Japan

 
THE PURPOSE OF OUR STUDY OF JAPAN is to help children understand: 1) families
in Japan and the United States are similar in many ways; 2) Japan is a country
with modern technology and ancient traditions; 3) the Japanese culture values
nature, beauty, family and simplicity; 4) geography influences the way of life
in Japan; and 5) Japanese people work together to solve problems.  

The three guiding questions for this study are:
1)  How are Japanese children and families similar to you and your family?
2)  How do the Japanese honor the past in their everyday lives?
3)  What problems have the Japanese people solved?

Skills that students will acquire through this study:
�locate the four main islands and major geographical features of Japan
�understand the similarity of Japan's climate with that of the east coast of
the U.S.
�use strategies for reading fiction & nonfiction to understand Japan now and
long ago
�use books, videos, photographs, and the Internet to obtain information
�realize that multiple perspectives are necessary in order to have a more
accurate view of people and cultures
�express personal conclusions both orally and in writing

During this unit, students explore the geography, population and climate
of Japan.  One of the early activities is to make a playdough map of Japan and
the surrounding countries with miniature flags of the countries and candies to
represent various geographical features such as mountains and capital cities.
Through books, photos, videos, and Internet students learn about life for
people in Japan including: families, schools, jobs, food, transportation,
homes, manners, structures, holidays, arts, traditions, city-life and
country-life.  We talk about similarities between American and Japanese 
life styles and about overcoming generalizations.  For homework, students will
look for items at home that were manufactured in Japan (and elsewhere).  In
connection to this unit, we read & discuss many Japanese folktales in Reading
Workshop.  We also read haiku, and children experiment with writing their own
haiku during Poetry Workshop.

SPECIAL RELATED PROGRAMS:

Japanese Drums