Lesson Plan #1- Japanese Poetry

Subject Area: World History, English-Language Arts

Grade Level: Grade 7

Unit Title: Culture of Japan

Lesson Title: The Poetry of Japan

 

Connection to State and National Standards:

From the Californian History-Social Science Content Standards:

·         7.5.: Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the civilizations of Medieval Japan.

o   5: Study the ninth and tenth centuries' golden age of literature, art, and drama and its lasting effects on culture today, including Murasaki Shikibu's Tale of Genji.

From the National Language Arts Standards:

·         Standard 5: Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

·         Standard 9: Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles.

Objectives:
Upon completion of this lesson, the student will be able to...

·         Better understand the Japanese culture, specifically with focus on literature.

·         Identify the author Matsuo Basho as well as the poetry form he created.

·         Understand the format of a haiku and be able to write their own.

Materials:

·         Books:

o   Basho and the river stones. Myers, T. & Han, O. (2004) New York, NY: Marshall Cavendish.  ISBN: 9780761451655

o   Guyku: A year of haiku for boys. Raczka, B. & Reynolds, P. (2010) New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. ISBN: 9780547240039

·         Construction Paper

·         Markers

·         Magazine Clippings

Preparation:

·         Students will be asked to gather some material to use for the art aspect of the project.

·         Teacher will gather information of Basho to present to class.

Presentation:

·         Instructor will read Basho and the river stones and Guyku: A year of haiku for boys to class. 

o   Upon completion of the book students will be prompted to analyze the poetry presented in the books and how it relates to the golden age of literature of Japan.

·         Instructor will give a brief presentation of Basho and some of his poetry.

o   Upon completion of presentation students will have an understanding of Basho and the poetry form he created.

Application:

·         Students will write individual haiku’s based on what they have learned about haikus.

o   Using the material provided (construction paper, markers, magazine clippings) students will present their haiku’s in an artistic way

§  Students can write the poetry like a scroll used by Basho for his poetry on the construction paper.

§  Markers can be used to write the poetry and/or to draw illustrations to accompany the poetry.

§  Magazine clippings can be used to present the imagery used in the poetry in a visual way.

Evaluation:

Upon completion of…

·         The discussion of the poetry as a group, students will be evaluated by their ability to analyze the poetry presented from the books.  If some students do not pick up the main format and subject of haikus the teacher will discuss further.

·         The individual haikus, each student will be graded on their ability to use the correct haiku format.

·         The individual haikus in an artistic form, each student will be graded on how the poems are presented.  If the illustrations relate to the subject of the poem, etc.

Closure:

·         Students will present their haiku to the class.  A brief discussion analyzing each poem will occur after.

·         The artistic form of the individual haikus will be put on display throughout the classroom.