Cleveland Museum of Art
Japanese Folktales (Asian Odyssey)
The Cleveland Museum of Art presents this interdisciplinary model unit that asks class members to explore how the same themes are presented in the folktales and art of several cultures.
Denver Art Museum
Tea Gathering Quick-Write
Japanese tea gatherings are the inspiration for a great lesson. Learners are provided with an image of a tea caddy made for thick tea and asked to describe what they notice and what that might mean. This leads into a larger lesson about...
Curated OER
Creating Scrolls Based on the Illustrated Tale of Genji
Now these are learning activities full of fun, art, and cultural exploration. Kids consider the art of storytelling through comic book images. They then look at the Tale of Genji as it was written in the 11th century. They discuss...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Origami Geometry
Origami is an excellent way to combine Japanese culture, art, and geometric shapes into one engaging instructional activity! Scholars begin by listening to the story Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes and learn the origin of the...
Curated OER
Paper Cranes
Paper folding is a great art form that can be incorporated into cultural, mathematic, and art lessons. This resource includes the full instructions needed to fold a paper crane, as well as a Haiku poetry idea. Tip: This activity would be...
Curated OER
Shizuko’s Daughter: K-W-L
What would your class like to learn about Japanese culture? Prepare them for a novel unit about Kyoko Mori's Shizuko's Daughter with a KWL chart. After listing what they already know about Japanese culture, they write questions about...
Curated OER
Shizuko’s Daughter: Before, During, After Lesson Plan
Shizuko's Daughter by Kyoko Mori presents a vivid picture of Japanese culture and history. As kids read through the third chapter, they find novel-specific vocabulary to enhance their understanding and use context clues to determine...
Curated OER
Story Development through Japanese art
A classic Japanese print is attached to this lesson plan and its up to your class to write a story about it. Pretending the image is an illustration, they use what they know about Japanese mythology to compose a short story describing...
Curated OER
Noh Theater
Students take a closer look at Japanese drama. In this Japanese culture lesson, 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 Noh...
Curated OER
Japanese Poetry: Tanka? You're Welcome!
Students explore tanka, a form of Japanese poetry. They read and analyze tankas to determine the structure and intent, and compose a traditional and a non-traditional tanka.
Curated OER
Japanese Festival Mask Making
Students learn about Japanese culture and make a mask. In this lesson about Japanese mask-making, students use research and art to explore the Japanese culture. Students research Japanese masks. Students design their own Japanese mask....
Curated OER
Lesson Plan: The Tour Starts at Noon
The Eleven-Headed Bodhisattva is a piece that represents characteristics, meanings, and ideals common to those who practice Buddhism in Japan. Learners fully analyze this piece, then take a virtual trip to examine the Buddhist temples...
National Endowment for the Humanities
The World of Haiku
Young scholars complete a study of Japanese culture through haiku. They read and interpret haiku poetry and write haiku of their own.
Curated OER
Say Hi to Haibun Fun
What is a haibun? With this interesting lesson, writers will experience the Japanese writing form haibun, identify elements important to Japanese writing styles, analyze a haibun, and compose their own. Different from the typical journal...
Curated OER
Foods and Languages of the World
Students explore cultures around the world. In this cross-curriculum geography lesson, students listen to This is the Way We Go to School , a Book about Children around the World , and locate various countries on the globe and a map....
Curated OER
Latin Culture Through Art and Literature
Eleventh graders participate in a lecture on the history of Latin Americans and the role of Latin-American women writers. As a class, they read a story together and identify what lessons the narrator gained throughout the story. In...
Curated OER
Lesson: Creating With A Purpose
Discovering the creative process can be done through critical analysis. Upper graders examine a hand -carved Shinto Deity, discussing purpose, technique, and artistic expression. They then read a poem about the creative process. and...
Curated OER
Yoko and the Sushi Party
Students listen to a read aloud of Rosemary Wells, Yoko as they begin a study of Japanese culture and customs. They experience Japanese food, geography and culture. They write a friendly letter to the author.
Curated OER
You Too Can Haiku: How to Write a Haiku
Students explore language arts by writing their own poems. In 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...
Curated OER
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
Third graders explore their culture in comparison to Japanese culture by reading the book, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. They identify islands of Japan, create a Venn diagram comparing Japanese culture to American culture, and...
Curated OER
Origami
Students investigate Japanese culture by creating origami. In this Asian heritage lesson, students utilize the Internet to view origami tutorials which they use to create birds and other animals. Students discuss what "heritage" means...
UTSA Institute of Texas Cultures
Teaching Through Kamishibai and The Art of Chinese Calligraphy
Young learners discover kamishibai, a popular Japanese storytelling art, and explore how these Japanese folktales illustrate the country's cultural themes and values through discussion and storyboarding.
Curated OER
Say Hi to Haibun Fun
Students examine the Japanese writing form of Haibun. They identify the elements of Japanese prose and poetry, analyze a haibun for writing devices, complete a graphic organizer, and compose an original haibun as a form of journal keeping.
Curated OER
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...