Fifth graders learn the days of the week (曜日, yōbi) in Japanese — and discover a beautiful secret: each day is named after the moon, the sun, or one of the five elements! Monday is “moon-day,” Tuesday is “fire-day,” and so on.
Students will be able to…
Did you know Japanese weekday names come from the moon, sun, and elements? What are the days of the week?
Project this and tap each. Have students learn the Japanese days and their element meanings.
Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.
Japanese weekday names come from the moon, sun, and elements — how?
Students learn.
Students practice.
Students speak.
Students close.
Aligned to the ACTFL World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages (Novice-Mid).
Explore the element-based calendar.
Explore cultural products (kanji).
Compare day names.
Connect to nature & elements.
Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.
Have students name today’s day in Japanese and the element it’s named after. A printable Japanese days sheet is in the World Languages library.
Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.
A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.
A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.