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The goals of the program are to enhance the ability of the School District of Philadelphia to provide high- quality education about Japan and to foster an understanding of contemporary Japan and US-Japan relations. The study tours that are an integral part of the program included visits to Kobe, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Sendai, and Tokyo. The tours touch on virtually all aspects of Japanese society: visits to government offices, schools, historical sites, religious institutions, museums, etc. These lesson plans are developed as a result of the teachers' experience in Japan and are designed to extend the experience of Japan to other teachers.

	Trip: Japanese House and Garden
	A Travel Brochure
	Overview of Japanese Culture
	Culture and Art
	Art and Literature
	The World in a Summer Shower: Japanese Haiku
	Paste Resist Textile Design
	Adolescence in Japan: The Changing Roles
	Useful Websites

Lesson Plan # 1 for Japan

Trip: Japanese House and Garden
LOCATION: Fairmount Park
Prepared by: Ila Deshmukh

Trip Schedule
9:15 A.M. Bus pick up at school
10:00 A.M. Museum Lesson
12:00 P.M. Lunch in picnic grove
1:00 P.M. Departure for school

BEFORE YOUR TRIP

• All visitors to the Japanese House must remove their shoes.
• We suggest students and teachers wear or bring socks withthem. Paper slippers are available for purchase
• The House is not heated, please dress appropriately.
• Special arrangements must be made to accommodate
• Classes should assemble outside the gates,and teachers should knock for the museum educator.
• Bathrooms are available at the Horticultural Center.

NCSS Standards-Social Studies

II. People, Places, and Environments
Describe how people create places that reflect ideas, personality, culture, and wants and needs as they design homes, playgrounds, classrooms, and the like.

Introduction

The emphasis on harmony with one's natural environment is found in many aspects of Japanese life. Traditional architecture in Japan is designed with openness to the outdoors. Students will learn how Japanese house designs reflect their views of nature.

Objectives

Students will:

• Explain what materials are used in a traditional Japanese House.
• Understand why certain materials are used in the construction of the Japanese House.
• Describe the inside of a traditional Japanese House.
• Recognize the influence of nature in the life of the Japanese.
• Describe how nature is reflected in the design of traditional Japanese House.

Suggested Reading

Websites

Words to Know

• Centennial - 100 year anniversary
• Emperor - king / ruler
• Hinoki - a cypress / Japanese fragrant evergreen
• Veranda - open exterior of house
• Horticulture - art of growing plants
• Shoin - desk style
• Tatami - reed mats
• Shoji - sliding papered windows / doors
• Tokonoma - alcove for displaying objects
• Koi - colorful Carp
• Ikebana - Japanese style flower arrangements
• Thatched Roof - layer plant material used to cover top of structure

Pre-Trip Lesson

Post Trip Lessons

Extension and Enrichment Activity

Have students compare elements of the Japanese House and Garden with their own homes. Questions to pose: What was the same? What was different? After touring the House, what do you think was important to the owners of the House? What did they value?

Geography of Japan

Japan is bordered on the north by the Sea of Okhotsk, on the east by the Pacific Ocean, and on the west by the Tsushima Strait, the Sea of Japan, and the East China Sea. No part of Japan is more than one hundred miles from the sea. Most of the land is mountainous, leaving only the coastal areas for large cities, industrial development and farming.

Because of Japan's location in an unstable area of the Earth's crust, earthquakes and tremors occur there frequently. Undersea quakes can cause destructive tidal waves called tsunami. Some volcanic mountains are still active, and there are many hot springs, which the Japanese people use for recreational and medicinal purposes.

Questions

• Estimate the distance between the west coast of the United States and Japan using the provided inset map or an atlas.
• Complete the map of Japan by naming islands, bodies of water, and cities in the correct locations.

Basic Ikebana

Ikebana is the art of flower arranging. It has its beginnings as an offering given in Buddhist temples. Today it has become an aesthetic "moment" in creating a natural setting for the tokonoma. Its emphasis is on the beauty of nature's lines and forms.

