About Japan, A teacher's resource

lessons.

Lessons are created collaboratively among academic specialists and practicing teachers. They are intended to provide both the contextual information and actionable activities required to be of real practical use. Some lessons are grouped into units; others are developed as stand-along approaches to particular subjects. All lessons are intended to be adapted to the individual needs of teachers and their students.

The Bubble Economy and the Lost Decade

Grade Level: Secondary,Post-Secondary
Subject Area: English and Language Arts,Social Studies

This lesson uses well-know editorials, speeches, and poems to explore the Japanese reaction to the Bubble Economy and Lost Decade.

View

Popular Culture and Japan’s Gross National Cool

Grade Level: Secondary
Subject Area: Social Studies

Modern Japan's pop culture, from Hello Kitty to Wii, has been successfully exported worldwide. This lesson explores the varied roots of these cultural trends and their significance in a global context.

View

Japan in the World Since 1945

Grade Level: Secondary
Subject Area: Social Studies

This lesson explores Japan's politics after the Allied Occupation, in particular the close but conflicted relationship with the United States, the sometimes strained relations with China and South Korea, and Japan's military policy.

View

Community Identity?

Grade Level: Elementary,Secondary
Subject 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."

View

Defining "Home"

Grade Level: Elementary,Secondary
Subject 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."

View

A Remade Environment

Grade Level: Elementary,Secondary
Subject 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.

View

Rights and Responsibilities: Looking at the Meiji Constitution

Grade Level: Elementary
Subject 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.

View

Changing Times, Changing Styles: New Japanese Literary Styles of the Late 19th Century

Grade Level: Secondary
Subject Area: English and Language Arts

Kunikida Doppo’s story, "Unforgettable People," provides an example of a style of Japanese literature that developed in the 1880s and 90s as a result of encounters with European literature and other changes in the Japanese lifestyle related to the Meiji Restoration. The author(s) of this lesson suggest ways in which a discussion of the impact of this type of cultural contact may be introduced into the classroom.

View

Unit: Imperial Democracy and Colonial Expansion, 1890-1945

Grade Level: Secondary
Subject Area: Social Studies

In five activity and primary source-intensive lessons that address the major social and political shifts of the period from 1890 to 1945, the authors emphasize that these shifts were interdependent forces that operated on both international and national levels.

View

Unit: Heroes and Constitutions, Imperial Japan in the Elementary Classroom

Grade Level: Elementary
Subject 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.

View

Displaying 1—10 of 19

« PREVIOUS 1 2 NEXT »