Journey to JapanBringing Cultural

Understanding to Your Classroom

Sarah Shivler

The Summit Preparatory School

Springfield, MO

sarahandronnie@netzero.com

Planning for Success!

How long will your unit be? A week

Few weeks

Month or longer

With as much information that is available, I would recommend at least a few weeks time.

Who will your unit involve?

Your ClassroomStudents, students & families

Your Grade LevelEach class taking responsibility for a portion of the unit and rotating rooms

Your BuildingHosting an evening for the entire school that focuses on the Japanese culture

Your CommunityInvite guests from your area to share any personal experiences or traditional customs

What is your goal?

Are you wanting to develop a deep understanding of the Japanese?

Does this just sound like another fun theme or unit?

Ask: “What do I want to accomplish by doing this?”

Gather Resources & Research!

Utilize your local library for books, videos, educational kits, maps, etc.

Sister cities associations

Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Scholarship participants

Internet!

U.S./Japanese Embassy

Former residents or visitors of Japan

Bringing It All Together

Divide the information into categoriesFood

Clothing

Traditions

Fine Arts

School Life

Home Life

Festivals

Get Creative! Dream Big!

Passport to Learning

Begin the journey with a student passport

Include: Name and grade

Birthdate

Photo

Blank pages

Response pages

“entry” stamps in passport (stickers)

Share the Culture

Make it Come Alive

The best way for the children to learn a new culture is to experience it!

Make your lessons activity based, not just sharing or telling (even w/ pictures & artifacts)

My Plan of Action

Locate Japan on a globe & compare it to where you live.

Read stories:How My Parents Learned to Eat

Tea with Milk

Crow Boy

Japan ABC’s

Yoko

Counting Your Way Through Japan

Suki’s Kimono

Surround with Senses

Incorporate music into your lessons

Listen to music in response to how the Japanese relate their music and art to nature

Bring textiles or artifacts for the children to hold: kimono, fans, wooden dolls, ceramics, bamboo

More Senses . . .

Smelling & tasting traditional Japanese foods

Sushi, noodles, Pocky, green tea (hot or cold), sticky rice, seaweed, rice crackers

Visit an Asian Supermarket for other food items and many household items

Order from the internet: www.AsianFoodGrocer.com

Seeing it all, sharing it all . . .

Making it Come Alive . . .

Activities to enrich the learning experience

Traditions

Gather information about the culture and traditions of this Asian country.

Share artifacts or pictures of artifacts with the goal of sharing the “why” factor of each item. (Borrow items)

Helpful Hints . . .

After locating Japan on the map I like to share items from that country:

to peak the interest of my class.

I can gather information about what aspects of the Japanese culture my students want to learn.

to start any dialogue and discussion.

Less formal way of presenting information and facts.

Traditional Fans

History of the fanWhat kinds were used in the pastWhat kinds are used nowWhat images are found on fans . . . Why?Make their own fan. Be artists!

Festival Celebrations

Discover festivals or celebrations of Japanese culture.

Learn more:Student reports

Celebrate

RecreateMake decorations

Learn customs

Become the culture

More Festivals . . .

Festivals are a natural way to bring in the culture of Japan.

Good for short time periods – focus on that specific eventIntroduces celebrations, dress, music, food, religion and more!

School Life

Set-up of school levels

Curriculum; English, math, arts, music, calligraphy, Japanese, science

Clubs; after school activities

Juku; prep for tests

Home Life

Collapse an 8 foot table and lay it on top of 2 milk crates.

Put straw mats on the floor to portray tatami mats.

Add thin cushions (chair pads) to the floor.

Use sushi dishes and chopsticks for pretend.

Theater and Arts

Share information from the internet about Noh Theatre, Kabuki and Kyogen.Make masks to resemble the ones used in their productions.Show traditional dress for Japanese Dance.

Food

Bring in authentic Japanese food from specialty stores or international aisle at supermarket.

Sushi

Rice

Noodles

Miso Soup

Green Tea

Ginger/Wasabi

Life of a Child

Anime or MangaGames; tops, yo-yo, “jacks” w/ tiny rice bags, catch the ball, knock the blockSports; baseball, soccer, martial artsVideo games Cell phones

An Evening Celebration

Set-up using centers with the same areas used for lessonsHave an activity for each station or center (we had one per room)Passports: Give as they enter building and have them stamped or stickered at each stationFamily Photos: Set-up a photo area with kimonos for families to dress-up and have a digital picture takenRecreate atmosphere: music, fish windsocks, lanterns, white lights, fans, origami, paper umbrellas, cherry blossoms

Make it authentic!

Make it Memorable!

Other Resources:

www enchantedlearning comwww japan-guide comwww abcteach comwww buildabear comhttp:// web-jpn.org /kidsweb

There are NO spaces in these addresses. Place a period after the www and before the com. Remove the spaces from web-japan.

And More . . .

www origami com

www origami-usa org

www paperfolding com

www holidayfestival com/Japanwww ccm org (Japan: Through the Eyes of a Child)

www us-japan org/dc/education/suitcase.html

Again, no spaces. Add periods.

Books:

I Live in TokyoJimi’s Book of JapaneseLook What Came From JapanJapan: Many Cultures, One WorldA True Book: JapanJapan ABC’sThree Samuri CatsCrow BoyYokoWhere Are You Going? To See My FriendHow My Parents Learned to EatCount Your Way Through JapanThe Bicycle Man (also Rdg. Rainbow video)The Tale of the Mandarin DucksUmbrellaA Day in Japan

First Graders Discover Japan!

Activity Ideas:

Paint your own fan: Students use nature as inspiration for designCalligraphy Writing with Japanese charactersJapanese Language IntroMt. Fuji paintingsInterpret their music through artLearn and practice etiquette of countryWear flip-flops for the dayEat lunch with chopsticksRead Japan related books

Culture Boxes

Compile plastic sweater boxes with items from Japan: anime, yo-yo, tops, recipes, photos, books, Yen, kimono, chopsticks, activity sheets, Hello Kitty, Pokemon, DragonBall Z, silk cherry blossom stem, and response journal.

More Photos from the Net!

Are you excited yet?

Japanese Clip-Art