To do Ikebana, you will need a container, three flowers or branches, the leaves of the flowers, and additional foliage for fillers. For flat containers, kenzans (nailed flower holders) are used to hold the stems.

1. Put the kenzan in a vase
2. Cut the flowers into three varying lengths. The shin (heaven) is 1.5 times the width and height of the vase. The soe (man) is ¾ the length of the shin. The hikae (earth) is 3/4m the size of the soe.
3. The flowers should be placed in the kenzan in a triangular position.
4. Additional leaves can be used as fillers or assistants to support and give body to the arrangement. There should be an uneven number of plants. They should all be different heights and arranged around the flowers and allowing for a sense of space.
5. If the vase is tall you can make your shin 2.5 times the width and height of the vase and adjust the soe and hikae accordingly.
6. All plants should be cut under water to give them longer life.

Lesson Plan # 2 for Japan

A Travel Brochure for Japan
Objectives

• To explain the achievements and contributions of Japan
• To evaluate how geographic location has determined much of the development of Japan
• To create a travel brochure for a Japanese city

Each group will create a travel brochure that promotes a week-long vacation to Japan. The subjects will be places the group feels are significant to understanding the culture or appreciating the geography. The groups will select places to visit, methods of travel, and daily itineraries. The brochure will give a description of the climate and suggestions for appropriate clothing to bring for the vacation week. It will offer suggestions about food, customs, and souvenirs. The itinerary should include a maximum of three cities for the week's trip. Each group will write, copy, and create illustrations for the brochure that would entice travelers to choose their tour. After the groups have produced their brochures, they will exchange and evaluate one another's products.

Preteaching

Distribute copies of travel brochures you have obtained from a travel agency. Have students form small groups to brainstorm important features of their brochures. Give the groups about 10 minutes to discuss the brochure. Each member of the group should write a sentence about the feature. All names appear at the top of the page, and paper is evaluated as an in-class group assignment. Have the groups share their ideas as you write them on the chalkboard. Here are some to consider:

1. The cover of the brochure should state what the travel brochure is about. The picture or art needs to positive and enticing.
2. There should be an overview of the trip using positive language. This will entice the reader to read further for more details.
3. There should be a daily itinerary that details what will take place on each day. The itinerary could include visits to scenic places, picnics, occasional dinner plans for sampling local foods, and other ways to immerse the tourists in the local culture.
4. One section of the brochure should address concerns the traveler may have about details such as clothing, food, and customs. This section might use a question and answer format. It might also include a chart showing rainfall or temperatures for each month.
5. There should be a map showing the itinerary.
6. There should be photos with captions or descriptions of important highlights of the trip.
7. There should be current Japanese headline news. What is happening in Japan now.
8. A fact sheet about Japan should be presented; such as, population, people, religion, government etc.
9. There should be a section that presents costs of the trip and the currency converter.

Review the assignment. Discuss any problems or misunderstanding. Then follow these steps:

• Establish a schedule with the groups.
• Pass out the Travel Brochure Planning Sheet.
• Explain goals, expectations, and roles.
• Discuss evaluating procedures.

Travel Brochure Planning Sheet

1. Cities we've chosen: _______________________________________
   
2. Tentative itinerary including assignments:

Day 1: ___________________________________________________
Day 2: ___________________________________________________
Day 3: ___________________________________________________
Day 4: ___________________________________________________
Day 5: ___________________________________________________
Day 6: ___________________________________________________
Day 7: ___________________________________________________

3. Assignments for creating the brochure:

a. Cover of brochure: _____________________________
b. Overview: ____________________________________
c. Itinerary: _____________________________________
d. Map of itinerary: _______________________________
e. Important questions answered: ___________________
f. Map of itinerary: ________________________________
g. Illustration to be used: __________________________
h.Overall design of brochure and placement of information: _______________________________________________

4. Tentative page layout: _______________________________________

For a group of four, you may want students to work as partners and then come together as a team. One way is to divide the research by assigning half the itinerary to each group; another way is for each group to research one of the cities. If only one city is planned for the trip, important areas to include are geographical and historical places to visit, culture, climate, special considerations regarding food, dress, or customs, and unique gifts or items made on the island. Circulate and monitor as the groups conduct research for their travel brochures. Act as facilitator, intervening only if necessary to clarify or mediate. Encourage the groups to share information that may be helpful to other groups by designating the last few minutes of the class period as time for a discussion of problems and the sharing of discoveries.

