Passport to Japan - Konnichiwa is designed to be an integrated, cross-curricular approach to teaching western children in grades 4-8 about the children of contemporary Japan. The series includes 4, 20-minute closed captioned videos. The videos are supported by a teacher guide; web page with student and teacher resources and activities; and an experiential "prop box".

Passport to Japan - Konnichiwa was developed to address a specific need for information about Japan. Japan is a major trading partner for businesses in the United States and in many places has a significant impact on local economies. In order to continue and further relations with this valuable trading partner, it is important to have information on the people, language and culture of Japan available in our schools. We know children make decisions about which foreign language to study during grades 4-8, and that they base their decisions on their impressions of the country where the language is spoken. The most recent video piece about Japan for students in the target grade levels was produced in 1989 and was not designed for children.

Passport to Japan - Konnichiwa provides current, instructionally sound, user friendly materials that address state and national guidelines for multicultural education. The materials are divided into four areas:

School
Go to school for a day in Japan and see Japanese children waking up, walking to school, participating in the classroom, attending school-sponsored clubs, and going to private "cram schools" (juku). Students learn about the educational system of Japan and see how the physical layout of a Japanese school is built to reflect and accommodate the culture of Japan.

Family
Spend a day with two Japanese families from morning, through their average day, on a family excursion and finally at dinner and during evening activities. Learn how families interact with one another, with their extended families, and within their community given both the traditional and contemporary culture of Japan. The videos allows students to compare and contrast their own lifestyles with their counterparts in Japan.

Community
Tour various Japanese communities to exemplify the typical lifestyle in cities and towns across Japan. Students are introduced to the geography, history and industry of Japan using the city of Kurashiki as a case study. Five geography themes will be woven into the video to allow students to note similarities and differences between their own community's physical and human environment and what they see in a Japanese community.

Traditions
Visit Kyoto, the cultural capital of Japan, to learn about its rich and long cultural heritage. See examples of traditional Japanese arts and sports. Students also see the architectural landscape of traditional homes, temples, shires and the famous man-made gardens of Kyoto.

• Objectives
• Complete script
• Reproducible maps
• Key Topics
• Pre-and Post Viewing Activities,Viewing Activities
• Additional Resources
  

Download the Teacher Guide (PDF)