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. 

As part of the study of Japanese cultural history, introduce your class members to Chanoyu, the Way of Tea. After a discussion of the history and key elements of Chanoyu, class groups perform the ceremony.

If your class doesn't know what a haiku is, show them two examples from the Japanese poet Issa (both included here), and have them make some observations. How long are they? What is the structure? A video and a list of questions help...

Learners 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.

How well do your kids know key terms from Shizuko's Daughter by Kyoko Mori? Have them review a list of words that they will encounter in the novel, and mark which words they know well, which words they've seen before, and which...

In this Tanka poem instructional activity, 6th graders analyze a Tanka poem for number of syllables and content parameters, then write one about a journey, real or imagined using the 6 step writing process.

Gagaku is music traditionally played in the Japanese imperial courts of long ago. Learners listen to this and other traditional Japanese music to gain an understanding of culture and music history. They work to identify Japanese...

Haiku poetry is explored in this language arts lesson. Yong readers identify the characteristics of haiku and read several examples. Students make connections between their study of Japan and the poetic form of haiku, and they write...

Students improve motor skills through careful folding, a discipline necessary in the practice of origami. They develop multicultural awareness by exploring Japanese history.

Students explore the structure and content of the Tanka form and to arrive at a definition of the structure in English. They analyze a tanka to determine its structure and intent and compose two Tanka; one in traditional form and one...

Sixth graders are familiarized with the Japanese culture. They note the similarities and differences between our culture and the Japanese culture. They view slideshows and websites in order to view pictures and information about the...

Students explore the links between Japanese and British culture. In this Japanese music lesson, students listen to their instructor present a lecture regarding Gagaku music and then perform "Te Lucis Ante Terminum" with Japanese...

Students identify formal elements that characterize the scroll, work in a variety of media, from traditional to digital, to create their own scrolls, work into digital printout with at least two media, and engage in meaningful critiques...

Second graders study what monarch caterpillars eat by solving math problems and reading The Girl Who Loved Caterpillars: A Twelfth-Century Tale from Japan. They analyze why Monarch caterpillars only eat milkweed leaves and solve...

Third graders "take a trip" to Japan. They discover what life is like for a typical Japanese child and compare/contrast it to life in America. They give an oral presentation of Japanese holidays and festivals.

Pupils become familiar with the sound of Japanese by singing familiar songs in Japanese.

Students listen to examples of Japanese folktales and identify universal themes. Students construct a 'kamishibai' - a traditional Japanese storytelling prop - and dramatize a folktale through puppetry.

Young scholars are introduced to the traditional form of lacquerware painting in Japan. Students imitate Japanese lacquerware techniques using paper plates, gesso and tempera paints.

In this lesson plan, students will consider "Being in the Noh: An Introduction to Japanese Noh Plays." The plan includes worksheets and other student materials that can be found under the resource tab.

Here you can find a comprehensive travel and living guide to Japan. Content includes a look at Japan's people, culture, and events through the eyes of a tourist. A great place for destination overviews, day-to-day lifestyles, and...

A nice description of life in Japan focusing in Japanese house, food and clothes. There are also a number of questions at the bottom of the page such as why Japanese take off their shoes before entering a house and more.

At this site sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, high tech aspects of modern Japan are explained by products, such as cellular phone, game machine, bullet train, high tech eco products and dog language translator. The...