Elementary School Level
Opening the minds and Hearts of Your Japanese-Language Students to Culture

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Lesson plans from the 1st contest booklet (printed in 1996)
Opening the minds and Hearts of Your Japanese-Language Students to Culture I

Organization and Remarks
Title Cultural objectives Target Japnaese expressions Activities
Everyday Life in Japan
(199KB)
 To comapere everyday life in Japan with that in Australia To review how to ask questions
Kore wa nan desu ka. Dono yoo ni tsukaimasu ka		 Discussion, Writing
Tanabata
(67KB)
 To compare Japanese climate and events with those of Australian To learn related vocabulary and expressions
...ga hoshii desu		 Discussion, Writing
Urashimataro
(138KB)
 To understand Japanese appreciation of nature and nonverbal behavior To learn beginning Japanese such as greetings Playing the drama, Singing
Colors, Koi, and Culture
(240KB)
 To learn meaning of Children's Day
To learn cultural backgrounds of events		 To learn related vocabulary names of colors, the paper counter
ookii, chiisai, 1mai, 2mai		 Handicrafts

Lesson plans from the 2nd contest booklet (printed in 1998)
Opening the Minds and Hearts of Your Japanese-language Students to Culture II

Organization, Remarks and References
Title Cultural objectives Target Japnaese expressions Activities
Mixed Pizza
(374KB)		 To develop awareness of the specific food culture of Japan and the US through a Pizza menu To review of katakana
To make conversations using new vocabulary and sentence structures learned
...no ...saizu o ...kudasai. Hai,...no ...saizu o ...desu ne		 Role-playing, discussion
Communication and Correspondence
(166KB)		 To understand the lifestyle of children in Japan, how they think, etc. To learn self-introduction and how to ask questions and how to answer
Watashi wa ...desu. Shuumatsu ni nani o shimasu ka		 Video viewing, Writing, Discussion
Snails
(220KB)		 To mind a pet, they have learned about through another language To talk about pets
Namae wa ...desu		 Observation and reporting
Kimono
(161KB)		 To learn kimono
To wear kimono		 To learn vocabulary related to the kimono
To understand the idfferent terms in the verb "wear" in Japanese
kimasu, hakimasu, shimemasu, musubimasu, obi, tabi		 Task sheet, Singing, Dancing, Wearing kimono
The calendar
(625KB)		 To learn Japan's cultural background through events
To understand the similarities and differences of cultures between Japan and Australia		 To name the months of the year
To ask and tell others their mont of birth and birthday
January wa nangatsu desu ka. January wa ichigatsu desu ka		 Game
Oceans and Japan
(72KB)		 Integrated study of Japanese culture with a thematic unit titled "Oceans" To count
To learn greetings
Kore wa ...desu. Konnichiwa. Itadakimasu		 Story-telling, Discussion, Singing, Dancing, Handicrafts
Sugahara primary school
(76KB)		 To identify ways in which school life at Sugahara Primary School is both similar and different to the target school To learn classroom expressions associated with beginning and ending of lessons
Sensei, ohayoo gozaimasu. Kiritsu, rei, chakuseki		 Reading, Discussion, Task sheet

Lesson plans from the 3nd contest booklet (printed in 2000)
Opening the Minds and Hearts of Your Japanese-language Students to Culture III

Organization, Remarks and References
Title Cultural objectives Target Japnaese expressions Activities
Journey in Japan
(96KB)		 To learn the relative locations of the islands and main cities of Japan.
To learn about the tourist attractions.		 Asking/saying where one is going, with whom one is going somewhere, how one is going somewhere.
To learn names of places/ prefectures/ islands in Japan, names of modes of transport, descriptive words and phrases, tourist.

...ni ikimasu(ka) ...to ikimasu(ka)
...de ikimasu(ka)
Donna tokoro desuka		 Game
Getting to Know You
(625KB)		 To point out the similarities between modern Japanese and Western housing.
To examine any differences between the styles of housing and to discuss the important cultural background to these differences.
To describe the important function of the genkan, which provides an ideal introduction to Japanese home life and culture.		 Greetings when going out/coming back.
Greetings to a person who is going out/coming back
Visiting a home and offer-ing greetings.
Greetings, names of every-day objects in the home environment.

...ni ittekimasu, Itterasshai, Tadaima, Okaerinasai, Gomenkudasai		 Role-playing, Discussion, Work Sheet
Hinamatsuri at Our School
(499KB)		 To prompt the students to think about their own daily lives from a new perspective.
To compare child-oriented annual events in Japan and Canada and grasp the nature of the Hina-matsuri (Doll Festival) as one such event		 Reading calendar dates.
Correct use of the particle

San gatsu mikka wa Hinamatsuri no hi desu.
Suiyoobi wa Pizza no hi desu. ...gatsu ...nichi wa watashi no tanjoobi desu.
Otanjoobi omedetoo.		 Work Sheet,
Computer Using,
Production of Hina dolls
Shall We Cook?
(211KB)		 To think about the points of difference and similarity between Japanese and American cooking (e.g., ingredients, ways of eating, side dishes, tableware).
To think about differences between Japanese and American recipes.		 Following instructions.

...te kudasai. Itadakimasu, Gochisoosamadesihita

gyuuniku, shooyu, abura, mizu, tamanegi, etc.		 Discussion,
Cooking
Indirect Personal Encounter
(469KB)		 To describe, in English, similarities and differences in the daily routines of a second-grade student in Japan and a second-grade student in the United States.
To name three products of Japanese culture important to daily routines, and the practices associated with those products.		 Expressing daily routines.
Action verbs pertaining to daily routines: taberu, nomu, okiru, neru, iku, ...suru, kaku, etc.
Review vocabulary used to describe daily routines: asagohan, benkyoo

(Direct object) ...o (Verb)...teimasu 		作文を書く、ロールプレイ、発表
Nihon no Ie
(298KB)		 To understand the customs of entering a house.
To understand the customs of taking a bath.
To identify similarities between Japanese and Australian housing.
 Using simple greetings
Asking what something is.
Using simple sentences to say what something is.

Watashi wa ...desu. Kore wa nandesuka. Kore wa ...desu.

genkan, tatami, tokonoma, ofuro, kotatsu, heya, oyasuminasai, etc.

Role-playing, Discussion
Issa no Haiku
(246KB)		 To learn how to understand feelings and thoughts expressed in haiku.
To be aware of the seasonal sense in haiku.
To learn about "ma" (space/interval) in haiku and understand the rhythm for reading haiku.
To fold origami.
 Expressing locations.
Expressing a location with an event and the time of the event.
Counting birds and animals.

Nagano wa honshuu ni arimasu. Issa wa Nagano de umaremashita.

...ni arimasu, ...ni umaremashita, ichiwa, niwa, ittoo, nitoo, etc.		 Computer Using,
Reciting Haiku, drawing, origami