Teaching Japan through Children's Literature
罢丑别听Texts and Contexts: Teaching Japan through Children鈥檚 Literature听online curriculum is a collection of teacher-developed, standards-based, cross-curricular K-6 lessons. The collection is designed to promote the teaching of cultural studies of Japan while developing students鈥� knowledge and skills in literacy and communication. Each of the six lessons features an authentic children鈥檚 literature book on an aspect of Japanese culture.
Poetry Talk听蹿别补迟耻谤别蝉听The Girl Who Loved Caterpillars听(1992), a story adapted by Jean Merrill from a twelfth-century Japanese story entitled听Tsutsumi Ch奴nagon Monogatari. In this lesson, students learn about and write听tanka, an ancient Japanese poetic form. Students exchange听tanka听to communicate messages and participate in a poetry competition as court nobles did in the Heian period ( 794-1185 C.E.). The suggested level for this lesson is grades 3-5.
Hachik艒: A Loyal Dog听uses听Hachiko: The True Story of a Loyal Dog听(2004) by Pamela S. Turner for primary instruction or听Hachiko Waits听(2004) by Lesl茅a Newman for intermediate instruction. The Hachik艒 books are based on a true story that occurred in Tokyo in the twentieth century. In this lesson, students learn about a Tokyo commuter station and Japanese conceptions of loyalty and community. Students define loyalty through creative art and writing projects.
Grass Sandals: A Mini-Unit on Haiku and Brush Painting听features听Grass Sandals: The Travels of Basho听(1997) by Dawnine Spivak. This story introduces Matsuo Bash艒, the famous seventeenth-century traveling poet and provides highlights of several of his journeys. Part 1 of this lesson uses an inquiry-based approach: students analyze haiku to develop rules for writing a poem on their own. In Part 2, students learn about听kanji听characters and brush painting and, in a final art project, incorporate their haiku into a black-ink illustrated hanging scroll. The lesson was written for the early elementary grades but is easily adaptable for older students.
Comparing Japanese Folktales with American Tall Tales听suggests using听The Adventures of Momotaro, the Peach Boy听(1993) by Ralph F. McCarthy to have students compare the folktale well known since the eighteenth century, with the American tall tale, Paul Bunyan. As a class, students analyze the stories and develop criteria for the two literary genres. Individually, students write the story of Paul Bunyan as a Japanese folktale or write the story of Momotar艒 as an American tall tale. This lesson is intended for use in grades 3-6 but can be adapted for use in primary grades.
Two Homes: Living in Two Cultures听focuses on the experiences and perspectives of the bicultural child who is the main character of听The Wakame Gatherers听(2007) by Holly Thompson.听The Wakame Gatherers听depicts real-life scenes, experiences, and people who live in the Koshigoe district of Kamakura-city. In the lesson, students construct categories and make cross-cultural comparisons in regard to food and meals, transportation, and homes in Japan. Making text-to-self connections, students develop understandings and definitions of the concepts of听culture听and听bicultural. This lesson is written for the early elementary grades but is easily adaptable for older students.
Telephone听Tanabata听features the听kamishibai听(Japanese storytelling cards) format of听The Story of Tanabata听(Tanabata Monogatari,听n.d.) adapted by Shin Kitada. Based on an East Asian story that explains the position of the stars of Altair and Vega,听Tanabata听(Qixi听in Chinese or听Chilseok听in Korean) is a festival celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh month in China, Korea, and Japan. In this lesson, students develop the concept of cultural borrowing by analyzing versions of the听Tanabata听story from these three East Asian cultures and writing their own adapted version in听kamishibai听format. This lesson is planned for use with a third- or fourth-grade class.
Each lesson contains the following components:
- Objectives
- Alignment with听National Standards听for Reading and Writing, Civics, Geography, History, and/or Visual Arts
- Assessment rubrics or checklists
- Background notes for the teacher
- Materials (essential handouts and visual aids in printable pdfs; PowerPoint shows with original photography and video viewable on the website)
- Step-by-step directions for implementation
- Extensions and cross-curricular ideas to add differentiation
- Resources and references
- Printable pdfs of the lesson
From 2006 to 2008, the Program for Teaching East Asia (TEA) at the University of Colorado at Boulder sponsored a project that took 41 Colorado elementary teachers on study tours to Japan and engaged in them in curriculum development focused on using authentic literature to teach about Japan. Through this program funded by the Freeman Foundation, these teachers developed their content knowledge and experiential understanding of Japan, allowing them to assess quality and reliable literature and participate in collaborative development of literature-based authentic instruction about Japanese people, culture, history, and geography. Following a process of revision and field-testing, these efforts resulted in this collection of lesson plans. We would like to acknowledge and recognize the teachers, TEA staff, and many colleagues in Japan who contributed to the project. It is our sincere hope that these lessons help enhance literature-based cross-curricular instruction and build students鈥� understandings of Japan.
Catherine Higbee Ishida听
Project Director and Chief Editor听
Program for Teaching East Asia, University of Colorado at Boulder
Editors and Reviewers
- Dr. David Henry, University of Alaska Fairbanks
- Holly Thompson, author,听The Wakame Gatherers
- Catherine Ishida, Jessica Rodd, Laurel Singleton,听and听Pat Ziemkowski, TEA Staff
Authors and Field-testers
- Wendy Blasingame听and听Mandy Lover, Summit School District
- Blanca Carbajal-Rodriguez听and听Axel Reitzig, St. Vrain Valley School District
- Michael Carlson听and听Gail Stine, Englewood Schools
- Christine Cervera听and听Carridy Koski, Adams 12 Five Star Schools
- Fran Cohen听and听Nina Marks, Cherry Creek Schools
- Michelle Degitis听and听Casey McMorrow, Aurora Public Schools
- Gina Dupre听and听Leah Ebel, Falcon School District 49
- Jill Fenn听and听Kelly Himeisen, Poudre School District
- Noel Gannett, Roaring Fork School District
- Brenda Gates, Rebecca Laverdure, Stacey Mandel, Jill Maxwell, Katie Peterson, Katherine White, Lynn Williams, and听Mike Wojczuk, Boulder Valley School District
- Gayle Green, Dawson School
- Sue Grieshaber听and听Linda Katzenmeyer, Academy School District Twenty
- Catherine Ishida听and听Jessica Rodd, TEA Staff
- Kathy Keidel, Buena Vista School District R-31
- Karen Munch, Pueblo City Schools
*All participating teachers represent Colorado school districts.
Web Design
-
Jen Spolnik
The Program for Teaching East Asia at the University of Colorado gratefully acknowledges the support of the听Freeman Foundation听and听in the development of听Texts and Contexts: Teaching Japan Through Children's Literature.
Created听2010 Program for Teaching East Asia, University of Colorado.听