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.

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...

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

Learners 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...

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. 

Explore Japanese society and national identity. Class members share ideas about the Japanese economy and then investigate a series of resources, including an article, a film, a lecture, and a poem, to learn about Japan's Bubble Economy...

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.

In this Tanka poem worksheet, 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.

Make origami ducks with your class to reinforce geometry concepts and vocabulary; develop fine motor and visual translation skills; and enrich study of Japanese culture, the pond habitat, or migration. Create a whole group "worksheet"...

Third graders gain an appreciation for writing, analyzing, reading and listening to poetry, viewing poems as a motivation for studying Japanese culture and tradition. They study and create their own haiku and tanka poems with illustrations.

Students create a children's book version of the Japanese folk story "Momotaro Boy of the Peach" and present the story to elementary students. In this children's book lesson, students design their book to explain Japanese culture to...

Students listen to a story and view Japanese artifacts. They use the internet to explore the writings known as Hiragana. They create their own Japanese pictionaries and share them with the class.

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...

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...

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...

Students analyze Korean culture from their literature piece. They investigate the theme of oppression by an occupying army. Students encounter courage, resistance movements and explore the underground railroads.

Learners examine Asian American culture through the analysis of the poem, 'Aerogrammes.' They watch a video, read and discuss the poem, take a field trip to Chinatown, and write a poem about their Chinatown experience.

Students research the Samurai and their Haiku Writings. Students use internet research to gather information about the ancient Japanese Samurai. The students then create individual Haiku writings, and a cultural day is designated when...

Students explore the images and idioms related to love in their own culture. They examine new rituals recently created in Japan by reading and discussing "Osaka Journal:Japanese Date Clubs Take the Muss Out of Mating."

Students read a first person account of the bombing of Hiroshima written by a Japanese physician. By reading Michihiko Hachiya's journal, they discover the fatalities caused by the bomb itself and later by radiation poisoning. To...

Young scholars research graphic novels. For this manga lesson, students work in small groups as the read graphic novels in literature circle format.

Fourth graders examine the culture and environment of Japan, beginning with a KWL chart. They use clay and cups of water to construct representations of the Japanese Islands. After designing flags representing farming and food, 4th...

Sixth graders compare and contrast their own personal culture with that of Japan. They fill out questionnaires, compile the results, and match them with Japanese answers to the same forms. Students create a Venn diagram of the...

What do the words pizza, broccoli, and ciao have in common? Why they are all English words that originally came from Italian. Ask your middle schoolers to guess the origins of a list of words by matching the word with the language from...