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Lessons Taught, Lessons Learned Vol. I
RESOURCES FOR EXPLORING JAPAN'S
CULTURAL HERITAGE
by
Raymond Stein
Sitka
What follows is a teaching
unit in which I will use Akira Kurosawa's most recent movie, "Ran", to explore
Japan's samurai heritage with my high-school students. This unit is part of
a more encompassing study of Japan
and will provide the students with background information for
exploring samurai influence on modem Japanese culture, business,
and society.
I believe that in order to
understand Japan's successes after World War II, one needs to know
about the country's feudal past. "Ran" is set in Tokugawa, Japan
at the height of the development of the samurai code of honor,
"Bushido." As such, the movie provides an excellent foundation
from which to build student understanding of Japan's military
past.
I believe that the teaching unit
will be well received by the students because of their natural
interest in movies. The fact that "Ran" presents a considerable
amount of action will most likely contribute to increasing the
students' interest. I will show the movie over a period of about 2
weeks, at a rate of about 20-25 minutes per day. The teaching unit
will thus be presented as a mini-series, and I hope that this
organization will increase the students' interest in the unit
enough to encourage them to discuss the materials during
after-school hours.
There are several other reasons
why I believe in the positive outcomes of this teaching
experiment. I think that the unfamiliar concepts presented in the
film offer a variety of topics for student discussions and other
activities. I will prepare additional video clips, mini-lectures,
and hands-on projects to address student questions and to provide
further background information. In addition, I will pursue the
possibility of coordinating this teaching unit with the English
curriculum by comparing the movie with the works of other
dramatists. I also believe that, if properly prepared, the
students will enjoy and benefit from being exposed to a foreign
film with English subtitles.
To summarize the objectives of
this teaching unit, I want to point out that all teaching/learning
activities will seek to provide the students with a firm
understanding of feudalism in historical Japan. The film,
discussions, group activities, student projects, and homework
assignments will address various aspects of bushido in order to
enable the students to interpret the wonder of Japan's
modernization in a subsequent unit. What follows is a series of
lesson plans for implementing this teaching unit.
Lesson 1
Lesson:
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I will begin this unit by
discussing with my students various questions, perhaps
stereotypes, about the samurai and their code of honor.
Questions to be addressed
will include the following: Why do many Japanese
companies treat their employees paternalistically, and
why, as a result, do many workers stay with the same
employer for a lifetime? how was Japan able to rebound so
quickly from its utter defeat in World War II to become
the second biggest economic power in the world? Why were
hundreds of young Japanese men willing to commit suicide
as kamikaze pilots in World War II?
After this class
discussion I will suggest that some of these questions
may be partially answered by our understanding of the
samurai code of honor. Then I will announce to the class
that for the following two weeks, we will be viewing and
discussing a movie to try to understand Japan's feudal
past and its continuing influence on the
present.
Following this
introduction, I will present a 25-minute video tape, "Nobles and Samurai" from the series "Video Letters from
Japan." While watching the film, the students will jot
down five questions about the presented material. In a
brief lecture, I will then expand on important aspects of
the film. The students' questions will be collected and
graded satisfactory or unsatisfactory.
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Homework:
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Study for a quiz on the
lecture material.
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Lesson 2
Evaluation:
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Check on the students'
knowledge of the material from the previous
lesson.
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Lesson:
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Show "Ran" for 20-25
minutes. Discuss the story and identify the characters so
far.
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Homework:
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Prepare for retelling the
story.
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Lesson 3
Evaluation:
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Retell the first part of
the story.
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Lesson:
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Show the next 20-25
minutes of "Ran." Because the story line is complex, I
will spend the rest of the period recapping
the story and delineating the characters.
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Homework:
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Prepare for retelling the
story. It is important that the students familiarize
themselves with the Japanese names so that the movie will
make sense to them as it goes on. Moreover, by testing
comprehension, I will encourage the students to discuss
the movie with each other at night. This will contribute
to developing the "miniseries" interest which I mentioned
earlier.
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Lesson 4
Evaluation:
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Comprehension check:
Write a summary of the story.
After collecting the
students' papers, I will present my own model of a plot
summary, both to let the students know what I am
expecting and to ensure that everyone has a clear
understanding of the story. I would like to add at this
point that generally, I will spend a few minutes at the
beginning of each class period explaining student
assignments. I also want to point out that I keep
emphasizing the students' comprehension of the plot not
so much because the story line is rather complex, but
more because my class includes students of wide-ranging
ability levels. In a unit of this length, I want to do my
best to make sure that every student understands the
materials from the onset.
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Lesson:
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Show "Ran," recap the
story. Discuss tensions, conflicts and motives as they
are developing within specific characters.
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Homework:
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I will ask the students
to remember either fictive accounts of real-live
situations in which they encountered feelings of
jealousy, competition, hate or loyalty.
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Lesson 5
Evaluation:
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Write a paragraph
relating one of the emotions, motives, or situations you
viewed in the film to something you have
experienced, either in fiction (e.g. another movie, a
book, etc.) or in real life.
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Lesson:
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Show 20 minutes of "Ran." Ensure that the students are following
the story by asking several students to retell today's episode.
Concentrate discussion on Hidetora, the main character,
emphasizing his personal characteristics, intentions,
weaknesses, and relationships with his sons.
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Homework:
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Prepare for a character
analysis of Hidetora in paragraph form.
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Lesson 6
Evaluation:
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Write a paragraph or two
examining the character of Hidetora. Write about several
aspects of his personality. Subdivide these
characteristics if possible.
