Laura Gilmore

Amanda Hensley

Patty Towns

Ed 417 01

Fall 2001

Dr. Helms

It is important for children to learn differences and similarities between cultures. Introducing them to the customs and lifestyles of other people will help them to become less egocentric and more accepting of differences in others.

The third grade students will be involved in a ten day unit studying Japan. They will take part in a variety of hands on activities that will inform them about the geography and culture of Japan.

Japanese Culture:

Lifestyle, Traditions, Customs, BeliefsOrigami

Haiku

Eating

Japanese Schools

Geography

Weather

Holidays

Family

Community

The third grade students will:

Locate Japan and Tokyo on a world map, and the Odyssey Globe

Create a haiku

Correctly complete a KWL chart

Correctly create a Venn Diagram

Perform a skit representing a Japanese tradition or holiday

Create an Origami hat

Have a general understanding of Japanese culture

Introduction: Read the story, The Drums of Noto Hanto by J. Alison James

Development: Talk about the story with the class. Have the students guess what we will be studying for the next two weeks, based on the book.

Culminating: Create a KWL chart as a class. Using the overhead projector, make a chart listing what the students know about Japan, what they want to learn about Japan, and leave the last column blank to fill in at the end of our unit.

Introduction: Identify the United States on the classroom map. With a star sticker, have a student label Washington D.C. Talk about what continent the United States is on. Identify Asia on the classroom map. Have a student circle Japan on the map with a wicky stick. With a star sticker, have another student locate Tokyo on the map.

Development: Divide the class into four groups. Assign each group a season. Using the website, www.kidswebjapan.com, and the Odyssey Globe, have the groups research the climate and activities for each season in Japan.

Culminating: Each group will present their findings to the class.

Introduction: The teacher will create a PowerPoint presentation about the schools and children in Japan.

Development: Present the PowerPoint presentation to the class. Discuss and allow the students to respond to the slides and pictures.

Culminating: Using a Venn diagram, compare and contrast children and schools in the United States to children and schools in Japan.

Introduction: Show the video, Japan, to the class.

Development: Divide the class into groups of four. Have the students create skits about a tradition or holiday learned from the video.

Culminating: Have the students present the skits to the class.

Introduction: Show the video, Four Families, to the class.

Development: Discuss the family, government, jobs, etc. of Japanese people.

Culminating: Write a journal entry about a job that they would like to have if they lived in Japan.

Introduction: The teacher will bring in chop sticks, Japanese noodles, and other ingredients for the recipe found in A Taste of Japan.

Development: Do a picture walk of the book, A Taste of Japan. Have the students focus on the types of food and customs during Japanese meals.

Culminating: As a class, create Japanese noodles. The class will then eat the noodles using the Japanese customs learned (eating with chopsticks, taking shoes off, etc.)

Introduction: Look at the pictures from the book, Look What Came from Japan.

Development: Discuss the different types of art in Japanese culture. Each student will receive directions of how to make an origami hat. Each students will make a hat.

Culminating: The hats will be worn during our class celebration.

Introduction: Have the students write down what they think the word “haiku” means. Collect and redistribute. Students will read the definition they receive. Tell what “haiku” really means.

Development: Each student will create their own haiku and draw a picture to go with their haiku.

Culminating: Display the haikus on the bulletin board.

Introduction: As a class, fill in the Learned column of the KWL chart. When finished, have the students get into groups of four. Have them discuss the differences and similarities between Japan and the United States.

Development: As a class, create a huge Venn diagram about the similarities and differences that the groups came up with.

Culminating: Display the diagram for the celebration.

Celebration DayThere will be seven centers:

Art

Music

Games

Food

Displayed Work

Library

Map/Odyssey Globe

Parents will be invited to explore the classroom with their child as their tour guide to Japan. The students will explain about each center to their parent.

Throughout the unit, most of the evaluation will be based on participation and observation of student activities and

performances. A written test would also be given at the

end of the unit.

Multiple Choice

1. What is the capital of Japan?a. Chinab. Tokyoc. Hiroshima

2. Which ocean is Japan in?a. Atlanticb. Pacificc. Arctic

3. What continent is Japan in?a. Asiab. North Americac. Europe

Multiple Choice

4. How many islands make up Japan?a. Only fourb. Five large islandsc. Four large islands, and many small islands

5. What is a typical Japanese dining custom?a. Eating rice and/or noodles with chopsticksb. Eating pizza with a forkc. Eating hot dogs with their hands

6. What is a haiku?a. A poem with 3, 5, 3 syllables per lineb. What the Japanese people say when someone sneezesc. A poem with 5, 7, 5 syllables per line

Objective (True/False)

Explain why

1. American people and Japanese people do not have any of the same culture, customs, beliefs, etc. T / F

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. The following poem is an example of a haiku: T / FChildren at our schoolLearning all about JapanHaving a great time.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Writing (Short Essay)

1. Yoko is a new boy in your class. Yoko is from Japan and doesn’t speak English very well. What would you do to help Yoko feel welcome in your school?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Write three ways America and Japan are the same. Write three ways they are different.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

   

JAPAN: OUR GLOBAL VILLAGE

Stimulation. Milliken, 1990-96.

Building a diorama of a Japanese town, making origami helmets, learning the colors in Japanese, and listening to guided imagery stories are among the activities introducing

classes to Japan.

JAPAN: CULTURE KIT

Activity Book. Scholastic, 2000.

A set of cross-curricular activities that can be used independently or as a complete unit on Japan, its land, celebrations, arts and crafts, and culture.