Students should once again refer to the Travel Brochure Planning Sheet because the last section outlines important areas they need to cover in the brochure. Because a student-produced brochure cannot use small type, you may want to modify the size of the brochure to be a standard sheet of typing paper (or slightly narrower) so that copy, maps, heading, and art are legible. To create a "glossy" look, provide plastic sheet protectors so those students can display each page separately. The entire 4-5 page brochure can be placed in 3-ring binder. The following are important areas for the brochure.

1. Brochure editor. Responsible for coordinating all the research and writing from all group members. The student will coordinate all the final material. His or Her main responsibility is for all written copy except for the itinerary.
2. Photo researcher. Responsible for deciding which photos and captions to be used in the brochure. These can be written photo specifications with boxes in the brochure for placement. The boxes can include drawn sketches of the idea for the photo.
3. Layout designer. Responsible for coordinating the layout of the entire brochure. Provide white paper and felt tip pens for layout work.
4. Itinerary editor. Responsible for the final editing for the itinerary. This includes a brief summary of activities for each day. He or she must work closely with the brochure editor.
5. Coordinator. Responsible for keeping a daily log of accomplishments of members of the group. This person may also be called on to assist other members of the brochure in its final preparation. On the final "finishing" days of the brochure, it is important for students to work together to coordinate their efforts.

Each group should present to the class the travel brochure they have prepared. The group should try to "sell" the class their trip. Reproduce enough copies of the following Travel Brochure Evaluation so that each group has one evaluation form for each of the other groups' travel brochures. Establish a pattern for passing the brochures around the room for evaluations. Allow time for groups to evaluate each brochure, using the evaluation form. After all the groups have reviewed the brochures, collect the evaluation forms. Then ask that each student write a paragraph explaining which tour he or she would choose to take and way. Display the brochures and post a sampling of the paragraphs telling about tour choices. Make certain the sampling contains a variety of tours that were chosen.

Travel Brochure Evaluation

1. What cities are part of the tour?
2. Explain what you feel to be the strongest "selling point" of the brochure. What in the brochure most convinces you to take the trip?
3. Comment on the cover design. How well does it reflect the overall purpose of the tour? How much does it help "sell" the tour?
4. In what ways did the brochure help the potential tourist learn about the culture of the countries on the itinerary?
5. What else would you have added to the brochure? Why?

Lesson Plan # 3 for Japan

Japanese Culture
Prepared By: Enid Diamante

• Locate Japan on a world map
• Fill in map of Japan, identifying the four main islands: Pacific Ocean, East China Sea, the Sea of Japan, the capital of Tokyo, major cities including: Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Sapporo, and Mt. Fuji
• Create red and white Japanese flags

• Talk about nature as the root of Japanese culture
• The Shinto Religion's focus on the natural world
• Theme of nature expressed in calligraphy and haiku

• Discuss Japanese currency and the cost of living in and visiting Japan
• View school uniforms of Japanese students, as well as schools, homes, and train stations
• Stress importance of manners

• Express simple greetings
• Practice counting one to ten
• Learn how to bow

• Make festival headbands with strips of material and decorate with kana
• For Shichi Go San, (This is not a national holiday but a traditional festival for children of seven, five, and three years old. Families visit shrines and pray for their children's healthy growth. Children put on their best clothes such as kimonos, dresses, and suits.) Students can decorates a white paper bag with good luck symbols of the crane, turtle, and bamboo.
• Discuss O Sho Gatsu (The New Year) as the most important family festival
• Decorate Decorate the classroom with bamboo and pine branches
• For Hina Matsuri (The Doll Festival) serve sugar cookies and green tea, in addition to making paper samurai dolls
• For Kodomo No Hi make carp/kites
• For Tanabata decorate branches with wish papers             

