Take Off For Japan!

                                                                                  by

Barbara Billings

Introduction | Task | The Process & Resources | Evaluation

Introduction

You have won a trip to Japan!  You will be traveling for 3 weeks and collecting all kinds of wonderful information while there.  While in Japan we hope that you will send us a postcard telling us about your adventures. Japan is very far away in Asia and you will find many similarities and differences with the United States.   So pack your suitcases and off we go for a trip of a lifetime!

The Task

Your job will be to learn about one topic about Japan.  You will collect facts about your topic and send a postcard home and then share your information to our visitors at Japan Night.

At the end of this project you will:

•     Complete a web of your topic

•      Take notes on your topic

•      Write and illustrate a postcard including at least 5 facts

•      Make one slide for power point including 5 facts about your topic

•     Present your topic at Japan Night

The Process and Resources

• First, choose your topic from the list below: Geography, Religion, Festivals, Sports (baseball, sumo wrestling, karate, archery, fencing) Climate, Schools, History, Money, Family Life, Tokyo, Economy  and Industry, the Bullet Train, Shrines and Temples,  the Arts (including Kabuki Theatre, Bunraku Puppets, Sumi Painting, etc.)the Japanese language, Volcanoes in Japan, Clothing, and Food.

• Use books in your library and websites on the internet that have been selected for you.

• Once you are ready to take notes  click on Websites and  use these resources as well as books in the library

• After your notes are taken make a rough draft page for the power point including at least 5 facts.

• Make a powerpoint slide including your facts, and 2 graphics: a photo and a drawing)

Resources

There are many books located in your school and in your public library to help you collect the information.  

  Japanese Websites:

Alphabet Baseball     Bullet Train Birds and animals Bunraku Puppets      Calligraphy       Clothing  Earthquakes   More Earthquakes  Farming     Food       Games Kids Enjoy   History   Holidays and Festivals      Houses    Ikebana      Kimonos     Karate   Mount Fuji  Musical Instruments Ninja Origami        Religion Schools    Shrines, Temples, and Religion    Sports   Sumo Wrestling          Tea Ceremony   Tokyo   Trees and Plants       TV  Weather and Land

Sumo

Sumo 2

Baseball

MiyakeSchool

Kimono

Cookbook

Kimono

Tokyo,Education,Culture

Folktales

Bunraku Puppets

Tea Ceremony

Culture

Holidays 

Religion

Kids Web Japan

JAPAN ...best site for reference about all things Japanese***

Edo Japan, A Virtual Tour ...an interesting children's site to learn about ancient Tokyo***

Guide to Japan ...great reference for both modern and traditional Japan

Japan Info - Guide to all things Japanese ...Japanese news, magazines, webcams, maps, and more!

FOLK LEGENDS OF JAPAN ...do these remind you of any fairy tales that you know?***

Japanese Culture Center - In a Japanese Home ...interesting cultural differences in the home

Tokyo Food Page ...everything you need to know about Japanese food

Learn2 Eat Sushi ...for brave souls

The Web's First Japanese Pizza Page ...check out the toppings on these pizzas!

Joseph Wu's Origami Page ...look at some amazing origami here!

Paperfolding...history of origami and instructions

JAPANESE KITE COLLECTION ...really interesting kites; history of kites

Weather...what's the current weather in Japan in celsius?

Evaluation

Your project will be evaluated using criteria listed below in the rubric.  

	Unsatisfactory	Satisfactory	Excellent	Overall Score 1-Excellent 2-Above Average 3-Average 4-Below Average
Note Taking -Neatness -Use of bullets -Own words
Postcard Illustration -detail -organization
Post Card Information -5 facts -accuracy
Power Point Card -Organization -Graphics -5 facts
Presentation to the group -loudness -eye contact -clarity