June 2024

 What's Happening This Month

  Here's our calendar for you reference.  There aren't any holidays in June.


Culture Corner: Father's Day

Father's Day was in by a woman named Sonora Smart Dodd.  It started in Spokane, Washington in 1910.  It started as a local holiday to compliment Mother's Day, but had very little success.  Most people viewed it as an attempt by businesses to profit from its commercialization.  However, trade groups associated with industries targeting men (like ties, clothing and pipes) put a lot of effort into making it a success.  By the mid-1980s, men's related industries considered Father's Day like a second Christmas!

In Japan, Father's Day was introduced by a man named Ito Kyoichi, who was a board member of the Japan's Men's Fashion Association.  He was inspired by the American holiday and helped introduce it into Japanese society.  Japanese department store and other major businesses all wanted to cash in on the next big commercial occasion.  What do you do to celebrate Father's Day?

Teacher's Corner

Idiom of the Month:  In keeping with the spirit of Father's Day, here's a simple idiom:

"Like father, like son."

Riddle of the Month:

"A father has four daughters.  Each of his daughters have a brother.  How many children does he have?"

For the answers to the idiom and riddle, please ask Leo Teacher!

In The Classroom

This month we're having a look at Everybody Up 4, Unit #5 - Simple Past Tense (過去形)
Simple rule to remember:  Regular verbs (規則動詞) end with "ed," "ied," or "d"
Some examples:

play - played
watch - watched
like - liked
walk - walked
jump - jumped

Irregular verbs (不規則動詞) have a different spelling when in the past tense.
Some examples:

eat - ate
drink - drank
go - went
take - took
see - saw
have - had
wear - wore

Let's practice!  Fill in the blanks.  Try to make as many sentences as you can.

"Last Saturday, I _____________"

"Last week, my family and I __________"

"Last summer, I went to ____________"


Adult Corner

This month's video takes a look at green energy and why it's not as used as people believe it to be!  The list below are some key words which are found in the video.  If possible, try to familiarize yourself with the words / expressions before watching the video:
  • green / renewable energy
  • fossil fuels
  • profit
  • investment
  • return (on investment)
  • develop
  • implement
  • exploitation
  • pollution

Here are some questions about the video:

1.  What form of green energy is this video mainly about?
2.  Why has renewable energy only recently become popular?
3.  What is the main reason solar energy is not being used more than fossil fuels?
4.  Why are fossil fuel companies not serious about investing in renewable energy?
5.  In the video, the narrator talks about the Industrial Revolution.  Why was steam power favoured over water power?

Discussion Questions:

1.  What is your opinion about this video?
2.  Do you think Japan's attitude toward green energy is the same as in the U.S.A.?
3.  What do you think is the best source of energy for humans to consume?
4.  What can we do to make renewable energy more popular?


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