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Developing Writing Skills Through Japanese Folk Music
Students listen to Japanese folk songs to get inspired to create a writing piece about Japan. In this writing instructional activity, students use primary and secondary sources to add information about Japan.
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Japanese Tea and Teacups
Upper graders use the potter's wheel to make Japanese style tea cups, which they will use in a Japanese style tea ceremony. They hone their sculpting techniques while exploring Japanese cultural and the history of tea. There are two...
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The Art and History of Japanese Calligraphy
Chinese and Japanese calligraphy is beautiful and significant in both culture and tradition. Engage your class in this expressive fine art form through a lesson on using, holding, and creating brush strokes common to Japanese writing...
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Silk Dragons - Activity 1
Students investigate and discuss Japanese art and culture through an online video and a KWL chart. This lesson is an introduction to Japanese art with two supplemental lessons provided for further activities.
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Letters from the Japanese American Internment
Young scholars examine letters of Japanese-American children during internment in World War II. They discover what it was like in the camps and how they were treated once they were released. They also view photographs of the camps.
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Japanese and American Types of Music
In this Japanese and American music worksheet, students name different types of music with a friend. They list popular types of music found in Japan, and then list types of music found in America. They write down their favorite music,...
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Integrating Japanese Folk Tales into the Classroom Using Japanese Kamishibai
Students study Japanese folk tales focusing on the traditional values and key elements. They compare the Japanese values with their own. They discuss Japanese art before designing a set of kamishibai on which they write a summary of a...
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Being in the Noh: An Introduction to Japanese Noh Plays
Students read a Japanese Noh play and discuss its structure and traditional characters. They choose a short myth and write a Noh play based on it.
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Japanese Fan
Learners discuss Japanese culture and the functional and artistic uses of fans and create paper fans using watercolors, popsicle sticks, and tape in this Art lesson plan for the elementary classroom. Can be used as an introduction to...
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Global Music Lesson Plans: Britten and Japan – Japan and the UK
Learners explore the links between Japanese and British culture. In this Japanese music lesson, students listen to their instructor present a lecture regarding Gagaku music and then perform "Te Lucis Ante Terminum" with Japanese...
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The Tale of Genji
Did you know that the world's first novel was written by a woman? Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji, was published in 1021. Class members research Eastern and Western cultures in the 10th and 11th centuries, view modern adaptations of...
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Japanese Abstract Art And The Impressionist Movement
Students study several examples of Japanese abstract art and how this style impacted the Impressionist movement of the 19th century. This instructional activity includes ideas for student-created sketchbooks.
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A Pentatonic Scale Activity
The famous Japanese tune, "Cherry Blooms" was composed using a pentatonic scale. Budding musicians explore the nature and theory behind the pentatonic scale as well as the East Asian music it is commonly used in. Multiple extensions are...
Japan Society
Akutagawa Ryunosuke and the Taisho Modernists
Japan's Taisho Period was a time when authors like Akutagawa and other Japanese modernists began to experiment with point of view and literary form, making the literature produced during this time period a natural choice for teaching...
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The Japanese Empire: The Beginning
Ninth graders explore empires by researching Japan's history. In this Japanese research lesson, 9th graders discuss the history of Japan and the elements of World War II that caused Japan to become an enemy of the United States. Students...
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Noh Theater
Students take a closer look at Japanese drama. In this Japanese culture lesson plan, students study the attributes of Noh theater and compare it western theater. Students conduct independent research on the art form prior to acting out a...
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Japanese Music-Some Songs for Children
Students explore songs from Japan. In this music instructional activity, students listen to four Japanese folk songs and identify the characteristics of the music.
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Music in Japan - Fine Arts
Second graders discuss various types of music. They identify and explore Japanese music, and instruments. They make a koto.
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Shinto, Stones, and the Garden
Students examine how Shinto and Buddhism are reflected in the Japanese art and life-style, especially as seen in the relationship people have with the land (gardens). This lesson is for the elementary classroom.
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Haiku and Beyond: Exploring Genres of Japanese Literature
Fourth graders compare and contrast the literature of Japan as they study the culture, history and geography of the island nation. They read various genres of literature, describe geographic and landform features of Japan, and find...
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Arts of Asia in Reach
Students explore the traditions and celebrations of another culture and research a city or community in Japan. They then examine traditional Japanese music as well as practice several dance steps and discover their significance in...
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The Science of Sound and Musical Instruments
Learners identify the components of sound. They describe the relationship between pitch and frequency and explain the terms sympathetic vibrations and resonance.
They perform simple experiments about the world of sound and explain the...
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You Too Can Haiku: How to Write a Haiku
Students explore language arts by writing their own poems. For this haiku lesson, students investigate the Japanese culture and their beautiful music, poetry and art. Students count the syllables in every line of a haiku poem and write...
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Being in the Noh: An Introduction to Japanese Noh Plays
Students analyze the conventions used in Noh plays and write an introduction to a Noh play of their own. In this Noh play lesson, students identify the conventions of the Noh form and analyze the realizations the main character achieves....