Japanese Culture

Activity 1 (of 3): Comparing and Contrasting Diets

Illinois Learning Standards

5.A.2b: Organize and integrate information from a variety of sources (e.g. books, interviews, library reference materials, web-sites, CD/ROMS).
5.C.2b: Prepare and deliver oral presentations based on inquiry or research.
17.A.2a: Compare the physical characteristics of places including soils, land forms, vegetation, wildlife, climate, and natural hazards.

Items Needed

One copy of How My Parents Learned to Eat by Ina R. Friedman, map of Japan, computers, and Venn Diagram for each student

Activity

1) Begin by asking students to name some of their favorite foods. Then show the students a map of Japan and ask what foods kids in Japan might eat.
2) Read How My Parents Learned to Eat. Ask questions along the way that promote higher and lower order thinking skills: What utensil does the American man eat with? What is a kimono? When might a person wear a kimono?
3) Discuss the foods mentioned in the book. Then put students into pairs and give each student a venn diagram. Tell students they will use the internet to research foods eaten in Japan and America. They will compare and contrast these foods. Students will consider the following questions as they conduct their research: Why do Japanese people still eat some of the same foods they ate hundreds of years ago? Why are Japanese people eating some of the same foods as Americans today?
4) Students will present their findings to the class. The teacher and students will discuss the foods mentioned in terms of which are healthy and why as well as which are unhealthy and why.

Activity 2 (of 3): Eating with Chopsticks


Illinois Learning Standards

1.B.2a: Establish purposes for reading; survey materials; ask questions; make predictions; connect, clarify, and extend ideas.
3.A.2: Write paragraphs that include a variety of sentence types; appropriate use of the eight parts of speech; accurate spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.

Items Needed

Smartboard, computer, chart paper and markers for KWL, Japanese food set (IMC,3D, Soci 375), paper plates, chopsticks, cooked rice, and cooked vegetables

Activity

1)Begin by asking what eating utensil is important to Japan's culture. Then lead the class in filling out the "K" and "W" on the KWL about chopsticks.
2) Put the informational reading Chopsticks History and Legend ( http://www.asianartmall.com/chopstickshistory.htm) on the smartboard and read to the students. After reading to the class fill out the "L" on the chart.
3) Show the class the Japanese food set that contains a traditional Japanese meal. Demonstrate for the class how to eat with chopsticks.
4) Give each student their own set of chopsticks and a plate of rice and vegetables, so they can experience the Japanese culture of eating with chopsticks.
5) Students will summarize what they learned about the history of chopsticks in a well written paragraph.

Activity 3 (of 3): Writing a Haiku

Illinois Learning Standards

2.B.2b: Identify and explain themes that have been explored in literature from different societies and eras.
3.C.2a: Write for a variety of purposes and for specific audiences in a variety of forms.

Items Needed

One copy of Grass Sandals by Dawnine Spivak, overhead projector, examples of Haiku poetry

Activity

1) The teacher will begin by asking students what a haiku is. Then the teacher will explain that a haiku is a form of poetry that has been part of Japan's culture for hundreds of years.
2)Read Grass Sandals to the class. This book is about Matsuo Basho the creator of haiku poetry as we know it today.
3) Show examples of haikus on the overhead emphasizing that haikus are mostly about nature.
4) Take students outside to explore nature. Students will then return to the classroom and write their very own haiku to share with the class.