東京理科大学 A英1: The Solar System・太陽系

Hello!

How are you? Here are some pictures of some of the planets (惑星) and dwarf planets (準惑星) in the Solar System (太陽系). The picture above is one of the most famous of the planets we know - Saturn (土星), with its incredible rings.

Activity
Let's look at these planets. What do you know about them? 

Venus (金星) 

Jupiter (木星) 

Mercury (水星) 

 Pluto (冥王星)

Eris (エリス)

Outside research
Choose two (2) of these planets, and research about them. Note down things such as: 

• Their distance from the Sun
• Orbits and how long they take to revolve around the Sun
• Surface temperatures
• Length of days and nights
• Any other interesting points you might find about them

Have fun! See you next time!

Images: Top - By NASA - http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/imgcat/html/object_page/vg1_p22994c.html (image link), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5956746/Venus - By NASA or Ricardo Nunes - http://www.astrosurf.com/nunes/explor/explor_m10.htm, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=338424/Jupiter - By NASA, ESA, and A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center) - http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/heic1410a/ or http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2014/24/image/b/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32799232/Mercury - By NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington - NASA/JPL.Edited version of Mercury in color - Prockter07.jpg by jjron (cropped to square)., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24301424/Pluto - By NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute - http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Multimedia/Science-Photos/image.php?gallery_id=2&image_id=243, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45707703/Eris - By ESO/L. Calçada and Nick Risinger (skysurvey.org) - http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1142a/, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17153692

電気通信大学 ASE I: Interesting inventions・面白い発明

Hello!

How are you? Today we'll look at interesting inventions (発明)! 

Check out the picture above. It's an early helicopter, built around 1905-06. 

While the physics of helicopter flight were already understood and the engineering for it was possible, many countries chose to develop aircraft with wings instead in the early 20th century. Helicopters as we know them had to wait until the end of World War II to be fully developed. 

Activity
But not all inventions of the early 20th century were successful. Here is a video from YouTube made up of very old film clips of crazy inventions from the 1920s. Watch this and make a few notes about what you see:

Here are some questions: 
Have any of these ideas actually been improved upon since the time of the video? 
Which ones do you think have been developed? 
Choose one of the inventions that look to have been a complete failure. What do you think could have been done to have made it work successfully? 

Write your ideas about these in your notebooks. Bring them in next week and talk about these with each other!

Have fun with these! See you next time!

Image: By Unknown - Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6861410

電気通信大学 ASE I: Scientific discoveries・科学的発見

Hello!

How are you? Today, let's look at some important scientific discoveries of the last 200 years. There are so many, so we'll look at some key ones! 

Look at the picture above. What is it? It's a model of the atom, proposed by Nils Bohr and Ernest Rutherford in 1913. While we already knew what atoms were, this model helped us understand the structure of atoms better than what we had before. 

Activity
Look at the terms below. Can you match them to the right pictures? After you finish, talk about whatever you know or can guess about these discoveries. 

tectonic plates     DNA

general anesthesia     

Dolly     penicillin     

radioactivity     web server
            

I hope you find these interesting. Take care!

Images: Top - by JabberWok at the English language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2639910/Dolly - by Toni Barros from São Paulo, Brasil - Hello, Dolly!, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5816342/Penicillin model - by Vaccinationist - Own work, based on PubChem, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=55202505/CERN computer - by Coolcaesar at the English language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=395096/DNA model - By Zephyris at the English language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6285050/Tectonic plates - By USGS - http://pubs.usgs.gov/publications/text/slabs.html, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=535201/Radioactivity model - by Inductiveload - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2858666/General anesthesia equipment - by no machine-readable author provided. Paunami assumed (based on copyright claims). - No machine-readable source provided. Own work assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=600832

東京理科大学 A英3: 1st writing assignment・作文1

Hello!

How are you? Today I will introduce our 1st writing assignment (作文1) - writing about memories (思い出こと). 

While I have given all of you the handout about this assignment, I am also posting this here to help remind you about what you can write about - with a few extra notes for you. 

I am gathering writing on this topic into two books called The Small Book of Big People - a collection of student writing about important people from the past (過去) , and Places & Traces - a collection of student writing on special places and other things that people also remember from the past. The best of your writing on this topic could go into one of these books, so write to the best you can! 

How much to write 
I would like you to write as much as you can, because your work may be published on both this blog and in The Small Book of Big People and Places & Traces books. 

I would like to see at least 2-3 paragraphs' worth of writing, but if you can write more than that - I would like to see you try! 

*SPECIAL NOTE: Please check your textbooks on pp. 22-23 on how to organize your first drafts - it can help your writing! 

Deadline (締め切り) 
It will be May 21st (5/21), so I want you to work on your first draft (下書き) today in class in your notebooks. I will then show you how to review your work, and your classmates' work, in class and you can change things about the draft as you need to. Then you can write to the finish outside of class and turn in your work on 5/21. 

Task

What are your special memories? What things do you remember about your schools, families, friends, and/or trips that were special to you? 

If the picture at the top, plus these pictures below, can help you with your writing - use them! As you look at them, what memories might you have of the same places and situations? 

If you have other kinds of memories, or pictures of your own to use, of course you can use them! 