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Lesson:
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Continue showing the
movie. Review the entire story up to this point. Discuss
field questions on the plot or on any other area in which
the students ask for clarification. Doubtless, every day,
the students will bring up questions about topics that
arc not directly related to the film. I will be prepared
to address such questions by providing video clips,
handouts, slides, etc. on such areas as the martial arts,
history of Japan, Tokugawa culture.
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Homework:
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Prepare for evaluation by
reviewing and rediscussing the story.
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Lesson 7
Evaluation:
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Write your own ending to
the movie. What do you think will happen?
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Lesson:
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Analyze the characters of
the three sons. For this activity, I will use a small
group organization called "jigsaw strategy." The students
will first team up in "home groups" of three to decide
who is to report on which son. Then the students will
meet in "expert groups" which include students who are
analyzing the same character. After the expert groups
have completed their work, the students will return to
their home groups to present their reports. Before these
group activities, I will explain to the students that
their next evaluation will be based on the topics to be
addressed in the group activities. I hope that this
announcement, together with the effects of peer pressure,
will motivate the students to work well.
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Homework:
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Study today's notes about
the three sons.
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Lesson 8
Evaluation:
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Answer the following
questions: Which of the three brothers has the lowest
morals and ethics? Why? Your books
may be open.
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Lesson:
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Show the last episode of "Ran" up to the last 15 minutes of the
movie. Discuss the plot and field questions.
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Homework:
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There will be another
evaluation tomorrow. Therefore, reviewing
notes on the story may be helpful.
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Lesson 9
Evaluation:
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In "Ran" we see the
samurai class in feudal Japan. This samurai class lived
by strict rules which were part of an equally strict
code. From witnessing the behavior, expressions, and
feelings of the characters in the film and by assuming
that these actions are representative of real samurai,
make a list of samurai characteristics and
rules.
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Lesson:
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Show the end of the
movie. Allow time for free discussion afterwards. Discuss
ending. Prepare students for discussion with a resource
person the next day.
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Homework:
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Prepare one or two
questions to ask the resource person from Japan who will
be coming tomorrow (if available). Start to study for the
unit test which will be given the day after
tomorrow.
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Lesson 10
Evaluation:
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Check questions students
have prepared.
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Lesson:
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Introduce resource
person, if one is available. The students will ask him
their questions which will hopefully elicit his
perceptions of the samurai code of honor. If time remains
at the end of the period, review some of the unit
material in preparation for the unit test.
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Homework:
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Study for the unit test
on "Ran," samurai, and bushido.
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Lesson 11
Unit Test:
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The test will include
questions covering all levels of analysis.
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Conclusion
I am looking forward to
trying out this material and I am sure that the variety of
activities and exercises included in this unit will keep the
students interested throughout the eleven day sequence. I feel
that my students will learn a great deal about Japan through this
teaching unit.
Additional activities will
contribute to broadening this learning experience by allowing the
students to express their understanding of bushido with reference
to their own culture(s).
A question I would like to address
with this concluding paragraph is, why should we teach Japanese
culture to Native students who are already confronted with the
difficult task of having to learn the culture of the dominant
society while trying to maintain their own cultural heritage? I do
not wish to belittle this question, but I believe that it is very
important for Native Alaskan students to understand Japanese
culture, since many of these students will be negotiating with
Asians over their natural resources. Cultural ecleticism is
absolutely mandatory for the future economic well-being of the
Native people of Alaska and for the survival, maintenance, and
development of their culture in an economically secure
environment. Therefore, I support wholeheartedly studies of the
Pacific Rim, but on the other hand, I do not ever want my students
to lose touch with their own cultural heritage.
Foreword
J. Kelly Tonsmiere
Introduction
Ray Barnhardt
Section
I
Some Thoughts on Village
Schooling
"Appropriate
Schools in Rural Alaska"
Todd Bergman, New Stuyahok
"Learning
Through Experience"
Judy Hoeldt, Kaltag
"The
Medium Is The Message For Village
Schools"
Steve Byrd, Wainwright
"Multiple
Intelligences: A Community Learning
Campaign"
Raymond Stein, Sitka
"Obstacles
To A Community-Based Curriculum"
Jim Vait, Eek
"Building
the Dream House"
Mary Moses-Marks, McGrath
"Community
Participation in Rural Education"
George Olana, Shishmaref
"Secondary
Education in Rural Alaska"
Pennee Reinhart, Kiana
"Reflections
on Teaching in the Kuskokwim Delta"
Christine Anderson, Kasigluk
"Some
Thoughts on Curriculum"
Marilyn Harmon, Kotzebue
Section
II
Some Suggestions for the
Curriculum
"Rabbit
Snaring and Language Arts"
Judy Hoeldt, Kaltag
"A Senior
Research Project for Rural High Schools"
Dave Ringle, St. Mary's
"Curriculum
Projects for the Pacific Region,"
Roberta Hogue Davis, College
"Resources
for Exploring Japan's Cultural Heritage"
Raymond Stein, Sitka
"Alaskans
Experience Japanese Culture Through
Music"
Rosemary Branham, Kenai
Section
III
Some Alternative
Perspectives
"The
Axe Handle Academy: A Proposal for a Bioregional, Thematic
Humanities Education"
Ron and Suzanne Scollon
"Culture,
Community and the Curriculum"
Ray Barnhardt
"The
Development of an Integrated Bilingual and Cross-Cultural
Curriculum in an Arctic School District"
Helen Roberts
"Weaving
Curriculum Webs: The Structure of Nonlinear
Curriculum"
Rebecca Corwin, George E. Hem and Diane Levin
Artists'
Credits
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Last
modified
August 14, 2006
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