• Experiment with simple calligraphy and origami
• Write Haiku based on seasons, make a contest out of it
• Collect coffee cans to make into taiko drums
• Organize a Cherry Tree Festival
• Write a play on a Japanese story and help prepare the students in the class to be the actors and actresses. Perform Japanese folk songs and decorate the auditorium with artwork of Japanese themes

Lesson Plan # 4 for Japan

Culture and Art
Prepared By: Donna Matthews

• Invite a speaker to the class and ask the students to prepare two interview questions concerning Japanese culture, geography, and history of the country to ask of the guest
• Introduce students to Japanese calligraphy
• Develop a bulletin board of Japanese terms which provides a basic understanding of how the Japanese written language developed and how it is written

• Use flavored herbal teas during the ceremony and sit on a section of the classroom that is carpeted or has a rug
• To prepare for the ceremony, students should make plants and flowers from construction paper and paper mache, to decorate the area used for the ceremony
• Stress the importance of friendship, good manners and nature, which are highly valued in Japan

• View photos of traditional Japanese homes
• Ask students to bring in shoe boxes, in which they decorate the inside to look like the inside of a traditional Japanese home
• Students can use toothpicks and straw to make  tatami floor coverings, also cotton balls can be used to make futons

• Prepare classroom recipes, bring in an electric wok and frying pan
• Use the wok to stir-fry a variety of vegetables (carrots, celery, broccoli, and onions), season with soy sauce and serve over steamed rice
• Use the frying pan to prepare Okonomiyaki, Japanese pancakes
• Find a low sofa table and eat your meal accompanied by tea

Lesson Plan #5 for Japan

Focus on Art and Literature
Prepared By: Barbara Marshall

• Reading #2

Read a variety of materials including fiction and non fiction from diverse cultures, especially Africa, Asian-Pacific, European, Latino, and Native American

• Literature #1

Read, recognize and respond to literature as shared and diverse

• Speaking # 1

Speak for a variety of purposes: inform, question, and solve problems

• Listening # 1

Listen to, comprehend, interpret, and enjoy

• Writing # 3

Write a variety of forms: journals, essays, stories, letters, plays, and poems

• Social Studies # 1

Demonstrate an understanding of cultures and how culture affects the individual and society.

• Art # 1

Applying art media

1. Where is Japan?
2. Who are the Japanese?
3. A Touch of Japanese Culture
4. Poetry: Haiku
5. Haiku Revisited
6. Poetry: Tanka
7. Tanka Revisited
8. Japanese Calligraphy
9. Calligraphy Revisited
10. Winter in Japan: Art
11. Spring in Japan: Art
12. Doll and Kite Day
13. The Zodiac: Who / What we represent
14. Fans and Lanterns: Art
15. The Takanoma
16. Shopping: 100 Yen Shop, $1.00 Store
17. Guest Speakers / Fellow Travelers
18. Celebrating a New Year

Lesson Plan # 6 for Japan

The World in a Summer Shower:
Japanese Haiku
Prepared By: Barbara Marshall, Ph.D.

Note: This lesson was created specifically for LS students. But, it can be replicated for grades K-12 given the teacher's interest and approach. The time span is 45 minutes per week for 6 weeks.

Standards

• Reading # 2

Read a variety of materials including fiction and non fiction classic and contemporary texts from a diversity of cultures, especially Africa, Asian-Pacific, European, Latino, and Native American cultures, communications systems, and functional texts

• Literature # 1

Listen to, read, recognize and respond to literature as a record of shared and diverse human experiences that both reflect individual perspectives and promote understanding of multiple perspectives

• Writing # 2

Write a variety of forms: journals, essays. Stories, letters, plays, poems, and reports using figurative, descriptive, literary, and technical language

• Art # 1

Understands and applies art media, technique and processes

• Social Studies # 1

Demonstrate awareness of cultures and how culture and social organization in communities other than their own in American society

• Locate Japan in the world
• Examine culture: clothing, food, music, art, literature

• Introduction to Haiku structure, read several examples, discuss Basso and Issa, practice the form: 17 syllables, 5-7-5

• Continue reading sample Haiku
• Writing: class, partner, individual

• Create a booklet of Haiku
• Illustrations from black and white photographs
• India ink, cut paper

• Calligraphy

• Tea Ceremony
• Culminating author celebration

Cassedy, Sylvia and Suetake (1967) Birds, Frogs, and Moonlight. New York: Dounbleday & Company, Inc.

