Lesson: Tanabata: Japan's Star Festival
Grade Level: ElementarySubject Area: English and Language Arts,Visual & Performing Arts
Bring Japan's Star Festival, Tanabata, to the classroom and experience a Japanese summer holiday through visual aids, storytelling and many hands-on activities!
Lesson: Living Efficiently: Daily Energy-Saving Practices from Totoro and Today
Grade Level: Elementary,SecondarySubject Area: Science & Environmental Science
Hayao Miyazaki's much beloved film, My Neighbor Totoro, is used to spark discussion about daily energy-saving practices.
Lesson: Obento: The Japanese Lunch Box
Grade Level: ElementaryThis lesson, featuring hands-on activities, teaches lower elementary students about nutrition and Japanese food culture through introducing the obento, or Japanese lunchbox many children bring to school.
Lesson: Our Family and Other Families: Using Totoro to Teach Family Structure
Grade Level: ElementarySubject Area: English and Language Arts,Social Studies
In this lesson for elementary students, children find similarities between their own families and Japanese families using the well-known and well-loved film "My Neighbor Totoro."
Lesson: Community Identity?
Grade Level: Elementary,SecondarySubject Area: Visual & Performing Arts
By comparing "The Boxing Papers (Shinohara B)" by Kunie Sugiura and a scene from "Boxing Painting" by Ushio Shinohara, students will expand their knowlege of different artistic techniques while analyzing the concept of "community."
Lesson: Defining "Home"
Grade Level: Elementary,SecondarySubject Area: Visual & Performing Arts
"Rocking Chair and Window" by Mayumi Terada and "Untitled" by Satoru Eguchi are used as a basis to start discussion about the definition of "home."
Lesson: A Remade Environment
Grade Level: Elementary,SecondarySubject Area: Visual & Performing Arts
By comparing "Study for Metropolis #2" by Katsuhiro Saiki and "The Hudson" (Detail) by Junko Yoda, students expore the connection between art and environment. Topics discussed include the ways the artists' feelings about the landscape influenced the artwork, along with a more general discussion about "accurate" representation in art.
Lesson: Rights and Responsibilities: Looking at the Meiji Constitution
Grade Level: ElementarySubject Area: Social Studies
The Meiji Constitution serves as a starting point for an analysis and debate of the distinctions between rights and responsibilities, as well as the role of the populace in influencing government.
Unit: Heroes and Constitutions, Imperial Japan in the Elementary Classroom
Grade Level: ElementarySubject Area: Social Studies
All modern nations struggle with issues of the balance between rights and responsibilities of citizens, formation of national identity, and use of national symbols. These lessons, using source documents and methods designed for the elementary student, use Japan to examine fundamental issues of rights and identity common to most young nations.
Lesson: What Defines a Hero?
Grade Level: ElementarySubject Area: Social Studies
Using images, including of old money, this lesson chooses two iconic and controversial figures from Japan and Korea, viewed very differently in each country, to examine fundamental issues such as the importance of national heroes and how point of view influences the way people understand the same event.
Education Programs are made possible by generous funding from The Freeman Foundation.
Generous support for Education Programs is provided by Continental Airlines.
Additional support is provided by The Norinchukin Foundation, Inc., Chris A. Wachenheim, Joshua N. Solomon, Jon T. Hutcheson, Lesley Nan Haberman, Joshua S. Levine and Nozomi Terao.
Student and Family Programs are supported by the New York City
Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.