Good luck! See you next week!

Images: Top - By ITA-ATU - Own work (投稿者撮影), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6436982/Carp streamers - by 663highland, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39795378/Shichi-Go-San ceremony - by Bergmann at Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23308176/Chitose ame - by katorisi - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3070089

電気通信大学 AE2Y I: Board notes for Topic 1 presentation & writing assignment

Hello! 

How are you? Here are the board notes for today's (5/8) class on preparation for your Topic 1 presentation & writing assignments for next week (5/15). 

While I know many of you took your own pictures of these board notes, I am posting them here as well for anyone who might not have had their Smartphones handy, or had no chance to take their own pictures of the notes. 

Here are more of the notes:

This one is important! A good summary makes the topic clear for yourself - and in turn, will make it clear for the audience when you present. 

Extra note

Here are some variations of language you can use in structuring the beginnings of your summaries. I'll use my example about Bitcoin to show some different ways to start off your summaries.

例：

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are making major news now. This topic centers on the possible effects that I see may happen with the economy, and why we should be concerned…

My topic today focuses on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, and my strong concern on the possible negative effects to the economy they represent…

Much is being written and discussed about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies at present. My reaction is that while many are positive about what they may mean for the economy, I am very unsure about how positive their effects are…

My choice for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for my topic today comes from not only how timely they are, but also some problems I believe may develop from adopting them as alternatives to standard currencies such as the U.S. dollar, the euro, and the yen…

Now here are the rest of the notes: 

These were the notes next to the one about the summary. 

These are some notes about the posters.

Here are some notes about Power Point - and how many of you showed that you want to do Power Point displays for your presentations.

I hope these can help you. Good luck for next week! I'm looking forward to seeing you and your great work. 

See you then!

Images: Personal photographs. All rights reserved. 

東京理科大学 A英1: Board notes about literary circles・ディスカションサークルのボードノート

Hello!

How are you? I'm very sorry for posting this late! But here are the board notes from yesterday's (5/7) class about literary circles - a kind of discussion circle activity we will begin doing in our classes to help us understand and discuss, in our own understanding and with our own words, the listening lectures.  

Here are two other shots of board notes about literary circles (ディスカションサークル ): 

The most important thing to remember is that each member of the circle - if it's a group of three (3) members, a leader, a summarizer, and a vocabulary and detail master - or a group of four (4) members - leader, summarizer, and a separate vocabulary master and details master - have different, but equally important, roles to play. 

Of course, each one of you can jump in to help another member who might need it. But play to your strengths - for example, if you're good with vocabulary, be the vocabulary master!

I hope you will see this and that it can help you with what will be a new, but I hope helpful, way to understand the audio lecture listenings. 

Take care! See you next week!

Images: Personal photographs. All rights reserved. 

東京理科大学 A英3: Memories of a trip to Hokkaido・北海道の旅行の思い出こと

Hello!

How are you? I will tell you about a summer trip to Hokkaido I made in the summer of 2012 with my wife and her family. Take a look at these pictures!

First, we went to Sapporo. 

We walked around Sapporo. This was me in front of the old Sapporo City Hall (元札幌市役所).

We went to Hokkaido University. This was me. This is the famous statue that says "Boys be ambitious" (ボイズ・ビ・アンビシャス). 

We took the train to Otaru. The man with the hat and backpack is my father-in-law (義理のお父さん). We walked around many places in Otaru!  

We ate a lot of great food in Otaru. We drank some great beer in Otaru. This was a big glass!

Then we went back to Sapporo and walked around more. We got very hot and we sat down. We were tired, but happy!

Hope you enjoyed this! Now how about your memories? 

Images: Personal photographs. All rights reserved.

東京理科大学 A英1: National parks・国立・国際公園

Hello!

How are you? Today, let's look at national parks (国際・国立公園) in different countries. 

The picture above shows the famous Itsukushima Shrine, which all of you know. But did you know that it is within a national park? It's in Setonaikai National Park. Have you ever been there? If you have been to Itsukushima Shrine, then you have been to a national park.

Activity

Do you know where these places are? These are pictures from national parks in different countries. Can you guess which countries they are in? 

Talk about these places with your classmates! What are some things you think you could see or do in these places? 

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Have fun! See you next time! 

Images: Top - By Jordy Meow - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30863836/1. By Ji-Elle - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31072619/2. By Yakuzakorat - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40268098/3. By Mario Roberto Duran Ortiz Mariordo - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3723082/4. By Jaganjac - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7586211/5. By Ansgar Walk - photo taken by Ansgar Walk, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1109409

電気通信大学 ASE I: Presentation topic 1 board notes・プレゼンテーション 1 のボードノート

Hello!

How are you? Here are the board notes from today's (5/1) class. While I know many of you took your own pictures of these notes, I have posted them here for anyone from our class who needs them. (Special note for Erika Hayashi - please see my post about the 1st presentations for next week (5/8) here.)

Here are the notes about the poster design: 

Finally, here is the note about our first seating chart: 

As I mentioned in class today, I will change this chart every three (3) weeks or so. 

Good luck on your posters! Have a great Golden Week!

Images: Personal photographs. All rights reserved.