Confirming the Positioning of the B Materials in the Overall Kumon Japanese Language Program
First, let's understand the positioning of the B materials by referring to Kumon's progress chart.
The B materials are at the level of 2nd grade elementary school.
In early childhood, the number in front of the "A" in the Kumon materials became smaller and smaller: "8A→7A→6A". When you enter elementary school level materials, the materials progress in the following order: "A I → A II → B I → B II". It is as if one letter of the alphabet advances one grade level.
How old are the Kumon Japanese B materials?
Around a while after entering elementary school is one of the best times to join Kumon. If you start Kumon after entering elementary school, you will generally reach the B materials in the first or second grade, as per the level.
If your child started Kumon earlier, around the age of 3 or 4, you will have a closer sense that the B materials may start at the age of 5.
What are the contents of Kumon Japanese B materials?
First, let's take a look at the contents of B I.
In Subjects and Predicates, students will be able to grasp the framework of sentences, and in Modifiers, they will be able to grasp the meaning of sentences more precisely. We will use diagrams to strengthen syntactic skills, learn that there are many variations of sentences, and improve reading skills. Students will study 60 kanji characters from the grade 2 (and some grade 3) dividend. In addition, students will review all the kanji learned in B I, using sound and kun as a starting point.
While the study of kanji will continue, the focus of the B I material will be on grammar. The basic grammar of subject, predicate, and modifier will be covered.
This will be followed by the contents of BII.
Through "paraphrase" work, students will further improve both their comprehension of content and syntax. As a rudimentary understanding of relationships, students will learn how to use the phrases "What happened? What happened? to grasp the progress of the content of the sentences, and "similar/different" to grasp the similarities and differences in the sentences. Students will study 96 kanji characters from the 2nd grade (and some from the 3rd grade). In addition, students will review all the kanji learned in BII by focusing on the sound and kun.
The course will gradually move from interpretation of the meaning of short sentences to more nuanced reading comprehension. In addition, 12 works from the recommended books will appear in the course materials, and the level of difficulty will begin to increase.
What are the key points to success in the Kumon Japanese B materials?
The difficult part of the B materials is the gradual introduction of reading comprehension elements.
In the A materials, there are printouts in which students read sentences and answer questions, but they are not yet to the point where students are required to read and comprehend the sentences. However, from this point on, the questions start to include comparisons and changes of states, and questions that require understanding of the relationship between sentences.
The reason for this is that the students have acquired the minimum knowledge to read and comprehend the contents of sentences up to this point. With this foundation, the minimum knowledge has been acquired, so it can be said that the BII materials are for moving on to the next step of understanding.
Even if a child has smoothly learned knowledge, another ability is required when it comes to understanding. This is where the number of students who find the Kumon materials difficult may increase.
One way to counter this is to talk with your child about the contents of the book when you read to him or her or when you read to him or her. Even if they cannot understand the written text, they can enjoy the story to some extent. They have already learned kanji, grammar, hiragana, and katakana for understanding the written language through Kumon. It will be important for parents to assist them in understanding the content of the story through conversation.