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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....
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Origami Paper Fun
Students explore the art of Origami. They listen to various stories about Japan, create Origami shapes by following step-by-step directions, sing Japanese songs, locate Japan on a map, and take a quiz.
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Traditional Japanese Garden Design
Pupils create a miniature Japanese garden that incorporates the elements of traditional Japanese aesthetics. They study the simplicity, asymmetrical design and incorporate traditional structures.
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Haiku
Middle schoolers explore the Japanese literature, music and art. Pupils discuss the culture of Japan. While listening to Japanese music, they write and illustrate a Haiku. Students are given the opportunity to create origami.
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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 plan is for the elementary classroom.
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A Study of Japan with the Haiku of Basho
Sixth graders explore haiku poetry and the works of the Japanese poet Basho. They review characteristics of haiku poetry and other forms of poetry. After they write three or more haiku poems, they illustrate one of them and share with...
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Food and Languages of the World
Students examine Japanese culture. In this multicultural lesson plan, students taste rice crackers and create Japanese fans from paper and paint.
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"Sakura Sakura" and the Kumoijoshi Scale of Japan
Students listen to a recording of "Sakura" and determine where it is from. In this global sound lesson, students view pictures of cherry blossoms and connect its significance to Japanese culture. Students sing the score while...
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Japan Day
Students investigate the differences found in the schools of Japan as compared to the United States. They cover the schedule of a typical day for a Japanese student with their own daily activities. The teacher covers the material using...
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Sakura
Students create, notate, and perform the melody of and a rhythmic accompaniment to the traditional Japanese folk song, Sakura. This instructional activity requires a networked computer lab with headphones.
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Literature
Students listen and respond to poems about rain. Then they review the continent of Asia and the country of Japan. They listen to a Japanese folktale about a peach boy. Next they listen to a story from Germany about musicians.
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Japanese Noh Masks
Students examine Japanese theatre and create their own face masks which display certain emotions, props, costumes and perform in improvisational theatrical games.
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"Open Mic" - Giving Creative Expression To The Connection Between The Japanese American Internment, September 11, And Our Rights Today
Young scholars explore the similarities of the Japanese-American experience in WWII and Arab-American experience in post-September 11 US policy. They create presentations on their reflections and express themselves through poetry, dance,...
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Japan and Art
Learners discuss the art of Japan as it relates to Japanese culture and geography and then create individual postcards reflecting the information learned from the lesson. This lesson includes possible enrichments.
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Letters from the Japanese American Internment
Young scholars make deductions about life in an internment camp by reading and comparing letters written to Clara Breed. Along the way, they consider the advantages of looking at a historical event from the multiple points of view of...
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Words and Music - Lesson 2
Students analyze the relationships among cultural values, freedom of artistic expression, ethics, and artistic choices in various cultures and historical periods.
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Japanese Family Crests
Learners create an artistic crest that represents either themselves, their group of friends, or their their family.
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Understanding A Culture Through Storytelling
Students explore Japanese folk tales and create a performance that tells one of the Japanese folk stories.
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Nature and Haiku Poetry
Students compose haiku poems and recognize how cultures value nature and
natural forces through the study of Japanese poetry. This lesson includes a bibliography of resources.
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A Study of "Twilight Crane" by Kinoshita Junji
Pupils read and analyze the Japanese play, "Twilight Crane," by Kinoshita Junji. They read a handout on Japanese theatre, conduct Internet research, answer discussion questions, and compare/contrast versions of the story.
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Noh Theater
Learners compare Noh drama to western drama and trace the influence of Japanese theater on modern western drama. For this Noh drama lesson, students read the play Black Tomb (Kurozuko) defining the elements and conventions of Noh drama...
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"Kokoro (True Heart)" by Velina Hasu Houston
High schoolers read and analyze a play that examines a cultural defense case. They analyze case studies, formulate an argument, write about the Japanese Festival of the Dead, and answer discussion questions about the play.
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Flora, Fauna, and the Passing Seasons
Students discover representations in art, religion and cultural practices of the flora and fauna of specific geographical regions in this early elementary lesson plan. The instructional activity ends with a mural project by the entire...
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Noh Theater
Students explore the roles in Noh drama and the significance of Noh masks while creating their own version of a Noh play in this High School lesson adaptable for either the Language Arts or Theater classroom.