SOCIAL STUDIES EXCURSIONS, K–3: BOOK ONE: POWERFUL UNITS ON CLOTHING, FOOD, AND SHELTER

By Janet Alleman and Jere Brophy. Heinemann 2001.

Step-by-step lesson plans focus on cultural universals, carrying students from familiar experience-based tacit knowledge to consciously developed ideas,

www.teach-nology.com

Various resources on thematic units including lesson plans, links, etc.

A Taste of Japan.

Ridgwell, Jenny. Thomas Learning, 1993.

A reference book about food and cooking in Japan.

The Art of Japan.

Glubok, Shirley. The Macmillan Company, 1970.

A non-fiction book about art in Japan. It also contains many examples of pictures.

Japan; The People.

Kalman, Bobbie. Crabtree Publishing Co., 1997.

This book describes the everyday people of Japan.

Japan; The Culture.

Kalman, Bobbie. Crabtree Publishing Co., 1989.

A non-fiction book about the culture in Japan.

Tasty Baby Belly Buttons.

Sierra, Judy. Alfred A. Knopf, 1999.

A Japanese folktale about adults being turned into babies.

http://www.jinjapan.org/kidsweb/

A very useful website that contains information on climate, government, language and anything else that one would want to know.

http://jin.jcic.or.jp/kidsweb/virtual.html

A website about the culture in Japan.

http://www.jwindow.net/KIDS/kids_home.html

A web site that has cool stuff about Japanese arts and crafts, language, and food.

CLASSROOM MAP

The map provided by the school that is in the classroom.

Look What Came from Japan

Harvey, Miles. Franklin Watts, 1999.

A non-fiction book about current Japanese culture.

All About Japan

JAPAN

Ernst Interactive Media. ©1993, 1996.

Expertly filmed by teachers, this video can be used individually to introduce an area, or can launch a comprehensive study of geography, community, culture,

history, language, citizenship, science and ecology.

MATERIAL WORLD

Poster Education. ©1995–2001

Substantial workbooks based on the posters, book, and CD-ROM provide detailed and varied lessons on world cultures, geography, and economics.

FLAGS OF NATIONS McDonald. ©1996

Designed for display over a chalkboard, a full-color strip of eight panels depicts 16 national flags—Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Israel, Italy, Finland,

Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Suriname, United Kingdom, United States.

MUSIC AROUND THE WORLD: Set 2

Depicts musicians playing traditional instruments from Guatemala, India, Japan, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Switzerland, the United States, and Wales.

ASIA POSTER SET

Eight full-color laminated posters each display one big, striking photograph that captures some aspect of national identity. Countries covered: China, Indonesia, Japan,

Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

CHILDREN OF JAPAN

produced, directed, written and edited by Brad Powell, Kathy Campbell

Ohio Educational Broadcasting Network Commission 1987

Studies the character, training and relationships of Japanese children in four general areas of living.

MULTICULTURAL FOLKTALES

Teacher Ideas Press, 2000

Ebook readers theatre for elementary students / Suzanne I. Barchers

POWERPOINT PRESENTATION

Created by teacher about the people of Japan.

TEACHER CREATED CD

A cd of Japanese music downloaded from web sites.

NEIGHBORHOOD TALES: TWO FROGS FROM JAPAN

Zaner-Bloser, c1995

Kit contains:1 teacher's guide, 3 sound cassettes, 12 sets of story cards, 1 finger puppet, 1 set of stick puppets, 1 set of face masks, 40 sticks, 1 tube

of glue, 2 flannel board sets, 2 vinyl storyboard sets ; in container

http://lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~matsuoka/Japan.html

A web site about Japan. Geared toward children.

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/Libs/PCL/Map_collection/middle_east_and_asia/Japan_rel96.jpg

An online map provided by the University of Texas at Austin

THE ODYSSEY GLOBE

A computerized globe that doubles as a resource guide.

CHILDREN OF OTHER LANDS

United Learning, c1986

Designed to introduce students to the lifestyles of children from Japan filmstrip

FOUR FAMILIES. PART 2: JAPAN AND CANADA

McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1965

A comparison of family life in Japan and Canada. Margaret Mead discusses how the upbringing of a child contributes to a distinctive national character,

using as an example a year-old child in a family of a farmer of average means

CULTURES OF THE WORLD: INTERNET QUESTS

Teacher Created Materials 2001Using the Internet, CD-ROM files which replicate Web pages, or reference

books, students complete more than 30 worksheet activities.

TUNE IN JAPAN: APPROACHING CULTURE THROUGH TELEVISION

Asia Society, 1995

A video introducing today’s Japan that mixes tradition and innovation.

NATION RELATION: WORLD AWARENESS CARD MATCHING GAME

McGivney. ©1992With no reading required, children learn about 12 countries in this fun-to-play

multicultural game adaptable for different ages and skill levels. For each nation, pairs of cards show a flag and world map with the country highlighted; children in

typical dress and activities; animals and landmarks; foods and beverages.

ANCIENT AND LIVING CULTURES STENCILS GoodYear, 1993-98

Four pages of colorful stencils printed on heavy stock, in addition to related myths, stories, maps, historical information, cultural details, and step-by-step

instructions for five different crafts projects.

COUNT YOUR WAY THROUGH THE WORLD Carolrhoda, 1988-1996.

These enchanting introductions to world cultures not only show students how to count to ten in 16 different languages; they also feature distinctive and colorful art

for each numeral that illustrates a cultural characteristic