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HISTORICALLY
SPEAKING JAPAN PATCH PROGRAM 1. Locate Japan on a map. What continent is it on? What is the capital city. Learn about the languages in Japan, say “Hello“ or “Goodbye“. What is the monetary unit they use for buying items? 2. Japanese call their country “Nippon”. Find out what “Nippon” means and how it was incorporated into their flag. 3. The earliest settlers of Japan were called Jomon. They made pottery, tools and weapons out of stones. For food they lived by hunting, fishing, and gathering nuts and berries. They settled in Japan about 8000 B.C. Create a drawing or art project about their life. 4. Japan has many traditional toys and games. Boys like playing with tops (koma) and kites (tako). Girls like to play hanetsuki, which resembles badminton but uses no net. There are several other games or toys enjoyed by children in Japan. Learn about other games or toys in Japan OR create your own game they might play in Japan. 5. Painting is a popular artistic expression in Japan. Japanese ceramics are among the finest in the world. Japanese art is valued for colorful designs and simplicity. Create a painting using your artistic abilities. Try using exuberant colors and designs. 6. Ikebana is the art of beautifully arranging flowers in vases or other containers. Make paper flowers and arrange them in a container OR practice arranging fresh or silk flowers. 7. The traditional writing of Japanese is called Kanji and Hiragana, Children learn to write between 1,850 to 3,000 different symbols. The children often use paint brushes to draw the symbols artfully. 8. The Japanese language has many polite phrases. Learn some of the phrases or words. If you already know the language, share your knowledge with others. ( can be combined with #7) 9. A traditional Japanese house is small. Upon entering a Japanese house everyone takes off their shoes. Research their unique flooring, how the doors are constructed, the type of bedding and how they store it. 10. Tea is a favorite traditional beverage of the Japanese. Discover some other foods that are served at a typical dinner. Try something new. 11. An invitation for dinner in a Japanese home is considered a great honor. What what type of table do they sit at? What is the correct way a family style dinner is served? A formal dinner? Try to use chopsticks. 12. Kimonos and obis are traditional clothing worn in Japan. A kimono is a silk robe with beautiful designs etched on it and dyed to perfection. The obi is worn around the waist to secure the kimono. Both men and women wear kimonos in Japan. Design and color a kimono of your own. 13. Almost 75% of Japan’s land is mountainous. Find out what the highest mountain is? What island is it located on? How tall is it? 14. Origami is the art of paper folding. The word is Japanese and mean “to fold” (oru) “paper” (kami). Try to make some items using origami. 15. Numerous holidays are celebrated throughout the year honoring many different people, events, seasons, or things. A few examples are: New Year’s Day, Children’s Day, Cherry blossom viewing, Star Festival, Girl’s Day or Valentines Day. Visit a celebration or re-creation of the event OR learn why they celebrate the holiday. Discover Japanese Holidays and see if there are similar American Holidays. For extra, you can create a drawing, art project, or enjoy a food of a celebration 16. Sports in Japan are popular. Baseball, Tennis, golf, skiing, judo, karate and Sumo wrestling are some of the traditional sports. Talk to others about a sport you would like to participate in. What was the most popular sport in your group? Does Japan have any sports different from the sports you have played or seen?
This patch program will help its participants learn more about the history and sites in this country. If you have the privilege of visiting this country, you can complete some of these requirements there. It would be helpful to learn more about the country prior to your visit. Use the library and the internet to research more. |