Baily, Donna (1990) My Home in Japan. Austin, Texas.

Burleson, Patricia (1998) "The History and Artistry of Haiku", Japan Digest.

Burns, Marjorie (1990) A handbook of Haiku. New York: Scholastic.

Garelick, May (1961) Where Does The Butterfly Go When it Rains? New York: Scholastic.

Miller, Olive (1925) Little Pictures of Japan. Chicago: The Book House for Children.

Parisi, Lynn (1993) "Japan in the Classroom: Elementary and Secondary", Boulder, Colorado: Social Science Education Consortium.

Lesson Plan # 7 on Japan

Paste Resist Textile Design

Middle School Grade Level
Prepared By: Joyce Millman

• Watercolor Paint
• Unbleached muslin cut into 8"x 8" squares
• Plastic squeeze bottles filled with a mixture of:

½ cup of flour
½ cup of water
2 tbs. Alum

• Black magic markers
• Sketching paper
• Pencils

• Cut fabric into squares
• Mix paste and fill bottles with mixture
• Cut sketching paper the same size as the fabric

• Discuss the lifestyles of the samurai court
• Show examples of kimono, especially those decorated using the paste resist technique
• Explain that much of Japanese art is functional art and uses images or motifs from nature, some of the images have symbolic meanings
• Students should sketch ideas for a textile design of their own on a paper the same size as the fabric being used
• After selecting a design, go over the design with a black marker
• Then put the design under the muslin square and squeeze the paste mixture on to the outlines, these paste lines will become the white areas
• When the paste is dry, paint the design with watercolors
• When the paint is dry scrape off the paste

• Samurai
• Kimono
• Paste Resist
• Functional Art
• Motif
• Symbolic

Lesson Plan # 8 for Japan

Adolescence in Japan: The Changing Roles
Prepared By: Robert Allekotte

• Observe what the Japanese of Middle School age do in and out of school
• Photograph entertainment media
• Chart similarities and differences of American and Japanese youth culture
• Arrange pen-pal possibilities students

1. Are the roles of Japanese teenagers changing? How?
2. How do Japanese youth view their futures?
3. What do Japanese teens do for fun and entertainment?
4. How do Japanese teens deal with problems such as peer pressure, changing roles within the family structure, and balancing social and academic life?

Useful Web Sites

Additional lesson plans:

http://japan.lisd.k12.mi.us

Aikido: A Japanese martial art

http://www/aikidofaq.com

Country profile including population, people, currency converter, history, culture, activities, events, attractions. etc:

http://travel.yahoo.com/Destinations/asia/countries/japan/

Japanese History:

http://www.shibori.co.jp/history/index.html

Information pages for Japan

http://www.japan-guide.com/

http://jin.jcic.or.jp/today/

Japan Window:

http://www.jwindow.net/

Japanese Calligraphy:

http://www.jsdi.or.jp/~moons/e-index.htm

http://mmm.wwa.com/ohmori/introl.html

Japanese culture including animation, flower arranging, classical theater and more. http://www.ric.edu/pamental/japan/japanlinks.html

Japanese Performing Arts:

http://www.jpan.org/

Japanese Tea Ceremony

http://holymtn.com/tea/Japanesetea.htm

Pottery and Ceramics (Yakimono)

http://www.csuchico.edu/~cheinz/syllabi/asst001/fall98/vanoni/Webpage1.html

US Library of Congress Country Study - Japan

http://Lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/jptoc.html