "golden age
of American animation," when TV cartoons became increasingly popular,
providing loads of wonderful entertainment for young American children.
This week I’d like to continue sharing some of my favorite, most
beloved cartoons from my childhood days. You all already know how much
I love Tony the Tiger, but this week, for the benefit of
any of you who
do not know him yet, I’d like to introduce Popeye the Sailor. His most
famous trait is that whenever he eats spinach (ほうれん草), he gains
superhuman strength to beat up bad guys like Bluto who is always trying
to steal away Popeye's girlfriend, Olive Oyl. Here's a short video
clip to help you get to know Popeye.
In case you were wondering how popular Popeye is in Japan, I took this
photo on Sun. 21/5/2 at the entrance to the men's toilet at a Yokohama
cinema!
No joke.
Teacher humor -
Back in July
2000, the G-8 economic summit was held down in Okinawa. The Japanese
Prime Minister at the time, Yoshirō Mori, was worried about his poor
English when introducing himself to President Bill Clinton.
So he was given a quick English lesson from one of his assistants. The
staff member told Mori that when he shook hands with President Clinton,
he should say "How are you?" Then President Clinton will say "I am
fine, and you?" And then Mori should say "Me too."
Very easy…. Mori only had to say 2 expressions, like this:
**************
Mori: How are you?
Clinton: I am fine, and you?
Mori: Me too.
**************
Well, the big day finally came, but there was just one problem.
When Mori met Clinton, he didn't say "How are
you?" as he was instructed, but mistakenly said "Who Are
You?"
Mr. Clinton chuckled, 'cause he thought it was a joke, so he said:
"Well, I am Hillary's husband, ha ha."
Then Mori replied confidently "Me too, ha ha."
Week 3,
beginning April 22,
2021:
CNN10 Weekly Newsquiz - Watch the news story starting
at the 2:19 min. mark in this video and name the location in Egypt where
archaeologists have discovered a 3,000-year-old ancient city. [click on
the "CC" button for English subtitles]. Write your answer at the bottom
of your homework form for bonus points.
Let's Learn English, Lesson 3 -
Watch
the short video, try out a few of the other exercises on the page, and
then take the short quiz to check your comprehension.
English in a Minute
- If you can imagine living in an English-speaking
country, think
of a situation where you could use this week's popular American idiom: If You Play with Fire, You Might Get Burned
We are the World!
- Ever heard of free soloing? It's a very exciting (dangerous) kind of
rock climbing without ropes, nets, or any safety equipment. Meet Alex
Honnold, one of the world's best free solo rock climbers. Wow, check
out this scary video of him scaling Half Dome, in California's
Yosemite National Park. [click on
the "CC" button for English subtitles].
Teacher humor - I
once knew a Japanese dentist here in Tokyo who asked me one day if I knew there were NO dentists in Hawaii,
America's 50th state.
I said, "No, surely you must be joking. Are you sure?"
He said, "Yes, it's true. Do you know WHY?"
I said, "No, please tell me."
So he then said, "There are no dentists in Hawaii because in Hawaii, Ha
(は)… wa (は)… ii (いい)…" (pointing to his teeth)
Week 2,
beginning April 15,
2021:
CNN10 Weekly Newsquiz - Watch the news story starting
at the 6:36 min. mark in this video and name the city and country where a new record-breaking
roller coaster is being built [click on
the "CC" button for English subtitles]. Write your answer at the bottom
of your homework form for bonus points.
Let's Learn English, Lesson 2 -
Watch
the short video, try out a few of the other exercises on the page, and
then take the short quiz to check your comprehension.
English in a Minute
- If you can imagine living in an English-speaking
country, think
of a situation where you could use this week's popular American idiom: Tie the knot
We are the World! -
If you've never heard of freestyle soccer, don't feel bad. Neither had
I before one of my English students several years ago brought his
soccer ball to class one day and asked if he could demo his freestyle
soccer skills. Wow, check out this video: Freestyle soccer demo by Kazuya
Teacher humor -
OK, I KNOW this is an English class, but this week you get to challenge your
knowledge of Japanese kanji characters. So can you guess the name of
your teacher's original kanji character below?
If you need a hint, click here: Hint 1
Count the number of trees.
If you need a 2nd hint, click here: Hint 2
It's the name of a popular place
in Tokyo.
Finally... The Answer!
ROPPONGI
Week 1,
beginning April 8,
2021:
CNN10 Weekly Newsquiz - Formerly
called "CNN Student News," this short commerical-free broadcast
highlights news stories of interest to American students. Watch the
first news story at the beginning of this video
and name the U.S. university that has 3 main
campuses, enrolls more than 70,000 students, and says it will require
most of them to have had Covid-19 vaccinations by this fall. [click on
the "CC" button for English subtitles]
Let's Learn English, Lesson 1 -
an online lesson with video showing the lives of young Americans. Watch
the short video, try out a few of the other exercises on the page, and
then take the short quiz to check your comprehension. [Intermediate
learners may find the first few lessons a little easy, but with
language learning, sometimes a quick review of the English expressions
you already know is
vital for long-term retention of your language skills!]
English in a Minute
- a short video explaining a popular idiom used in everyday American
English conversation. If you can imagine living in an English-speaking
country, think
of a situation where you could use this week's American idiom: Two Heads Are Better Than One
We are the World! -
pictures or videos of interesting things happening in Japan and other
parts of the world. For the first week, check out the teacher's
favorite English word spoken by his favorite cartoon character, Tony
the Tiger. Students who often use this word in this semester's
course work will receive bonus points! [Don't miss the last 2 TV commercials
in the video which are in Japanese (日本語で).]
トニー・ザ・タイガー
Homework Assignments:
In general, you
will have one week to turn in
homework assignments from the day they are assigned. Homework
assignments more than one week late will receive an automatic 20%
deduction. Assignments more than 2 weeks late will not be accepted and
will receive a ZERO on the assignment.
My main teaching philosophy:
Edutainment!!
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-
Jun 21, 21 08:35 AM The most frequently asked questions about climbing Mt. Fuji, including info on routes, maps, videos, transport access, traffic stats, weather, and climber stories. Read more -
Jun 21, 21 08:35 AM Page 2 of the most frequently asked questions about climbing Mt. Fuji, including info on routes, maps, videos, transport access, weather, and climber stories. Read more -
Jun 20, 21 02:10 AM Listing of the 25 highest mountains in Japan, complete with pics, videos, and descriptions, based on the 2-decade climbing experience of Gary J. Wolff. Read more
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